Jessica Jinkens: The Mistake of Waiting Till The Last Minute

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Mistake of Waiting Till The Last Minute

It could be argued that being lazy is built into us because we are just trying to do less. One way to look at it is that we are actually trying to be clever. However, if you believe that waiting until the last minute to do everything is smart, you are just dead wrong.

My friend (we will call him Joe in the article) recently said:

My home value lost 20% already so I don’t think I can refinance. Instead, I will just get a loan modification.

Joe doesn’t fit the subprime profile at all. He is highly educated, capable, and have a well paying job. He is making his monthly payments currently, but just feel stretched paying $3,000 every month towards his mortgage alone.

The False Sense of Security

Like many, Joe heard the news that the government will help homeowners lower their mortgage payments and thought that it was the solution to his stressed out financial situation. He thought to himself “great, there’s a bailout for me too”. Instead of looking for more details on how he can benefit, the thought of having a program eliminated his sense of urgency. He told me it’s been 2 months since he first heard of the news, and he still hasn’t done anything.

The Harsh Reality

Upon doing a bit of research (which really took a whole 5 minutes), I found FDIC’s loan modification program guide which clearly states:

The loan is at least 60 days delinquent where the loan is considered one day delinquent on the day following the next payment due date.

Joe is still current on his mortgage. He is not eligible. He could stop paying for 60 days and then see if he can get his loans modified but it’s probably too much risk to take, not to mention that it’s not really an ethical tactic to try gaming the system this way. So if I never did the research for him, he is still in the dark.

Take Away

It always amazes me that the majority of the people I know like to put things off until the last minute. What ends up happening is that:

The assignment seldom completes on time because something else came up last minute
You arrive late to a meeting because there was a traffic jam
Your coupon expired because you didn’t act the minute you saw that deal

What you should do instead is:

Gathering Facts Early - Not tomorrow, NOW. Immediately. Right Away.
Listen, Ask, Search, Read - Yes, get off your ____ and take action.
Don’t Wait - It is possible that there might be better options as time passes but chances are good that you will be better off if you take action now as long as the option is “good enough”.

Don’t Wait. Don’t Wait. Don’t Wait.

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