The election is over…phones will stop ringing, and it is time to focus on the economy and on our spending patterns– Protecting ourselves…and trying to deal with items like Upside Down Mortgages and how to survive this change….I’ll be posting tidbits over the next few weeks to help people deal with the problems they face…
The first problem I am hearing about is upside down mortgages and how to refinance…and get payments manageable in these times…
JP Morgan Chase has announced some innovative programs to attempt to avoid foreclosure.

J. P. Morgan Chase & Company has announced that it will make its own contribution to stemming the tide of foreclosures sweeping the country by modifying around $70 billion of its owned mortgages that are in or nearing default.

The bank’s efforts will focus on restructuring loans for borrowers who are at risk of foreclosure and it has placed a 90 day moratorium on all foreclosures in order to put guidelines for its program in place. The company will hire and train an estimate 300 additional loan counselors (it currently employs about 2,500) and open two dozen new regional counseling centers.

The company has targeted 400,000 families for the rescue program. This is in addition to what it claims are 250,000 families which have already been helped in the earlier restructure of some $40 billion in loans.

The bank is also a major servicer of loans owned by others. Its own mortgages account for only 20 percent of the total portfolio it controls. (The Wall Street Journal pegs the number at only 4.7 percent.) The restructuring program will not, at least at present, apply to those serviced mortgages however it hopes that eventually the initiative can be expanded to include some of the investor owned loans.

The Chase program joins one previously announced by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for the assets it has taken from the failed IndyMac Bank which was a major player in the mortgage industry. Bank of American has also started a modification program as did Wachovia Bank shortly before it was taken over by Wells Fargo Bank.

(source Mortgage News Daily

If you are not a Chase customer…call your banker, find a broker, and see what can be done…The options are endless…You do not need to lose your home.

The FHA has announced some plans too…including the HOPE for Homeowners Program, FHA secure, and a few other options to help you through the process….
You are not alone….
If you need help in understanding your options, give us a call….we’ll be glad to help…..If your lender is currently not participating in one of the programs you may need a lawyer or a broker to help you…But, the time is right and now!