What general information should I know as a foreclosure intervention client of SJHM?
Trust, patience, and cooperation are the attributes that are key to a successful partnership.

Do

• Communicate with SJHM anytime you receive a letter from the lender
• Understand the process must take its course
• Realize that your situation is unique - what works for someone else may not work for you
• Submit all documents in a timely manner
• Make a payment to the lender as much as possible, some of them will not accept a partial payment - if you are unable to make a full payment, SJHM expects that upon receiving an intervention decision, you will have substantial cash reserves from the portion you were able to save monthly
• Attend mandatory Home Preservation sessions - held twice monthly - explains the process & answers any questions you may have (should attend at least one in a four-week period if within 45 miles of the office - call the office for date & time or look at the Calendar of Events)

Don't

• Communicate with the lender by phone without guidance from SJHM
• Panic - foreclosure happens in a certain order
• Allow the media to affect you negatively
• Call our office everyday - although we are very interested and willing to address all your questions and concerns, please allow a reasonable amount of time to pass before contacting the office, just as your lender has numerous clients, so do we. We must have adequate time to complete the tasks required for all clients. We often triage our work, therefore clients closer to foreclosure get attention first. Nonetheless, we will meet every client's needs to the best of our ability.

Will the foreclosure intervention efforts of SJHM be more successful than what I have already tried?
Many times clients are unfamiliar with the industry vocabulary and how to express their concerns to the lenders. Our experience and expertise has enabled us to get better results than the individual most times, especially in loan modifications.

Currently, SJHM has always received a viable option for the client. However, it is often not what the client desired. For example, the client expected a certain interest rate, payment amount, or modification period. So, it is imperative to understand that every lender/investor is not participating in the government grant programs and are thus not obliged to meet those requirements. Nonetheless, many of them have in-house options that are still good opportunities for the client. In addition, even for those that are participating in the grant program, many terms are in the lender's discretion, such as length of modification plan.

What is the average time to complete a loan modification?
There isn't a definite period of time that the modification will be completed. The time variance is relative to the lender and the complexity of the individual's financial portfolio.

Will the modification be permanent?
From our results, it seems that clients that are on disability or retirement income, most often get permanent results. In our experience, clients that are able to create income opportunities receive temporary options. The time span for those options vary greatly from one year to five years.

What happens after the lender agrees to modify the loan?
After the terms have been met (verification and document submission) and the permanent or long-term temporary modified payment period begins, SJHM starts the Financial Fitness (counseling/budgeting portion) of intervention. It is important for you to participate in the group and individual sessions to ensure your success in the modification program.

Do I have enough time to get help if I have already received a date that my home will be sold?
If it is less than ten days to the sale date, you may need to begin the transitioning phase. There are times that the judge will not cancel the sale with less than a week notice. Nonetheless, we encourage you to still seek help if you want to keep your home. Call the office.