Foreclosure and Loan Modification Blog

Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 5,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.

If bad lending and greed made the foundation the foreclosure crisis was built upon, then its two pillars were long-term unemployment and footdragging by the banks. This homeowner and his wife had experienced all of these aspects of the foreclosure crisis, but with our help, they were able to right their lives again and get back on track to a bright financial future.

A Bleak Situation

When this homeowner initially retained us in late 2012, he was in a very bad way. He was over 3 years past due on his $2600 mortgage payment to American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc (AHMSI), he was no longer employed and his only source of income was social security. His wife was unemployed too, and was receiving unemployment benefits. The homeowner had already had a loan modification on his property a few years before, but it didin't do much to change his situation. We attempted to see if the homeowner was eligible for UP (the government's special loan modification program for long-term unemployed). The homeowner and his wife weren't eligible because they didn't meet all the requirements. They also weren't eligible for any other options because if you're on unemployment, there ARE no other loan modification options.

By February 2013, the homeowner decided to proceed with a strategic default foreclosure defense strategy instead of a loan modification-only strategy, which we had suggested. Under this strategy, our legal team would slow down the foreclosure process until the homeowner and his wife were able to acquire additional sources of income. Afterward, we would submit their loan modification package for approval by the bank.

Getting Through Unemployment Unscathed

By June 2013, the husband had acquired an additional source of income and his wife had gotten a new job, but a foreclosure lawsuit had been filed against the homeowner by Ocwen (the mortgage had been transferred to Ocwen from AHMSI). We submitted a loan modification package to Ocwen, and Ocwen approved a trial loan modification by the end of July. Under the terms of the trial loan modification, the homeowner would have to pay a $920 trial payment every month for 3 months, and then he would be approved for a permanent loan modification.

The homeowner fulfilled his trial loan modification and was awarded a permanent loan modification by the end of July. Under the terms of the permanent loan  modification, the homeowner's payment would stay at the trial modification figure of $920 (roughly a 65% reduction) and his interest rate would nearly be halved from 9.92% to a more manageable 5%. Our lawyers were now free to move to have the foreclosure case permanently dismissed.

This is just one homeowner whose life has been changed for the better with Amerihope Alliance Legal Services. Our team has helped over 5,000 homeowners obtain loan modifications, and looks forward to brightening the future for homeowners, their families, and even entire neighborhoods.