Is the Other Shoe About to Drop in the Mortgage Meltdown?

The original mortgage meltdown was laid squarely at the door of the subprime mortgage market. Heavily marketed to anyone and everyone who could not qualify for a home loan with their current credit record and income to debt ratios, these subprime loans took risks that banks and investors would normally stay away from. Fast forwarding to today, banks and investors are either bankrupt or in desperate need as the mortgage meltdown sent all those who applied for and received no money down, interest only adjustable rate mortgages into foreclosures.

There is now talk that a second shoe is about to drop in the mortgage meltdown, and some market insiders claim that this time it will actually be worse than the first time around. The names of the mortgages that are going to add to the foreclosure crisis are those known as Alt-A and Option Arm documents. Alt-A loans are virtually identical to the subprime mortgages, except that they were offered to would be homeowners whose credit did not have blemishes sufficient enough to qualify them for subprime paper. As such, these loans were considered a fair to good credit risk.

Unfortunately, over the last few years the debtors holding these loans have suffered under the recession, and as such these loans, too, are now beginning to default. The other portion of the equation are the Option Arm loans that are somewhat more daring in that they offered the mortgage payer to exercise a certain amount of control over the repayment terms for the mortgage. The philosophy was great: homeowners could choose to repay their loans with principal and interest or simply pay the interest. Of course, while the ARM has been adjusting upward steadily, homeowners have barely hung on and paid the minimum payments.

As a result, these homeowners have next to no equity. Since home prices have dropped significantly from the day the loan was underwritten, homeowners now find themselves seriously upside down in their loans, making it virtually impossible to extricate themselves from the tangled mess. Option Arm increases are estimated to increase average mortgages by $700 to almost $1,000 per month, making it virtually impossible for the homeowner to continue making the payments. Although it is hard to pinpoint when this show of the mortgage meltdown is going to drop, industry insiders suggest that it will be in 2010, when the next wave of foreclosures is going to hit the economy.

It is questionable if the market can withstand this kind of disaster in a time when it is barely dealing with the current recession and stemming the hemorrhage of lost jobs, failed businesses, and unrealized revenues. It is furthermore doubtful that administration advisers are looking ahead to the future of the mortgage market and truly understand the sheer volume of Alt-A and Option Arms mortgage loans that are coming home to roost. If alarmists are correct, it is this second shoe dropping that will make the first leg of the mortgage meltdown look like little more than a breeze in the storm of the recession.

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About the Author:

Krista Scruggs is an article contributor to Lender411.com. Whether you are looking for fixed mortgage rates, variable adjustable mortgage rates (ARM), jumbo loans,interest only or even specialized mortgages such as bad credit mortgage or reverse mortgages, we will match you with up to 4 qualified lenders with 4 mortgage quotes. and any other unique situation you might be in), we will match you up with the right company.

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Loan Modification Hate Talk

Many are fed up with all the hate talk about companies who are trying to reach out and help homeowners. Honest companies are negotiating loan modifications for people so they can keep their homes and end a disruptive cycle in families lives across this wonderful nation we call America.

Why should they have to hang their heads? They are not the one who loosened borrowing requirements, or the one who turned their back when it came time to enforce or change regulations when it became apparent several years ago we were headed down a very slippery slope.

“Yes, there are bad companies out there doing loan modifications, but there are bad companies in every sector of business.” Responded David Wilson of www.U.S.LoanModifier.com and then added, “We use Law Firms to handle every aspect of the negotiations with the lender. Homeowners are too stressed, and have never experienced anything like this, that is why the number of homeowners who go back into default on their loans is so high.”

Legitimate companies are regulated by different government agencies and make changes to stay in compliance as new regulations are passed. Legitimate companies are delighted when rip-off companies get shut down. Mr. Wilson adds, “It’s been what I often refer to as ‘wild and woolly days’ and that needs to stop.”

Homeowners can contact their lender and request a loan modification be done on the homeowner’s behalf. However, one should stop and reason the logic behind going to the same company and trusting that this time … this time, they will keep the homeowner’s need primary.

Most lenders are not required to follow President Obama’s guidelines under Making Home Affordable. Obama admits that if they use government money they would be required to at least try to make the guidelines work, but it is not mandated across the board.

Lenders do not want the government to step in, they lose too much money. The Lenders would rather modify the loan according to guidelines they’ve developed, which in some cases are very reasonable.

Unfortunately many homeowners that go directly to their lender are offered something less than an optimal loan modification and are offered only a forbearance agreement that actually raises the homeowner’s payment. That is why www.USLoanModifier.com has been so successful, they are an Expert Advisor to Law Firms that specialize in loan modification negotiations.

About the Author:

David Wilson is directly involved in the loan modification aspect of the real estate industry. He was former Assistant Modification Director for a company that has been doing loan modifications for 15 years and currently founded U.S. Loan Modifier, www.USLoanModifier.com, a company that uses Law Firms to negotiate loan modifications resulting in actively helping people save their homes. For over 12 years Mr. Wilson has been involved in selling real estate with a special interest in mortgage purchase money or refinancing. He knows how the hybrid mortgages and loan modifications work, allowing him to cut through all the hype.

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