Now it appears that where coming out of the economic slump people have a lot of questions regarding their mortgages, is it a good time to buy a home etc. this is probably the best time to do a loan modification. However, be wary of the many scams that are in the market place to take advantage of unsuspecting homeowners. Some people are so desperate to avoid foreclosure they are easy prey for these scam artists.

I recently did a loan modification on my $1 million plus mortgage and it didn’t cost me one dime. This of course was through my bank. Any legitimate loan modification should not cost you anything! Any company that asked for money up front is more than likely a scam! Most banks are willing to work with homeowners.

The last thing the bank wants is to have foreclosed homes sitting on the market. The bank loses money when no one is paying the mortgage. You have more power than you think! Call your bank and I’m sure they will work with you. Every bank has a loss mitigation department. Their sole purpose is one thing and one thing only, not to lose money. And the bank does this by working with the homeowner to keep them in their home and avoid foreclosure!

Trying to maintain good credit in this economic environment is tough. One of the things I have done is reduce my credit card debt. I have closed three accounts negotiated a repayment plan and pay down the cards I want to keep. It just takes a little discipline and a plan. My credit score has improved drastically by taking those simple steps. When the banks returned to lending on a normal basis having a good credit score will be imperative. So work on it now and do what you can to reduce debt pay down your credit cards and get rid of the ones that you don’t need.