Re-Fi, or Modify?

That is the question. You’re in a situation where your payments are just too much to handle, and there are so many hurdles to jump, you just don’t know what to do. It’s a common scenario, and one that will repeat itself over and over for millions of American homeowners.

The easiest answer to this question is if you can re-finance, it’s usually best and cheapest to do so. Best because it pays off the ‘bad’ loan you currently have, and puts you into a (hopefully) better loan that you can afford. Cheaper because it’s generally a lot quicker, and you usually get a break in payments when the new loan starts. Unfortunately, not everyone has the option to refinance.

Right now, with the tough economic times we find ourselves in, banks are being very stingy with the money they have to lend, which makes it nearly impossible to re-fi if you don’t have perfect credit, equity in the property, and plenty of disposable income. If you’re like most of us, you’d be happy with any one out of the three right about now, much less ‘all of the above’. For a great number of us, we’ve had pay cuts (or even lay-offs), we may have been late on a couple of payments, and our home has lost value to the point where we are “under water”. For us, modification isn’t an option, it’s all that stands between a happy ending and homelessness.

If this is you, don’t feel like the odd man out, you’re actually very nearly the majority right now, and the banks know it. Don’t wait until you get way behind in your payments to try to do something, do it NOW. Weather you have the time, energy, and patience to do it yourself, or you need to hire someone like me to wade through the bureaucracy and red tape for you, get started now. The sooner you start, the sooner it’s done and you can go back to your life.