American Residential Law Group has an interesting take on mortgages and refinancing: if you’re behind on your mortgage, you may want to look into loan modification rather than refinancing.

Let’s face facts: if you’re behind on your mortgage, you probably need an answer relatively soon or you risk foreclosure. The differences between loan modification and refinancing often confuse people, so here they are in a nutshell.

1. Loan modifications have no closing costs.
2. You don’t need to have another appraisal done.
3. Are able to be completed faster (in general).
4. Your credit is irrelevant (helpful if your late payments have hurt your credit)
5. Declines in home price can actually make your modification more beneficial, versus a refinance where too much of a decline can actually hurt your chances of getting a refi.

Working your way through the myriad options, legal hurdles, and banks who try very dilligently to stick roadblocks up whenever possible requires experienced specialized help. While your lawyer may have some knowledge of the procedures and processes, you need a specialist like the folks at American Residential Law Group. Having someone advocating on your behalf could be the difference between a modification getting done and being strongarmed by the bank into taking a refi, a debt consolidation loan, or some other suboptimal product that benefits them more than you.

Before you run to the bank and throw yourself on their mercy, consider your options and do your research. Your conclusion may surprise you.