A number of mortgage companies have begun reaching out to homeowners facing foreclosure to help them stay in their homes. To demonstrate their efforts, many lenders have made the process of getting loan modification assistance easier and faster. This addresses the complaints of many homeowners and real estate specialists that homeowners facing foreclosure are not getting the help they need in a timely manner.
 
Under the guidelines being followed by many lenders, homeowners should now receive correspondence regarding a request for assistance within five business days. A decision regarding approval or denial will be rendered within 45 days of the original request. This helps to eliminate the gap between the time a homeowner asks for help with loan modification and the time a homeowner receives it. As a lender, you can help struggling homeowners to catch up on their payments by offering a similar timeline to respond to requests for assistance. Most lenders are also offering homeowners an update on the status of their application about 30 days after the initial request was submitted. This kind of frequent communication between the homeowner and the lender means that both parties are updated on the status of the request at all times.

This new way of reacting to requests for assistance from homeowners for home loan help comes about after many months of conversations and meetings among leading lenders, mortgage servicers and housing industry and governmental professionals. These guidelines were set in motion to encourage lenders to be as available as possible to homeowners falling between the cracks of this vast economic crisis. Lenders are also being encouraged to reconsider -- and in some places call for a moratorium -- on foreclosures as homeowners try to right their finances after being turned upside down in the current housing market. 

These new guidelines are also backed by the United States Treasury Department, which is also asking lenders to be lenient in their approval process and provide homeowners with as much relief as possible, particularly those that fell victim to predatory lending practices. Lenders will also be working with the Federal Housing Administration to help homeowners trade their complex, ballooning mortgages  for more reasonable, affordable loans.