Do I qualify for a loan modification?

That's a great question with no clear cut answer. Unfortunately I will have to respond as a lawyer and say, it depends.

For the most part, you must have some sort of hardship (lost job, health issues, decline in revenues/pay, bankruptcy, etc). Next, a potential loan modification will depend on several variables including but not limited to the outstanding loan amount, how many loans there are (1st, 2nd and sometimes 3rds), who the owner of the loan is (not necessarily the bank as they are often just the servicing company acting on behalf of the investor that actually owns your loan), where your property is located, what the recent comparable sales in your neighborhood are, whether the property is your primary residence, how much income you have, can you document it, and are you behind on your payment.

Depending on your answer to most, if not all, of these questions will depend on whether you qualify. A lot of it boils down to a negotiation, which is where an experience lawyer can help. My law firm handles loan modifications. We do work in California and have referral lawyers in Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Our phone number is 310-780-8275 and our website address is www.sbaylaw.com.

Loan modifications - can you do it on your own?

The simple answer is yes - but you must be persistent and organized. Under the Obama plan you should be able to do most of the work yourself. There's a big "however" though. It's been my experience that the larger players (B of A (and legacy Countrywide), Wells Fargo (and legacy Wachovia), Aurora, American Home Mortgage Servicing as well as a slew of others) have been consistently dragging their feet. They play games which usually revolve around not being able to find the information you've sent in multiple times via email and fax. Then when they do finally find it, they don't have updated information, which essentially requires you to start over again, waiting a week or more for them to be able to figure out if the fax came in and was flagged to your account.

All the while, you are falling further behind and foreclosure is coming closer and closer. If this has been your experience, it may be time to contact an attorney who handles loan modifications and foreclosure prevention.

My firm, South Bay Law Group, P.C. handles loan modifications and foreclosure prevention matters in California. We also have referral attorneys in Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Our phone number is 310-780-8275 and our website is www.sbaylaw.com.