In the current housing and mortgage environment, lenders, servicers and investors are well-advised, and indeed encouraged by the government, to execute loan modifications with their distressed borrowers wanting to keep their homes. Consumers must be prepared to show the current holder of the mortgage the reasons to modify it i.e. among other things, recent change in financial or employment circumstances, the advent of physical limitations, reduction in the value of the property, or fraud or deceptive practices at the inception of the mortgage. While there is no guarantee that the holder of the mortgage will agree to modify a mortgage, current market and governmental pressures weigh far heavier in favor of consumers than in years past.