Mortgage Question

• June18

  Anyone ever try to get your mortgage co to lower your payments without refinancing? Someone was telling me that if you call and tell them that you are having trouble making payments they will work with you to find a way to make it more affordable.
  
  House payment was affordable on two incomes but not once the wife left.
  
  Don't really want to end up in foreclosure.
• WebFire

  It's worth a try, but I wouldn't count on much. The thing is, the bank doesn't want your house. So they may be willing to work something out. But it could kill you later, because you still have to pay it all eventually.
• chicago510

  

  I've heard of banks being lenient with due dates in avoiding foreclosure, but not lowering your payment without refinancing. You probably don't qualify for your own house on one income, so taking advantage of these killer rates is unfortunately not an option.
  
  But it never hurts to call your HMC, the worst they can do is say no.
• ernest_t_bass

  

  One way to lower your payment is to check with the county auditor on your taxes. With the current economic condition, there is a good chance you are paying taxes on your house that are more than what your house is actually worth.
• Steel Valley Football

  ernest_t_bass;863720 wrote:One way to lower your payment is to check with the county auditor on your taxes. With the current economic condition, there is a good chance you are paying taxes on your house that are more than what your house is actually worth.

  
  He is correct. I've done lots of reassessment appraisals. I can tell you how to start if you want.
• dlazz

  I rent.
  
  Hope this helps.
• June18

  I rent.
  
  Hope this helps.

  
  I'll make you a deal on a house if you want to become a homeowner.
• said_aouita

  

  Change your deductible and look for different insurance is probably the two easiest ways. The mortgage company may be able to do something with the payments. Add a few years that lower monthly payments?
  
  If go the insurance route, best bet is car/home with the same company. Possibly the mortgage company can help with changing insurance companies too.
• LJ

  

  June18;863634 wrote:Anyone ever try to get your mortgage co to lower your payments without refinancing? Someone was telling me that if you call and tell them that you are having trouble making payments they will work with you to find a way to make it more affordable.
  
  House payment was affordable on two incomes but not once the wife left.
  
  Don't really want to end up in foreclosure.

  
  Who is your lender? Some offer programs that will modify your loan after you complete a strict trial mod period. Others will just tell you to fuck off. Basically you just call the mortgage servicing call center, say you are having trouble making your payments and that you would like to speak with someone in homeowner rentention about setting up a trial mod.
• WebFire

  Steel Valley Football;863733 wrote:He is correct. I've done lots of reassessment appraisals. I can tell you how to start if you want.

  
  Around my area, I'd say most are well under the actual value of the house and paying less taxes than they should.
• fan_from_texas

  Call, explain your situation, and provide a reasonable solution. Give them an incentive to work with you. They want you to keep making your payments, so if you can show them that your plan is in their best interest, they may be willing to budge. The problem is that any movement on their end is likely to be trapped by layer upon layer of bureaucracy, and there isn't much you can do about that.
• Steel Valley Football

  WebFire;863825 wrote:Around my area, I'd say most are well under the actual value of the house and paying less taxes than they should.

  Based on on what?
• Steel Valley Football

  WebFire;863825 wrote:Around my area, I'd say most are well under the actual value of the house and paying less taxes than they should.

  
  
  Based on what?
• WebFire

  Steel Valley Football;864110 wrote:Based on what?

  
  Based on tax appraisals vs. bank/3rd party appraisals. The tax appraisals have always been much lower than the actual appraised values.
• Steel Valley Football

  WebFire;864111 wrote:Based on tax appraisals vs. bank/3rd party appraisals. The tax appraisals have always been much lower than the actual appraised values.

  
  That assumes a competent and honest appraisal on each property, which may or may not have happened. Besides, how many have you compared? You said "most".
  
  Regardless, contradicting my advice to look into it was bad advice on your part.
• WebFire

  Steel Valley Football;864143 wrote:That assumes a competent and honest appraisal on each property, which may or may not have happened. Besides, how many have you compared? You said "most".
  
  Regardless, contradicting my advice to look into it was bad advice on your part.

  
  I wasn't contradicting for that reason. Stating the way it is here. I didn't know we had to have an argument about it.
• thedynasty1998

  

  It may sound stupid and not necessarily recommended, but they may be more willing to structure your note if you miss a couple payments. Or just pay interest only. Then they might believe you are really struggling.
• Steel Valley Football

  WebFire;864455 wrote:I wasn't contradicting for that reason. Stating the way it is here. I didn't know we had to have an argument about it.

  Fair enough. I didn't mean to offend you. I just think it is something that has a high chance of lowering his payment. My next statement to him, had he responded, was that he can go right on the county auditor site and use a feature called Tax Estimator and plug in a lower value. Plug in 10k less that the assessed value and figure the savings. Then do 20k, etc etc. That's monthly and would last until sells or pays off. Its at the bottom left once you find your property.
  
  What county are you in btw?
• WebFire

  Steel Valley Football;864778 wrote:Fair enough. I didn't mean to offend you. I just think it is something that has a high chance of lowering his payment. My next statement to him, had he responded, was that he can go right on the county auditor site and use a feature called Tax Estimator and plug in a lower value. Plug in 10k less that the assessed value and figure the savings. Then do 20k, etc etc. That's monthly and would last until sells or pays off. Its at the bottom left once you find your property.
  
  What county are you in btw?

  Hardin county. I guess it's worth a try, but I wouldn't label it as a high chance. Maybe it's different in other areas.
• WebFire

  I'll use my house as an example. About 9 years ago, it appraised for $92,000. My tax appraised value just now went up from $66k to $72k.
  
  My neighbor bought his house in 2004 for $74k. His tax value right now is $52k.
• queencitybuckeye

  WebFire;865036 wrote:I'll use my house as an example. About 9 years ago, it appraised for $92,000. My tax appraised value just now went up from $66k to $72k.
  
  My neighbor bought his house in 2004 for $74k. His tax value right now is $52k.

  
  Nine years ago was a whole different world. Any reason to believe that your house and/or area was exempt from the market drop? $72K could well be in the right ballpark.
• WebFire

  queencitybuckeye;865105 wrote:Nine years ago was a whole different world. Any reason to believe that your house and/or area was exempt from the market drop? $72K could well be in the right ballpark.

  
  Just appraised for $85k in April.
  
  Another neighbor pays tax on an appraisal of $44k. He is selling his house, listed at $89k.
• Steel Valley Football

  WebFire;865036 wrote:I'll use my house as an example. About 9 years ago, it appraised for $92,000. My tax appraised value just now went up from $66k to $72k.
  
  My neighbor bought his house in 2004 for $74k. His tax value right now is $52k.

  WebFire;865109 wrote:Just appraised for $85k in April.
  
  Another neighbor pays tax on an appraisal of $44k. He is selling his house, listed at $89k.

  
  This is all well and good but I think you are lacking some key information.
  
  I can come out and appraise your house for $100K the same day that your guy did it for 85K, but that has nothing to do with your assessed value. In fact the county auditor will never even know about those appraisals. Those appraisal values are also not absolute and are VERY subjective. Another appraiser can then come out and do an appraisal to present to your auditor to lower your taxes, while showing a much lesser value and still be perfectly legal.
  
  Another interesting note is that you just had your assessed value raised by the county. That would raise a red flag to me unless you've recently filed a building permit with the county for an improvement. The red flag being because I can guarantee values in Hardin County are not appreciating and have only gone down over the last few years. Franklin County announced they would be putting a freeze on all assessed values and to my knowledge have not raised them in several years.
• WebFire

  Steel Valley Football;865640 wrote:This is all well and good but I think you are lacking some key information.
  
  I can come out and appraise your house for $100K the same day that your guy did it for 85K, but that has nothing to do with your assessed value. In fact the county auditor will never even know about those appraisals. Those appraisal values are also not absolute and are VERY subjective. Another appraiser can then come out and do an appraisal to present to your auditor to lower your taxes, while showing a much lesser value and still be perfectly legal.
  
  Another interesting note is that you just had your assessed value raised by the county. That would raise a red flag to me unless you've recently filed a building permit with the county for an improvement. The red flag being because I can guarantee values in Hardin County are not appreciating and have only gone down over the last few years. Franklin County announced they would be putting a freeze on all assessed values and to my knowledge have not raised them in several years.

  
  For your first point, you are right, they are subjective. But my point is they are already so low here that there is very little chance someone would come and do a legit appraisal and it would be lower.
  
  As for mine going up, sounds like everyone's did, including Hancock to the north. Your very question was raised in a letter to the editor of the local paper. But how often do they do the appraisals? It isn't all that often I don't think. So values probably went up just for the fact that they are so low.
• Steel Valley Football

  WebFire;865696 wrote:For your first point, you are right, they are subjective. But my point is they are already so low here that there is very little chance someone would come and do a legit appraisal and it would be lower.
  
  As for mine going up, sounds like everyone's did, including Hancock to the north. Your very question was raised in a letter to the editor of the local paper. But how often do they do the appraisals? It isn't all that often I don't think. So values probably went up just for the fact that they are so low.

  It's every three years.
  
  Your statement that it may be different elsewhere is dead on. I know of dozens of developments with 80-200 properties in central Ohio where the assessments were high when they were built due to builder financing. It's just a matter for on how to appraise them all with two kids under two and a half lol.
  
  One thing is cetain tho: the county will never lower your assesment. In some counties, its just about sending a licensed appraisal w your paperwork and it's processed cuz they are so busy. I saved a friend in Upper Arlington $600 and change every half by lowering his assessment. Three years from now they'll keep it the same because of no sales activity on it, three years from then the same, and so on. If theres a sale it will change. But that's a lotta money I saved him for a $300 appraisal fee. How could you not look into in when it's free to crunch the numbers on county website, ya know?