With the slump in the real estate market and looming recession putting increased demands on homeowners struggling to keep up with their mortgages, more and more families are facing the very real possibility of foreclosure in San Luis Obispo County.

Recent figures by Realty Trac put the number of homes in pre-foreclosure at 516 in SLO County with an additional 189 homes scheduled for auction and 199 homes that are bank-owned. Numbers in Paso Robles are similarly disheartening, with 150 homes in pre-foreclosure, 47 in auction and 56 properties that are bank-owned.

“It is very tough, namely for those who are in those adjustable rate mortgages,” said Christina Maldonado of Mortgage Solutions Center, LLC. “The cost of gas is rising and just cost of living right now is rising and people are having a very difficult time making their mortgages.”

With seemingly no end in sight to the torrent of rising prices and increasingly tighter purse strings, Maldonado is eager to offer solutions and hope to those at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure in SLO County. Mortgage Solutions Center, LLC is a modification and home mortgage loan restructuring company with a vision to assist homeowners before the lender initiates foreclosure efforts.

Maldonado has a long history in the real estate industry, which includes eight years as a licensed real estate agent. She took a break from real estate for two years to “follow a passion and a dream” of opening a small women’s clothing store in downtown Paso Robles, Reborn. With the store well established, Maldonado said she was eager to get back into real estate and singled out Mortgage Home Solutions, LLC as a company that she wanted to work with.

Mortgage Solutions Center, LLC, offers their customers a 100 percent money back guarantee that loans will be modified to maker lower payments. With anywhere from 20 to 25 negotiators working on loan modifications at any time, Mortgage Solutions Center has a completion rate of 99 percent and gives their clients a three-day rescission at the point of signing. In addition, if the client has both a first and a second loan, Mortgage Solutions Center does not charge for the loan in the second position.

“I really wanted to help people and I really didn’t see anybody else in San Luis Obispo County doing this,” Maldonado said. “I think that a lot of people don’t even realize that this is out there and they think their only option is to let the house go into foreclosure, when in fact that isn’t the case.”

Maldonado said while the lender can modify loans, in 99 percent of those cases the borrowers are unable to successfully do so. They face several challenges in that many homeowners are intimidated by lenders, do not completely understand mortgages and do not know the right things to say. By aligning themselves with professionals, the borrower can drastically improve their chances of modifying their loans and lowering their payments into a range that they can afford.

“Foreclosures don’t help anybody,” Maldonado said. “They don’t help the homeowner; they don’t help the community.”

To qualify for loan modification, the borrower must illustrate that they are working with a verifiable income and must have a valid hardship that is ending soon or has ended, so that the borrower can now afford payments. Mortgage Solution Center, LLC may also be able to help if the borrower is upside down with their home value, their loan is going to readjust soon and the increased rate will provide financial hardship, or if the borrower has a fixed loan but is encountering unexpected hardships. The process of re-modification varies with each borrower and can take anywhere from a week to more than two months, so Maldonado suggests that homeowners start the process right away.

Even if a borrower is already facing foreclose and has received a notice of default, there is still hope that Mortgage Solution Center will be able to keep them in their homes, Maldonado said. Essentially, it is Mortgage Solution Center’s potential to help Central Coast families that she finds most fulfilling about her work.

“It is very satisfying to know that I am able to help these families stay in their homes,” she said.

For more information, call Maldonado at 226-0622 to schedule an appointment or visit www.MSCmodifies.com.





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