What If A Modification Still Doesn’t Give Me An Affordable House Payment?

The purpose of modifying your mortgage loan is to get a lower payment. But in some rare instances, it is possible that the modification actually results in a higher payment or a payment that is not lower enough to make much of a difference in your monthly budget. This might be due to the repayment term length, or some other factor, but when it happens it can be discouraging. Many families who seek a modification only to learn their payments will not be more manageable believe they are at the end of the list of options to get out of debt. But that is not true. There are other things you can do to take control of your finances, and we can help.

If your attempt to have your mortgage modified does not give you a payment that is within your budget, consider some of these alternatives:

•         Refinancing your mortgage, which can still give you a lower interest rate and thus a lower payment. This route might require you to come up with some out of pocket closing costs, whereas a mortgage modification typically does not. But you can ask that any of those costs be included in the refinance, which is also a feature of a mortgage modification.

•         Taking out the equity in your home to pay off higher rate debts such as credit cards, and then putting the money you were spending each month on credit cards towards your house payment. While this does require you to take out another loan on your home, it can generally be done at a lower interest rate that what you are paying for other debts, resulting in an overall lower interest rate for your cumulative debt load.

•         Filing for the protection of bankruptcy, which will allow you to eliminate or reduce some of your debts and thus give you more disposable income each month to lighten the load.

A mortgage modification can really help you to get a handle on your house payments, but it is not the only answer. If you are turned down for a mortgage loan modification, or the offer does not give you enough relief, talk to us about your other options. We will let you know what might work best for you, and help you make a decision that makes sense.

For more information about how to modify your mortgage payment, call us today or reach us online at www.law-ri.com. We offer appointments at multiple locations for your convenience and can schedule a time to visit with you soon.