Overview of Loan Modifications
A loan modification permanently modifies the terms of your loan. It may change one or more terms of your loan in order to help you bring a defaulted loan current and prevent foreclosure. Based on your circumstances, a loan modification may include one or more of the following:
- an interest rate reduction
- in certain cases, a forgiveness of a portion of principal
- an extension of the maturity of the debt
- spreading the past due amount over the remaining term
- a deferment of a portion of the outstanding debt.
You may be eligible for a loan modification if:
- You have a hardship, such as a job loss, divorce or medical emergency
- You are able to make modified mortgage payments
- You satisfy the loan owner’s eligibility requirements
Get Started
Call us at 888-504-7300, 8AM to 6PM CT Monday through Friday. If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you can reach customer service by calling 888-616-5400. If you do not have a Home Retention Specialist (your single point of contact) already assigned to you, we will assign one. Your Home Retention Specialist will work with you through the entire process and advise you on options available to you.
Your Home Retention Specialist will ask you some basic questions about your income, expenses, your home and your intentions about your home. You should have the following information available when you call:
- The reason why you cannot or expect not to be able to make your loan payments.
- The total amount of your income from all sources.
- An itemized list of your monthly expenses.
Your Home Retention Specialist will review this initial information and let you know, on a preliminary basis, if a loan modification might be a good solution for your situation.
To properly evaluate you for a loan modification and determine if you qualify, however, you will be required to complete and submit a customer assistance application and provide documentation for your income and certain expenses. We may also need to confirm the value and condition of your home, the ownership of your home and whether there are any liens against your property.
You can get a customer assistance application on our website under “Documents”” or request that your Home Retention Specialist send one to you. You are not required to use this form but you must provide us with substantially the same information and required documents.
Complete, sign and return the customer assistance application to Rushmore as follows:
By Mail:
Rushmore Loan Management Services LLC
Attention: Home Retention
15480 Laguna Canyon Road
Irvine, CA 92618
By Fax: 949-341-2238
Be sure to provide all requested information and documents.
Keep a copy of your customer assistance application and submitted documents for your records.
Please note that we will not evaluate customer assistance applications that are received shortly before a scheduled foreclosure sale. See the Getting Started page for more information.
Processing Your Application
We will confirm receipt of your customer assistance application in writing within 5 business days after receipt. We will let you know if any information or documents are missing and how much time you have to provide it to us.
Once your customer assistance application is complete, we will evaluate you for all loss mitigation options offered by the owner of your loan. If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, your application will be evaluated in accordance with their specific guidelines. If your loan is a government-insured loan, such as a FHA loan, you will be evaluated under the government’s program guidelines. If your loan is eligible under the Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP), you will be evaluated under HAMP guidelines first, once you have submitted a complete application. We will let you know in writing within 30 calendar days from the date your customer assistance application is complete whether any options are available to you.
You can check the status of your customer assistance application here.
Loan Modification Eligibility
We service loans for many different loan owners. Each loan owner decides what options to offer and when and under what circumstances they will be offered. Some loan owners may not offer loan modification options or may limit the number of times or the time periods during which it will offer such options. Some loan owners may offer different options depending on whether the property is a primary residence, second home or investment property or is vacant.
If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, your loan will be evaluated based on the options and guidelines made available by Fannie or Freddie.
If your loan is a government-insured loan (e.g., FHA, VA or USDA), such government agency determines what options may be offered and when they may be offered.
If your loan is eligible for evaluation under the Government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), we will determine if you qualify for a modification under HAMP before evaluating you for any available proprietary loan modification. HAMP regulations determine who is eligible and when loan modifications must be offered. In addition, your loan owner must have agreed at the time it acquired your loan that it would be HAMP eligible. Most of the loans we service are not eligible for modification under HAMP.
Trial Period Payment Plan and Permanent Loan Modification
If you qualify for loan modification, you typically will be required to complete a trial period payment plan before a permanent loan modification is offered. The trial period is typically a period of between 3 and 6 months. Making all of your trial period payments is an indication of your ability and willingness to repay the loan successfully if the modification becomes permanent.
If you are approved for a trial period payment plan, you may accept the plan by making the initial required payment.
If you successfully complete the trial period payment plan and there is no material change in your financial circumstances and you maintain eligibility, a permanent loan modification is offered. At the end of the trial period, we may ask for updated income documentation to confirm your financial circumstances and your continued eligibility for a permanent loan modification.
If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or your loan is a government-insured loan, the requirements to transition from a trial period payment plan to a permanent loan modification are set by the specific guidelines for your program. Please call customer service for more information.
Short Refinance Opportunity
If you make 3 timely payments under the trial period payment plan, we may refer you to a refinance lender. If you qualify and accept this option, you can refinance your loan at less than the remaining balance of your loan because the owner of your loan agrees to forgive some of your principal balance.
If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you may be eligible for a short refinance opportunity as offered under their specific program guidelines. Please call customer service at 1-888-616-5400 for more information.