In today's world Bank are more and more cautious, the quality control process is getting more and more stringent and the methods and procedures that the banks are using today is insurmountable by most individuals and borrowers. Most lenders are now using a report that can actually give them every thing you did for the last 20 years, including where you lived, what you owned, where you worked, what taxes you paid, how you paid, and even how your previous mortgages were signed. They know fairly quickly if that rental property was purchased as a primary home or vice verso. The days of banks not doing any due diligence are fairly well over, and even though it seems that it is a "too little, too late" mentality the quality controls in place today are working.

This is why it is so important that you discuss with your lender or loan officer what you really intend to do with the property you are purchasing. If you are buying a home and really do not intend to live in that home, you must disclose it. Sure it would be nice to get that loan with far less money down, or at the more attractive terms that offered to individuals who intend to occupy rather rent the home, but not disclosing can lead to disaster. I have actually seen banks that will hire someone post closing (usually within the first 6 months) to go out and verify if the borrower is actually living in the house. Among other things they will also verify whose name the utilities are in. Guess what, if you bought as a primary home and rented it instead of moving in, you have big trouble on your hands now. At the best case, you loan will be called due in full. You then have 30 days to payoff the mortgage or the bank will start foreclosure proceedings. This can destroy you financially as well as ruin your credit. At the worst case, and I have seen this happen, they will charge you with fraud and material misrepresentation and will attempt to prosecute you. This is bigger trouble than it is worth for slight difference in rates and terms. Granted you may in the short term get away with putting less money down, but what good is it when you will be faced with all these potential problems.

A good Loan Officer or Lender can help you navigate the financial products and tools that are available to you for your particular scenario. They will help you assess the situation and recommend different financing programs that will help you accomplish your goals and needs. Lending is very finite today, and you must have a professional that knows all the guidelines, and all the products that you can leverage to accomplish your goals. A good Loan Officer or Lender can help you accomplish your goals and keep you out of trouble.  In today's world you should be interviewing your Lender just as much as they interview you for obtaining the loan. I would recommend you ask your Loan Officer the following questions;

How long have been a Loan Officer?

Where have you worked over the last 5 years? (Hint you want someone with at least 5 years of experience)

What type of continuing education have you had?

Are you familiar with all the legal changes in the lending industry over the past 12 months? What are they? (If they can not answer this, you know the answer!)

What type of loan products do you have available?

What area of lending are you most experienced in?

It is just as important for you to know about your Loan Officer as it is for them to know about you. Avoid unforeseen problems, by becoming the most educated consumer you can be. A true professional will have no problem answering your questions, those that do not want to answer your questions or give you a hard time should throw an immediate red flag.

Please also remember just because you do business with Big Bank ABC, with regard to your checking / Savings does not always mean they are the best option for financing. Check with your local lenders as well, you will be surprised to find out that Big Bank ABC does not always offer the best terms.

Steve Fingerman

OK so I am pretty new here, but I will do my best and see where this takes me. As a disclaimer I have to tell you all that I am no expert in grammatical syntax, nor am I great at editorials and proof reading. With that said, lets dive right in and talk about the train wreck we all know as Loan Modifications.

     For the past few years I have seen the banks do the craziest things I think I have ever witnessed in career as a mortgage banker. Repeatedly banks have made stupid decisions that in the end have cost them more money. Now I'm OK with a bank losing money but here is where the problem truly lies. When the banks that are "too big to fail" loose their money, we as the tax payers almost always are called upon to come to the rescue. Not all bail outs are necessarily a bad thing, and I believe that some of the steps taken were much needed. So what is my problem you ask? The problem is this, while we cumulatively have stepped up and propped up the banks we did this under the understanding that it would spur lending. The problem is that for all the billions of dollars spent, we have no more lending today then we did a year ago or even 2 years ago. What we do have though is new regulations that are supposed to help protect consumers. So do you feel protected? I didn't think so! The problem is that all we have truly done is make it more difficult for most consumers to seek out help. I know there have been all kinds of horror stories about loan modification companies taking money from distressed home owners and not performing the services. These criminals should be punished to full extent of the law. Unfortunately because of these criminals the laws have significantly changed, and you now can not charge a client any up front fees unless you are an attorney or work directly under an attorney. There lies the next problem, it seems that many of the loan modification companies have now partnered with attorneys and therefore are getting away with charging large up front fees. Now there is nothing wrong with earning what you are worth, but many times over I find myself sitting with a client who has paid some so called attorney representing loan modifications thousands of dollars only to find out the firm did nothing to help them. Some of the worst ones have even told the clients to not pay their mortgage only making their situation worse.

    After months of work, and analysis we have come up with a system designed to help borrowers do their own loan modifications using software similar to what the banks themselves are using. You can find it at www.myloanmodificationstation.com. The Loan Modification Station is designed to let a borrower log into the system enter all their personal data and get a complete loan modification package that is complete and professionally prepared, ready to send to their bank. The best part is that we have made the system affordable for almost everybody. The pricing is set at only $119.00 for a complete DIY scenario, and $295.00 with full support. While we do not negotiate on the borrowers behalf we do offer full support with regard to negotiation tactics, responses, and procedures. We understand that many distressed home owners are already under enough pressure and when we designed the system it was designed with the thought that it had to be affordable. The last thing we wanted to do was put an undo burden on someone who is already in distress financially.

      The Loan Modification Station will also give the client a complete proposal, financial statements, hardhip letters, a hardship affidavit and even a complete risk analysis showing the lender their potential loss vs the benefit of modifying the loan.

Please visit www.myloanmodificationstation.com for complete details and information. The system is designed to be easy to use, and consumer friendly. Please also remember that you do not have to be currently in default to be eligible to modify your mortgage. You do however have to be in imminent danger of default. This means that if you have found yourself in situation where your income no longer covers your expenses you qualify under President's Mortgage Modification Program. The same applies if you have exhausted most of your savings to just cover your expenses. Remember that the consumer can do their own Loan Modification but a complete and professional package from www.myloanmodificationstation.com will help make sure you get the best terms possible from your lender.

We are also working on a version of the software that will apply the same principals to short sales, and allow someone to enter the same data and get a complete short sale package with risk analysis, proposal, hardship letters and any other related documents that may be required. Stay tuned for more information. When that launches, it will have a small monthly access fee which will allow agents to use the system as frequently as they need it for a small monthly access fee.

Steve Fingerman
Realtor / Mortgage Banker