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State Mortgage Refinancing Programs and Foreclosure Assistance
- Government mortgage help:
Many state governments have created their own mortgage assistance, refinancing programs, and programs to stop foreclosures. Locate your state.
- Foreclosure mediation programs:
Cities, counties, and state governments, as well as court systems, have created mediation programs that ensure lenders and homeowners meet with a mediator to explore all solutions to a foreclosure. Learn more on foreclosure mediation programs and whether your state offers one.
- Property tax help:
Since home values have declined in most parts of the nation, you are more than likely paying too much in property taxes. Learn how to lower your property taxes by contesting your property assessment. There is no cost to do this.
Loan Modifications
A loan modification makes it possible for a homeowner to
- receive a lower interest rate,
- borrowers can have late fees waived,
- receive extended repayment terms, and more.
The organization Loan Modifications Fast (link below) will provide you with free mortgage modification proposals. They have helped over 100,000 homeowners, and they match people who are behind or struggling with their mortgage to service providers who can help them keep their home by modifying their existing loan. It is free to request information and there is no cost or obligation.
Mortgage Help From Banks
- Mortgage forbearance programs are offered by numerous lenders, including Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citibank, and Wells Fargo. Forbearance allows borrowers a temporary suspension of their monthly mortgage payments. Learn more on mortgage forbearance.
- Associated Bank is offering a mortgage assistance program that will help the unemployed stay in their homes by modifying their monthly mortgage payment for up to 12 months. More.
- Bank of America Foreclosure Prevention - From January 2008 thru December 2009, BOA has modified over 600,000 mortgages. Bank of America offers homeowners several foreclosure and mortgage assistance programs, including modifications and other resources. Read more on Bank of America foreclosure programs.
- Citigroup will be providing mortgage help and assistance for up to 500,000 homeowners to stop foreclosures and to help homeowners stay in their homes. They will also provide additional mortgage assistance to the unemployed. More
- Countrywide / Bank of America have announced a program to help 400,000 homeowners pay their mortgage and keep them in their homes. More.
In addition, Countrywide will be spending billions of dollars to modify mortgages as a result of a lawsuit they settled.
- Fifth Third Bank offers the You Have Options mortgage and foreclosure assistance plan. It provides struggling homeowners a refinancing or loan modification option that will give them needed relief on their mortgage. Learn more.
- JP Morgan Chase / Washington Mutual have announced a $70 billion plan to help 400,000 homeowners. Read more.
Also, JP Morgan Chase has opened dozens of Homeownership Centers across the country to help facilitate mortgage assistance and provide face to face contact for troubled borrowers.
Find out more about additional programs and options now being offered by JP Morgan Chas. The programs are providing homeowners several additional options for mortgage and foreclosure assistance. They also want to prevent foreclosures. Click here.
- Marshall & Ilsley (M&I) bank offers a foreclosure moratorium to provide homeowners time to resolve mortgage issues, and also provides a Homeowner Assistance Program. Read more.
- Regions Bank has helped thousands of homeowners avoid foreclosure through a program called the Customer Assistance Program. More.
- Wachovia / Golden West/ Wells Fargo are helping up to 250,000 homeowners refinance and pay their mortgages. Continue.
- Wells Fargo Loan Modification Program - They offer two plans for homeowners. They include ProjectLifeline that delays the foreclosure process, and also the Fast-Trac solution for adjustable rate mortgages. These two mortgage and foreclosure assistance programs from Wells Fargo have helped thousands of homeowners. More.
-In addition to the loan modification programs mentioned above, Wells Fargo has other options and programs that struggling homeowners can use to get help with paying their mortgage. Find additional Wells Fargo mortgage assistance programs.
Organizations That Provide Mortgage Help
- The Cherokee Nation offers resources and guidance to assist homeowners and help them prevent a home foreclosure. Continue.
- Many Community Action Agencies have programs and resources that homeowners can take advantage of. While they primarily focus on providing counseling, some of the community action agencies can provide cash grants, mediation services, and other tools to help a homeowner prevent or stop a foreclosure filing. Click here to learn more.
- Mortgage and foreclosure assistance from the NeighborWorks America. They can provide help from the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling. More.
- Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America operates from over 40 offices across the nation and offers struggling homeowners numerous options to get mortgage help or prevent a foreclosure. Find more details.
- Save the Dream Tour: The NACA also has a venue to facilitate mortgage modifications. The Save the Dream Tour has tens of thousands of homeowners participating at each event, and thousands who attend have their mortgage restructured the same day. They can have their interest rates lowered to as low as 2%, or their principal reduced. More on the Save the Dream Tour.
- Union Plus provides mortgage assistance to union and organized labor members. Short and long term assistance can be provided to people who are struggling with their mortgage and housing expenses. Read.
Federal Government Mortgage Assistance
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are now owned by the federal government, are providing mortgage help to over 600,000 homeowners. More.
Freddie Mac has opened Borrower Help Centers in several cities around the country. The centers will provide people with mortgage assistance, loan modifications, overall debt counseling, and other resources to deal with mortgage and financial problems. Click here to learn more.
The Borrower Help Network has also been launched by Freddie Mac. This is yet another resource for homeowners to use if they need mortgage or foreclosure assistance. Click here to learn more.
- The federal government’s Making Home Affordable program is working with various banks and lenders to ensure that they provide millions of homeowners with loan modifications and other programs as a way to ensure they get relief from their mortgage payments. Click here.
If you are one of the millions of homeowners whose mortgage balance exceeds the current property value of your home, otherwise known as underwater, the federal government Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) or the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) mortgage assistance program may help.
- Many private and government grants can also be used to help pay your mortgage. While you do need to apply for grants, they can be another option to consider.
- Learn about a federal government program, Hope for Homeowners, that is offered through the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), that will help hundreds of thousands of homeowners pay or refinance their mortgages (including subprime). Help may even be available if the value of your home has significantly declined. More.
- The Hope for Homeowners program has been expanded. Families can now receive aid on a second mortgage. Banks and lenders have been provided further incentive to participate in the Hope for Homeowners program.
- Military Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) provides assistance to military service members and their families who are facing housing issues. More.
- Another multi-billion dollar government assistance program, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, has been created to provide states and homeowners with even more mortgage help. Continue.
- The FHA also greatly encourages that you explore all loan workout solutions with your lender. More.
Another program offered by the Federal Housing Administration is the FHA Home Affordable Modification Program (FHA-HAMP). This helps homeowners before they fall behind on their payments. Learn more.
- Find information on the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program, which is the new federal government short sale program. This is a plan created by the Obama administration that provides financial incentives to both homeowners and lenders, and also simplifies the process. Find more on the short sale program.
Options for Mortgage Help and Foreclosure Prevention
There are numerous solutions and programs that you and your lender can review. When it comes down to it, the solution to a foreclosure or mortgage problem will need to depend upon what you can afford to pay. This will be based upon, among other things, your income and expenses, what other assets and resources you have, the amount you are behind on your mortgage payments, what type of loan you have, and more. Some of options that can provide you with mortgage help and help stop a foreclosure include:
- Short sale can be an alternative to foreclosure, and it will allow you to sell your home for less than the current outstanding mortgage balance. Continue.
- Modify your mortgage loan. Loan modification can reduce your payments, waive fees, and more. Continue. More lenders are also offering loan modifications with interest rates as low as 2%. They have determined this is in their best financial interest as well. Learn more on low interest rate loan modifications.
- Mortgage principal reductions are becoming more common. The latest data shows that banks and lenders are forgiven, deferring or reducing the principal on about 15% of home mortgages. Find more information on mortgage loan principal reduction programs from banks.
- Short pay refinance is when the mortgage lender or lender will agree to reduce or discount your loan balance. This should be considered when the homeowner is facing an economic or financial hardship. A short pay refinance is when the home is refinanced with a new lender.
- Many banks and lenders are now offering Mortgage Forbearance agreements and programs. These agreements will either reduce or suspend the borrowers monthly payments.
- A deed in lieu of foreclosure is when a homeowner gives the lender back the convey and deeds the home back to the lender. This has several advantages for both the lender and the borrower, including less of an impact to credit scores, and it releases the homeowner from the debt they owe.
- Declare bankruptcy to stop the foreclosure process and possibly keep your home. Learn more.
- Do not vacate your home if you receive a foreclosure notice. Stay put in your home to delay the process. Continue.
Steps To Take Yourself To Help With Your Mortgage
(Mortgage counselors can also help you with your mortgage options.)
The last thing any homeowner wants is to face the stress of being behind on their mortgage payment, or worse yet, to think about, and possibly lose the family home to foreclosure or unpaid property taxes. No one ever plans to or expects to lose their home to foreclosure, but by understanding how you can obtain help with mortgage payments, who and how to ask for help, and what to do, you can reduce your chances of this occurring. You should also know the foreclosure process and what may lead up to it. That will place you in a better position to address and also recognize any potential problems that may impact your ability to pay every bill and make every mortgage payment on time.
Please be sure to visit the forum to ask for and seek help from members, share ideas and resources, and to assist others in need of help.
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