New Jersey Loan Modification
The state of New Jersey is slowly improving their real estate industry as they are slowly controlling the foreclosure activities in the state. November’s foreclosure activity compared to October went down by 34% - a very impressive change for a state who used to be on the top 10 last August 2008. It’s no wonder that the state’s foreclosure activity went up by 32% when compared to the same time period in 2007. However, New Jersey is still in top 15 when it comes to foreclosure rates. Unfortunately, the volume of foreclosed properties has placed them 11th in ranking.
The future for the real estate industry in this state could still improve. Before the start of the 4th quarter of 2008, the federally approved $400 million assistance for those who are facing foreclosure should start to take its effects on the state and other parts of the country. New federal laws that delay foreclosure have also been approved. But if there’s one thing that will stop this improvement, it’s that sales in the industry are still down.
Further Control through Loan Modification
But there’s a way for the citizens of New Jersey to further address foreclosure. Loan modification is an increasingly popular way of preventing property foreclosure. Although government assistance is on the way, the mere fact that one in every 622 properties in New Jersey is under foreclosure proceedings should be a signal that actions should be taken as soon as possible, with or without government assistance.
But what is loan modification? To fully understand loan modification, you need to take a few steps back to understand the current situation. Because of the increasing foreclosure activities and foreclosed properties the value of properties not only in New Jersey but also around the country is falling. Lending companies who seized the properties could easily find a buyer but their earnings will never be the same. To avoid pushing the homeowner into foreclosure, lending institutions opted to slash a few thousand dollars from the outstanding debt and even make some changes on the payment terms so that property owners will be able to pay their monthly obligations on time. The changing of payment terms and writing off some outstanding loans is loan modification.
3rd Party Assistance or Direct to Lender
Loan modification could be done with the assistance of a loan modification company or you can also approach the lending company directly and arrange loan modification. The advantage of a loan modification company is that their expertise could help you prepare the right documents to show that indeed you need financial assistance. On the other hand, their assistance could easily cost you thousands of dollars to finish the transaction.
If you opt to do it without their assistance, you obviously save a good amount of money. However, since this is a relatively new process, the right documents may not be secured. It is also possible that the mortgage agreement changes may not be maximized. If you opt to do it alone, make sure you get legal assistance.