LOAN MODIFICATION - OREGON
Frequently Asked Questions
What Do We Do?
So we can determine the extent we will be able to help modify your problem home loan, we first need to conduct a comprehensive review of your loan and financial documents, and other personal information. We use this initial information to determine the extent to which your particular circumstances warrant relief under the various loan modification programs available. Further, we will then request a complete copy of your loan documents from your lender and once received we will attempt to determine whether there are any perceived violations of federal or state law.
In the second stage of our program, once we decide on the appropriate course of action, FMG will negotiate on your behalf directly with the lender to seek to obtain an offer from them to modify your loan.
If we are not able to negotiate modified loan terms with your lender that are acceptable to you, then we can work with you to negotiate either a short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or forbearance with your lender on your behalf. The flat fees for those services are not included in the flat fee charged for either stage one (loan/financial document review) or stage two (modification of loan terms). We can discuss the flat fee to be charged for that phase if and when the need arises. Any litigation that would be filed on your behalf is not a part of this flat fee program.
What Can You Expect to Happen Once You Submit a Mortgage Mitigation Program Application to FMG?
After our receipt of the signed retainer we send to you, and the complete Mortgage Mitigation Application package and payment of the initial retainer is returned by you to FMG, you can expect the following to occur:
a. Client Orientation. At the initiation of our Mortgage Mitigation Program, you will participate by telephone in a Client Orientation meeting with one of FMG's mortgage mitigation consultants and/or qualified customer service representatives (CSRs). Either at that time, or within four (4) working days from the time of your file submission, and after a FMG attorney has conducted a preliminary review of your file, you will be advised that the application has been accepted, qualifying you for participation in FMG's flat fee Mortgage Mitigation Program. Should FMG determine at that point in time that your particular case is not one that FMG will be able to provide any potential mortgage mitigation relief, then the flat fee paid by you will be refunded to you on a 100% no-cost basis.
b. Follow-Up re: Completeness of Application Documents. Once your application is accepted in FMG's Mortgage Mitigation Program, all of your information is reviewed by FMG's mortgage mitigation consultants to determine that your application is complete, and we will follow up with you as needed to ensure the package is completed.
c. Comprehensive Review of Loan Documents and Personal Information. Your completed loan documents and other relevant personal information provided will undergo an exhaustive review process, and FMG's mortgage mitigation consultants and negotiators will work with you to prepare a package of paperwork that will have the best possible chance of success with your lender.
d. Loan Document Review. FMG will strive to complete the initial document review and preparation of your packet for submission to your lender within fourteen (14) working days from FMGs receipt of the final, complete information packet, which must include all supplemental information requested by FMG before it is deemed to be complete. Thereafter FMG will initiate a course of action for mortgage relief, and any findings FMG has made regarding actual or potential violations of federal or state lending laws FMG was able to locate in the loan documents you have provided will be brought to the attention of your lender.
e. Negotiation of Mortgage Mitigation Option(s). Once you and FMG agree on the course of mitigation you wish to pursue, FMG will take your case through the agreed stage of avoidance of foreclosure, and will keep you apprised on a regular basis of the progress of your case, up to the final outcome through regular contact by either telephone, telefax, email, or mail. The potential mitigation options FMG may be able to negotiate with Client's lender include the following:
(1) Loan Modification: Your lenders agree to modify the terms of your loan, such as reducing monthly payment amounts, the loan balance, or the interest rate, or fixing an adjustable rate.
(2) Short-Sale: An agreement by the lender to reduce the payoff balance that allows you to sell your home at the reduced price to a buyer that you or your real estate agent has found.
(3) Forbearance: A modified repayment agreement that lasts for a period of time. The goal of this plan is to allow you to catch up on any delinquent mortgage payments, while making current payments.
(4) Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure: Giving the lender possession and title to your home rather than going through the foreclosure process.
Should FMG determine that none of these above options would be helpful to your given case, FMG may be able to refer you to other professionals, such as credit repair specialists or bankruptcy counsel, who can assist you further in terms of other forms of debt relief that are not part of FMG's program.
How Long Will The Process Take?
Assuming you otherwise qualify, and that the lender and you are able agree to an acceptable modification of your home loan, the loan modification process typically takes between 90-150 working days from when FMG first receives a complete loan modification application from you and commences work on your behalf.
Why Use An Attorney to Seek Mortgage Mitigation?
FMG and its staff are trained on how to negotiate. We know the law and how to apply the law to your best advantage. The flat fees earned are for FMG obtaining an offer of modified loan terms from your lender or loan servicer, whether or not these negotiated terms ultimately are accepted by you.
There of course are no guarantees on how long it will take you and your lender to reach an agreement on an acceptable loan modification, if ever, or that the lender even will offer any loan modification, or that FMG can actually reach a point where the proposed loan modification offer negotiated with your lender would be acceptable to you.
What is certain, however, is that FMG's trained negotiators are better equipped to address these loan modification issues than an average homeowner, and that FMG's attorneys and staff will work to get the best offer we are able to negotiate on your behalf.
Also, if loan modification turns out not to be available, or is not a viable option for you, FMG is better equipped than the average homeowner to negotiate and close a deal on other alternatives to loan modification, including forbearance, a short sale, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
Why Pay for a Review of Loan Documents?
If in the course of FMG's loan document review we are able to identify potential violations of federal or state law in your loan documents, we would expect that sort of information would help us negotiate a better loan modification than otherwise would be possible without this sort of information. Without a loan document review that finds the lender has potentially violated federal or state lending laws, even with current government programs that are now in place urging lenders to participate in aggressive loan modification programs, you still are at the mercy of the lender to provide a loan modification upon their terms.
That is not to say that you will need to show the existence of some discernible violation of federal or state lending law in your loan documents in order to modify your loan - - it just means that you likely will have a much better chance at loan modification if FMG is able to negotiate on your behalf from a position of strength because we are able to locate such problems in your loan documents.
Why Wait?
The earlier you get started on this mortgage mitigation process, the better your chances are of our being able to negotiate modified terms of your home loan that you can manage under your current financial circumstances. Once you have achieved a loan modification that fits your current ability to pay, so long as you stay current on your new payment schedule obligation, you will stay on in your house without the cloud of foreclosure.
For additional information, please contact our Mortgage Mitigation Department toll free at (888) 416-7093 option 5, or Andrea Grant at agrant@fmglegal.com or (858) 642-2002 x 359.
Nevada State License No. 3330