Tips on writting a hardship letter
In order to qualify for a loan modification or short sale you must submit a hardship letter to the lender. There is specific information that must be included and below are several tips when writing your letter.
1. Include your account number, current contact information, and the address of the property.
2. Explain why you fell behind in your payments.
3. Explain why a modification or short sale will help you get back on schedule.
4. Explain if there are any anticipated changes (good or bad) in your income or expenses and when you expect them to happen.
5. Explain why you are committed to making this plan work.
6. If you have any money saved to put toward the workout plan.
7. If you sent in payments that were returned to you, explain what happen what you've done with those payments.
Below are several examples of hardship letters, which include the tips above. Please review these letters before submitting your hardship letter to Cogburn Law Offices.
Secret One - Are You Qualified?
The first secret of writing your real estate hardship letter is understanding what lenders consider a "qualified" hardship. The big secret is that there are only two qualified hardships!
1. A sudden, unavoidable loss of income
2. A sudden, unavoidable increase in expenses
Secret Two - Your Secret Weapon
The attitude you choose to take when dealing with your lender is critical to your success. They will appreciate a can-do, positive attitude more than you can possibly imagine. They typically deal with negative, angry people all day long. Remember that loss mitigators are not mean people trying to steal your home and security from you. They are simply people doing their job. Just being friendly, polite, and considerate will usually get you treated the same way in return.
Secret Three - Stay On The Straight and Narrow
Your hardship letter is not the place for you to describe all the bad experiences you've had with your lender's collection agents.
It's not the place to describe every little detail of why you lost your job or how bad your boss treated you either.
Your goal is to present yourself as a rational, reliable person that got behind on their mortgage and is now ready to make it right.
Stay focused. Don't try to win sympathy... because you won't. Just tell your story plainly and move on to the rest of the letter.
Secret Four - You Are In Control
The most important ingredient to your success in saving your home is your Action Mindset. If you clearly envision your future, you can overcome all of the bumps in front of you. The toughest times in your life are also the most rewarding ones once you've made it through them. If you have an Action Mindset, you will overcome these difficulties and become a wiser, stronger person. You can take control of your situation if you simply take action on what you learn and take it one step at a time.
