Countrywide Home Loan Modification Procedures and Policies

Many homeowners have their mortgages issued from Countrywide, which was acquired by Bank of America in July of 2008. It released a statement in October of 2008 announcing its new streamlined policies regarding mortgage adjustment in an effort to help more homeowners get back on track and be able to pay their mortgages. Customers may have heard about this statement but may not know exactly what Countrywide is doing differently for homeowners and who can take advantage of Countrywide home loan modification.

Lately Countrywide has received quite a bit of bad press for being an unfair lender. In 2008 the company was sued for predatory lending practices. If you don't believe in Countrywide's poor reputation, just search for the company name online and you'll see dozens of messageboards full of unsatisfied Countrywide customers with complaints about the company. They mostly complain about lack of communication among Countrywide employees, resulting in being told something different by every customer service representative they talk to. They also say that they are misled or have suffered from clerical errors.

Since the lawsuit, Countrywide and Bank of America released a statement announcing their plan for helping struggling homeowners in a uniform way with mortgage adjustment. For monthly payments that are just too high, Countrywide sets the target at 34% debt-to-income ratio. Once modified, loans will have a step-rate interest program to gradually bring borrowers back up to where they used to be. Qualified buyers have Countrywide-originated loans on a home that they both own and personally occupy.

Countrywide's plan for modifying mortgages has a few different options. HOPE for Homeowners is an FHA loan plan for refinancing, even for homeowners who didn't qualify for traditional refinancing under the old rules. HOPE was established because so many people have lost the requisite equity in their homes due to falling house prices. The only drawback is that if you choose to sell your home, you agree to share a percentage of the equity with the FHA at that time. If you can't take advantage of HOPE, other plans for loan modification include interest rate reductions and principal forbearance by Countrywide.

If you've got a Countrywide loan and you're having trouble with your payments, apply for loan modification. It's quite possible that Bank of America has turned things around at Countrywide, as per its statement from 2008. The company has a plan in place to help modify loans, so apply to see if you'll qualify. Countrywide is also automatically reviewing many mortgages and will be sending letters to those who are 60 days delinquent or are in danger of becoming delinquent.

Lindsy Emery, "Countrywide Home Loan Modification" , Loan Modification Guide and Resourcehttp://home-loan-modifications.info