Loan Modification Expert Educates Homeowners on Options

TAMPA, FL--(Marketwire - Dec 5, 2011) - Stephfan Nurse, a loan modification expert and CEO of Consumer Education (www.consumereducationonline.com), understands applying for one is a stressful, confusing process that can take several months.

This could explain why, according to the Treasury Department, only about 700,000 homeowners sought aid from Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) through the third quarter of 2011. When the Obama administration rolled out HAMP in 2009, officials estimated 3 to 4 million borrowers would seek relief from their mortgages through the program amidst the worst recession and housing market collapse in decades.

Nurse says he founded ConsumerEducationOnline.com to get homeowners the information needed to navigate the process. It includes a free pre-qualifier, where homeowners can input their figures and determine for which modification program they qualify. His "Mortgage Reduction" software uses the same guidelines as lenders and helps ensure that financial statements are complete and ready for lender approval.

Among Nurse's need-to-know items are:

• Make sure a loan modification is right for you: Ask yourself if you are emotionally attached to the home, because a lender likely will extend the terms of the mortgage to 40 years to reduce the monthly payment. If you're underwater on the mortgage -- if you owe more than the home is worth -- a modification probably is not the answer because of the years added to the note.
• HAMP is not your only option: The government may want you to think that, but the fact is more than 70 percent of modifications now are internal modifications made available by the investor holding the mortgage note. The only way to get an internal modification is to ask for one.
• Be complete and thorough in your paperwork: Lenders receive thousands of faxes every day, so make sure your account number is on every page and that all questions and categories are filled out. A document manager who comes across an incomplete form may put it aside and move on to the next one. Just like that, the 30 days you may have to wait to hear from that manager becomes 60 or 90.

About Stephfan Nurse

Stephfan Nurse has been in the mortgage loan modification business since 2008. After working for a Tampa, Florida law firm specializing in foreclosure defense, he founded Consumer Education in 2010 with a vision to bring new creative solutions to problems facing American consumers.