“I’m making more than I’m spending.”
Wonderful! Now, how much more are you making? Is it a sizeable difference, or are you barely squeaking by? Are you able to increase your income or is it stuck where it is? When you look at your list of expenses, is there anything that can be cut back, deferred until later, or eliminated entirely?
The critical issue: if you want to keep your home, your income must be higher than your expenses. This should be obvious, but you would not believe the number of people who call us who are spending a lot more than they’re earning. And they don’t even realize it until we go through the exercise you just completed! The truth is, very few people have any clue what their expenses are. If you ask 10 people how much they spent on groceries for the last three months, the answers would not be very accurate. By looking up your actual numbers and entering them into the worksheet, you will learn more about your financial situation than 90% of all Americans. Even if you don’t like what you’ve learned through this exercise, the good news is that you’ve now gotten a good look at your situation. And, this information can help you to make good decisions which will lead to a better future.
As far as your lender is concerned, not only is it important that you show a monthly “surplus,” as it’s called, but the surplus must be large enough to give some room for error. If you’re already spending every nickel you have, then you don’t have the ability to pay for unexpected expenses, especially big-ticket items like roof repair, furnace replacement, the blown transmission on your car, etc.
Our definition of a successful workout is obtaining a solution that you can easily afford. Our standard of success is a plan that’s sustainable. 94% of our clients are still in their homes 12 months after we’ve obtained a workout solution on their mortgages. If you like those odds, then, please fill out our short application form, which is the first step towards joining their ranks.