Todays newsday

[dman72]

Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti

Ask your lender if they'll consider a modification of your loan--would save you tons of money. Sometimes they'll agree - worth a try, what do you think?

How do I approach it? Our mortgage is held by everhome. I call them up and say "hey, we haven't been late on a single payment, we've paid the principle down an additional $5,000 from the amortization schedule, now I want you to lower my principle by another $30K because that's what my condo is actually worth."

?? I'm not being facetious. How do I approach this. I also don't want them messing around with our credit, which is flawless.

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by dman72

How do I approach it? Our mortgage is held by everhome. I call them up and say "hey, we haven't been late on a single payment, we've paid the principle down an additional $5,000 from the amortization schedule, now I want you to lower my principle by another $30K because that's what my condo is actually worth."

?? I'm not being facetious. How do I approach this. I also don't want them messing around with our credit, which is flawless.

Maybe my post was misleading; if so, I apologize.

A modification is merely an adjustment in the interest rate (in lieu of refinancing) - the actual loan amount does not change. If you're still with the same lender, it would be merely a book entry and in the past never entailed an appraisal, etc. (cost for this used to be several hundred $$); that's if they're willing, of course... Versus a refi, which has the various closing costs, including the transfer fee, etc. and apparently wouldn't work for you, because of the decline in market value.

Does this help?

[dman72]

Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti

Maybe my post was misleading; if so, I apologize.

A modification is merely an adjustment in the interest rate (in lieu of refinancing) - the actual loan amount does not change. If you're still with the same lender, it would be merely a book entry and in the past never entailed an appraisal, etc. (cost for this used to be several hundred $$); that's if they're willing, of course... Versus a refi, which has the various closing costs, including the transfer fee, etc. and apparently wouldn't work for you, because of the decline in market value.

Does this help?

Sure. Considering Everhomes reputation, though, I doubt they will be very helpful with anything, since they are usually looking to rip people off and screw them rather than do good business. Bank of NY sold our mortgage to them almost immediately.

[newtoli]

Originally Posted by dman72

How do I approach it? Our mortgage is held by everhome. I call them up and say "hey, we haven't been late on a single payment, we've paid the principle down an additional $5,000 from the amortization schedule, now I want you to lower my principle by another $30K because that's what my condo is actually worth."

?? I'm not being facetious. How do I approach this. I also don't want them messing around with our credit, which is flawless.

We tried this and they said no dice until we are late on a payment.

They also (ahahahaha) tried to tell us that the house we paid $410k for in '06 appraises (by their standards) for $500k. BS! There are 7 houses for sale on my street... nothing has sold for more than $375k, and there are houses nicer than ours sitting for months at $400k.

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by newtoli

We tried this and they said no dice until we are late on a payment.

Different lenders can bring different results.
Also, sometimes it pays to talk to a supervisor/department head - someone in a position to make that decision.

It may not work, but I always feel it's worth trying. JMHO