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Words of Wisdom for Worried Borrowers

With problems in the mortgage lending sector dominating the news, home owners who have an adjustable-rate mortgage may be wondering if it's time to re-evaluate their financial situation.

"Think carefully about your ability to handle monthly mortgage payments in the future — and make adjustments, if necessary,"says Susie Irvine, president and CEO of the American Financial Services Association Education Foundation, an organization affiliated with mortgage lenders.

Here are some tips that will help to give peace of mind to borrowers with ARMs:

• Make note of the date your initial interest rate adjusts, or "resets," since the monthly payment may go up substantially. You can find the reset date on your monthly statement or by reviewing your loan contract.
• Be familiar with other terms and conditions of the loan, including what type of ARM you have and if there is a fee for paying off the loan early (a "prepayment penalty"). See the list below prepared by AFSAEF for important terms to know. Contact your lender if you have any questions.
• If you plan to refinance before the reset date, don't wait until the last minute. Lenders need time to prepare the paperwork, check references and schedule the closing. Ideally, the refinancing process should begin two to three months prior to the reset date of the existing loan.

• Find out their options. These may include forbearance (when the lender postpones foreclosure to give the borrower more time to make payments), mortgage modification programs and help with selling the home before foreclosure occurs.
• Watch out for scams. Be leery of "foreclosure specialists" who offer to solve your problems by paying off your mortgage or providing other services for a fee.
• Contact an approved housing counseling agency. For a list of agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides an online list of approved agencies. Another source of help is the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, which has counselors from HUD-certified agencies and sponsors a toll-free hotline (888-995-HOPE) dedicated to preventing foreclosures.