A Few Hints When Applying For A Loan Modification

1. Put the loan number and your name and address on the top of every single page you submit to your lender. No exceptions. If you have more than one lender, only put the loan number of the lender you are submitting to. Do not put both loan #’s on documents even if they are with the same lender. 
    
2. Whatever they ask you for, get it to them quickly. Within 24 hours if at all possible.
    
3. Call at least once per week and ask 2 critical questions every time.
   1. Do they need anything from you? - they may have told you on the last call that they have everything and now they need something they have not asked you for and will deny your application because you did not get it to them in a timely manner. I swear this happens.
   2. Is there a sale date for the property yet? As long as they say no, you are good for a week. Do not assume that because they are working with you that they will not foreclose. If they say yes, find out what you need to do to postpone.
       
4. Take meticulous notes about the process. The best way to do this is to create a MS Word document and call it "Loan Mod LOG". Keep it in a handy place in your computer with all of your documentation on your computer. Every time you call, email or fax you need to enter the date, and details, then re-save it. Make sure you ask for employee names and ID#'s when you speak to your lender and put that information in your notes. Actually copy and paste emails into the notes and reference faxes in your notes by the # that it was sent (Chase fax 1, Chase fax 2, etc.) What will happen is they will say all kinds of things out of laziness that you can refute with good notes. Example; they will say "you did not turn in your 2009 tax returns" and you will say; "actually, I faxed them in on 10/12 and on 10/15 I spoke with John Smith, (ID#1265) and he confirmed that they had been received. Will you look again please?" Then that person will put you on hold and come back and say "we do have them"
    
5. 2 business days after faxing anything, call to confirm that they received it. With anything you send by email, if you do not get a response that they received it within 2 business days, go into your sent email and forward the email to the same person you sent it to asking if they received it. Do this EVERY day until they acknowledge receipt.
    
6. No matter how frustrated you get with the process, be nice to the person on the other end of the phone. Thank them for their help every time even if you think they are not very bright or helpful.

If you do all of the above, you may have a chance at a decent modification. Of course things like income and expenses play a big part too.

If you don't get offered a reasonable modification, please let us know. We can help you sell short instead of allowing a foreclosure to really devastate your credit. We have a short sale attorney standing by, a Certified Pubic Accountant who can speak to you, and experienced Real Estate Agents working Short Sales in Nevada. 

The Ballen Group  does not offer professional advice on loan modifications. Having successfully modified one of his own investment properties, Jeff Howard, Lead Listing Specialist noticed how similar it is to the short saleprocess in Nevada. The Ballen Group does not guarantee results of any kind. The above are suggestions that may or may not improve your results in your attempts to get a loan modification. If you are not successful in getting a loan modification that is beneficial to you, you may want to consider selling short to avoid even more devastation to your credit. For a free short sale consultation or short sale kit please contact The Ballen Group at the number below.