First, however, a little background on Citi Mortgage and loan modification programs. A loan modification is an agreement between borrower and lender to reduce the monthly payments of the borrower to an affordable amount, allowing the borrower to keep their home, and the lender to avoid the high cost of foreclosure. This is in effect loss mitigation.
Citi is quite motivated to do a loan modification for two reasons; first and foremost, through modification they can avoid losing significant money on selling your home as a foreclosure. Second, a good deal of pressure has been placed on Citi Mortgage recently by the Treasury Department, Congress, and the Obama Administration to help more homeowners under the Making Home Affordable Program.
Citi Mortgage does participate in the Making Home Affordable program, a program designed to help homeowners reduce their monthly payments to 31% of their gross income; in depth program guidelines and help on qualification for the Treasury Loan Modification Program can be found in a number of places.
Citi Mortgage has a separate department dedicated to helping homeowners modify their mortgages. Citi's stance on outside help is that homeowners do not need professional or Attorney guidance in getting their mortgages modified. Find Out Whether You Are Eligible For Loan Modification Application We beg to differ.
As of November, 2009, Citi Mortgage had 100,126 homeowners in Trial Loan Modifications, however, had only granted 271 permanent loan modifications. This is a less than 1% Permanent Modification Success rate, and absolutely horrible.
Compare this with the majority of Attorney Groups, most all of which lay claim to a 90% + success rate on loan modifications for their clients.
Taking the First Steps
Regardless of whether or not you need professional help, the first step in getting a loan modification from Citi Mortgage is to write a hardship letter.
This is your opportunity to tell Citi Mortgage exactly what the financial hardship is that you are experiencing, as well as express your desire to find a plausible solution that is both in your and Citi's best interest.
Your hardship letter should include your name, address and contact information, and loan number, as well as your purpose in contacting Citi's Loss Mitigation Department; would you like to save your home through a loan modification, or would you rather sell it is a short-sale? In your hardship letter you should state clearly the reason for your financial difficulty, and state whether this is a permanent or short term hardship. Your hardship letter should be about one page typed, clear, concise, and to the point.
When you have completed your hardship letter, begin gathering the required documentation for a loan modification from Citi Bank, which consists of W-2s, Pay stubs, Tax Returns, and 2 months of bank statements. If your taxes and insurance are not escrowed into your monthly mortgage payments, you will need to document those figures, and if you are self-employed you will need to prepare a 3 month Profit and Loss statement as well.
Contacting Citi Mortgage regarding Loss Mitigation
Citi's Office of Homeownership Preservation can be reached via phone at (866) 915-8417 Monday Thursday, 6am-6pm PST and on Fridays 6am-3pm PST, however we urge you to speak to an loan modification attorney first.
