If you think you might be getting in trouble with your current loan because the interest rate is climbing faster than you can keep up, take heart and read on. Lenders really don't want to foreclose on you, so the guys that got you into this trouble may be willing to help you out of it. If not, there are other alternatives.

There is an excellent article on Bankrate.com about refinancing out of exotic mortgages. It has some great tips. Then read here and here for some local help and other ideas.

Don't let yourself get in over your head. Do something before that happens. Email me if you have questions and perhaps I can point you in the right direction.

(C) Susan Pruden.

I wrote a earlier this month about a Maryland CDA "Lifeline Refinance" as a way out of your adjustable rate loan, or your negative amortization loan.

There is another option -- good ol' FHA. We haven't seen much of FHA loans in the past few years, but the loans are available and better than ever. By better, I mean that the process has been streamlined, so the beauracratic snafus that happened in the past should be a thing of the past.

Lenders are seeing a marked increase in refinances into FHA loans. If you're already having problems making your payments, FHA loans are more forgiving on credit dings than conventional financing is.

You have nothing to lose by checking it out -- just the loan that you already hate.

(C) Susan Pruden.

Yesterday 500 or so of my closest friends (and fellow REALTORS®) spent the day in Annapolis, protesting a proposed sales tax on selected services. But that's not my story.

The story is about technology and how great it is when it works as advertised.

I have a Treo 650 cell phone and one of those little alien-looking thingys that I plant in my ear. (Question -- why does it light up? It's not like I can see the lights when I'm wearing it!)

Anyway, I was in Annapolis and at this rally all day yesterday, from 8:30am to around 7:30pm. During that time -- in between shouting "No Service Tax" at legislators, taking pictures of the events, then sitting in the hearing room to listen to the testimony -- I scheduled a carpet installation at one of my listings, talked to an agent about a possible offer on a listing, checked email, reviewed a faxed 35-page contract, negotiated a counter-offer, checked on the status of a settlement and had several text-message conversations about various transactions that I'm working on at the moment.

All using my cell phone. Prior to having my Treo, I'd have needed to find a computer somewhere to check my email. I probably couldn't have dealt with the contract and counter-offer until I got home last night - or I'd have had to do it verbally and follow up with written documentation. Since I have a fax-to-email service, I'm able to have faxes come right into my email, where I can review them directly on my cell phone.

I've had all this tech stuff and the where-with-all to do all this for quite a while. But yesterday was like the perfect storm and I never missed a beat.

Thanks to all those tech guys who come up with this stuff.  It is just too cool. I love technology for the great tool it is. Except when it doesn't work. But yesterday, it did work exactly as it is supposed to.

(C) Susan Pruden.