Expert Q&A Archive

Loan modifications are free and should be directly handled with your bank. Be wary of anyone who charges such high fees for this service, as you can do it yourself

This is a little tricky to answer. Let me start by saying that no legitimate HUD-approved housing counseling agency should be charging you any fees for housing counseling, and a housing counselor will be able to help you with obtaining a loan modification if you are an appropriate candidate, for which there are a lot of determining factors. Your mortgage company might ask that you bring money to the table as a down payment to be approved for a modification, or they could even charge varying fees for modifying your loan, but that shouldn't occur when you are being approved for a Making Home Affordable modification www.makinghomeaffordable.gov. Finally, you should never pay a third party company to modify your loan with your mortgage company. If you can afford to pay their fee, you would be much better off to apply that money directly to your past due balance and get help from a HUD- approved housing counselor. Look at http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/local.cfm to find a list of HUD-approved housing counselors in your area.