For millions of Americans who are in home loans they didn’t understand – with terms such as skyrocketing ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) that are beyond their means to pay – it may be challenging to now consider using a loan modification firm to help negotiate a new loan.

The deja vu is in working with legal and financial experts who know more than you. Are they in it for a quick buck too?

First, understand what loan modification people do. On your behalf, paid a fee by you, they approach your lender to request better mortgage terms. Maybe they’ll get a rate reduction, or a reduction in monthly payments through a longer term (40 year) mortgage. Their goal is to keep you in your home at a payment schedule you can afford.

So what’s in it for them? You are asked to pay a fee of about one month’s mortgage payment. That’s it. And the better firms offer more: they should predict with 90 percent accuracy if they will or will not succeed in working on your case. And if they don’t succeed, they should offer a 100 percent money back guaranty (not all do).

How do they succeed where you might not? They know that banks don’t want to own houses. They know that foreclosure proceedings also cost the bank money to pursue. They also know that banks would prefer to keep you as a customer, providing them a monthly stream of incoming payments. But most important, they know how to cut through the red tape and voice mail jungle to talk to the right people.