Portland Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

Portland Bankruptcy Lawyer Discusses the Failure of the Home Loan Modification Program

Despite all the hype, the much tauted home loan modification programs set up by congress to help troubled homeowners...aren't providing much help. I cannot say this surprises me. As a bankruptcy lawyer in Oregon I hear tales everyday of the long lines, unending document requests, no call backs and 9 month waits. Simply put these programs are not working as advertised. This article details some of those stories and provides some insight on the issue.

In my bankruptcy practice I have Oregon clients coming to me trying to do modifications as part of their overall financial restructuring which usually includes a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing. I must warn them they should not be too optimistic in receiving a modification and we must plan their filing and future finances not relying on that modification coming through. A good bankruptcy lawyer should give their prospective clients both a best-case scenario and a worse case scenario so the client can make a good decision. Hearing more and more of these delayed and denied modification stories keep me from implemented them or relying on them as part of my planing process. I wish it was the other way around as a good modification may keep some of my clients from having to filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 in the first place.

-"It is not what we get. But who we become, what we contribute... that gives meaning to our lives".-