“Dear Steve,
I bought my condo when the market was high–bought it for $206,000 Feb 2007. Am told it’s only worth $160,000 now. 790 credit, never missed a payment, and have a stable, decent paying job and have no intentions of getting behind on my mortgage.
what options do I have to re-finance? My loan is serviced by Bank of America, so I don’t qualify for HARP (I’m over the 105% limit anyway and I probably make too much).
Thanks,
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Jason”
Dear Jason,
It does not sound like you want to refinance the loan and would not be able to anyway since the condo is worth so much less than the value of your loan. Instead you would need to go for a loan modification. But lenders are not required to offer loan modifications and your situation sounds similar to many others where people have decided to abandon their property in a process called strategic default.
Without any remedy provided by the lender, some people just figure its not worth making more payments on a property that may never recover its value.
To make sure there are no loan modification programs you are eligible for, contact a HUD Housing Counselor for some free help.
