05-30-08

The Hope Now Alliance has helped 183,000 homeowners last month. This brings the Hope Now total to 1.6 million homeowners who received help and a loan modification with the alliance's help. This is a 7.6% increase in loan modifications over the previous month. Which is astonishing good news for those who where able to use the alliance and receive a loan modification that will allow them to keep their homes and put foreclosure fears behind them hopefully for good.

But the bad news also increased as RealtyTrac reported that foreclosure filings are up 65% over this time last year, meaning that 243,353 homeowners received a foreclosure letter from their bank. At this current rate about 1,000,000 American homeowners will be in foreclosure on by the end of this year.

Homeowners are urged to request modifications instead of workouts. The difference is that workouts simply increase what you have to pay per month until you are caught up which in most cases is not a solution, whereas a modification rolls all costs and past due amounts into a new mortgage usually at a fixed rate. Everyone needs to be aware that they should be requesting modifications not workouts.

To make matters worse home values continue to decline making refinance at banks other then your own a very difficult if not impossible spin if you are in negative equity. This often will force homeowners to stay with their current bank in which they may push a workout on you but it is up to you to make sure they try for a complete modification instead.

Discuss the news here