Does the Government Pay to Prevent a Foreclosure?

In the midst of all the foreclosures there have been nearly half a million loan modifications done. The success is right around 40%, which is good although we would really like to see it get higher. The only way it would get higher is if banks aggressively solicited modifications instead of waiting for borrowers to get to them. It seems that the families are having to make the first move these days, no matter how deep in they are in the loan.


It has been said that the average cost per modification is a little over $50k. Where does this figure come from? The figure is simply a part of what goes into doing a mortgage modification, and includes everything from the people hired to do the job, to the filing of paperwork, the fees that the bank would eat and some other miscellaneous costs. It sounds like a lot per loan, but let’s face it, we can’t have families put out on the street. The families should have gotten help extended to them in the first place, but there was no real solution in place. Ever see the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”? That says it all.

-Mayer Dallal

What to Do When You Have No Credit

If you have no credit, and you aren’t sure where to start, you can become a co-applicant on an account, or in other words be added to someone’s account who has established credit. While I don’t encourage making a habit out of this, it can help you get something on your credit history. There is risk in this, as anything could happen at any time, an no one is exempt from job loss or hard times. Being a primary applicant you can’t remove yourself since you originally applied for the account in your name, but you can always be removed as a co-applicant or secondary borrower on a credit card. Remember, just paying your bills on time is not the only way to keep your credit healthy. You can also drive your credit score down by maxing out your lines of credit.




Once you are able to get some credit, you will able to move toward paving the way to your fulfillment of the FHA loan requirements. The guidelines are always subject to change, and they have become a little more stringent than they were a few years ago, so keeping up with the knowledge of the market is always essential as well. Avoid the mistakes that can affect your buying power for years to come. Making bad credit decisions can limit your options, so think of credit as a tool, not a joke.



Your credit score will also need to meet the FHA loan requirements if you want to buy a home. If you are a first-time homebuyer then you will need to plan on how you much money you can bring as a down payment. With a credit score of 620 or better, you can start with as little as 3.5% down, but if your score is 580 or better you will need to come up with at least 10% down. This was a fairly recent change, but rightfully so. The idea behind this change was to get the homeowner to invest more into the home upfront. Statistics show that those who put more down on the home are less likely to default on their loan.



For more information on credit repair, and steps to getting your FHA loan today, visit http://www.fhaloansnow.net/.

-Mayer Dallal