The most common program that banks are approving struggling homeowners for is the Home Affordable Modification Program, also known as HAMP. HAMP is a part of President Obama's Making Home Affordable Program, which is the government's effort to not only stop foreclosures in America but to lower mortgage payments to make homes more affordable. The program has been around since 2009 and most people are saying that it has been a failure and has not helped as many American homeowners as it should. The government has set some very specific guidelines that borrowers have to fit into so they can apply for HAMP. Just because millions of people fit the criteria does not mean that banks will approve them. The eligibility requirements are:
- Your monthly mortgage payment is higher than 31% of your gross monthly income.
- Your home is your primary residence and you are living in it.
- You loan amount cannot be more than $729,750 on your home.
- You mortgage was originated on or before January 1st, 2009.
- You are currently behind or in danger of falling behind on your mortgage payments.
- You must be employed and be able to show you can meet the modified payment.
These guidelines are just the start of the process to get approved for HAMP. There are so many borrowers looking for assistance that everyone is applying at once and this is leading to a major processing issue with almost all banks. The media and banks are trying to encourage struggling homeowners to apply on their own with their lender or not to pay for professional assistance. You can certainly apply on your own but more and more borrowers are being denied for reasons like: Lost paperwork, financial forms being filled out improperly and documents not getting submitted on time. Many borrowers are being dragged along for months until they are denied for one of these reasons and left in a worse financial situation then when they started the process. The forms that are to be included in the application to get approved for HAMP are:
· Request Form (Request for Modification and Affidavit)
· Tax Form (Form 4506T -EZ)
· Verification of Income
· Dodd Frank Certification Form
The best way to get approved for the Home Affordable Modification Program, which can lower your interest rate as low as 2%, is to hire a professional or expert company. An expert company not only dedicates all their time to helping homeowners get approved for HAMP but also will take away the stress of dealing with your bank. Your bank is not out for your best interest and is looking for ways to deny you the financial assistance you deserve. Your bank will also not be able to provide the expertise in completing your financial package so it is within the banking and government guidelines to get approved for HAMP. Keep in mind that a lot of banks are cracking down on borrowers applying more than once for HAMP, so you want to apply right the first time.
Everyone that is looking to get approved for HAMP is having financial trouble so you may not have the money to hire professional assistance but in most cases the money that you will save by getting approved will far outweigh the cost for service. This can turn out to be one of the best investments of your life because you will not only save your home but potentially 10%-40% on your monthly mortgage payment.
To learn about the expert assistance you need to get approved for HAMP on the first try, you can watch a video at: http://www.loanmodificationmanagers.com/home-affordable-modification-program-hamp-get-help-now.html
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