Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The Biggest Factor in a Loan Modification

By Richard Soren

Although loan modifications have become very common, it's important to keep in mind that no all loan modifications are approved by the lender. In deciding whether to offer a loan modification, the lender will generally look at the major element in the approval process: the debt-to-income ratio.


The debt-to-income ratio is the fundamental factor in determining how successful an application will become because it is the best way for the lender to calculate if the person will be able to pay back the loan after the loan modification.


Prior to talking to a lender, it is a good idea for the individual to find out the debt-to-income ratio. This is so because of two fundamental reasons.


First, the debt-to-income ratio gives the individual a good idea of whether the home loan application will be offered. Most lending institutions prefer to see a debt-to-ratio that isn't above 50%. Some lending institutions are willing to go all the way up to 55%. In a few instances, and given the adequate circumstances, some lenders will go even higher.


Second, by figuring out the debt-to-ratio before talking to the bank, the individual might look at manners in which it can adjust the ratio if the ratio is too high even after the approval of the loan modification.


For example, frequently home owners may pay off some cards to decrease the debt-to-income ratio. In other instances, the owner can give a very good excuse why she will be able to make the payments even with the elevated debt-to-income ratio.


A lot of banks request this data because they prefer to make sure they are not loosing their times with home owners who will stop paying the mortgage even after the home loan modification. The debt-to-income is a great indication of how well an owner will be able to repay the loan.


As a summary, always remember that you are looking for a ratio after the loan modification that is below 50-55%. By doing the calculation before talking to a lender, the owner might be much better prepared to present the case and the chances of having the loan modification approved go up dramatically.


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