Loan Modification

Buyer beware. It is the elusive – omni-present , secret desire in everyone’s heart –the quick fix! "I just have to take a pill and lose 20 pounds", "I just need to buy this book or DVD" and untold riches are just around the next corner. Secretly we all wish for that magic fix that makes a problem go away. When buying pills or books or DVDS your penalty for failure is very limited. A hundred bucks or less but when it comes to your financial picture the costs can be very high.

By now the intellectual side of us knows better but the emotional side of us is easy prey for next “quick fix” scheme headed right for us. So watch out emotional selves! Here comes the loan modification – debt reduction industry gunning for you. Daily, I am floored by the outrageous claims I see being made in some of the advertisements out there. If you were to believe them you would think you basically just had to call the advertiser and when you awoke tomorrow all your debts would be gone and your loan would be modified to suit you. And your life would return to “normal.” MSNBC had a story on this not too long ago and the overriding thing that I took away from this story was how vunerable we all are to this type of crime. The court systems and law enforcement are overwhelmed. If you give money to someone who doesn’t do what they promised your remedies are very weak, time consuming and financially draining. In a situation where the problem is finances it is a no win scenario.

Important rule of thumb: In California a person collecting an upfront fee to negotiate mortgage debt on your behalf must be registered with the Department of Real Estate. Go to this website to check them out. While this is not an endorsement of their services it is a basic litmus test. If they have not even done this there is the first red flag for you clobbering you over the head!

Use caution, know what is being offered, know who you are dealing with. A good first step is to have an idea of what you might be eligible for. Call your lender and ask for any information they will send you. Here is a great link to the Suze Orman website and a one page summary of options that you may have.