If you’re struggling to pay your bills, you’ve probably been looking for ways to minimize your debt.  If the payments on your bills were just a little bit lower, you know you would be better off financially, and with your largest bill being your mortgage, you’re wondering if there’s any way you can reduce your monthly payments.

You can do so with a mortgage modification.  This is not to be confused with refinancing, though.  When you refinance, you are applying for a new loan that pays off the old one.  To qualify, you will be subject to a credit check, an appraisal of your home, and you must not have any late payments.  If you pass these requirements, you can potentially end up with a smaller payment and a better interest rate.

If you don’t pass, your other option is a mortgage modification.  This option is strictly for those who are struggling to pay back their loan and have likely gone delinquent or are at risk of doing so.  The terms of your current loan will simply be modified, usually by lowering the interest rate and/or extending the length of the loan to potentially lower your monthly payments.

To get a mortgage modification, the property in question must be your primary residence. You must show that you have missed payments on your loan or are in danger of doing so (if you’ve filed bankruptcy, though, you won’t qualify), and you must be able to prove that you are not purposely defaulting on your loan just to get a modification.  Proof of a shift in your financial circumstances, such as losing your job, can help you qualify as well.

If this looks like an option for you, be sure to find a licensed agent.  There are plenty of scammers out there who will lure you in with tempting offers and end up robbing you of even more money that you probably can’t afford to spend.  Once you find a licensed agent, read over every last detail, and if you don’t understand something, don’t sign until you do.  It’s important to understand all of the terms because some modifications will tack unpaid interest and missed payments onto the end of your loan, and it’s possible that your monthly payment may not actually decrease by much or at all.  Be sure to research all of your available options before signing yourself into a modification.