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Even though there was a decrease in foreclosures in August, there are still thousands of people striving to save their homes.  With out help, home owners can find themselves lost in the complicated, lengthy process of trying to modify their own loan.  The easiest way is to try and prevent that looming foreclosure is to consult a loan modification specialist who can help come up with ways to let the home owner keep their home.

Figures recently released indicate that about one in 357 households in the country received a filing for foreclosure in August, which makes it the sixth consecutive month where filings for foreclosure exceeded 300,000.

RealityTrac Inc. recently reported over 350,000 notices of default, bank seizures, and scheduled auctions; a decrease of less that 1 percent from August, and an increase of 18 percent from August 2008.

While the housing market is experiencing growth after a three year lull, the foreclosure rate hasn’t show a significant drop, leaving the government, lenders, and borrowers all in a frenzy trying to modify home loans and stop foreclosures.

In September the U.S. Treasury Department announced that over 360,000 home loan modifications had been set in motion using President Obama’s HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) plan.  This was an increase of over 200,000 in July.  HAMP is a $75 billion home loan modification initiative.  To make it easy for both lenders and borrowers to understand, eligibility is based on the ratio of a homeowners’ mortgage payment to their income. If the mortgage requires more than 31% of their paycheck, the loan is considered “unaffordable” and the borrower qualifies for the home loan modification, provided they meet the other conditions necessary.  If it requires less than 31%, they don’t qualify.

Even though the government and the lenders are working at it, the foreclosure numbers aren’t improving.  One in 25 homes, or 4.3 percent; were in a state of foreclosure in the second quarter of 2009.  Loans that were 90 days or more overdue rose to a record 7.97 percent in that same second quarter.  As a rule, the 90 day mark is where the banks usually begin foreclosure process.

What to do?  Home loan modification is one way that this foreclosure crisis can be helped, by changing the conditions of your mortgage.  A loan modification can reduce your interest rate, change your rate from variable to fixed, or even both; it can extend the duration of the loan (usually up to between 30 and 40 years).  It can even lower the principal for borrowers whose homes have lost their value.

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