It’s funny thing (in a non-laughing kind of way) that it’s homeowners who are saddled with the responsibility of fixing their distressed mortgage situations. The lenders created loan documents that were difficult to understand and often lent to people who would have trouble making terms, particularly when an out-of-control ARM consumes more than 50 percent of the borrowers’ income – and that’s in good times.

Now that there are millions of homeowners with home loans dangerously close to foreclosure, the banks are suffering the fallout. Regardless of who gets blame for the past, the savvy borrower is learning to negotiate with the banks. This wins them better mortgage rates and lower monthly payments to keep the borrower in the house.

It’s actually possible to do this negotiation, called a loan modification, on one’s own. But professional loan modifiers are lawyers and finance people who are likely to do better – in fact, more skilled loan modifiers can predict with 90 percent accuracy in advance if they will be successful. Professional loan modifiers have industry insider information on what a lender will be willing to give in the modification process.

It’s important for any borrower to receive a money back guaranty, a 100 percent refund if the loan modifiers do not achieve favorable terms. Fees charged overall should be approximately one month’s mortgage payment.