Subject: Credit.com Placement
From: "Merilee:::Kern Communications" <[email-masked]>
To: "Jeff Isaac" <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:42:05 -0700

http://www.credit.com/news/experts/2009-03-27/dangers-lurk-in-loan-modification-programs.html

Dangers lurk in loan modification programs
03.27.09
By Gerri Detweiler

The mortgage loan delinquency (ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due) increased for the eighth straight quarter, hitting a national average high of 4.58 percent for the fourth quarter of 2008, according to TransUnion.com. 

As consumers fall behind on their home loans, they may attempt to negotiate with their lenders to modify their loans. But doing so without legal help can be risky, warns money management expert Jeff Isaac of The Lawyer in Blue Jeans Group. "Mortgages are complex legal agreements and, essentially, binding long-term contracts," he says, adding that "attorneys have the specialized skill and expertise required to negotiate the best possible terms for the client."

Isaac offers several reasons why attorneys are better equipped to help consumers than loan modification programs offered by other practitioners:  

  a.. Lenders may be more responsive and cooperative if they know a borrower has legal representation. In fact, loan modification requests submitted by attorneys often receive priority attention from lenders at the senior level, curtailing the often-frustrating rounds of phone calls consumers usually face when trying to request a loan modification themselves. 
  a.. Attorneys with experience in loan modifications understand the technicalities and regulations involved in loan modifications, as well as homeowners' legal rights. Consumer protection laws such as the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) may offer homeowners additional "leverage" with lenders who have engaged in fraudulent or predatory lending practices.  
  a..  Home loans are contracts, and as such should be renegotiated by attorneys who understand these legal instruments.  
  a..  When working with an attorney, homeowners are protected by attorney-client privilege. Without that protection, a client who winds up in court could find all of the documentation he or she provided to a non-attorney loan negotiator available to the other party as part of the legal process. 

According to Isaac, consumers who are concerned that they can't afford an attorney should know it generally does not more to hire an attorney, and the outcome may be better for the consumers who have hired a lawyer. He warns that some loan modification firms claim to be "attorney-backed" or "attorney-based" but are not law firms. Instead they may have attorneys available only on a consultation basis, which may be misleading at best. The Lawyer in Blue Jeans Group offers free seminars on loan modification. Information is available at their website: www.lawyerinbluejeans.com