Stated income home loans are now a thing of the past as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suffer with more defaults. Now consumers must qualify with full documentation and won't be able to qualify due to debt to income ratios. This will affect over 70% of California and Florida homeowners needing to refinance their adjustable rate mortgage as well as many more across the country.
With so many people facing rate adjustments this year the only choice may be a work out with their lender or foreclosure . The problem is in most cases these people can not get their lender to listen or even take their call until they are in foreclosure.
One of the main wholesale lenders INDY MAC BANK just toppled and taken over by the FDIC as well as the others facing bleak portfolios consumed by option ARM's as well as subprime loans due to increase as much as 5.00%. Countrywide Bank, Wells Fargo, EMC, Washington Mutual, Downey Savings, Wachovia (formerly World Savings) to name a few, are all facing troubled times if they haven't seen enough already.
If a consumer is facing hardship and the bank refuses to listen what is one to do short of being foreclosed on and ruining their hard earned credit. What do you normally do when you are in trouble or over your head? Hire an attorney!
Most Banks will not even speak with you unless you are down 3-4 months or more on your mortgage and by that time your credit is shot and you may never qualify for a secured loan at a fair interest rate again. Loan Modification companies are crawling out the wood work to take your money and submit your paperwork to your lender and try to modify your loan(you can do this yourself).
The problem is the lenders/servicers are overwhelmed with defaults. They are understaffed and the staff they have is overwhelmed these days and it's about to get worse.
There appear to be a few Law Offices in California that specialize in negotiating with lenders and for much less than the cost of a refinance. A lawyer can work miracles especially if they find RESPA or TILA violations to use for leverage. They know how to talk their language and get the lender to the bargaining table. You hire an Attorney and next thing you know those people in the Loss Mitigation and legal department are your best friend. Sad but true!
