With foreclosures on the rise month after month, a lot of families who are struggling to keep up with their mortgage fear that their house will be next to receive a notice from the bank. By now, almost all families and homeowners know that getting a home loan modification is one of the best and most secure options for saving their home. But the bigger question that has been worrying homeowners of late is that of choosing the right loan modification company to modify their existing mortgage.

This is a big decision as the loan modification company you choose could end up being one of the big factors in allowing you to not only keep your home but also give you an affordable payment. It could also end up saving you a lot of time and money. However, if a wrong decision is made, it could also cost you a lot of money if you fall for the trap of paying money up front. In addition, there is additional stress that is caused by a loan modification gone wrong.

In order to pick the right company for any of your mortgage modification requirements, you need to check the following three points before making a decision:

1) Does not make false promises

You need to check whether the company or consultant you have approached is not making any exaggerated or false promises. Many companies will promise almost anything just to get your business. Unfortunately it has been seen that most of these promises are never kept and once you sign up with the company, you dont even get the basic loan modification for which you attained their services. Normally, it takes a minimum of 3 months on average for a loan to be modified by the bank. Certain companies or individuals will tell you they can get the loans modified within a month. This is completely untrue and no bank or mortgage lender will be able to complete a loan modification within that timeframe, especially if you have a larger lender.

Another promise companies make is that they guarantee that your loan will be modified. This is also not true as approval of your application depends on a number of things and depends on your mortgage lender approving your file and not the loan modification company you have hired. You need to make sure you hire a company that will be honest with you as these companies are more likely to save you a lot of time and stress by giving you honest feedback upfront.

2) Does not charge any fees upfront

This is probably the most important point you need to check. Absolutely no fees should be paid until your loan modification is approved by your mortgage lender. Note that the approval should come directly from the bank or your mortgage lender and not just from the attorneys or consultants of the loan modification company. Loan modification scams have been rampant lately and any company asking for a fee either upfront or after their own team of consultants have approved your application is likely to be a scam. To protect your interests and money, make sure you only sign up with a company which specifically mentions no fees until the loan modification is approved by your actual mortgage lender.

3) Will negotiate and follow up with the bank on your behalf

You need to make sure that your loan modification consultant is not just there to tell you how to apply and what documents you need. They need to interact with the lender on your behalf. You are likely to get the best possible modified mortgage plan if a professional negotiates with the bank instead of you. Also remember it takes a lot of phone calls and negotiation to get an application approved. Furthermore, you have to make sure that an experienced loan modification company handles the process for you since the whole process is so time consuming with countless phone calls needing to be made at various stages of the modification process.