Getting A Loan Modification While Unemployed Is Not Impossible

With unemployment on the rise, homeowners who have lost their jobs are wondering whether their lender with approve a loan modification while unemployed. The truth is, most lenders have difficulty accepting loan modification applications from unemployed homeowners. Even more so if that homeowner has been unemployed for an extended period of time.

If you're unemployed and are in desperate need of a loan modification to save your home, you are not alone. Unemployment in the United States is at an all-time high and everyone is feeling the effects. Foreclosure may be right at your doorstep, but there are loan modification options out there for you. Because the unemployment rate has skyrocketed at such an alarming rate, the Home Affordable Program has forced lenders to be more reasonable with homeowners like yourself.

The bottom line is that mortgage lenders will look at your debt to income ratio to determine whether they will accept your request for a loan modification. If you are receiving unemployment checks, your lender will be much more willing to negotiate new loan terms with you. But even if you do not receive unemployment, loan modification while unemployed is not an impossibility.

It may be in your best interest to hold off on applying for a modification until you have a job interview or opportunity on the horizon. Your lender loses money on loan modifications one way or another and an unclear future about your ability to pay your mortgage will affect their decision to approve you or not. It is possible to apply for a loan modification 30 days prior to your scheduled foreclosure date, so do not be afraid to postpone until your financial future looks a little better.

There are rare cases where a lender will approve your request for loan modification while unemployed. For this you must strictly meet the qualification criteria your lender has set and have had an almost pristine work history. For example, if you were laid off from a company you were with for at least a couple of years, you are much more likely to be approved than a homeowner who was only with the last company they worked with for a couple of months. Your work history can be seen as a type of security in the eyes of the lender, much like your prospective future employment.

No matter your circumstances, getting a loan modification while unemployed will be difficult. Even if you get unemployment it may not be good enough for your lender. Having your loan modification application approved under normal circumstances is difficult enough as it is, and trying without a job multiplies the difficulty trifold in many cases. However, it is definitely not impossible.