Home Equity Loan Modification Application Loan: Fill & Download for Free

Load modifications aren't as common as they were several years ago. However, many lenders will still send you out a hardship application and work with you to try to keep you in the house and avoid foreclosure. You can be eligible for loan modification / restructure/ refinance for many different reasons.However, please be aware that some lenders may string you along on a loan modification / restructure and you could be losing valuable time that you need to save your house.I also don't recommend the companies that promise to go to the lender on your behalf and they charge you a large sum of money to do this. Any negotiations they could do, you can do. And many of those companies are known for taking your payment and never taking your call again.Filing for chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy can be a good alternative, if the lender won't work with you and you have other debt that is overwhelming you. I would definitely call and set up appointments with a couple bankruptcy attorneys (usually you get a free consult), and go over you whole financial situation with them. They can help steer you towards which Bankruptcy is right for you and make sure you would qualify.Working with the lender asap, in my opinion, should always be first. I've seen lenders do some great things to help keep of my clients in their homes.But a bankruptcy isn't a bad option, and I would make appointments with attorneys, the sooner the better. This way you have a back up plan if the lender doesn't come through and help you get back on track with your payments.If you can get your payments affordable again and avoid the Bankruptcy that would be fantastic. But again, if you have a lot of debt then the bankruptcy my be the best thing to give you the most relief financially.Good luck and just remember to keep in touch with the lender. Speak with a supervisor or even go above the supervisor’s head,if need be, to ensure they are doing everything they can for you. I know the automated calls are annoying but if you are speaking with someone about your loan then typically the automated calls will stop, giving you time to work out payment arrangements with the lender.

The flaw in your question here is the phrase “it seems”. You probably shouldn’t make such bold public assumptions without first having all the facts.I’ve worked off and on in various aspects of the mortgage loan industry and I’ve seen a lot of things that the average person doesn’t see or know about. In the rise up to the 2008 meltdown housing prices were climbing so fast that it didn’t seem to matter if appraisals were exaggerated because everyone figures that a house appraised at $500,000 today would be $505,000 next month so who cares? This made what would have otherwise have been questionable loan applications become approved more readily. Everyone was pretending that the bottom would never drop out of the market so normal precautions were being ignored. Of course by borrowers, but even more so by lenders. It was no big surprise, to me anyway, when the bottom did in fact fall out.After the melt down these same lending institutions, deemed “too big to fail”, were given huge sums of money as a bail-out - an attempt, began by Bush and continued by Obama, to stimulate the collapsing economy. Part of the government’s package included rules that forced these same lending institutions to accept terms of loan modification with regard to homeowners who were either upside down in their mortgage or were behind on their payments. I most recently worked in the industry that arranges these loan modification and in every case that I dealt with the homeowners were desperate to stay in their homes and continue to satisfy their financial obligations.Of course, I never came in contact with the ones who just decided to walk away and file for bankruptcy protection, because those cases didn’t come across my desk. But I do personally know several people who have been forced to go this route and not one of them took it lightly. In one case a friend, through a divorce and personal financial disaster became behind on his mortgage and couldn’t continue to pay it. He put the house on the market but was upside down and had to sell it at a loss. This left a balance on the mortgage that he was still responsible for - a debt on a house he no longer owned. He did eventually file bankruptcy but when you do that you become a credit pariah for years.

What is a bridge loan?A bridge loan is a short-term loan that allows a property owner to borrow against the equity within their existing property to purchase a new property. Once the new property is purchased the previous property is sold, which pays off the bridge loan. Bridge loans can be used for both residential and commercial real estate. The borrower may be a homeowner buying a home or a real estate investor purchasing new real estate.Bridge Loan DefinitionA commonly accepted definition of a bridge loan is a short-term loan against a borrower’s current property used to purchase a new property, at which point the original property is sold to pay off the bridge loan. The bridge loan “bridges the gap” between the existing property and the new property. A borrower should consider all the pros and cons of bridge loans prior to applying for funding.Bridge Loan MisconceptionsSome borrowers mistakenly refer to any short-term or temporary loan as a bridge loan. While the term “bridge loan” is commonly used to describe any type of temporary financing, this does not accurately represent the true definition of a bridge loan.How Does a Bridge Loan Work? A Bridge Loan ExampleA family owns a home which they currently live in. The family wishes to move to a new home, but they don’t have the necessary cash on hand for a down payment or all-cash offer. However, they do have a large amount of equity within their current home. Selling their home to raise the cash for their next home purchase would be an option although it may costly and inconvenient.– Scenario 1: Moving without a Bridge LoanThe family moves out of their current home and rents a property temporarily while they sell their home. Once the home is sold they have the cash needed to purchase the new home. The family moves for the second time from the rental property to the new home.– Scenario 2: Moving with a Bridge LoanThe family remains in their current home while they obtain a residential bridge loan. Once the bridge loan has funded the family used the bridge loan proceeds to purchase their new home. The family moves into the new home and then sells the previous home which pays off the bridge loan.Who Offers Bridge Loans? Where to get a Bridge LoanMany bridge loan lenders are private hard money lenders. Some credit unions and banks may offer bridge loans, but many do not as they prefer to fund long-term loans. Hard money lenders are short-term lenders and happy to provide funding for bridge loans.Hard money bridge loan lenders have higher interest rates than conventional lenders. Although the rates are higher, hard money lenders are able to provide a much faster and easier approval and funding process. For an owner-occupied property, expect the approval and fund for a hard money bridge loan to take 2-3 weeks while a bank bridge loan may take 30-45+ days. If the real estate being used as collateral is an investment property, the hard money bridge loan can be approved and funded within 5 days if needed.Ability to Repay Exemption for Owner Occupied Bridge LoansA bridge loan with a term of 12 months of less is exempt from the Ability to Repay Rule. In the case of a bridge loan, the existing property that will be sold as soon as the new property is acquired serves as repayment for the loan. Income documentation from the borrower is not required.Any other owner-occupied loan requires a borrower to meet the Ability to Repay requirement by proving their income with 3rd party documentation such as tax returns, W2s or paystubs.Not having to provide proof of sufficient income is especially beneficial for various individuals such as:seniors or retirees with limited incomeself-employed individualsthose without significant income in the past few yearsFlexibility of Bridge LoansBridge loans can used be used in a variety of ways in order to help accomplish the current financing goals of the borrower. As previously stated, the bridge loan can be secured against the existing real estate owned by the borrower. A bridge loan is also able to be used in reverse order by having the bridge loan secured against the new real estate which is being purchased. If needed, a bridge loan may be secured by both the existing and new property.Bridge Loans – Loan to Value RatiosBridge loan lenders typically can provide a loan to value of up to 70-75% of the current value of the property. If the property currently has an existing mortgage the bridge loan lender will want to refinance this balance and provide a new 1st loan.Bridge Loan Rates and FeesBridge loan lenders are commonly private, hard money lenders as opposed to conventional lenders such banks and credit unions. Bridge loan rates from hard money lenders are frequently in the range of 8-11% depending on various factors such as the lender, location, property, requested loan to value and strength of the borrower.The Bridge loan lender will likely charge approximately 1.5-3 points as an origination fee. For example, 2 points would be a fee of 2% of the loan amount. Some lenders may also add other expenses to the loan which may be called document fees, application fees, or processing fees. Borrowers are advised to ask upfront about all fees the lender will charge.Prepayment Penalties – Lenders are not allowed to charge prepayment penalties for owner-occupied property due to the current federal regulations. Prepayment penalties may or may not be charged for bridge loans against investment property.While bridge loan rates from hard money lenders are higher than conventional bank loans, the speed of approval and funding are often worth the added cost. Because bridge loans are written for 12 months or less, the borrower only has the higher interest rate for months, not years.How to Qualify for a Bridge LoanQualifying for a bridge loan from a hard money lender is simple. The borrower first needs to fill out a brief loan application provided by the bridge loan lender. The borrower will need to have enough equity in their property based on the requested loan amount as well as enough cash on hand to make the monthly mortgage payment while the bridge loan is outstanding.As stated previously, the Ability to Repay Rule does not apply to bridge loans. Therefore, income documentation and qualification based on debt to income ratio is not required. As long as the borrower has sufficient equity, hard money bridge loan lenders are able to overlook poor credit and other negative issues on a borrower’s record such as loan modifications, short sales, foreclosures, a deed in lieu or bankruptcies.How is a Bridge Loan Different from a Hard Money Loan?A hard money loan is financing provided by private investors as opposed to institutions such as credit unions and banks. A bridge loan would also be a hard money loan if it were funded by hard money lenders.A bridge loan refers to what the borrower is looking to accomplish with the financing while “hard money” refers to source of the financing.