blew_it
If I remeber correctly you wrote a pretty cavalier hardship letter saying it was a bad investment and thats why you wanted out. Its not wonder they turned you down. I have done several dozen short sales this year and hardship cases are pretty easy to get by from my experience.

Mary
When I start out with people the 1st question I always ask is “Do you want to keep the house or not?” That really is the crux of the matter if you have some sort of hardship which it sounds like you do. It does not have to be a real tearjerker. If you truly want to save the home, I encourage folks to go down the loan mod road first. If they really dont want the property, they should try to get rid of it.

SD R,
I would not be surprised at all if that were true. There is no book on what people get from their loan mod. Most 1st are changes to interest rates but 2nds can be negotiated away for de facto prinicipal reductions quite often. Every case is different and the results depend on so many factors. The skills and experience of the agent, attorney and/or negotiator on your side are paramount. But results can vary greatly based upon whose desk the file ends up on with the lender. Part of our success is due to the fact that we have established contacts inside many lenders that are good to work with who we can send our files directly to. I’m sure we are not the only ones that have done this.