This is anectodal and not verified but I heard from someone that I had a listing appointment with about 6 months ago that they hired an attorney to work on a loan mod for them. They said that they had a principal reduction that was determined by an appraisal such that the value of the home was equivalent to todays standards. They also said they were put into a 4.5% fixed rate loan. Finally they did have to sign an agreement that should they resell, that any and all gains above the reset principal would be realized by the beneficiary until those gains equaled the forgiven balance AND all defered interest above the 4.5% fixed rate when compared to the current rate they had. I have NO IDEA if this is true. I checked the tax roll on the home and there is no change (which I expected). They said that the fee was not cheap but they are happy with the results. Conversely I have heard alot of the loan mod programs from various “workout experts” were shams and of no help at all.