I Am A new lawyer that's been doing Loan Modifications for the past 6 months, AMA.

lnmdlwyr

Seems simple doesn't it? But like you said there's a million problems with the banks system and they've got separate people on every step practically. We have clients who were told that they werent being foreclosed on because they were in loan mod negotiations and meanwhile a different dept of the bank was putting a notice of sale on their door.

It's interesting how insiders always say you don't need a lawyer and yet if you do a little research( I love google) its pretty clear that lenders just arent helping as much as they'd like you to think they are.

It's really just common sense: An individual borrower has no ability to hurt the banks bottom line, but a lawyer can always sue and that will cost the bank lots of money so yes they pay attention when they get contacted by a lawyer because of that implicit threat.

lnmdlwyr

good support staff if you can afford it. Loan Mods are one of the most time consuming processes imaginable. Also get Foonberg's book, its like the bible of going solo.

Good luck!

lnmdlwyr

We charge 3500 on average. No money up front, its billed as services are performed. If we cant get a loan mod the client is happy with we only bill 2500.

lnmdlwyr

A Loan Modification is an adjustment of your current home mortgage terms. I go to the banks and negotiate a lower monthly payment based on the borrowers income and situation. A typical example is where one of the income generating members of a household loses a job. Based on that hardship I'll go to the bank and negotiate a lower monthly payment to match the new income.

lnmdlwyr

Oh and yes lots of successes. But we have a really strict qualification process and deny a large number of people. We also have a lot of support staff who have worked in the industry for years.

lnmdlwyr

Pretty much what he said. You can do your taxes by yourself and in some cases will get the same result.

Around 1 in 4 people that I talk to have attempted to get a loan mod either by themselves or thru a free non-profit. They either gave up or got a loan mod that was totally pointless in some cases increasing their monthly payment.

I used to do audits as well. You would not believe the crap I saw from loan officers and brokers. And many of the customer service reps or 'loss mitigation' reps are ridiculously ignorant or untrained. Or deliberately spiteful I guess.

lnmdlwyr

Not good enough to write home about. Check out average starting salaries for 1st year lawyers. You might be surprised.

lnmdlwyr

Thank you! I just recently discovered Reddit and it keeps swallowing large swaths of my time.

I actually went to law school because I had no idea what else to do and all the other secondary schools were too difficult to get into or to much work. As long as you can get a sufficiently high score on the LSAT you're getting into a decent law school regardless of your grades.

My criminal law classes and mock trials were the most fun but I don't think I'm cut out for the moral dilemmas that come with that field of law. Also Intellectual property law, surprisingly interesting. I'm pretty pissed at the bastardization of modern IP law.

lnmdlwyr

No sorry, I only deal with mortgages in place already.

lnmdlwyr

You can check the stats but in CA maybe 3 or 4 lawyers have been debarred for loan mod irregularities and thats out of like 150,000 lawyers. Another 16 are being 'officially' investigated.

That being said, some things to keep in mind:

Different states have different rules so if you're not in CA the following statements might not be relevant.
Do they charge advance fees? ( a no-no in CA although a lawyer may get away with calling it a retainer.)
It should cost around 3000-5000 roughly. Flat fee, if they want a percentage of anything find someone else.
Do they talk to you about your DTI? (debt-to-income ratio) Do they promise less than a 38% DTI? Its a flag but not necessarily a big one as the range is 31%-38% that the banks will hand out.
Do they promise principal reduction? That's pretty rare and definitely a red flag. It happens but not often enough to count on.

If you want to send me your details I can give you a quick snapshot of what might be a reasonable loan mod.

lnmdlwyr

Business acquaintance of my fathers'. Kinda lame I know but these days its catch as catch can. There were a number of ads on craigslist for loan mod lawyers a few months ago. Have you checked out emplawyernet?

Good luck to ya its tough out there!

lnmdlwyr

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