IET Real Estate Los Angeles Blog

Lots of lawyers or "Law Groups" are spending lots of money trying to convince consumers Mortgage Brokers and Real Estate Agents are bad and Lawyers are good.  To me this is like a fox offering a Chicken a "safe haven" in its den from a Cat its running for its life from.

Here are some issues a homeowner should be aware of before choosing any person or company to modify their loan:

• Who is telling me what type of loan modification results I'm likely to get?  A salesperson on commission for getting my check? or someone with experience negotiating with different lenders' Loss Mitigation Departments?
• Who will be negotiating with my lender?  An actual attorney, or an out of work, unlicensed, former sub-prime mortgage flunkee who is doing loan mods now?  Do you really think an attorney is going to work your file for you?  Do you think an attorney is going to spend their time negotiating back and forth with loss mitigation?  Alot of attorneys have nothing to do with loan modifications except illegally allowing mortgage brokers and unlicensed individuals to circumvent DRE Foreclosure consultant laws (laws preventing collection of advance fees from homeowners in default)
• What kind of experience dealing with Loss Mitigation does this person/company have?  Can they document any successes?  I don't mean verbally document, I mean can they actually show you past approvals?
• Real Estate and Mortgage Professionals are licensed by a pro-consumer regulatory agency, the California Department of Real Estate (CA DRE).  We are fingerprinted and our criminal background is researched prior to us getting a license, if we're caught doing unethical business dealings we lose our license, which means we can no longer legally earn a living.  Consumers can verify any Real Estate Professionals active licensing status at any time here.  What regulatory agency pre-screened the individual who you are considering to process your loan mod?
• Most companies offering loan mod services require upfront payment because of the nature of the business.  Customarily lawyers work on a non-refundable upfront retainer.  Real Estate and Mortgage Professionals are used to earning their commissions when a deal closes sucessfully.  Because of this I believe Brokers will give less resistance to refunding a client on an unsuccessful loan mod than an attorney.

To work with a company that does loan mods correctly
(per the CA Department of Real Estate's Guidelines) click here.