Tell us what to do :(

[Spyatu]

Which takes me back to square one with the services that I was offered,

" I can make sure you qualify for our services without any money out of pocket. You will not be charged anything until we collect some basic information.( after that $580.00 fee) I will have answer back usually within 72 hours. (Depending on each case) It sounds like I will be able to modify your existing loan without putting a large down payment and refinancing, and paying huge closing costs.

Florida is by far one of the worst hit states by the declining market and mortgage meltdown. In fact it is among the top 3 states we service. So that is definitely in your favor. ( and IF they are able to do something we must pay one month of rent 3k for the services)

I have two other friends that have done this and were able to knock $500.00 a month from the monthly payment.

Sorry for all the questions but this time I need help with my next step, so far I have done good but this time other opinions could save the day.

[JRScott]

To anyone offering such a deal check out the Better Business Bureau. Make sure they are on the up and up.

I wouldn't touch your 401k.

If you really want to avoid bankruptcy you might want to check out Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. It is usually taught in local churches but may also be offered through other community outlets. Dave doesn't like BKs, he does have a plan to help you budget and get out of debt. I'm gonna warn you though that it does require a lot of work, and usually picking up extra side jobs like newspaper delivery, pizza delivery and other jobs to make extra money. It sounds like you are right on the edge right now and if you could get the extra income you could pull through.

Another area you might try is in food cost. Angel Food Ministries offers lowcost food for those that need. http://www.angelfoodministries.com/

The food is pretty good, my parents have used it before and I'm considering using it some. The regular box feeds a family of 4 for 1 week. It costs 30 dollars. In october the menu has chicken, pork chops, meatloaf, steak, eggs, milk, Hawaiian punch, vegetable mix, etc. Look over their website, maybe it can help your family in this crisis time. They only deliver once a month so you'd need 4 boxes probably but that's only 120 dollars, then buy a little fruit on the side. (Course if your vegetarians this might not work to good).

[fltoo]

Not the best advice but I have seen it work for some friends of mine... They fell months behind on their mortage and ended up getting mortgage forgiveness cutting their amounts owed back to the current value of the property and they forgave them almost $300k on their mortgage and gave them a new loan with a lower rate for them not to go foreclosure.

Would you happen to know what mortgage company this was?

[Spyatu]

Yes I like to know also, well some positive news is that I check the company that was offering that great deal, as some of you suggested I check with the BBB and in fact they came back with a D , basically for not fulfilling their promises, so thank you, that is out of the way now, so the search continues for our solution........

[JRScott]

I'm glad you checked them out, sorry that it wasn't as good a deal as it seemed, but pays to check before putting money into it

[HHM]

I say, go get an accurate appraisal of your home.

If you can get an appraisal that shows it is worth less than the balance owed on the 1st mortgage, I think you should file Chapter 13. Your income is probably too high to go 7 and a 7 won't solve 1 of your issues, the 2nd mortgage. In a chapter 13, assuming your home is worth less than the 1st mortgage, you can strip that 2nd mortgage off (eliminate it) and discharge your unsecured debt at the end of the payment plan.

You can try the mortgage mod route, but this is something you can do on your own, you do not need to hire someone (or if anything, hire a real estate attorney who has experience doing this). The problem is, you most likely will need to default before the lender will even consider doing anything, in which case, you need a plan B. After all, you will have defaulted on your mortgage and the bank would then have leverage with the foreclosure.