Jingle Mail

What Is Jingle Mail?

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In the last two years, many people have experienced an increase in mortgage rates leading many to foreclosure.  For those facing foreclosure due to the mortgage crisis, “jingle mail,” as it’s being called certainly doesn’t feel like Christmas come early.  The bottom line on this emerging phenomenon is that it’s often the last ditch effort of someone who is at the end of their financial rope.

Homeowners in crisis are becoming less and less likely to attempt to work out payment plans with their mortgage companies.  An increasing number of homeowners are choosing to end their troubles by sending their lenders certified jingle mail.  Far from an uplifting Christmas carol, this is the practice of a homeowner choosing to actually physically mail their keys in to their mortgage lender.  The fact that most distraught homeowners don’t realize is that it doesn’t solve anything.

The foreclosure process is a complex one.  It is a process that, in some states, may take up to a year.  The last thing a mortgage company wants is to become a landlord, or a real estate company.  If they have to foreclose on a house, that also means they have to sell it again.  This causes them to incur additional fees and expenses that are easily avoided if their mortgage borrower would simply pick up the phone and make a phone call.  Sending jingle mail to a mortgage company won’t make them not foreclose.  It won’t make a homeowner owe less money, and it certainly won’t help with the horrible stress and anxiety of a foreclosure.

In lieu of sending jingle mail to the lender, a homeowner should attempt to send a letter explaining the situation, or pick up the phone and call.  There are many options available, and most companies will work hard to work out a plan to avoid foreclosure.  Forbearance plans, mortgage modification, and refinancing are better options than sending keys to the company.