Widow Saves $171 per Month with Mortgage Loan Modification

By Paul M. J. Suchecki

Carla is a disabled widow.

Issue: Negative equity
Property: 2 bedroom condominium
Purchase price: $126,900
Loan amount: $104,000
Credit score: 686
Debt to Income Ratio: 49
Solution: Loan Modification
Old payment: $859
New payment: $688

Situation: Carla purchased a condominium just before she lost her husband last year. Without her husband’s income, she found it impossible to make her mortgage payment.

“My daughter moved in with me to help,” Carla says, “but it wasn’t enough to make ends meet. I didn’t want to lose my home. My husband and I owned a home for 37 years.”

Carla went to the MortgageOutreach.org website and got started. She soon found herself talking to a counselor who helped her work toward a loan modification.

She had to provide two months’ worth of bank statements, proof of income and copies of her utility bills along with details of her car payments. Her mortgage payments were temporarily reduced by $171, a savings of 20 percent.

“There is hope,” Carla says. “What you’re doing is good. People need to know. People should call and ask. You don’t have to give up and walk away. There is a workable solution. You have to keep trying.”