How to Write A Loan Modification Hardship Letter - Advice for Homeowners

You are much more likely to be successful in obtaining a modification if you know how to write a loan modification hardship letter. What makes a good hardship letter? Find out here.
If you can’t continue to afford your monthly mortgage payments and refinancing isn’t a choice, you should seek to get your loan modified. The first thing you must do to obtain a loan modification is to write a hardship letter to your lender. This letter details why you are asking for the modification and why it’s necessary. It’s really too bad that some modifications are denied just because a person hasn’t learned how to write a loan modification hardship letter that communicates the right things.

You are writing the hardship letter to your lender, so that they understand what circumstances are making you unable to pay. They use the letter (among other things) to decide whether you should be granted a loan modification. You need to communicate that modification is the only way to avoid foreclosure and above all, you have to tell the lender that your home is your number one priority. Keeping your home is more important than anything to you and you will do anything to hang on to it.

It’s true that the letter is supposed to detail your financial hardships, but don’t get carried away. A lender is not interested in your whole life story, and they don’t want a soap opera with you as the main character. You may get their sympathy, but it’s not sympathy you’re after. Remember that your main objective is to convince the lender to give you a loan modification. Be honest and up front about your difficulties and your situation, but don’t be self-pitying or whiny about it. The bottom line is that you fell on hard times and will do anything to keep your house. Loan modification is in everyone’s best interest because you are 100% committed to making payments on a mortgage you can afford.

With times the way they are, you can imagine how swamped lenders are with hardship letters from homeowners all across the country. If your letter isn’t right, it will most likely get overlooked. Don’t let it run on for more than a page or two. Don’t simply beg for mercy and pity, but propose solutions and suggest an affordable modification that will get you back on your feet again. Lenders want to know that you’ve thought this through and will stay current on a modified loan. Communicate in your letter that you are an honest, upright homeowner who fell on some really bad luck. With their help, you’re completely committed to pulling yourself out of your financial difficulties and succeeding in keeping your home. There is no other commitment that is more important to you.

Working with a financial counselor to draft your hardship letter can be a great help. You might also want to search the Internet for hardship letter templates for ideas and suggestions about how to write a loan modification hardship letter.

For additional information about home loan modifications, please visit the 1 loan modification resource on the net: Home Loan Modifications.

By Timothy Croy
Published: 3/14/2009
 
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