Sunday, 14 August 2011

Making Home Affordable: An Industry No Longer Without Regulation

By Ken Melblock


Home extension sounds to be quite a wonderful idea. Home extensions are adapted by many of us because of many reasons. Some want more space and room in their house; some want a changed and modernized look for their home, while some want to make an investment in their home by making valuable extensions, which can benefit them at the time they want to sell their property. Whatever is the reason, and whatever be the requirement, home extension is surely an attractive thought for all of us. This beautiful thought can turn into a nightmare, if not properly planned and budgeted. It is, therefore, necessary to list down the demands of extension, which are primarily important for you.

Second, if loan modification is for you, you need to write a hardship letter to your lender. You counselor can help with this, or you may use any number of free hardship letter templates on the Internet. Basically, your letter is a brief statement of your financial difficulties and why you can't afford your mortgage payments. Your counselor will submit this to your lender.

Third, you need to supply financial documents. These will usually be submitted to your lender at the same time as your hardship letter. Copies of tax returns and pay stubs, as well as any documentation relating to your hardship (divorce papers or copies of medical bills, for instance) will be required. Verification of your gross monthly income will be required if you are getting a modification under the Making Home Affordable plan's Homeowner Stability Initiative.

After receiving numerous complaints - the majority originating from consumers outside Florida - the attorney general began investigating Kirkland Young LLC in July, 2009. State regulators soon realized that the business was affiliated with ABK Consultants Inc. and Attorney Aid LLC, which were also named in the suit. Although located in Miami-Dade, the businesses solicited customers nationwide. The legal action seeks to shut down the three companies, a $10,000 fine for each violation of state law, as well as restitution for consumers scammed in the process. Although in receivership, Kirkland Young has also been sued by the Federal Trade Commission.

Through November 30, 2009 South Florida ranks fourth in the nation for home loan modifications, with 34,860 under President Barack Obama's Making Home Affordable Program. Nationwide, 24 percent of the 3.3 million homes with distressed loans have been modified, according to a U.S. Department of the Treasury report. While the new law is not going to eliminate loan modification scams completely, it will make them more difficult. In the first half of 2009, the Miami-Dade County's Mortgage Fraud Task Force was handling more than 200 cases of loan modification fraud. In 2008, the Miami-Dade field office of the FBI had the second-highest number of mortgage fraud reports in the country with 5,155 reported instances.




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