About the Author
Moe Bedard is a leading expert and trusted authority in regards to loan workouts and loan modifications. Moe is the founder and President of Loan Safe Solutions, LoanSafe.org and the main contributor to LoanWorkout.org. He has blogged on this subject more than any other person on earth and has personally been involved in over 300 loan workouts and mortgage audits.
Lenders Say, “Reach out and call us if you’re in trouble”. Let’s see what homeowners get, when they reach for help.
Since day 1 in running this blog and my forum, I have been alerted and have personally experienced the abuses that homeowners are suffering at the hands of their lenders or servicers.
Uncaring employees, rude employees, unanswered phone calls, multiple lost faxes and paperwork, over charges, unexplainable charges and the list goes on. My goal is to expose these abuses and the truth of what really is going on. I am asking anyone to please submit your story of dealing with your lender or servicer. Whether it is good or bad, please share with others, so we can all fight together for change. I would much prefer to expose the good stories, but those have been very far and few in between.
Here are some lender stories from homeowners this week;
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alohajai November 25th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Is there any potential that the Governor will try to get other companies (such as Option One Mortgage Corporation in Irvine) to work with their borrowers? We have tried and tried to reach them to fix our rate, but to no avail. Now that we’ve stopped paying (since our rate went up this month) they call 2-4 times/day. But it’s always offshore personnel (who seem to be in India) and they can never give us to a Home Retention Specialist. We’ve just about given up.
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Steve November 25th, 2007 at 2:04 am
I might be your first test case. I am currently going through a loan modification process with Countrywide. I have made it through all of the steps and am currently waiting for final approval. I fulfill all the requirements you listed. I expect to hear back from them in the next few days. I will keep everyone posted on what happens next. Thanks.
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sswiz November 25th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I am also on the final stages with countrywide but not in CA im in PA. It is submitted to the investors now and i should here back by the first week in Dec. Steve how long have you been going through the loan modification process with countrywide?
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HurtByAmeriquest November 26th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I posted your question on this forum. I think this is a good question to ask, Who have they helped. So far we have not found anyone. That I know of. > I don’t think that Freezing the rate would help, They need to fixed and lower the interest rate for the term of the loan. I wouldn’t bet on them if they didn’t. Don’t buy mortgage stock.
QUOTE >>> Larry Litton Jr., chief executive of Houston’s Litton Loan Servicing, said his company plans to expand the initial interest-rate period for up to five years.< <
As you said Moe, The Proof is in the Pudding.
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Heather November 26th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
I have HomeQ. I am currently waiting for the “supervisor review” to be finished on my proposed loan modification. I almost meet all of the requirements, other than being on time. They hit me hard with escrows that caused me to fall behind before my rate reset. Now that they have gotten my situation resolved with the escrows, I am waiting to hear if they are going to approve my modification. I currently owe them 3 months of payments. I proposed them 1/2 up front, lower interest and fixed. We’ll see what happens. It has been almost 3 weeks since I applied.
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Kimberley Gutierrez November 27th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
I applied for a Loan Modification with my lender EMC. They had turned me down when I tried to re-finance the adjusted rate down, even though I was not asking for cash out. They said that my income was to low. I have never been late, even with the adjusted payment up $500 a month, but only because I work overtime and put every penny I make towards my mortgage, utilities,gas and food, nothing else. I have not heard good things about EMC so we shall see what happens.
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Joan November 28th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Has anyone had any experience with a loan modification with Saxon Mortgage? Our ARM is due to reset in January. They told us we could not do anything until December 1st when they determine what the new rate will be. Since Saxon is subprime I am horrified at what that new rate will be. Anyone out there have any experience with them?I have been reading horror stories about Saxon and am scared to death that we have not a prayer of a chance of modification. Please help with any info or guidance. Thank you…
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Sharon November 29th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
I too am with Homeq and my situation sounds the exact same as Heather. It has been 3 weeks since I requested a loan modification. I am still waiting to hear. At one point, I think my paperwork got lost in the shuffle, but now I seem to have a capable and optimistic person working on my file. She was very apologetic as to why I haven’t heard anything yet. Heather: have you heard yet?
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Nicole December 4th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
For those that have gotten some help with Home Eq could you provide some contact information as I have had no success in trying to reach someone. I have sent two certified letters to the lost mitigation dept as well as called and no one seems to want to help. At this point our account is still current, however we are trying to be proactive before our loan adjust because we know we will not be able to afford it. Any names, phone numbers, email address or mailing address would be great. Thanks
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Addie December 10th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
I am with Countrywide and have due to adjusted rate and illness gotten behind on my second mortgage for three months at just $500.00 total with late fees. Countrywide holds my first and second mortgage and since I’m behind only on the second they are wanting to foreclose.
I was contacted by someone CountryWide contracted to help with those who are behind on their mortgages “before I received the letter they were nocking on my door”. This person is a REALATOR.
I have started the loan modification process today. BUT I am not happy with how this is being handled. I have been in my house for 3 years and have only recently had problems meeting my payments. In the last two years my rate has adjusted 4 times. Thanks
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Jan December 13th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
My loan is through GMAC and as instructed by the toll free Hope Now number I am to contact my mortgage company. When I called GMAC to inquire about my options and mentioned the Hope Now Alliance…I was told they are still waiting on information from the Government. Sounds as if I am getting the runaround. Has anyone else dealt with GMAC and had any luck applying for the rate freeze? My rate is due to reset Jan 1, 2008 and with the ever increasing cost of everything these days I am afraid I may not be able to afford the new monthly payments. My current mortgage has been paid on time for the past 2 years without ever being late.
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David December 15th, 2007 at 8:13 am
I also have Homeq and I’m current with my payment. In April it resets.I’ve been trying to contact them since October,by email and phone calls. They have never called or emailed me.The one person I spoke to said they wont talk to me until i am late with payments. FINE. I’m buying another house and they can stick this one. Then I bet someone will call me and try to work something out. It’ll be too late.Our bad for getting these loans. It was coworkers of mine that did it. I had no Idea that money was that important to them to screw over other coworkers. Now the banks are greedy. It would be so easy for them to not be hard nosed and refi everyone.
Popularity: 1% [?]
I can relate with this couple. I contacted WaMu in a proactive effort to get assistance during a hardship ... 
Did they change the terms of your loan to an arm? This is too risky
Dec 15th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
For those of you needing info for HomeQ, visit loansafe.org…Many of us have posted KEY contact information to reach them…You can also message me there VIA momof3boys…Best of luck to you all!
Dec 15th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Thanks Heather!
Dec 16th, 2007 at 12:57 am
I cannot believe the comments I am reading above.
Are you all stating that you had no idea that your loan rates would adjust? That you did not know what you signed?
If I were a servicer, I would ask you all if the income you put down on the applicantion and/or signed off on was correct(?)
Dec 16th, 2007 at 7:20 am
I need a forbearance lender ASAP, property is located in Albany, NY; that will do a refi/rate & term, value is $100k, need 85%-65% ltv, if you can help or no of anyone please contact me at: 800-963-2603 x117!
Thanking U N Advance,
Larry!!
Dec 17th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Lookoutdownbelow,
Yes we knew our rate would adjust. And yes the income did match what was put on my application at the time. But Last January My wife was put on medical bedrest. And we lost a significant amount of income after that. And she has been unable to return to work. So before you make silly comments you should know the truth.
Dec 20th, 2007 at 10:37 am
I found this site through a girlfriend. I have a loan with countrywide. I was 2 months behind from throughout the year. I got up on November 28th to a letter from an atty saying I owe 6444.00 and my house will be sold on January 17th to the sherrifs dept. I had paid countrywide 1600.00 which cleared my bank Nov 16th. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I called immediately and faxed paperwork. I have made several phone calls. I am still waiting for someone to help me. They returned my house payment on December 2nd.
Like stated above, I have set up a back up plan. I have talked to an atty and even he told me they have little success dealing with lenders. All my other bills are current. I have deposited my Nov and Dec housepayment into a savings account as a moving fund.
I have called a realestate agent and am listing my home next week. I am not sure where this will leave me, I am scared, stressed and VERY frustrated.
I am very relieved to hear people have been able to rent. The thought of my children and I being homeless is just too much. Thatnk you for the information on the website. It has been very helpfull.
Jan 13th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I have been trying to get a modification with INDYMAC for over 3months and they have been giving me a run around. recently, i found that they are a part of the HOPE NOW ALLIANCE and so is my PMI company. I made contact with the PMI group and they since contacted indymac to try to work out a modification and now they are telling me i need to consider a short sale instead. I spoke to management at PMI group and they told me they had given INDYMACE some options for me previously, I think that INDYMAC is really not trying to work with me to keep my home. I am now waiting to hear back from the PMI company and INDYMAC to find out the results. Has anyone had good experience with Indymac? I’ve heard lots of bad things about this lender
Jan 13th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Marcy,
What contact info did you use for the PMI Group and how did you find out they hold your insurance. I asked my services who my PMI was with and they wouldn’t tell me, I have searched all my docs and can’t find that out. The mortgage servicer told me that PMI is strictly for the lender and does not communicate with borrowers, is that not the truth?
Thanks,
Tom
Jan 13th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
sure, your lender will tell you that. they told me the same thing. I went to the Hopenow.com site and checked to see what lenders were under their alliance. surely, my lender, Indymac was and I saw PMI group.
I then went to pmigroup.com and found a contact and emailed them. 2days later someone called me and when i gave them my name at first they seem not to know anything, I stated my situation and the person took my social security number and some other information, put me on hold for around 15mins. when he came back he asked me some pertinent questions and told me that they are my pmi carrier.
try going to the website pmigroup.com and call or email them, if they are not the carrier, i am sure they can advise you. Your lender should tell you who is you carrier ( now i know that)
Jan 13th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
The borrower pays the “private mortgage insurance” but it is for the benefit of the lender. If the loan defaults, the private mortgage insurer pays the percentage of coverage that was taken out on the loan with the lender as the beneficiary. FHA loans have MIP which is similary. I am curious as well how Marcy got in contact with the PMI company that insured her loan OR maybe she is talking about something else? Tom, your servicer was correct in a typical situation. With these loan modifications, I’m not sure but would like to know.
Jan 13th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Tom, I am sorry
I did answer your question, see above i just forgot to put your name.
hope it was helpful
http://www.pmigroup.com
Jan 13th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
virginia,
I called PMI group and spoke to someone there, they asked me for information and then told me they are my pmi company, Yes, i know that it is insurance for the lender and it benefits the lender, however, The manager of loss mitigation at PMI group asked me “did I get a certificate?” of course i never got one but at the end of our conversation, he gave me my certificate number. And no my loan is not fha.
Jan 13th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
tom
I am not saying that your pmi company may be the same as mine but hell its worth a shot.
you have nothing to loose by making a call
you have everything to gain
Jan 13th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
virginia,
I went to http://www.pmigroup.com
it was luck, trust me because my servicer did not give me any information.
Jan 13th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Thanks, that works for me - I’ll try the same route.
Appreciate the assist.
Tom
Jan 13th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Marcy~
I have no knowledge of loss mitigation and that end of the mortgage industry, so please bare with me……what benefit does contacting the PMI company have for you? Will it help with the negotiation because they are picking up a percentage of the loss? I am truly interested on how that works.
Jan 13th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
For a modification to occur, the investors and the PMI Co have to agree to any modification, short sale, short refi, deed in lieu, etc. proposed by the loan servicer for these events to occur. That is my understanding, but it is solely what I have read on sites such as these. Would be interested in finding more about how this works myself and have done searches on the internet but have found very little on the subject. I’m sure each set of investors, servicer, and insurance company has different requirements though. For example, if the PMI will only pay in the case of a default, the lender/investor won’t work with the borrower because then they wouldn’t be able to make a claim against the PMI company. Some have said this is why some lenders and servicers prefer to go to foreclosure rather than cooperate with buyers for modifications. Although, I’m not real sure one way or another. Perhaps someone else in the business or Moe can interject more.
Tom
Feb 10th, 2008 at 4:26 am
Thanks for the advice! Sounds reassuring. My husband and I have been trying to hold onto our house. He had a cleaning business that didn’t work out, a friend said he had business for us and would give us referrals, but he lied. So then my husband tried to get back into driving (he has a Class B license with endorsements) but has been experiencing much age discrimination. So he has been selling his record collection on Ebay. I, luckily, have had a steady job for the last 11 years with a decent salary, but when you live in CA, everything is expensive! In the meantime, we have an upside down loan and bills. So we are contemplating, do we pay the mortage, or pay the bills? We are now about a month behind on our mortage and getting foreclosure letters. So we are worried if our lender doesn’t work with us, we will be homeless. And my mother-in-law lives with us, and we have a precious little dog that if we had to give him up, we would be devastated. So I am hoping and praying for the best, preparing for the worst. I stopped taking my Lexapro but it’s time to start it up again.
Mar 31st, 2008 at 11:57 pm
I bought a house in a not so good neighborhood with my nest egg. I thought I’d move back home in 2 years. Now my home dropped in value and I can’t sell it. I pay $4,000/month and can’t pay many other bills. I was told that the “short sale” route is an uncertain nightmare. I want to get out of here so bad. I even had a bad guy on my roof! I bought the home for 625K and now it’s worth about $500K. I’m throwing $4K in the trash each month as they tell me I won’t even break even here for 8 years. There are houses available to rent where I used to live…but what do I do with this place?
help.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Any information for HOMEQ SERVICING on LOAN MODIFICATIONS. We had issues with taxes being paid and now a 300.00 increase in payment and a reset in June coming, will make payment 800.00 more. WE NEED A LOAN MODIFICATION…any help? Please email us for those who are going thru this with HOMEQ
dcgames4sale@hotmail.com
Thanks
Susan
May 16th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Hi,
I’m also looking for some advice & guidance. My situation is the following:
We missed last month’s mortgage payment of $2500.00 (almost $300 of this payment is PMI)
We called Countrywide and they told us we could do a repayment plan , they also referred us to some other dept. and told us they would be in contact in a few week.
We are making last month’s payment (April) this month. And will attempt to pays this month’s payment by the end of the month which will be extremely difficult, nothing like 2 30 day late payments in a row on your credit report….
We also have an equity loan payment of 600.00 a moth which we always make on time.
The bigger problem here is that the total amount owed on both the 1st and Second Mortgage is approx $300,000. My home at this point is probably been devalued to about 260,000 if I am lucky even though we’ve made numerous improvements… What can I do???? We don’t want to foreclose, we don’t want to sell, we don’t want to claim bankruptcy. I just want to get my payment lower if possible…. Please help!
May 16th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Hi R. Whelan,
I feel for you, and I know how difficult dealing with COUTNRYWIDE can be. I found this awesome forum:
http://www.loansafe.org more specifically:
http://www.loansafe.org/forum/countrywide-home-loans-tell-us-your-countrywide-story/
this forum is dedicated to help homeowners and the specific part of the site only to CountryWide homeowners. This site has been a blessing for me and my family and you will see that you are not alone !!!!
People on this site will help you and guide you through the right departments etc to get you the help you need to modify your loan since you are not able to refi as I was.
GOOD LUCK on your CW journey and wish you success.
Carrie
Miami, FL
May 16th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
[...] Submitted by a homeowner, Carrie from Florida: [...]