Check your lender's loan mod performance history...
Source: http://financialstability.gov/docs/report.pdf
Go this link and find specific loan mod performance results on your loan servicer.
The charts on page 5 of the the HAMP Modification Activity by Servicer shows the relative performance of the top 20 loan servicers that have signed up for the HAMP loan modification program.
Companies typically do not own the loans that they service. The loans are owned by mortgaged backed security trusts referred to as "private investors". As such, loan servicers typically have no "skin in the game". As a result, those companies who service loans for private investors are the worst performers within the HAMP plan.
There is a direct relationship between the performance and the number of loans that the servicer actually owns. Citibank has a relatively large number of loans within their portfolio as opposed to loans owned by a private investor or mortgage backed security trust.
Citibank, Saxon and GMAC has been the most successful modifier of loans on a percentage basis. Each of these servicers have active modifications on at least 44% of their eligible loans, defined as those loans that are at least 60 days delinquent. The worst performers include One West Bank (21%), Ocwen (20%), Bank of America (19%), Litton (16%), American Home Servicing (9%), HomeEq (4%) and Wells Fargo owned Wachovia (3%).
Bank of America has the largest number of loans at 203,470, yet only 9,367 are actually owned by Bank of America. JP Morgan Chase is next with 153,967 eligible loans, of which only 21,871 are actually owned by the bank. Wells is third with 118,708 eligible loans, of which only 5,041 are owned by the bank. Most of the loans serviced by the big servicers tend to be owned by private investors. If the loans default, these banks don't suffer the same losses. Compare these proportions to CitiBank. Citibank services 112,998 loans and owns 31,648 of these loans. Because Citibank owns a substantial number of the loans, they have tended to modify more of the loans so as to minimize their potential losses.
