While the United States of America is close to three (3) years into the loan modification process, many homeowners still do not understand the basic guidelines to actually qualify for this government backed program. They are as follows:   Qualification guidelines for HAMP   ·                     The house to be mortgaged should be the primary residence of the homeowner and not an investment property. It also takes Read More

A new program called The Home Affordable Unemployment Program has been announced by the Treasury Department, and took effect on July 1, 2010.  This new program provides servicers the flexibility to provide assistance to borrowers whose hardship is related to unemployment.  According to this new program, when a borrower is unemployed, a HAMP trial period plan or permanent HAMP modification may not be offered to the Read More

In order to foreclose on a property, a bank must first obtain a Final Judgment of Foreclosure. There is a specific procedural process that must be followed before a court may enter a Final Judgment of Mortgage Foreclosure. Many banks, specifically in South Florida, have been circumventing these procedural safe guards in order to obtain these final judgments on an expedited basis. As a homeowner in South Florida, it Read More

It is imperative at the beginning stages of applying for a Loan Modification that you submit a complete Loan Modification package to the bank.  Every bank has different guidelines, but generally request the same type of financial documentation to begin the Loan Modification process.  If you are applying for the Obama Plan, which is known as the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) it is essential that you Read More

           In my years of loan modification experience in the State of Florida, I’ve noticed several improvements in the loan modification process. The improvement that recently stands out to me the most comes courtesy of Bank of America. Bank of American has recently begun to implement a much more efficient method of collecting and reviewing documents for loan modifications. Now home owners are able to submit their Read More

In order to make Floridians more knowledgeable about the loan modification process, the Law Office of Ray Garcia, P.A. has published a series of tips that may help you in modifying your loan. These tips are not legal advice just actions to consider when attempting to do a loan modification. Tip #1: Find out if your lender participates in the HAMP Program. The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is the Read More

The current economic crisis has hit Florida as hard as any state in the country. The bankruptcy filings in Florida have reached staggering numbers. If you are considering bankruptcy you are not alone and you should not participate in the process alone.  Bankruptcy laws and procedures are quite complicated. If you place the wrong or incorrect information on your bankruptcy petitions it could have serious consequences. Read More

         This month Bank of America unveiled a new approach to the HAMP modification program. The new "Earned Principal Forgiveness" Program will forgive up to 30 percent of some customers' total mortgage balances. The homeowners must have missed at least two months of mortgage payments and owe at least 20 percent more than their home is currently worth, with a current loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 120 percent or Read More

If you are falling behind on your mortgage payments and foreclosure of your Miami-Dade County, Florida homestead property is imminent; or if your homestead property is already in foreclosure, your lender may be required to participate in a mediation  before proceeding in Miami Dade County courts.              In May of 2009, the 11th Judicial Circuit enacted the Circuit Homestead Access to Mediation Program Read More

Foreclosures have taken this country by storm and unfortunately, one of the states most affected is Florida. While the majority of homeowners prefer to attempt to qualify for the Homeowner Affordability Modification Program, (HAMP) which is a government program intended to help homeowners keep their homestead by modifying the monthly mortgage payment, not every homeowner qualifies for (HAMP). Therefore, to avoid Read More