Establishing good credit takes years so you don’t want to throw all that away by missing your monthly mortgage payments. If you find that you are going to be falling behind more than a month, the best thing to do is to contact your lender immediately.

Mortgage Modification Help
Seeking a mortgage modification can be confusing, but there is plenty of help available these days. Most of the time, homeowners are mot aware of their options and not sure who to turn too when they realize they have a financial crisis and cannot make their monthly mortgage payment.

Several options are available to borrowers to seek advice on mortgage modifications:

• Mortgage Modification Company
• Attorney
• HUD credit counselor
• Lender or mortgage broker

The government’s new mortgage modification plan is helping many homeowners save their home by putting together lenders and their borrowers to modifying the borrower’s existing mortgage to lower the payment to an affordable amount. You must reside in the home as your primary residence and show that you have sufficient income to be able to pay the new mortgage payment.

What Documentation is Necessary to Provide to the Lender?
Your lender will want to make sure you can document your income so they will require the following information:

• Your last two paycheck stubs. If you are self –employed, then a financial statement.
• W-2 or 10099 for the last two years.
• Your most recent bank statement.
• Copy of our latest tax return.
• Hardship letter explain your financial situation and why you cannot afford your currently mortgage payments.
• Borrower’s financial statement showing your assets and liabilities.

How Long Will It Take to Get Approved
Mortgage modifications are taking approximately 90 days before you get a response. The lenders are overwhelmed and understaffed so they are not able to get to all the applications quickly. The new guidelines under the government plan should help streamline the process now.

Be patient, but be persistent. Hiring a mortgage modification company will help you facilitate the process since they are experts in this area and can get results for you. If you do decide to do it no our own, then keep calling your lender every day to find out the status of your application.

Do Loan Modifications Really Work?
Past experiences have shown that large number borrowers have defaulted. The modification will work if you can afford the payments. If you do not have a steady income, then you will not qualify for a modification and will need to seek another option. Consult with an attorney or financial advisor to determine which options are available to you.

As always, thanks for reading this post and if you enjoyed it be sure to comment below. Also, check out our FREE 2009 Loan Modification Guide: Saving Your Home From Foreclosure.