Are you looking for a loan with a low downpayment? FHA might be the way to go. FHA offers the lowest downpayment out there… 3.5% of the purchase price is used as the downpayment.

FHA offers the most financing of any program. By putting down a minimum of 3.5% you can own your own home. The money used for the downpayment can also be a gift from a family member or relative such as a mom or dad, brother or sister, aunt or uncle, son or daughter, or cousin. So if a relative wants to give you a downpayment on your home as a present, it can be done.

FHA loans also offer the benefit of seller-paid closing costs. That means that the seller can contribute up to 6% of the sales price towards your closing costs such as title and escrow charges.

You don’t have to be a first-time homebuyer to use an FHA loan either. FHA loans are used to buy a primary residence only. That means you have to live in that home after you buy it. It cannot be used to rent out or as a second or vacation home.

FHA will insure mortgages up to a certain dollar amount, depending on the area. For example, in Los Angeles, FHA will allow a loan amount on a one unit, single family residence up to $729,750. Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Santa Ana also have the loan maximum of $729,750 for a one unit home. If you are buying a home in San Diego, FHA will allow you to get a loan up to $697,500. You can find information on a specific county by going to the HUD website at https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm.

So if you want to buy a home with the lowest downpayment, FHA is the way to go.

To apply for an FHA loan or to learn more about FHA mortgages, contact us today. We are the experts in FHA.

I work at a law firm in Los Angeles and every day I speak with dozens of people that are deep in the foreclosure process and desperate for help. Many have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous Loan Modification Companies and are now, not only deeper in trouble but out several thousand dollars to boot. They are desperate for help and just want someone, anyone to listen to them and give them some help. A little bit of hope! So — every day I listen and advise them as to their best course of action. Some days, it is not easy.

The loan modification process is time consuming and can be a bit overwhelming for people. However, with the right help and a little bit of work you can get through the process and get the terms of your mortgage changed to something that is more in line with your current financial situation. There is help available!!

In an effort to help, I have decided to write a few articles that will shed some light on the process and just maybe, help someone save their home from foreclosure. Here are three of the most asked questions I receive on a daily basis concerning the loan modification process.

1. Do You Need To Be Behind on Your Mortgage?

Lets look at it this way. If you are current with your mortgage, your lender believes you do not have a problem making the payment. Having said that, I would never advise someone to fall behind with their payment. If you are behind or know that, “this is the month everything falls apart,” that will open the door for your lender to realize you have a problem. Weirdly enough, it makes your case stronger. You do not have to be 3 – 4 months behind though as some people will tell you.

2. My lender sent me a letter saying they would help me modify my mortgage.

Your lender has to offer you a loan modification before they can foreclose on your home. “Offer” is the operative word here, as they really do not have to do anything else. It is not in your lenders interest to change the terms of your mortgage unless they have to. Do not trust them to really help.

3. I have a Notice of Default. My lender said I do not need an attorney. That they will help me.

In a foreclosure process you are being sued for your home. Your lender has turned the matter over to their Law Firm that handles the foreclosure process for them. This will be a very BIG and Powerful firm. They do not want you to hire an attorney because they do not want you to have any rights is dealing with this. Truthfully they just want you to roll over and go away. That why it is so difficult to get in touch with anyone that can help you when you do try and call in for help.

The absolute best way to receive a loan modification from your lender is to hire an attorney that is well versed in loss mitigation law. And you want to check to make sure they have been doing this type of work for a few years.

You may be like the millions of homeowners across the country who simply do not have the few thousand dollars to pay an Attorney to modify your mortgage. And please, DO NOT even think about hiring a Loan Modification Company that tells you they are “Attorney Backed!” The sad truth is the vast majority of these companies are the same people who put you in this mess to begin with and can not help you at all!
They are just scamming you out of your money.

Now, many people have asked me to tell them about what I think of these do it yourself loan modification programs. The absolute truth is, if you are just a couple of months behind with your mortgage payment but have not received a Notice of Default from your lender, there is still time to get a loan modification program done. There ARE a few excellent, do it your self programs available that will help you achieve a loan modification.

I have done some extensive research on these for friends that could not afford an attorney and have come up with a two programs that I believe do a fantastic job. You can see my research at this URL.

www.do-it-yourself-loan-modification.com

I truly believe that you can do this yourself and not only that, you should try to do it yourself. It just takes a bit of work on your part and no one will work harder saving your home than you will. It is only smart to first learn all you can about how the loan modification process works. A smart, educated, informed homeowner is harder to take advantage of! Don’t be intimidated!! Your home is too important to lose without a fight!!

11/05/2009

Mrs. Gloria Allred, Attorney At Law
6300 Wilshire Blvd Ste 1500
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5217

Dear Mrs. Allred,

This comes to you as an urgent plea for help on behalf of my mother who is an 86 year old homeowner. She has been caught up in a mortgage crisis that needs immediate intervention. Her home was built in 1926 and has been in our family for 83 years. This matter is in need of the appropriate attention and exposure it deserves. I am trying to get her the necessary help that she needs to spare her from loosing her home and to restore her retired life and wellbeing. To this point her mortgage servicer J.P. Morgan Chase has not been willing to assist her and we have been working on this matter non-stop for the last six months now. Chase has failed her and has been uncooperative in helping her to stay in her home. They rather do nothing at all but to deliberately cause her to go into complete default. At which time foreclosure proceedings will follow. Time is running out because on December 1^st her existing mortgage will re-cast and the rate will adjust to a higher payment of which she cannot afford.  This has been reiterated for the last six months in trying to get help. They have offered no solutions of any kind to assist her in this matter. We have been told that the only way we can get any attention on this matter is if she was 30 days or more behind. Because she is a responsible homeowner she wanted to come forward ahead of time to find a solution.

Channel 7 Eyewitness News aired coverage in Feb. 2009 introducing a new Homeownership Center located at 400 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA set up to assist customers with trouble mortgages. Upon going to this center for the last six months in trying to negotiate for a solution; what a waste of time it has been. They advertise their motto, “Your house is your home. We want to keep it that way.” Then how is it that now after six months we have gotten nowhere with this bank offering solutions. This bank needs to be exposed for what it is.

We have been in contact with Generation Mortgage, a leading reverse mortgage company, who is trying to assist and facilitate a new loan that will enable my mother to remain in her home and avoid foreclosure measures. With this being the only option left to spare her from foreclosure, we’re still now trying to negotiate a solution by submitting a proposal to the Loss Mitigation department for a short payoff due to declining market values and even now we’re not getting anywhere being passed from one department to another. Due to declining market values and my mother’s limited Social Security income a reverse mortgage is the only option left since conventional financing has been restricted. A reverse mortgage has no income, credit or health qualifications making it the only loan my mother and most seniors can qualify for in the current mortgage crisis.

Enclosed is our story and all other pertinent information for your review. You can also follow us on our blog at www.HelpASenior.org. As I am sure you know my mother is not the only senior in this situation. This problem is widespread and is something that is happening to tens of thousands of seniors nationwide. The time has come to expose the banks best interest is of their own and not of their customers. Especially retired senior citizens that have limited options available to help them. Our intention is to attain the necessary local and nation media coverage both in print and live media coverage.

With the appropriate help and exposure I am trying to help my mother solve her immediate needs and then expose the real problem to make a difference and help give a voice to a population of seniors that generally do not say anything because of pride and or embarrassment. This problem is not only on a local level but also on a national. “The Greatest Generation” has made it through a lot and what a shame it is to allow such a thing to happen them. Something needs to be done…

We have followed you throughout the years of your legal cases and you set the standard in getting results and being heard through the mainstream media. We respect what you have been able to do for people and their causes and hoping you will consider our need of cause to be an important one.    

We are requesting of you to assist us in this cause and to please consider helping us expose this issue for what it is. We would like to make an appointment to meet with you directly to discuss this matter further. Please contact us at your earliest convenience.  

Thank you,

Shawn & Betty

The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) showed that 51% of households are at risk of not being able to maintain their standard of living in retirement.  According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College report, the NRRI jumped from 7% from last year due to:

* the bursting of the housing bubble;
* the stock market crash; and
* the ongoing rise in Social Security’s Full Retirement Age

The Index results from comparing households’ projected replacement rates – retirement income as a percent of pre-retirement income – with target rates that would allow them to maintain their living standard.

Even if half of today’s household work until they turn 65, the NRRI shows that in 2009, half of today’s households will not have enough retirement income to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living.

As the study says, ensuring retirement security for an aging population is one of the most compelling challenges facing the nation.

The National Retirement Risk Index: After the Crash

Visit us at www.allwestmortgage.com if you need help in the Los Angeles, CA area.