After the economic collapse, many banks were found to be practicing scrupulous techniques that resulted in people losing their homes when they didn’t have to. Banks were ordered to pay fines, and some homeowners were finally approved for the help they needed to avoid or recover from home foreclosure. One Florida woman found that the value of her home decreased, but she has recently received the help she needs to keep her home.
The woman had a mortgage of $4,600 and found herself falling behind when her income decreased and her business slowed way down. The value of her home was plummeting, so she was unable to get her lender to refinance the mortgage. The woman ended up behind to the tune of four years’ worth of payments and on the verge of losing her home.
She then enrolled in a program run by the federal government, and it is estimated that nearly 82,000 people or more are eligible for the program in Florida. This allowed her to get the much-needed loan modification that would allow her to keep her home. One problem still posed in Florida seems to be confusion over the programs, who qualifies and the amount of paperwork that is needed to enroll.
A loan modification is a useful tool to avoid home foreclosure and has been a life-saver for countless homeowners in Florida and across the country. Anyone behind in payments may want to explore this option along with others. It is vital that homeowners understand what can be done and find out all options before accepting home foreclosure as the only means of dealing with economic struggles. In many cases, filing for bankruptcy can help rid a person of debt so that a home can be kept and one can move forward without struggling financially.
Source: cbsnews.com, “There’s help available for homeowners with high mortgages“, Vicente Arenas, July 14, 2014