My Lender Said They Are Going To Help Me.....I'm Saved!!!!

On a semi regular basis, we talk with prospective clients that say that they're just going to work with their lender. Usually it goes like this, the client puts in a request for assistance, we contact them and tell them what their options are. Like me, if they can do something themselves and not have to pay for it, they are going to explore that option.
So after dodging numerous phone calls from the lender, they call back and threaten that they are considering using a third party for assistance. The phone call gets passed to a supervisor, and they explain that they would now like to assist you. They go through the motions, and set you up to have their hardship package sent out. At this point, they are betting on a few things and usually win: 1) you will get the information, and not even fill it out. 2) you will fill out the information un-assisted, and they can record (document) what you submit to them, 3)the information that you submit to them will either be incomplete or not within their parameters. Now they've got you up against the ropes, you're eating out of their hand and basically willing to give them anything they ask for. They then explain to you that it takes about 90-120 days to complete the process, and advise you that if you can make a payment during this time, to do so. So you either A) don't make a payment during this time B) make your payments. Either way, you're now three months later in the process and one of two things will happen.
1)They approve your application, and give you a low-ball offer (keep in mind that this is the multi-million dollar corporation whose job is to make as much money as possible, not give it away. They have no reason to have your best interests in mind).

Example: You are four months behind on your $2K a month mortgage, so you're $8K behind on payments plus fees, and you have a 7.5% ARM. They say OK, you come up with $4K of it, and we'll defer the other $4K and you should be good to go....Problem is, that once they do the deferral, you're still right back at square one with a rate and payment higher than they should be, and an adjustable clause. Because you want to keep your home and don't feel you have any other options, you sign on the dotted line. The lender gets paid in full from the government, and you're really not any better off than you were before.
2)They just deny your application for one reason or another, and now you're further behind than you were the first time. Furthermore, the lender now has your DENIED application on record, so should you now decide to try and use a legitimate modification company, they are going to have a really hard time trying to get the tables turned around as the cat is now out of the bag. Mortgage companies have made it very clear to the public that they basically have ONE SHOT at getting this done. They are just not logistically set up to “re-hash” your file, nor is it their responsibility to “walk you through it” and make sure that you qualify. Their job is to act in the best interests of their investors and board of directors, not yours.
So why do people still try to do it themselves? Usually it's the fear of getting scammed. Every time you turn around you hear of some new loan modification company that is a scam. There are quite a few of them out there, we give quite a bit of information about them on our website.
“OK, so I clearly can't trust my lender to just magically help me out, and I don't want to be scammed out of my last hard earned dollar, what do I do then? You need to do diligent research on whatever modification company you're considering. Find out what they're success rate is, find out what they're employees experience is? Were they flipping burgers last week and they're now loan modification specialists? Do they have a guarantee, do they offer no up front fees? Are they charging me $3-$4 thousand dollars, or is their fee pretty reasonable. Whether I'm buying a TV or looking for a loan modification company, I'm going to due some research. I want to make sure I'm dealing with a solid company that will not only sell me the TV, but offer service if I have a problem AFTER I've bought it. I also want to make sure I'm getting the most bang for the buck. It comes down to your gut feeling. Do you have a good feeling about this company or not?