Out of all the lenders and mortgage servicers out there, I would have to say that the most positive feedback and best results have come from Citi Mortgage / Citi Financial time and time again.
They really seem like they are reaching out and going beyond the typical lip service I preach about here daily.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Bryan Bolton, Senior VP of Loss Mitigation for Citi several times over the past month and his genuine interest in helping homeowners impressed me and that is hard to do. I whole heartily feel that Citi, Mr. Bolton and their awesome staff are doing what they can to help struggling homeowners.
They have even set up a special email and phone number for Loan Safe and Citi Mortgage borrowers.
From Citi:
We’ve noticed that some of our customers have left comments about us on LoanSafe.org. To help Citi customers who are finding they are having trouble meeting their obligations related to their mortgages, we have set up a new e-mail address: homeownerhelp@citi.com .
By using this address, our customers will be routed as quickly as possible to the appropriate area for assistance. We will typically respond within 2 business days.
Wow, two days! That is a pretty big commitment and it looks like they are holding true to it. If you are a Citi borrower and have been having difficulty, please try the email below and let us know your results.
Below is a grateful homeowner in Florida who I have never met and do not know their name, but they were kind enough to send me an email thanking me, LoanSafe.org and Citi for helping them save their home with a loan modification.
Please replace the below that has corrections in it for my post dated 11/12/2008 THANKS
Moe, I wanted to say how much I appreciate this information and it indeed helped us and changed our course financially. I contacted Citi via the email address you provided and got a response right away, they were so kind and polite…
Sue at Citi stopped all the collection calls, walked me through the down load of the MOD applications and responded back after I faxed over the information within 24 hours just to let me know that the paper work was received and they were reviewing. 48 hours later I received another call from Sue with Citi to let me know that we would be receiving a call from their MOD department to go over the terms….48 hours after that I get the most fantastic call from Rene with Citi.
They lowered our rate on the second mortgage by 4 points, extended our term which lowered our payment almost 400.00 per month AND took all the arrearages and moved them to the back of the loan interest free until the loan is actually paid off.
{ 300 comments… read them below or add one }
OMG- You have to be joking with your comments commending CitiMortgage!
Citi has been nothing but heartache and a huge blow to our budget! I’ve told my story so many times, to different Citi Representatives alone, the story has gotten very old.
The trouble began when we asked our Primerica rep to assist us with the deferrment of last June’s payment. In short she old us that she had taken care of this for us and that our next payment was due in Auust 2008. NOT! The annoying phone calls began in mid-July and have not stopped since. We are currently 30 days past due, we have been since July 2008 (because we were told of the one month deferrment), and we will always be 30 days past due. The fees alone amount to an additional $72.00 a month, everything we send them goes toward interest and fees- nothing on the priniciple.
I have been told lie after lie about our account; one person says deferrment is just a matter of paperwork, but the paperwork has to be mailed (through US Postal Service- cannot be faxed or e-mailed). This process took 6 weeks just to receive paperwork in the mail. But this was within their guidelines according to one Representative.
We are currently waiting on yet another set of forms to be approved for deferrment. Citi employs the most rude, obnoxious customer service representatives that I have ever come in contact with!! And to think that our federal government used the working-stiffs hard earned tax money to bail out (in my opinion) one of the worse financial service companies in this country!!! I regret so very much our decision to refinance our home with Citi!!!! I’m not really sure you got your information when you wrote this article, perhaps a relative of yours works for them, but Moe you are sadly misinformed.! CitiMortgage is a NIGHTMARE!
I think the positive article about CitiMortgage had to have been written by CitiMortgage itself. They have completely misrepresented themselves and the program – I’m sure to keep the government off their bank for a while longer. I have not fallen behind…yet, but will soon and have applied to the Homeowners Assistance Program for a loan modification back in November – let’s just say a nightmare and more of my time wasted. I have been given such a runaround – the bullshit was amazing. Once I was given a rep to work with, and I filled out the forms and faxed in my paystubs as was requested, it all ended. I could not get a phone call returned. I would leave messages and after six weeks of trying to find out the status of my claim, could not even get a live person on the phone to speak with. All I could get was another 800# to call – to date, I have been given 12 different 800#’s to call with that promise that each one would be THE correct number where someone would help me. FINALLY, I was told that my claim had been denied and my loan would not be modifed – becuase I was current on my payments. DUH!?!? OH, and the best, Raj, who I was speaking with, then asked me, “would you like to fill out a form to submit for ______,” whatever the new name of the Homeowners Assistance Program is now being called – they are using an acronym.
I spent 1 1/2 hours each night after work on the phone for over 3 weeks trying to find out something only to be told that my claim was denied in December – before my paystubs were even submitted – does this make sense? And none of the conversations I had ever had with my representative were ever documented.
It is a program in name only and the only thing it does is waste the consumers time – it will only cause us stress and needless agony and I wish I need who to write in government because I would start a class action suite against CitiMortgage.
What will it take for them to be held accountable?
I have applied to citimortgage for a loan modification…that was in the begining of Jan. I have been waiting for a responce, called every week and just recieved a notice basically telling me they are going to forclose in less than a month if I dont come up with 8+ thousand…whats going on ?? I thought they got bailed out so they could modify loans and help keep us in our homes!
I AM REACHING OUT TO ALL WHO WOULD LIKE TO JOIN ME IN A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST CITIMORTGAGE. I TOO HAVE FACE A PROBLEM WITH THEM. IF YOU ARE INTEREST IN PURSUING A SUIT, CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL AT ALICERIDING@SBCGLOBAL.NET. PLEASE ADD CITIMORTGAGE IN THE SUBJECT LINE AND STATE YOUR CASE WITHIN THE EMAIL.
THANKS,
ALICE
I had exactly the same experience at the fellow above- kept getting told to call a different number, different office, submitted papers, wait 30 days, etc. etc. — it went on for weeks. In the end, after a lot of follow up, the request was denied and no reason was given nor was the person who denied it on the record.
I was told I could start all over again. It struck me that no one really knew what they were talking about and each person told me something else. In the end, the only way to go is to ask for a supervisor- they seem to know the deal. That’s the only way I seem to be making any progress.
You have got to be kidding…. I have been working on a loan modification with citi sence October. They took my app on the phone. Updated in January, and her we are, Feb 20th. They won’t connect me to a manager and keep telling me my file is with a loan councelor. Same response for months and months now. I was actually told I qualified and there would be no problem. I was told three times I would get a call back and never did. I have spoke to east coast, Tuscon, India, and everywhere in between. They say they can’t give out extention numbers. Therefor, you can’t talk to the same person twice. I’m outraged. Especially after finding out I was fraudulentally approved in the first place. I am certain the first blog above was written by citi!
READ THIS, THERE IS REAL HELP OUT THERE. IT IS A PAIN AND DIFFICULT AT TIMES, BUT THERE IS HELP.
I had the same similar problems, but when I emailed the email in this articles, I was contacted the next day by 1pm. I was shocked. I had the same problem as many of you have had. I called back in July to see what I could do. I talked to a polite young lady on the phone who helped me do a hardship letter and a workable solutions sheet. I was then told that would also have to fill out the one that would come in the mail or by fax. I waited two weeks and nothing came. I called back and told them what was going on, and I was assured that I would get something in the mail in the next few days; I did at the end of August. I filled this our and faxed it in and followed up with a phone call a couple weeks later. I was told the process would take 45 days and the women on the phone told me she could put my loan in a 30-60-90 day forbearance. I opted for the 90 days. In this 90 days no phone calls would come in to my home, no late notices, and no fees would be added. Well I waited until the beginning of November and heard nothing yet. I called back and another young women told be that it was being processed and not to worry I should hear something back in a couple weeks, if not call back. I called back to get a hold of some moron on the phone that tried to tell me that nothing was in my file and that I needed to start all over, but he could help. He offered me some ridiculous payment ideas. I needed to pay like $4800 now and $3700 over the next 12 months to get my loan back to current. I then started to name the people that I have spoken to and dates and all of a sudden he found my information and told me that it would be a couple more weeks. I said this isn’t working and then started googling modification information and ran accross this site. I emailed the email address in the article and was contacted the very next day. I started the whole process over again with a young women named Christina at the Citibank Executive Response-18662553901. With this women’s help, they modified my mortgage to terms that I could really handle. I would strongly suggest emailing the email in the article or calling this 866 number. The help is there, you just have to be willing to work with them also. Good Luck.
Citi residential lending is scam artist. I filed bankruptcy to keep my house and when I went to the gov of my state to get help with my mortgage. That is the only time Citi tried to offer me an assistance. They raised the principal of my loan almost 11k and lowered the interest to 6% on the inflated principle. I turned down there modification twice. I finally surrender my home and the funny thing they sold my loan to another division of Citi group and it became effective on my court date. They sold my house and raised my principal by 11k so now I am up side down. Now that my house is out of bankruptcy I am tiring to do everything I can to save it. Citi should go to jail for the way they are ripping people off. Just for the fact that they took 30k on a scam.
The fact is that most borrowers, unless they actually are an attorney or loan officer, do not have the skill, stamina, or expertise to get themselves successfully through the process. The lenders such as citibank, who have received the TARP money, are required to help the borrowers, but, they are not required to inform the borrowers how to help themselves. The lender will always try to give some sort of help, that benefits them as the lender, not you as the borrower. I can get mods done without all of the hassles, hold times, and hang ups that you have to put up with. I have over 15 years of mortgages under my belt, and can fight the fight for you, with the best results for all of my clients. Please contact my at 832-866-9091, and lets save your home today!!!
I think Citimortgage is a joke as well. My loan was sold to them and they immediately paid $900 for water/sewer, which was not their responsibility, then raised my payment from 1805 to 1895 to compensate for the escrow shortage they created. I was only one payment behind buut they told me I had to be three behind to qualify. So I stopped making payments, at their suggestion.
I was given a loan counselor by the name of Rachel, who was very nice and told me I would qualify for a Homesavers loan as well as a rate modifcation. The Homesavers loan went through in December but I could not reach Rachel to discuss the terms of the rate change. I even wrote to her via certified mail to get a response, but I did not. Then I was assigned another loan counselor, Jennifer Lllams, who never returned any of my calls or letters either. Then her voicemail said she no longer worked in loss mitigation, but I was never assigned another counselor. Now my payment has gone up again to $1935 from $1805. WHen I contacted loss mitigation about this they were not very helpful and said their ‘were no notes on my account’ about a rate modification. So now I have an even higher payment than I did before, I was just informed we will not get merit increases this year. I feel like its starting all over again and that I;m getting behind. Citimortgage totally lied to me and after my taxes just bailed them out and saved their jobs!
i started the process on January 17 2009with Citi -right from the get go i was told your credit will go south if you don’t pay, why don’t you sell your home on your own -icalled cit 50 times to re tell the same story but i faxed a letter to them ccto attorney general banking commisioner my senator rep freddie mac and anyone who would listen -i got a call the other day and i have submitted everything but all they want to do is put me in a 40 year -i said up yours you sneaky bastards you put me in a 40 year reduce the intrest rate 2% and no escrow -remember its a loan modification -not a do over -i told them if they do not agree i will leave in this house right to the end and a foreclosure judge will end up modifying the loan anyway or citi will take a 40-50 loss- they try to push you everyone .call citis bluff and document everything and complain to attorney general and your represenative -pass this along to everyone -tell citimortgage up theres -remember document everything fax letters to the ptresident of cimortgage to
I have been trying to modify my loan since october 2008, I have called many phone # and spoken with many people, and have sent in all required paper work twice, but now I can’t even get a call back. I don’t believe that citi is helping anyone, but themselves. when i called in January i even started crying. They told me that they would extend my loan from 30yrs to 40yrs and lower my interest, that sounded reasonable, but nothing ever happened. I am to the point now that I don’t even want to make one more phone call to citi. Now I am just a the point of going to an outside company for help like Hope or maybe one of those loan Attorneys.
I am in california and have been trying to get a loan modification since Oct/08, i filled out the paper work twice and made many calls and talked to many people and have taken many names i even have a file, but now I can’t even get a call back, we have never been late and have been making many sacrifices we have changed our eating habits, and our recreation habits and are just trying to save our home from one month to the next. I really don’t think that the mortgage company is really trying to help anyone but themselves. I have decided to give up trying to work it out with citmortgage and either try to get outside help like the Hope program or Bankruptcy. Has anyone out there had any sucess with HOPE program?
There home loan modification program is another loan!!!
Please visit my forum at http://www.LoanSafe.org or go try this Email address and say Moe from Loan Safe sent you:
homeownerhelp@citi.com
Phone Number:
1-866-255-3901
Best of luck!
Please try this email and number and say Moe sent you.
Email address:
homeownerhelp@citi.com
Phone Number:
1-866-255-3901
I too have Citi. I have had ALL the heartache the above people had. There is no way that the positive comments came from anyone other than a Citi employee. My story and all the above stories are almost identical. I am so sorry to all of you that are going through what I am. I wish you all the best of luck. I do not have one kind word to say about or to Citi.
Here’s what I have figured out about
Citi. I first got behind in August 08. I got the paperwork for loan mod and was assigned to “Megan”. She asked me in Sept if I would like to have an interest moratorium until December. I jumped on this. At that point, Citi just went dark. Emails didn’t work, 800 #’s didn’t work. Finally in January I made contact with this guy who offered a 1/2 payment plan for five months. Jumped on that, have a written agreement for it. Pressed the guy who offered the plan about why Citi went dark. He said management was totally overwhelmed. I asked why I couldn’t contact my loan mod rep—get this–THEY DON’T HAVE VOICE MAIL!!!! Can you believe it?
Now they have announced their brand new program in coordination w/Feds. Collection phone line refers you to website, but there is no information there–only old stuff from Nov.
My plan is to beat collections up until I get what I need. Don’t let anybody put you off and don’t get discouraged. If it sounds like Citi doesn’t know what they’re doing, it’s because THEY DON’T. You’re not talking to mortgage veterans, you’re talking to phone jockeys with minimal experience.
Key elements to them: owner occupied; behind on loan (5 months preferred); not for sale and no plans to sell; remember, they don’t want your house.
In theory, the new-new plan will help unemployed people keep their homes. I think you just have to persist. I call them every other day just to say hello. NEVER be rude. Just ask, ask, ask.
I have sent them an email today to see what kind of assistance they can provide. I will post the outcome as soon as I hear back. I too have a Citi mortgage but it is through their subsidiary CitiFinancial. I’ve been told by CitiFinancial on numerous occassions that they do not provide loan modifications.
I sent the email to address on this site at 2:30pm and received a response at 2:51pm. The representative said she was there to help and that she will assign my case for review.
Not sure what the outcome will be, but I am hopeful as the workers in the CitiFinancial office aren’t helpful at all.
I need help is an emergency I want citimortgage to modified myloan to a payment I can afford before it is too late but nobody is helping me tell me who do i need to talk to
It is horrid what Citi is getting away with. Ten years ago I suffered a breakdown after struggling to save my home/family from foreclosure. All was well until Citi took over the loan, wouldn’t cash my checks, then sent me through legal fees/ loan midification fees for 18 mo, amts that were unbearable to survive, but did…I have come back to reality, and it may have been 10 years ago, but I have saved every record and every name God help them.
I had been asking citi for help for a long time since I had a stroke and was not able to get any help.I got no were until I found this web page.I emailed and within days was sent modification paper work to fill out.It took a few weeks but they called me back and had worked out a deal I could afford.Thank you citi.
I have the same problem with Citi.mtg. They are not willing or wanting to help My fiance and I out in this. We did a stated loan purchase in Otb. 07 we are upside down 125k…I lost my job…she is the one only working..we have a fannie mae loan and our payment is 2818.00 per month..we can not afford it. We are behind and Citi has not helped us at all. With the loan being reduced and the rate we would be able to stay. We have being trying to do this since 2008 of August. Still have not got no where. Please help, we have a baby on the way and we dont want to be on the streets.
I’m writing on behalf of my son’s family, CitiMortgage are giving them the run-around, they were 4 months behind, there was/is illness in the family, they were promised 2 months ago the Loan modification program, did all the paper work, were promised an Interview with a Fannie Mae guy, he never called, not Citi says they lost the paperwork, we lend them money for 2!!!!! housepayments, so they could stay there.
No one is helping them, as a fact, they were told now, since we lend them money, they no longer qualify.
Hello, we can’t keep doing it, they need help NOW!
I e-mailed to that address that I saw above on this page, giving plenty Info, so they can get up with my so or his wife.
I hope it works, any help is appreciated!!!!
I think some Government officials need to know about this.
Billie, please let me know how Citi responds to your emails for help? They set that up just for my blogs and forums.
thats great news! glad to see they are helping people!!!
I just found this site. When I read polishing a mortgage turd, I initially thought that it was an abbreviation for an organization or something, t.u.r.d, that I was apparently unaware of. Then I continued reading and realized that he was using his son’s description of a real turd… I cracked up, Too Funny!!! These guys must be the real deal, down to earth people.
Anyway, as any attorney will tell you, ALWAYS GET IT IN WRITING. If you call a company or anyone about a problem or difficulty, be sure to send a follow up letter so that you have the call documented in writing. Verbal communications cannot be verified & if you, later, do need an attorney, you will be armed with written, dated ammunition to help win your case.
I received a moratorium from Shitty-Mortgage without a problem, but I documented everything in writing via the postal service’s snail mail, certified return receipt. By doing so, the recipient (CitiMortgage in my case) is likely to respond to me via the postal system. I prefer this method because mail fraud is a serious crime & no company will be prone to bullsh_t denials, tricks, scams or deceptions, etc. Companies are fully aware that they had better be honest via the postal system.
Remember, if you communicate via phone, be sure to document the date, time, who you spoke to and details of the conversation, Then Follow Up with a Letter. The first sentence in the letter should first state: This is a follow up of my phone conversation with Mr. Jones on ??/??/????. Then state your understanding of the verbal agreement and ask for verification that your understanding is correct. Best wishes to all. Hope this helps.
Great advice Judy!
ALWAYS document everything you do during the loan modification or foreclosure process in one folder. Use conversation logs, copy emails, faxes etc so you have the ammo and proof to fight back if needed be. Also, if you hire an attorney, you can then give this ammo you have collected to a grateful lawyer who will intelligently rip Shitty-Mortgage a new legal hole……
After Citi dragging their feet, me calling daily, sending information time and time again, being told foreclosure wouldn’t be an issue since I had filed my “package”, I received notice today from attorneys stating my home would be sold on April 7th. Citi refused to call it off after an hour and a half discussion; stating it was out of their hands unless a resolution could be made prior to April 7th. Oh! and my case has not even been assigned a case worker and nothing can be discussed until that time. “We are buried with applications and request for help so everything takes longer than normal” THIS DOESN’T SAVE MY HOME DOES IT??????
Kimberly,
I understands your concerns and I would be a bit upset also.
If you need help, please email me your loan number and name and I’ll fwd it to the executive dept at Citi for you. Moe@loansafe.org.
Thank you Moe,
I feel so sad for those who try to resolve a problem only verbally. Bankrate.com has several articles archived about how, quote, “evil” banks and credit card companies have become. Remember that the so called credit card companies Are banks. It’s not just CitiGroup, it’s most of them. One should never deal with them or any company unless all is fully documented in writing… Document, Document, Document. Check out BankRate’s archived articles. You’ll be glad you did.
For those who are in a mortgage mess, there is probably a way out. How? Because most mortgagee’s are Bank Fraud Victims in one form or another. It’s pretty easy to prove, simply by comparing the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and The Truth in Lending Statement (TIL) to the “Final” Settlement Statement. If the Final Settlement Statement didn’t comply with the other two, then a fiduciary duty was breached. It would be to any mortgagee’s advantage to seek an attorney to see if the mortgage company practiced predatory lending or breached a fiduciary duty. If so, the mortgagor will bend over backwards to avoid being labeled or sued as a predatory lender. I’ve audited a few loans and believe me, the odds of having something in it that is considered predatory are Probable. Have an attorney check it. Also, please read this website about bank fraud victims. IT’S AN EYE OPENER. Here’s the link: http://mortgage-home-loan-bank-fraud.com/manual.htm#Table%20of%20Contents
In the future, one way to choose a good mortgage is to get one through a small bank, credit union or mortgage company that services their own loans, meaning that the “Written Contract” states that the loan will NOT BE SOLD. It is much easier to communicate with a smaller entity on a personal level, and since they can’t sell the loan, they are more inclined to cooperate with their customers.
Hope this helps and God Bless
CitiMortgage is indeed a scam of the highest magnitude. They sent me a letter in December reaching out to those that were not behind in payments, but are upside down or headed towards financial problems. I responded and the little jerk on the phone tried to basically sell me a new loan. The payment he offered was actually going to be $600 higher than it is now. He was obviosly acting on a commission and was not interested in helping anyone.
Some people are going to declare bankruptcy and have then see if the judge can modify their mortgage. The banking lobby fought hard to kill that provision every time it surfaced, but I do know that part of Obama’s recover act has that provision, but I don’t know the details. It’s worth looking into, and I think a lot of people will get their modifications done by a judge and not through the servicer/lender.
Did anyone ever go into a citifinancial bank and actually speak to a live person and get help? I’m thinking of doing this but wanna know if anyone ever did this as opposed to numerous phone calls and e-mails. Citimortgage has been nothing but a nitemare for us too and we need help like everyone else. To tell people to get behind 3 months(that’s what we were told) before they will help is incredibly irresponsible. Is there anything the goverment has out there to help us? Does anyone know?
Chris,
I live about 10 mins from one of their so called newer home offices for Citi here in Stl…..Have never gone to their office but have worked with their managers to audit files that have been charged off and placed for collections… Citi rather it be their high interest rate loans or home loans are notorious….For lying that is.
So bad I’m in the process of taking the Dept of Justice on here in STL. possibly Nationwide…I’m one pissed off bill collector…
How would you like me to pay you when I’ve done everything not to be a hard luck story but yet you just attempt to dissuade anyone about who I am or what capablility I may really have to pay my bills?
I’ve taken them clients who could spend $150k to 50b and still can’t get business done. I hate it now that I objected to a mod but here’s the thing…The loans were initially so fraudently induced you wouldn’t of modified it either when you got a case like mine…
So now I’m in the process of helping HOPEFULLY get some so called attys disbarred and Judges impeached…U can read about me under name david utiss…
This is reality of what they like to do…When instead of being a hard luck story they refuse to do proper business as their laws are written!
So decide! Do you have a way to pay if you can modify your loan? Is the set back rectified already? what does your tomorrow look like with or without the mod? What are your chances of making them different with a better outcome than what you’ve thought of already?
Be Blessed,
Kathy
I believe this is a email to one of their loss mitigation managers…
michael.j1.peterson@citi.com
Their loan mods do nothing to help the homeowner…As far as going into bankruptcy thinking the judge will help…Get a CLUE WALK AWAY…JUST FILE CHP 7 AND START OVER!!!!
The judge would just assume to lie to you and let himself and Citi commit FRAUD UPON THE COURT!! TRUST ME I KNOW
Citimortgage is a mess. Good luck to anybody who has Citi as their loan servicer and investor. I am in the process of dealing with Citi to get a loan modification. Rather then complaining let me tell everyone what has worked for me so far. THIS PROCESS IS ONLY FOR THE UNLUCKY LIKE ME THAT HAVE CITIMORTGAGE AS THE INVESTOR ON THE LOAN.
First, go to loansafe.org and read the Citimortgage forum. It lists the email and phone number for the Citimortgage group that deals with accounts that have been escalated to the Citimortgage President. These people actually pick up the phone. They may try to get rid of you at first because you are not one of their assigned accounts, but if you are prepared and you have all of your documents ready to fax, they will probably help you and tell you that they are your office point of contact.
Second, have all your documents ready to fax. You need to complete the Citimortgage Hardship Assistance Package and FAX IT … DONT EMAIL IT FROM THE THE WEBSITE!!! They wont even start the process if they dont have a hard copy. The package asks for a ton of documentation but your new point of contact only wants 4 things FAXED 1) 2 months of pay stubs 2) 2 years W-2 3) Proof of homeowners insurance 4) Completed Hardship Assistance Package. Dont FAX anything else.
Once they have receive the FAX they input the data into a analysis program based on the INDY/FDIC model. The program will tell you if you qualify for a loan modification. Of course very few people qualify. At this point you really have to start being relentless with your call and research.
This is the point I have reached. Hope I helped someone. If you follow these step you will avoid the 100s of transfers and dropped calls to every country on the the planet. You will have the name and phone number of your designated caseworker. Your data will be entered to determine if you qualify for a loan mod. Good luck to all.
I scheduled an appointment with the homeowners assistance program through Citi’s website for someone to call me on March 9 between 12 and 12:30. No one called. I scheduled another appointment for March 16 between 12 and 12:30. No one called. I called the customer service number today and conveyed that information and they transferred me to someone who took down the same information I had entered in the website and said that someone would contact me within 3-4 weeks. So just wanted to post this information in case anyone else is waiting for a phone call.
I guess no one read my comments above. You Don’t have to be on the mortgage defensive. As they say in football, “The best Defense is a Good Offense”. Most of you guys on this forum were victims of some sort of predatory lending.
Go to the website that I myself gathered much information on. The site belongs to some attorney in Georgia who has shared info with the general public. Probably to get clients, but still, it is a very eye opening informative site. If interested scroll up to my previous blog; copy & paste the web address. I am Not affiliated with this site. I simply wish to share the valuable information that I know is true.
You can put your mortage company on the defensive instead of yourself, ok? I can assure you, that most of you were probably gouged in some way via excessive fees, yield spread premium, etc. THAT IS PREDATORY LENDING! Not to mention Breach of Fiduciary Duty.
You most likely have more power in your hands than you realize! If the mortgage company is suing you via foreclosure, perhaps you could counter sue them for predatory lending or breach of fiduciary duty.
Most initial consultations with an attorney are free. Why not get free legal advice?
You Can save your home or buy some time. Do you remember the docs you signed at the closing table. Did you fully understand all pages of the loan contract?
Sometimes, smart is dumb & dumb is smart. Play dumb even if you thought your knew the facts because unless you are an attorney… Don’t act like you were fully aware of all the terms of the contract, most likely, you were Not Fully Aware.
Although ignorance is no excuse for your mortgage default, predatory lending is also No Excuse. It’s very convoluted & difficult to understand. Remember that attorneys argue over the so called facts in court all the time. Stake your claim.
What is the payment address to send payments to once modification done?
i thought it was just me untill i found this . all i can say is wow .just got off the phone with Jeff at citi who transferred me to Kinnisha who took my info for the third time . guess what 3-4 week waiting game . thanks to you guys i wrote down everything.
I am so scared now after reading all these comments. I just caught my 2′nd mortgage up and am still a month behind on my first with my 2′nd installment of taxes due in a few weeks!! I did the hardship online and faxed all the paperwork. They gave me a case worker, but said I wouldn’t be able to talk to her until next. We saw an attorney and they are not doing cram downs unless you file a chapter 13 and the President hasn’t even signed that yet so it is not in effect yet. We are now 200K upside down in equity since the house two doors down, match model just sold at auction. Sick doesn’t describe how we feel.
citmortgage is nothing but a large criminal base. Their sole purpose is to rip you off. They are a ecomonical extension of the government and not conserned about your welfare.
I am also but a drop of water in the vast ocean of dispaired people who are looking for some help. Reading all the postings not only here but also in LoanSafe website. Why has’nt any action been taken against CitiMortgage. I to have called the number posted by LoanSafe, which got me to the Executive Desk Section, where I got a person by the name of Christian. He was the most arrogant person I have ever had to deal with. I am not in default or delinquent, I make my monthly payment every month as best I can. I’m just underwater on my 5/1 libor Int Only Loan, I am retired on a Disability, and I can’t sell or Refinance. All I got from Christian was a 90 day forbearance, and said it was the best I could get, I turned it down. I think we should all contact Alice on her E-Mail Aliceriding@SBCGLOBAL.net and really start thinking about a Class Action Suit. ( I just found out that depending on how the peoples hardship package are submitted to Fannie or Freddie for modification, determins how much citimortgage will get back from Fannie or Freddie for the Modification. Anywhere from 700 to 1,000 dollars for each modification.) FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
In reading all the postings, from several web pages, why has no one started a class action suit against citimortgage. Maybe we should all contact Alice at her e-mail to inquire. It might be worth a shot.
I am sincerely sorry for all of you!!! I have been trying to deal with Citimortgage since March 2008 — yes 2008 — we have lost 5 count them 5 buyers because Citimortgage did not respond to ANY type of calls, e-mails, certified calls, faxes, etc….. until October when I was able to get through to the Executive response unit. In the mean time, our home has lost so much value that when we started to sell it two years ago when the subprimes started to hit we still would have made a substantial profit on our fixed 5% 30year mortgage — but we went through our entire savings and 401K trying to keep the home through a year of unemployment then moving out of state, now two years later the house is worth one third what it was in 2006 and only 1/2 of what we owe on it. If Citimortgage would have responded last March when we had four buyers chomping at the bit for a short sale we would have only been short a couple of thousand dollars!!!!! Now a year later with nothing left the house is only worth half of what we owe on it thanks to Citimortgages QUICK RESPONSE. We now have a 6th buyer interested so lets see how things turn out this time because I just found out the most of the mortgages that Citimortgage has that they are just the servicer on — they really don’t own hardly any of them at all!!!!! The majority of their mortgages are owned by you guessed it Freddie or Fannie!!!!!
May God helps us all!
I have been trying to work with Citimortgage for the past month, and all the people who have posted comments are CORRECT! – These people are idiots..you can never get the same person on the phone, even if you have an extension number, every time I call someone else is at that extension. CITI should assign 100 mortgagors to a single person and let that person handle only those cases, whereby allowing the individual people to speak with the same representative. I am only at the beginning of this process, PLEASE WISH ME LUCK!!
We have been working on a loan mod since 12/2/08. Loansafe.org has been a tremendous support and resource for us. We were given a 3 month 1/2 payment moratorium. We made our last payment on that on March 20th. We’ve been calling every couple of days. We have been dealing with a very professional and polite young man named Deric McLoughlin with the Executive Response Unit. After dealing with Deric our file was moved on to Jamar Jenkins/Alex Harris. Our paperwork states that we should hear something by April 1st. We have refiled our paperwork. We have left many messages for Jamar and Alex. No one gets back to us. I called Deric this evening and he researched our info and spoke to Jamar. Our loan is owned by Fannie. Our current interest rate is 7.625 on approximately 250,000 with a payment of $1769 – no escrow. These are the terms they are putting forward: extending the loan to 40 years with 5.625 for 12 months, 6.25 for 12 months, 7.625 for remainder. This will only help us for the very short term. At 7.625 over 40 years our payment is still unaffordable. What really upsets me is that they are putting this forward to the owner without any conversation with us. Under Obama’s new plan, I believe our rate should have been lowered further before they extended to 40 years and pushed it back up to current rate. We are very, very disappointed. We will try one more time to reach out and try to have them see the folly in this modification. We want to stay in our home and succeed in making payments. If we do not receive better news, it is off to NACA we go. Good luck to all and thank you Moe, Cat, and all the wonderful folks at Loansafe.ore that dedicate so much time and effort in trying to help us save our homes.
The first time I called CitiMortgage for a loan mod, when I was current on my mortgage, they told me I needed to be at least 90 days behind. In the interim, I then had to file bankruptcy. Then I called again, they told me I needed to speak with someone in bankruptcy and they transferred me, the next guy said there’s no such thing as a bankruptcy dept, so he transferred me to the loss mitigation dept, but when they answered they said “Hello bankruptcy dept.” Then they said I had to be current if I wanted a loan modification and that I’d have to come current on my mortgage within 60 days to be given the opportunity to continue the loan after the bankruptcy. Then AFTER the bankruptcy they’d do a loan mod. I said how can I re-affirm (commit to carrying the debt after bankruptcy) if I don’t know what the new loan will look like? I’m sorry, but that’s our policy CitiMortgage says. So….here I am. I’m far from done fighting, be the beginning doesn’t look too good.
Just saw an attorney and he told us to let our second get charged off. All they can do is put a lien on the house. Too Bad, Soo Sad, the house is 200K Upside down in Equity and doubt it will EVER be that high again. Sooo, truly looks like I have two options, keep it or walk. Soooo, I file a chapter 7, throw the second in the Bankruptcy, they slap a lien on my house for the second which can only be collected if I sell.
I’m in the process of trying to get a loan modification. But, looking at all the above posts, I’m getting a little concerned at this point.
I’ll let you all know how it goes.
I am happy that others are getting great service from CitiMortgage for a loan modification. NOT ME! I have been seeking help since early 2008, beginning with a job loss then a legal separation/divorce. I faxed the hardship assistance package in Nov 2008, along with all required documentation; waited the 30-45 days, at which time they stated it wasn’t received. I have the fax confirmation as proof. As instructed, I submitted it again in Jan 2009. Same thing, waited 30-45 days, at which time they stated it wasn’t received. As instructed again, completed the application for the 3rd time, this time on the website, which sent me an email confirmation. I am tired of hearing excuses about the volume of applications coming in… if there was a more efficient process, they wouldn’t have to receive 2-3 applications per household. I have been attempting to get through to the lost mitagation department, but am on hold forever!! In the meantime, my mortgage is falling further and further behind – and the foreclosure letters are now coming. HELP – any suggestions.
I sent the hardship packet in via fax in November 2008 and have heard nothing since. Same story as all of you-many calls placed to citi, having to explain the same things over and over again because you never speak to the same person twice, on hold for eternity, cannot leave messages, etc. They keep sending letters stating they CAN HELP ME but when I call all they want is their late payment and fees which they just keep racking up. I have spoken to some of their lovely reps in loss mitigation, what a joke. We have a high interest rate-7.9%- all I asked is that they try to lower the rate. I am scraping by to make the payments but I am a month behind. Thanks to them reporting me late every month, my credit is tanked and I doubt that anyone else would even look at me for a refi. What a freaking mess. Just about every house on my street for sale, places left vacant…WTF Citi? Wouldn’t it be much more financially prudent to work with the people who want to stay in their homes?
I filled out the hardship packet and faxed it in Nov. 2008 and have heard nothing since. Same story as all of you…many calls placed to Citi, explaining the same story over and over because you never get the same person twice, endless time on hold, unable to leave messages/messages not returned, etc. They keep sending me letters, even one via UPS, saying they want to HELP ME. When I call in reference to those letters, it is simply the collections department hassling me about the payment I am behind on and all of their late fees. Thanks to CIti, my credit is tanked and now I couldn’t refi through anyone. All I asked them for is to lower my 7.9% interest rate to help me make my payments…you would think that would be easier than taking my home. They got THEIR bailout, but continue to screw their customers.
I have the same problem with everyone here with Citi, I agree that with all of you that they are all of evils, rude, mean and liars, yes they do advice to everyone be late in oder to get help. I have no choice to do that and submit my hardship packaged to them and talked to 20 different people and different answer. I called them last month and want to know if they own my note one of the prep said they sold it to a private investor. And i’m not qualify for the refi program from President Obama due to that. Than last Friday someone in collection dept called me and ask me to pay for the mtg I told them I can’t due to my hardship and she told me in order for me to qualify for mod I need to make a payment within 30 days during the mod process. I told her my situation of salary cut and the house underwater. I can’t believed that she doesn’t know what is the term of underwater mean. She asked me is your house flooding and damage. I also mention to her regarding the note she’s screaming at me telling me the Citi own my loan that’s why she’s calling me.. and she said whoever tell me loan is wrong. …what is that telling all of us here, they don’t know what are they doing and we don’t know who is telling the truth here.. All our credit had been ruin it by their advice. We need to get this message through our President or the Media to know what Citi Mortgage has been doing to their customer. They are not helping us, they are give us more stress by having alot of rude employees and unprofessional.
I have the same problem with everyone here with Citi, I agree that with all of you that they are all of evils, rude, mean and liars, yes they do advice to everyone be late in oder to get help. I have no choice to do that and submit my hardship packaged to them and talked to 20 different people and different answer. I called them last month and want to know if they own my note one of the prep said they sold it to a private investor. And i’m not qualify for the refi program from President Obama due to that. Than last Friday someone in collection dept called me and ask me to pay for the mtg I told them I can’t due to my hardship and she told me in order for me to qualify for mod I need to make a payment within 30 days during the mod process. I told her my situation of salary cut and the house underwater. I can’t believed that she doesn’t know what is the term of underwater mean. She asked me is your house flooding and damage. I also mention to her regarding the note she’s screaming at me telling me the Citi own my loan that’s why she’s calling me.. and she said whoever tell me loan is wrong. …what is that telling all of us here, they don’t know what are they doing and we don’t know who is telling the truth here.. All our credit had been ruin it by their advice. We need to get this message through our President or the Media to know what Citi Mortgage has been doing to their customer. They are not helping us, they are give us more stress by having alot of rude employees and unprofessional
Same story as the rest, I to have been trying to work with my mortgage lending company “CHASE” since 2008. Going through all the same phone tags, full mail boxes and numerous account “professionals” with there degrading attitudes. Difference is I have recieved a so called “Modification”! Funny thing the modification offer was never discussed and agreed to by me with anyone at chase! The papers “modification” were sent well after what they “Chase” set up for a required returned date! Naturally if not returned to them on the date listed then the so called discussed “modification” was voided due to lack of interest on my behalf! When trying to reach Chase to inform them that I had not been aware of the terms or conditions of the so called “discussed” modification and that I recieved it a month late with evidence of Fedex tracking they would not and have not responded! Surprise! Months later they did respond. I was encouraged to disregard any required due dates “to trust them, they are here for me” and to send in all monies requested and the “lateness” would be forgiven! LOL. The bulk of the modification states, in bold lettering if the “modification” is recieved beyond the due date listed then the “discussed terms of Modification” would be voided and forclosure would proceed! Obviously; “Chase” never wanted me to recieve documents in time so they had a valid justifiable {in there eyes} reason to proceed with forclosure! So I am still in the same situation if not worse than before since I “the lucky one” have a modification that I am refusing to sign and send money this makes me look like I am forgoing the offer! Now threats if I dont sign and send then will forclose and I am not qualified to get another modification offer since I defaulted on the first one! But no gurantees that they will honor the agreement because it is late! No doubt keeping any monies sent and not giving me the modification is the plan! Where does one file a complaint about so called “modifications” not discussed with homeowner and obvious conditions/demands unable to be met by homeowners due to lenders negligence! Chase wins both ways, they get my home and they get/got the money from the bailout program. They fulfilled there requirement by giving me the so called “modification” offer that I did not return on time! When asked if they could re-write current dates on modification paper work as any honest professional would want to do they stated; “the under writer would not want them to delay the modification” by recalculating numbers and dates! I find this hard to believe. Any suggestions or solutions?
my mortgage is thru citimortgage as well thank good i am not behind, however i just had to write to say there is a lot of frustration on this website & i urge people to be patient, if you can only imagine how many requests they have right now, & on top of that how many people they have now laid off, it takes a long time.
sent loan modification forms for hardship in November 2008 and again in Jan 2009 to CitiBank. No respone. They just told me I my loan has never been reviewed and I should reapply. Are you kidding me. I am going to have to walk away as I can not make the payments anymore.
Well, while it is taking a long time, people are losing their houses!! Citi won’t help you unless you are late. So, plan 3 now. Since the house is in MY name only. My husband is going to file chapter 7. I don’t file. I quit paying my second and after they do the loan mod on my first I then file a chapter 7 and throw the charged off second in the BK. I owe 230 on the 1’st. 60K on the second. My house is worth 100K. Makes no sense to pay the second. They can’t do anything to me with it being so negative equity. A lien can’t hurt you unless you go to sell and you have equity to sell. I won’t be selling this overpriced house in my lifetime.
Another thing I don’t know if you’ve been experiencing or not. But, I keep being given people’s extensions and when I go to use them they are disconnected!!!
I’ll let you all know how it goes.
HELLO JUST A COMMENT I CALLED THE NUMBER
1-866-255-3901 AND I WAS TOLD THEY ARE THE EXECUTIVE OFFICES AND DO NOT HANDLE ANY OF THE LOAN MODIFICATIONS AND WAS GIVEN YET ANOTHER # TO CALL 800 888-6001! SORRY MOE THATS NOT WORKING EITHER!
Wow! Had written down the Homeowner Assistance number from CM website & was just in the process of getting all my required paperwork to call tomorrow to request a loan mod, but after reading everyone’s complaints I guess I’ll just forget ’bout it for now. Just not in the mood to deal with poorly trained dumbass customer service morons right now. Am not currently behind on payments, but am most certainly feeling the pinch. Just wanted to be proactive to see how CM could help me out since going through the original Primerica rep that helped me to refi a year ago wasn’t much help and was only interested in the commission she could get from me. Not sure what to do now, but am truly appreciative for all the info I got from this forum. Am highly disappointed in how this bailout business has gone to pot. The money should have gone directly to the people in trouble and not to the banks then we wouldn’t have to deal with all this red tape and b.s.!
MOE – I HAVE TRIED TO CALL THE PHONE NUMBER YOU POSTED BUT THEY WILL NOT TALK TO ANYONE. I HAVE RESPONDED TO THE POST RE: CLASS ACTION LAW SUITE AGAINST CITIBANK. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INFO ON THIS? AND IS THERE A LAWSUIT BEING PUT TOGETHER?
THEY MUST BE HELP RESPONSIBLE FOR NOT RESPONDING TO US AND PUTTING US IN A WORSE SITUATION THAN WHEN WE STARTED. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO WORK WIHT THEM FOR 6 MONTHS ON SHORTSALE OFFERS AND LOAN MOD. NO ANSWERS FROM THEM AT ALL. NOW MY HOUSE IS WORTH $200k LESS THAN WHEN I STARTED THE PROCESS WITH THEM.
LAURA3510@GMAIL.COM
I agreed with Laura G, we should stick together to sue Citi for making us in worse situation and mentally abuse us day by day by giving us more stress without knowing what’s going on with our mortgage and those rude employees that they had. Someone please do something about this. We need our President to know all these. They are giving money to the wrong people.
Does anyone know if there has been a class action started against these people? I don’t understand how when your mortgage is sold to them that they can change your due date and add all kinds of fees and late charges and you never even signed any paperwork with them. Then when you get behind and can’t pay the late charges, they threaten foreclosure on you. They even took away any grace period I had to pay and want the payment on the 1st of the month and no later. What is preforeclosure? That is a joke also.
Here is what you do. Make sure before you request a modification you have a hardship. call 18007237906 or 8662724749. You are looking for a review to be done to see if you prequalify. Call in with your pay stubs, annual tax amount , home owners ins amount, w2s, total deposits for your business over the last 12months if you are self employed…..BE PREPARED!!! Waiting on hold for 30 to 1hr needs to be worth your time and theirs. Dont tell a long drawn out story, remember there are others that are waiting to get help just like you…most call volume is due to people complaining or telling a long story about the hold time.
Most of all, be prepared, a review can not be done on guess, estimates or i think answers. A prequalification is based on what you say, if what you send in doesnt match, well, you dont prequalify any longer, and that is just a waste of your time.
I’ve read all of the responses above and it’s unreal all the horror stories we all have with Citimortgage. I attempted to extend our mortgage to lower our payments back in July 2008 after my husband had lost his job in March 2008. All I have gotten is the runaround and to make matter worse, we have a second mortgage with Citibank. If there is a class action suit against Citimortgage, Citibank, Citifinancial, I would like to know.
I am in the process of contacting an attorney who specializes in these matters because what Citimortgage is doing just isn’t right.
Plan #4 !!! I am supposedly doing a *Forbearance* with Citi. I did do the Hardship Assistance online and faxed the required documents right then. It took 3 weeks to get a counselor. I was not even a month late at that time. She tells me they wont even talk to me about mod unless I am at least 3 months late. So, she tells me to skip the March payment and pay 960.00 for April and May. Then after I make the May payment to call her and she will start the mod. Then I get the written agreement in the mail. It states that I am agreeing to make the two payments of 960.00, but then it sais I will make a balloon payment in June for 3200.00. I never told her I could do that. So, I call her which took going through at least 5 people because her extension had been disconnected. Finally get her and she said, Don’t worry about the balloon payment because we’re going to do your mod in May. But, I had to sign the contract saying I would pay it. That’s Ridiculous because now they can hold me to that because I signed it!!!!!! This is so Scary!!!
I did the hardship assistance application on line. It took about 3 weeks for it to get into they system. They never called me. I called Citimortgage and got another company that is handling these apps. I spoke to about five different people – but after about 2 weeks finally got some help. The gave a loan modification to reduce our mortage (by only $25.00) but it stopped the phone calls. We have to have that payment in on time for 3 months (Apri, May, June) and then they are supposed to put us on a repayment plan starting in July. I hope this this is a real solution and they we aren’t being put in a trick bag.
You brave people. Our home has lost 250K in value. Our Citibank mortgage is going to readjust in 2012. It’s a slow death as we end each month with exactly what we started with while waiting for our boat to swamp. We’re both working overtime while our kids grow up in day care. I wonder what the Citibank CEOs are doing right now. Where are those rampage shooters when you need them?
PS: Moe is a Citibank plant.
I would join it My servicer is Citi bank and there telling me my invester is Wells Fargo Im 3 months behind on my mortgage due the lousy moratoriam they put me in August I have been trying to keep up with the payments my wife has been on the phone for days and hours ony to get the run around . Last Friday I was told point blank your investor Wells Fargo will not do a modification when it was released on CNN Money that same day not only did Citi and Wells Fargo get billions from the government for the new hope for home owners modification program they where implimenting the program right away where is the help I say class action lawsuit or contact congress or one of the media giants Dateline NBC or 2/20 please help
Jerry Alfano or Diane Alfano
954-227-0480
My servicer is Citi bank and there telling me my invester is Wells Fargo Im 3 months behind on my mortgage due the lousy moratoriam they put me in August I have been trying to keep up with the payments my wife has been on the phone for days and hours ony to get the run around . Last Friday I was told point blank your investor Wells Fargo will not do a modification when it was released on CNN Money that same day not only did Citi and Wells Fargo get billions from the government for the new hope for home owners modification program they where implimenting the program right away where is the help I say class action lawsuit or contact congress or one of the media giants Dateline NBC or 2/20 please help
Coun me inon a lawsuit they suck
I swear these stories are all IDENTICAL to mine!! I was laid of in November 08 and contacted CitiMortgage immediately to notify them as I have always had excellent credit and wanted to keep it that way. I was put on a moratorium from Nov 08 – January 09 and told to fax in the workable solutions application. From day one I kept calling Citi for a status to no avail. Prior to the moratorium’s expiration I continued to reach out to Citi regarding my “loan workout” I was told that my mortgage was being forwarded to fannie mae and I should hear something in 2 – 4 weeks. I called to f/u and was told that my loan was not in fact submitted to fannie and it would be now – once again the same thing happened and then I was told that I wasn’t eligible for a modification. I have had four counselors of which I actually spoke to two of them the others never even returned my calls. The latest counselor is rude and not helpful at all. In one of my conversations a CitiMortage employee told me that once my account was on a moratorium it would not be reported to the credit bureaus. Well I received a job offer (for a slary significantly lower than what I was previously making) this past week and was informed that I had a negative item on my credit report – CITIMORTGAGE, they reported me as being delinquent over 120 days when they put me on the moratorium and did not provide me with a payment plan until April 1st – by the way my loan still has not been modified. No one calls me back and everyone I speak to tells me something different. Oh and to put salt on my wound I interviewed for a position basically at the salary that I was previously making and was denied employment because of the one and only negative item on my credit report – CITIMORTGAGE, so at this stage I don’t know how anyone is supposed to get another job if they report the moratorium as a negative item on your credit report and when the prospective employer checks it you are denied employment because of it; so how is anyone in this situation supposed to earn sufficient income again to pay their mortgage?
I’m in the same sinking ship as all the rest of you Citi mortgagees. Applied for Hardship Assistance in December, 2008 and am still awaiting contact from a mortgage advisor at Outreach Services, whom citi has hired to assist them with loan modifications. I just got off the phone with Olivia at Citimortgage today, she had me on hold while she tried contacting Outreach, they would not answer the phone…all she could tell me to do was keep calling as they had my application and I had to work with them. Meanwhile, I have gone through all savings to keep my payments current (credit being trashed). I was also initially told to skip 3 payments but I’m trying to keep my credit as good as I can. Outreach also initially told me they would knowck 200.00 off my payments for three months but I had to repay that amount at the end of the three months, WTF? how is that going to help, if I don’t have it now, I’m not going to have it in three months. Does anyone have any contact numbers for Mortgage Outreach Services other than the 877-591-4752?
I did send an email to President Obama today with my concerns/frustrations. Don’t know if he will actually get it though…maybe we should all March on the White House and get some attention!
Whats the Pres email I will send him one also
Here is what you do. Make sure before you request a modification you have a hardship. call 18007237906 or 8662724749. You are looking for a review to be done to see if you prequalify. Call in with your pay stubs, annual tax amount , home owners ins amount, w2s, total deposits for your business over the last 12months if you are self employed…..BE PREPARED!!! Waiting on hold for 30 to 1hr needs to be worth your time and theirs. Dont tell a long drawn out story, remember there are others that are waiting to get help just like you…most call volume is due to people complaining or telling a long story about the hold time. Most of all, be prepared, a review can not be done on guess, estimates or i think answers. A prequalification is based on what you say, if what you send in doesnt match, well, you dont prequalify any longer, and that is just a waste of your time.
Update: call 1800-888-6001 for a modification request. Do not let someone tell you to fill out the package, its a longer wait! Better to just see if you prequalify over the phone and send in the required documents that are asked based on your responses. It Works, Trust Me…
this is a copy of a post on another blog done by myself…
My husband and i have ben fighting Citi from 2006. We filed a medical bankruptcy in 2005 and citi held all our mortage payments on some guys desk for 6 months. It took close to 25 phone calls in a one week period to get them to straighten that out. Then they tried to foreclose on us.
We call the section of citi for a workout solution and spoke with a vary nice gentleman who was great. He got us into a plan that put the balance in dispute at the end of our loan. and tried valiently to get copies of citi’s payment record for our loanto us. That was when all hell broke loose.
Turns out that citi was not paying our mortage insurance and there for could not do thier own modification on this loan. Furthumore the government did not have them EVER paying it…When they took over Prudential.. seems this info got lost somewhere. we kept paying our mortage, but now they were sending back the payments to us.. saying they could not find our loan # or tht the money was not sufficent to cover the loan. Go figure…?
At this time our statements also stopped.
All calls were now routed to India.. whos various people said that they did not send statements to people who owed them money, or that they would have a supervisor call us back. ( No One ever called). This went on for a year untill thier lawyers in OKC got involved.
We answered thier foreclosures pro se.. and had an attorny who called us hicks and such while making fun of us to his secretary. He answered our answeres by pulling the foreclosure and then sent us the informational pages on another forclosure he was doing along with very weidrly worded interrogetories. BTW Jose rodriguez… i have your SS # previous adress etc.
Repeated calles to thier office were also not returned… i reported this nonsense to the Barr.
Now enter 2009.. this attorny has once again tried to revisit foreclosure…This time he mailed us papers postmarked 3/10/09 after telling the court they were sent 5 days earlier ( same firm diffrent lawyer).. and still no response from citi..
we are still put on hold, transferred around the worls etc…. i think if its not resolvd in a week i’ll will this story and all those boxes of paper to CNN and FOX news.. bailout mu ass….
The stress of this is killing me… literaly.. i have lupus and this is putting me into a grave… from this mess i have ended up with brain surgery( NOT A JOKE) and several complications…i just wanted my family to be able to keep thier house.
If this happens to the people who pay thier bills what happens o the people who don’t?… bailout money.
contact me at galen1217@hotmail.com if anyone hears about a class action going on….
PS today we sent yet another hardship app….
A new twist to the screwing from Citimortgage….yesterday I received a certified letter stating that we are now in default…even though they told me at the beginning of this mess that as long as I went no more than one month behind I would not default. They want the entire amount due, about 5,000 with all of their late fees, etc. by 4/30, or they will begin foreclosure. They want me to contact them immediately. Funny, I have been trying to contact them since December of last year. They do not want to help people….they want your home…at this point, they can have mine. I am too frustrated to care. By the way, thanks Prez Obama for all of your promised help!! Things are so much better now!
Those of you having trouble with your mortgage or are in or near default should call the Executive Response Unit @866-255-3901. Even within this unit, it seems to be hit or miss with respect to the service you receive. The first person I spoke with never returned any calls, I finally gave up on her and Christian (ext.52816) helped me throughout the process. He was very helpful and usually contacted me when he committed to. He kept me informed of what was happening throughout the loan modification process. BTW, it’s quite apparent the various departments at CitiMortgage don’t communicate with each other. We’ve been receiving letter after letter of “your loan is in default” type communications from the Collections Dept. Christian more or less told me to ignore them because he was processing the modification request. He indicated to continue to make payments to the best of our ability, but I suspect the latter advice is SOP, they want their payments.
I submitted my Hardship Assistance package and had my paperwork to sign 7 weeks after submission. I suspect the delay is because they’re inundated with requests right now. We’re underwater by approx. $75K so we couldn’t refi on the open market, so Citi modifying our loan was our only hope. I had one of those stupid loans through Primerica as well and was intially told they couldn’t modify the loan because it was a “special loan” – technically called a CRMSI REMIC loan. This stands for Citicorp Residential Mortgage Securities Inc. Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit. My research seems to indicate this is a special pooling of mortgages that have high yields and the bondholders/constituents must approve any modifications.
Long story short – my rate went from 8.58% to 4.8% and they waived the past dues and penalties. While I am very grateful they worked with me, I think they’re definitely looking at their bottom line. If someone is barely able to (or cannot) pay their mortgage because of unforseen circumstances and the property is sizeably underwater, it’s in the lenders best interest to bring the payments down to an affordable level, otherwise they risk taking a huge loss. In our case, after potential foreclosure/short sale fees and loss of value on the property itself, they’d stand to lose upwards of $100K. They’d only be able to recover a small percentage of that through the 1099.
Best of luck to anyone else having mortgage trouble.
Did you have a fixed rate loan with Primerica? What made it stupid?
I cannot believe what I am reading today. I have been in this same process since Jan 09 with the same results as all of you! Last week a counselor (for the second time) failed to return my scheduled appt. I received a call from collections though and she seemed to listen to my same arguments as all of you. She was nice and seemed geniune in her attempts to help me. I agreed to make a payment this week?! She took all the information that I have given 5 times now to Citi reps. After holding on the line for some time she actually came back on the line (I thought they had hung up on me as in previous calls) I was told to call back in two weeks after someone does a “drive by” of my home and compares it to others in the area…I was also told that they had all the documents necessary to help me lower my payments. I will keep you informed.
Been trying since beginning of March to find out about the government-backed assistance for Fannie Mae loans. Me and thousands of others, it would seem. See scores of others are experiencing the same “Citi-disconnect.” Every time I call, I too am givem umpteen 800 #’s who refer me to yet another 800 #. The phone “appt” on 4/3/09 was a joke. Gave my financial info AGAIN…no record of information when I have followed up;ask each person I speak with, and the standard reply is that it hasn’t “worked it’s way through the system.” I know I am qualified under Fannie Mae for the DU Refi Plus, bur cant’ find anyone at Citi to give me the time of day, because my home loan is much smaller than most (THANK GOD) and system showing me with 60-day lates erroneously from last fall, even though I was assured REPEATEDLY from Citi staff at the time that there would be NO adverse credit reporting. Spoke to Customer Srevice Supv in INDIA and he fired off email to credit department to straighten out, as to why loan was to be completely protected under GOVERNMENT Fannie Mae DECLARED DISASTER AREA MORATORIUM for 90 days….SHEESH…these departments absolutely have no connection AT ALL. Not only does the right hand not know what the left hand does, if you get a smart @ss, as I have countless times, you can tell INSTANTLY they ae going to blow you off. So now I was told by INDIA to give it until May 11 for the past dues to be corrected. He assured me (there I go with the word ASSURED again) that I would also get a letter about the correction. I will be sending the letter to the credit bureaus MYSELF if I ever get my hands on a letter. No direct phone number or extension ever given to follow up; everything is a shot in the dark. Not to mention that I can’t proceed with trying to get the DU Refi Plus until the incorrect “late payment” issue is resolved. Citi never sleeps? Are you kidding? They have been asleep at the wheel, using bailout money to prop themselves up for months while their customers sink, not swim and flounder if we’re lucky. Pathetic.
ARE YOU KIDDING? IS THIS GOING TO REALLY WORK? REALLY MATTER?
of course not… the email on your website is not working ! big shock.
’steve@loansafesolutions.com’
BUT I see where you are requesting the agents/loan workout persons to give you feedback with regard to process with citimortgage…
I am going to give it the ole college try !
Ok… my experience so far:
Got a listing. Seller has vacated house and quit paying mortgage.
house was listed for a year prior by an agent ; did not sell at the 179,000 price.
Dropped price to $169,900 about $5,000 more than value.. got a contract in 2months… been on about 60days now.. and have a qualified buyer and quick close….
Offer is $165,000 but buyer asking for 3% in closing costs. Loan is at $163,000
Seller cant afford to payoff loan and pay for closing costs/commissions… .of course !
Seller owes $163,000 on loan… so, technically the bank would only be loosing about $12,000 on the deal… if that… which is less than a 10% loss to loan amount…
Seller recently had hours cut.. so salary has been cut 40% over prior year.
Easy decision, right ?
Got on phone immediately to see what / where to send info… called short sale dept / collections dept… oh, wait, they don’t communicate with each other… so took 2 days to be told that I was calling loss mitig when I have to deal with collections first as the seller is only 60days delinquent.. not 120+ days. So back to collections… said want a supervisor.. to make a decision as to what we need further for citi to make a decision… what do we need to send.
Send everything again… to the 3rd fax number now given to me. Sent all the fax to other 2 several times over last 7days… nothing. No call to say what is needed further.
Called 2x every day to get update on file/ find out who to talk to.. nothing.. noone can tell me for sure what or who to talk to.. they are not allowed to give out extensions/names… they say.
The ones that do give me extensions… they are to people that call me back.. after 3days.. and say they cannot help me as the file is not in their “check digit” whatever that is.
Then told to again go back to collections.; as they have to be the ones that send an EMAIL to short sales… to noone.. just a short mail email box… to see what to do or who to get to call me.
That never happened yet…
I call again…. Loss mitigation… they say they are waiting on approval from a 3rd party investor/lender… whoever that is or when that became a fact they could not tell me… and did not know who was reviewing that information.. or if anything had been done…
So since April 19th … here we sit.. not one stop closer to anyone calling me back or telling me what / when something can happen… OR AT LEAST WHAT ELSE IS NEEDED AND WHERE TO SEND IT…. and now today buyer wants to walk away… cause why would they be able to sit around to do nothing and not know when or if they can ever close…. They are renting and have to vacate too.
Closing is scheduled for may 15th… so it was a quick close with a qualified buyer … but I am sure they will move on before anything can be done by Citimortgage.
Will wait to see if this is of any consequence.
Elisa Mullins, Broker
I called citi mtg again to do for my status talked to Terry from AZ dept. Again asking for my monthly expenses like 10 other people..back since Jan 09…I asked him are you really helping or just repeating like any other of your worker acting like you guys are helping people but really not. He told me this is a new processes of Citi Mtg just came out 3 business days..after he take down my infor, I’ll received a phone call in 2 wks. I ask him are you sure, he said yes…Let’s see everyone if Citi is really trying to help us or just an Act after getting our tax money. …this is a mentally abuse that’s what they are doing to us….I’ll keep you all posted.
citimortgage refuses to help me and i have talked to several people and the answer was no right off, i don’t qualify, my personal opinion is they don’t eant to help
Am waiting on for phone call for appt I set up 3 weeks ago. Someone supposed to call between 8 and 10 EST. I am current but upside down and would live the refinance option. Cannot get anyone on the phone and only told to do the internet appt. and then no one apparently calls.
We should all contact news media today (Dateline etc.) as well as the Treasury Department as well as the White House. This is a joke. The Obama Plan is a JOKE!!!! I cannot believe my taxpayer bailout money went to these idiots! Let them go under!!!
Called 866-255-3901. Hector in Exec. Response unit told me to call 877-971-9710 to move forward with refinance of freddy mac loan under obama plan. this number only works if you are current and want to do refinance.
person helping me now just takes info t o give to loan rep who will then call me. she says someone called me at home this am. the online aapt form we fill out is joke and does not get to them. i listed 3 phone numbers where asked and said in comments to call me at work. she said they only have my home number in the system and that is what was called!!!!!! they do not get our special instrtuctions that we fill out on the appt request online!!!
So I filed for assistance with Citimortgage after my wife lost her job. Luckily she found a new one and i just heard back from the loss mitigation department about the Process.
So far we have never missed a payment but since her new job pays significantly less we’re looking to have our monthly mortgage payment reduced. So i talked to the guy and he said that there is a 3 month TRIAL period where they will lower my payments and at the end of the 3 months citi will decide whether or not to modify my loan.
BUT there is a catch, at the end of 3 months if they decide to not mod the loan I will owe them the reduced payment amount AND either way my credit gets wrecked in the process because now they treat me as if i have been late for 3 months….
So here i am, I have never missed a payment and they want me to do this?!? for the chance that MAYBE they will help me? What? wreck my credit and send me to collections…. Their reason for this PROCESS is to weed out the people who dont need help. Has anyone here had this situation? I feel like its just a scam just to get a person backed into a corner
So I filed for assistance with Citimortgage after my wife lost her job. Luckily she found a new one and i just heard back from the loss mitigation department about the Process.
So far we have never missed a payment but since her new job pays significantly less we’re looking to have our monthly mortgage payment reduced. So i talked to the guy and he said that there is a 3 month TRIAL period where they will lower my payments and at the end of the 3 months citi will decide whether or not to modify my loan.
BUT there is a catch, at the end of 3 months if they decide to not mod the loan I will owe them the reduced payment amount AND either way my credit gets wrecked in the process because now they treat me as if i have been late for 3 months….
So here i am, I have never missed a payment and they want me to do this?!? for the chance that MAYBE they will help me? What? wreck my credit and send me to collections…. Their reason for this PROCESS is to weed out the people who dont need help. Has anyone here had this situation? I feel like its just a scam to get me backed into a corner with bad credit
After calling the number that has been given out on the web for the “executive response team” at Citi, I was told that they DO NOT handle mods. They deal with people who’s mods were already denied through Citi. The rep I spoke with, Aubrey, told me to call the collections department, which I did. After an extended hold time, and explaining my situation to yet ANOTHER rep, I was told that there is a “brand new program” that I may qualify for in which Citi would lower my interest rate for 3 months. If I can make my payments on time for the 3 months, they will give me the lower interest rate for the remainder of the loan. I am supposed to call them today to find out about a “value assesment” they need to do on my property first….to see if it is worth them taking, I suppose….and they will tell me if I “qualify”. I have not heard of anyone being offered this sort of deal, I don’t believe it is anything short of Citi blowing more sunshine up my ass. Either way, I will post any results of my conversations with them today. Also, I am not unemployed so this is not the same deal they are offering to the jobless.
My Husband works for a UAW auto supplier. His income has been cut in half. He is working four jobs and we are still not bringing in enough money for the bills. We also asked for help from Citimotgage. I also heard from their lost mitigation department and was offered the same 3 month deal. I was not told that you are sent to collections and that your payements are showing late. I was told the reason for the three month trial is to give time for your loan modification to be reviewed and completed.
I feel that this may be a way to say they are helping people but not really help them. How are they helping anyway? They will probably refuse the loan mod. and the homeowner has to pay a lump sum at the end of the three months. But, if you don’t do it, they will not even consider you for a loan modifiation. I feel forced to do this or I will not get help lowering our payments.
Here is what you do. Make sure before you request a modification you have a hardship. call 18007237906 or 8662724749. You are looking for a review to be done to see if you prequalify. Call in with your pay stubs, annual tax amount , home owners ins amount, w2s, total deposits for your business over the last 12months if you are self employed…..BE PREPARED!!! Waiting on hold for 30 to 1hr needs to be worth your time and theirs. Dont tell a long drawn out story, remember there are others that are waiting to get help just like you…most call volume is due to people complaining or telling a long story about the hold time. Most of all, be prepared, a review can not be done on guess, estimates or i think answers. A prequalification is based on what you say, if what you send in doesnt match, well, you dont prequalify any longer, and that is just a waste of your time.Update: call 1800-888-6001 for a modification request. Do not let someone tell you to fill out the package, its a longer wait! Better to just see if you prequalify over the phone and send in the required documents that are asked based on your responses. It Works, Trust Me…
I read all these stories, and I think of it as a joke. These complaints are either from people who have a housing ratio when reviewed that says they have the income to make the payment, but may have credit cards or investment properties that they just cant let go. If I had a choice from either Credit Cards/Investment properties or my home. I would choose my home. Stop whining and do something about it. It takes being responsibility and determination. Obama’s plan works, you may not agree with the outcome of a modification review, but just remember it’s not citi screwing you, its you not getting what you “want” or feel you “deserve”.
Citiowned/Citi takes care of you..
Non/citiowned…you just got to push forward and dont give up and take what the investor offers you. Hope for the best.
A little of something is always better than nothing…that doesnt mean you stop at that point…take whats offered from the moratoriums/forbearance plans, and push forward to get more!
There is help. Read AN reply…it works.
Who ever says CitiMortgage will help, you must be on drugs!! I have been helping my Father-in-Law for MONTHS with his mortgage and CitiMortgage has done nothing at all. He first filed his paperwork in Feb. of 2009, they told him they were working on it, then after 2 months of that, finally, they said they lost it. Needless to say, we had to do everything all over again. We have sent all the same paperwork several times to them, via fax, mail, email, and over the phone, and still nothing. He has 2 homes, between the 2, he is paying almost 2,000 a month. Mind you, CitiMortgage says they can help. They told him he qualified for a Loan Modification, GREAT! Guess what, that is not what happened. He had to fill out 2 packets, 1 for each home, in which we did, faxed them the same day. 1 week later, we were told a “consultant” was assigned to 1 property, that was even better news. Then today, I receive a letter in the mail that she needed more information. I had 1 week from the time the letter was dated to give her the information. The letter was dated 4-26-09, I called her as soon as I opened it, and she said that she already denied his application, not even a week later. During the past few months, we called constantly, just to make sure this didn’t happen, and it still did. The consultants name is Mrs. Williams,(I will not give her first name) and very rude. I have spoke to everybody in their office from, manager’s to representatives, and still nothing has been done. They were supposed to be his taxes, guess what, they haven’t been. We received a letter from the Government Office, that they are going to sell his properties due to taxes. My husband and I moved into his second home to try and help him, and he is still at risk because CitiMortgage can’t seem to do their job correctly. When I asked them about the “lost” paperwork, they said sometimes that happens. So I told them, well if he were to make a mortgage payment and it were lost in the mail, you would take his home, and I was hung up on instantly. So when it comes down to it, You are better of finding some 2-bit nobody company, I’m sure they would save your home. To be honest, I spoke to a manager today, nice man, however, even he told me that I probably have more names, phone number’s, and extensions than he has. Oh yeah, the extension numbers, I was told that most times they don’t even work, due them always being changed. So if anybody can help me, please help!!! To all CitiMortgage customer’s, get out while you can, or your home will be next.
well. I have read all these responses. I don’t understand how there can be any confusion. Citi has no interest in the little lives that you all care about. We have lost something that can never be replaced. Citi does not care. I am afraid to use my real name. We lost our home after I was seriously injured and my husband can no longer make good decisons.We were treated so poorly by Citi that I was embarassed. I was told that no matter what illnesses we had sustained to get over it. They would not tolerate slackers.I don’t think that my husband will live long enough to see this through- but by god, I will.
I am having the same problem, I did the paper work, told the the whys, what I could do. I actually have someone that will make my payments until our soc.sec disability checks kick in. Every time I call I have to start the process over. Last Friday they told me I wasn’t approved, this is the first time I heard this, after hearing nothing from them.. they want me to get proof from SS if they would of contacted me I would do everything they want and need.
I just hope it is not too late.
They have been very nice to me, I think they are overwhelmed with all the people that need help. It can get confusing if you have to talk to a different person each time you call.
I do not want to lose my home, we are both disabled, and waiting for Soc.Sec. I have no where to go….
I have been trying to work with loss mitigation since September of 2008, I got denied help every time. I loss my job since 1/2008 and still did not qualified for any help because I only received EDD benefit. Citimortgage is the most horrible compnay I have ever dealt with, at this point I have gave up dealing with citimortage due to the stress factor..I am currently in foreclosure. THANKS GOD FOR THIS BLOG I FEEL BETTER WRITTING ABOUT THIS HORRIBLE COMPANY…
This is to JUST TRY IT – Please stop fooling everyone and waisting their time, either you work for the bank and do not want bad press, let me tell you i’ve been there done that and the stories of all these people you read about have done the same. If the investors who bought the loan refuses negotiations in other words to modify your loan, you will be denied, plain and simple. This was told to me by the bank. The only progress you will see, if you complain to ABC, CNN, FOX and email the president, it’s simple go to president obama and you will see his site and email.
Let me tell you, this is not only Citimortgage, all the banks are refusing to help, they give you alot of BLAH, BLAH. Total waist of time, then if you go to an attorney for advice, he then tells you, oh well, all i can say is, do a short sale, or foreclose, because there is nothing they can do.
Christa, If you received a letter about more information, its because the counselor has tried to reach you on the only possible numbers that are on your fathers account. The letter is sent as a last resort. IF you are left a message on the phone and no phone call is received back…the request has to be closed. No matter what the situation is. There are people out there willing and ready to do what it takes to make sure Citi has all that is needed to pass your loan through underwriting.
Been there, Citi sucks. We have been dealing with Citi Mortgage for months now (Nov 2008 and no payments to date). My question to you all is, has Citi changed your door-locks yet? They seem to be taking just as long to fore-close than to help with loan-mods. Give it some time it will work out. Just in case, you might want to downsize some of your belongings so there is less to move… In the mean time, buy your kids a new toy and go outside and play for a while, or work on your pool, get it ready for the summer. Its not over yet… Don’t give up, and don’t give in to a crapy loan-mod. Citi will have to fix this oneway or the other.
OMG. I just googled for info. because I am having so much trouble with Citi Mortgage. 1st I read the article and thought I was doing something wrong. Then I read the comments and realized I am not alone. Citi is horrible! On the surfice they tell you anything you want to hear ( after hours of holding and calling different ph #’s) Then they say they will call you back and you never hear from them until you call them and then they say they just changed systems and none of the old info. carried over and make you go through it all over again! I wonder if I will ever get any help from them.
No you will not ever get help from them….now I am waiting for the supposed valuation they did on my house. Yeah right…and still all they want to know is where is the late payment? No help. And to JUST TRY IT….I am glad that these people and their stories are “a joke to you”. You are a clueless A$$.
Why is it that i am supposed to become delinquent on my payments? This makes absolutely no sense to me at all since according to the Loss mitigation person I DO QUALIFY Already. If i Qualify then I qualify. Whats up with needing to wreck my good credit. What if at some point i want to go out and purchase a new home in the future… Now i cant get a loan or a good rate because my credit report shows 90 days delinquent payments on my mortgage.
Not only that but their mod program that they wouldnt comment on goes something like the following according to one person’s comments that i read who has gone through this process in its entirety…
Say your current rate is 7.5%, they will give you a new rate of 5.5% for 12 months then 6.5% for the next 12 months then your loan adjusts back up to 7.5% for 40 years.
For me this amounts to a savings of about $200 per month for 40 years. I am already 5 years into a 30 year fixed, it makes no sense to add on 15 years of interest to save a mere $200 a month. Has anyone else actually modded their loans or gotten offers like these?
Do you have an Interest Only loan.
TO: The Truth
TO be HONEST. I work for Citi. I have been through every change with that company for nearly 10yrs. Started in Customer Service and finally got out of that hell of a hole department. I know accounts from begining to end. Heard every complaint, lie, sad, upset client there is that Citi services.
Now that I am in modifications, I see what the department has experienced. The department was overwhelmed with thousands of modifications that were coming through when the markets went bad, mainly due to irresponsible people or people that took on more than they could handle. Lets keep in mind, Citi didnt originate all these loans, we are the servicer.
Its funny to me, that people fail to take on responsibility. I decline loans that try to get modified**Based on the Federal Housing ratio*** There are people that have a 17% housing ratio and I just cant believe they think its going to be modified because they have credit cards,or other debt…
I see paystubs and wonder wow, you pay a mortgage of 1300.00 with tax and ins make 7000.00 a mth and want a mod…what a joke, I am a single mom of 3, with a “rental payment”(Have been saving for a home for 3 1/2 yrs) of $1325 and still afford my 2car notes/daycare/no childsupport/food and extracurricular activities for 1 of my children(they take turns doing programs)…These people are irresponsible and need someone to help manage their debt.
Sorry for those who think I am an A$$. I know what works, I call people and say what I can offer, and they cry, and thank me. Its great to hear that. We all know you never hear the good things that happen.
So every night, I come home to this site and put info to help people start their request the right way…I know it works, I am a dang good rep in mod. I enjoy my job. So take it for what its worth and say whatever makes you feel better, I passed up name calling when I became a forgiving, loving, responsible woman.
OK JUST TRY IT…since you seem to be so sure that I am irresponsible and therefore resort to name calling….you don’t know a thing about me or my situation. FYI, I have NO car loans, very little credit card debt, and was completely capable of affording my mortgage payment when I bought my house. Fast forward to a crashed economy, family illness, lost jobs, and therein lies my issue. I completely qualify for the mod under the Obama guidelines. I cannot get Citi to communicate with me however, so that I can attempt to save my home. I am a single mom of 4, so I don’t need to be reminded how difficult it is to raise children. I have a 30 year fixed loan, I am simply asking for a mod to lower my incredibly high interest rate. I make just enough to cover my mortgage payment and have been doing so for the last year. I am simply doing what the prez said to do…contact my lender and inquire about the mod program. I guess it’s too bad I didn’t speak with someone as “forgiving, loving and responsible” as yourself, or I probably would be just FINE right now, huh? I think you should throw “holier than thou” into that description as well. You work for Citi, you know all of us irresponsible homeowners only want what we don’t deserve. Hey, look at the bright side….you have been saving for a home for awhile, there should be some great deals on the market right about now! Maybe you can snatch up someone’s dream!!!
No I have a 30yr fixed.
This praise is paid for. CitiMortgage is the worst ever in responding, helping you refinance and forth. The took tax payers money and scam off there good paying customers.
They are bad news! If you can avoid Citi Mortgage!
To: Just Try it
After reading all these horror stories its nice to hear there is help. I am trying to get loan modification. I had a small business go under last year. My partner and I had to take on $65,000 in debt each from the business. Which sounds horrible but working tons of OT I had a plan. Now with the economy my job has cut all OT and some of my regular hours. My husband’s job too. Our income has dropped so much all I can pay is the mortgage, utilities and one car lease. Which that has even changed because Citimortgage just sent me an increase letter due to escrow shortage. Now my mortgage payment has increased. I will have to let the car be repo’d. I do not want to lose my house. I spoke with a representitive 3/27/09 who told me I should hear something in three weeks. I called last week and was told I would receive a letter in two weeks with instruction on the next step. What should I do? Please help.
In Reply To “Interested Party”:
Yes, it was a fixed rate. To be completely honest, I’m just as much at fault as the product Primerica is peddling, after all, I signed the agreement. I don’t want to derail this blog, so I’ll keep it short. Their reps claim of “the interest rate doesn’t matter because it’s simple interest” is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. The way simple interest (actually called daily) is calculated is not very different from a monthly or even yearly amortized schedule – you’re still on an amortized schedule, the balance is just reviewed daily instead of monthly. But you only pay twice a month or once a month anyways, so the supposed benefit of daily balance calculation is by and large immaterial. Just google Average Daily Balance (ADB) and regular mortgage payment calculators and plug in your numbers. The mortgage calculated with ADB saves you hardly anything. So we went from a standard 30yr @ 6.25% to Primerica’s 8.58% in our refi. Like I said, I’m just as much at fault for signing on the line (ultimately, I’m 100% accountable because it’s my house and my finances), but I’m very displeased with how the information was presented.
In Reply To “Just Try It”:
You do make some good points. We all know the average American has way to much credit card debt (avg. of $10K). It’s not Citi’s fault people under heavy credit card debt are in the position they’re in.
With that being said, a job loss, significant illness or other unforseen economic situation that materially affects your ability to pay your mortgage should be considered by any lender, not just Citi.
An Update:
After the loan modification came back approved, Christian handed my file off to one of his peers. (not sure why, but I can’t complain….see next comment) Andrea Seligman @ ext.52854, also in the Executive Response Unit in Arizona handled everything from there. I honestly can say I have rarely had the pleasure of communicating with someone as professional, courteous and willing to “go the extra mile” for a customer as I experienced with her. In fact, I wrote Sanjiv Das (CitiMortgage’s CEO) a letter detailing my experience with Andrea and indicated that CitiMortgage is very fortunate to have her as an employee.
I’ll give you one example of her helpfulness. I was enrolled in the Equity Builder Plan (CitiMortgage auto-debited my account every two weeks) under the old loan. I received a .50% discount on my interest rate for participating in the plan. If I unenrolled, my rate would have increased by .50%) I didn’t want to do the Equity Builder plan any longer because I’ll invest in various securities for 12 months, then make a large principle-only payment once a year. According to the modified loan agreement, I wasn’t bound to participate in the plan to get my new interest rate and Andrea confirmed this. She did say however, that she couldn’t unenroll me – that customer service had to. As soon as she told me that, I got that that gut-wrenching sinking feeling again…..call customer service for this? If the question or issue at hand isn’t a vanilla issue, good luck getting anywhere with customer service. I call customer service and sure enough, they didn’t fail to impress me with their sheer ineptitude. First call I get a rep that’s clueless, then indicates my new rate will increase by .50%. I tell her the new loan doesn’t stipulate the mandatory enrollment for the .50% discount and the new terms replace the old. She brings on someone from loss mitigation and he says the same thing. I give him the same speach, they put me on hold for 10 minutes, then I get disconnected. I call back, get a rep from India and she says “no problem”, unenrolls me from the program and makes no mention of the .50% change. I logon to CitiMortgage’s website and see my new, modified rate increased by .50%. I call customer service back and tell them they’ve made a mistake and need to remove the .50% add-on they just did. She says she can’t, that my [old] agreement stipulates the .50% add-on, etc. and if I want to contest it, I need to fax the new loan docs to them, they’ll review it and respond to me in 10 days. I know if I faxed something to them it would go into the same black hole so many others have experienced. I call Andrea back and give her the run down. She tells me she’ll call customer service and call me back. She calls me back in 5 minutes and says it’s all taken care of, the .50% penalty is removed and will not return. I logon to the website again, and sure enough, my rate is back to where it should be.
If I ever have to call CitiMortgage customer service again, it will be much, much too soon and I’ll probably have a few drinks prior to ease the pain. I understand they’re inundated with calls/requests right now due to the economy and housing market both getting hit so hard, but hopefully they’ll see this as an opportunity to improve. Give them 18 months and see if they still get the same grade. If they still fail miserably after 18 months, then shame on CitiMortgage upper management.
To : Just try it
WOW IS ALL I CAN SAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You work for citibank & how dare you come on here bragging & being so uppity to these poor people. I too have list 100% of my income & my husband 50% of his in the economy . We happen to be in commercial construction which is a very badly effected industry when the economy is down. he has been several states away working for several months now away from his wife & children. My mtg with citibank is 2 1/2 mos behind. It all started when some vendors decided not to pay us, we neded up bankrupting our company & both lost our jobs. During all the bankruptcy process & 35000.00 in atty fees later we racked up a ton in credit card bills trying to save our business & support oir children & keep our home. The end result the lawyers did nhothing but pocket our money & we lost the biz & all our income. My husband got a new job making enough money to pay the bills but we lost health ins. My kids were uninsued for 2 yrs & now need extensive medical care. There are no jobs for me with healthcare that can also pay daycare. Essentially I would work for nothing every week. i amsure you get them great bonuses the GOV is screeching about
. In any case citibank is threatening me saying pay all the arrearage & fees by 5/30 or pay the mtg in full! there are many people in situations here who did not ask to bew in them & were living very comfortably prior to unforeseen circum so please held your tongue because your post is very nasty . You may not have a job young lady if it not be for these people . Wouldn’t that turn the tables ?
To Just Try It,
If you work in the loan mod for Citi and have read all these stories, which are all similar, perhaps you could give advise to all who are not getting any where in their loan mod request. What are we doing wrong? Why does’nt Citi respond? Do they want to take our homes?
I too have been waiting for a loan mod since Oct, which was lost, and again had to reapply in march. I googled citi loan mod complaints and came across this site. How coincidental we all have the same complaints. What do we do? Can I contact you at citi so you can handle my file?
Oh yes, and JUST TRY IT…..since you seem to be a miracle worker (” I know what works, I call people and say what I can offer, and they cry, and thank me. Its great to hear that”) why don’t you bestow your wonderful talents on all of us who can’t get ANYWHERE with your company? You seem so proud to represent them, tell us how they are helping homeowners. Yeah, there aren’t too many good stories out there about Citi. Give out your extension at Citi so that you could work your magic for all of us.
i called a number at citibank this morning after finding this website. I too have been months with no help no matter I have done. I have filled out papers but sent all over heck & nothing. I called today & gave them Moe Bedards name & they could not have been more quick to jump. I finally received the appropriate information , channels. I am excited to sigh a breath & at least say they advised me to pay 1/2 mo to stop the foreclosure from the 3 mos mark since it had taken so long to get this far & gave me all the appropriate information & papers I needed. I will update as progress continues. Thanks so much Moe. You saved us truly. Bless your heart. I am at my wits end but not as much as my poor husband who is several states away from babies just to make any income at all. DISCLOSURE:
NO I AM NOT AFFILIATED NOR DO I WORK FOR CITIBANK. UNTIL TODAY I WAS SO READY TO GIVE UP ON THEM.
CALL THIS NUMBER :
1-800-723-7906 IF YOU NEED HUD ASSISTANCE. DO NOT BOTHER EVEN CALLING UNLESS YOUR MTG PAYMENTS ARE BEHIND ! IF THEY ARE NOT YOU WILL QUALIFY FOR HUD BUT ONLY A REDO . THANKS AGAIN MOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Never said I was speaking about you. I guess you feel you may be the homeowner I was speaking of. I was simply stating what citi handles in most situations.
There are those who need help and qualify. But unfortunatly there are those that dont. The ones that are current, no hardship..other than the economy and their interest rate..its sad. AND all of us feel for them, especially when we run the numbers and work to get exceptions. There are no exceptions to Obamas deal. Its to “responsible homeowners” as he said that meet the exact qualifications. Okay so you lose your job, get unemployment***that would be considered as being responsible, per Prez****but we have people say, I dont have ajob and I have been looking***but they are still current? doesnt make sense.
Not everyone is in the same boat, we know that. It takes an hour or more to work 2 loans, and thats if the client sends everything. I probably spend more time trying to call the client to get more info, without them avoiding my calls or hanging up on me, because they think I am a bill collector. I usually pass those loans up and put them to the side, because there are those who have it all and I would rather put the ones that want it, first.
And about my extension number, I dont even know if what I am doing is against citi’s policy. I am not going to jeopardize my job. But I would luv to direct you as much as I can…that is why I put up, JUST TRY IT, IT WORKS…because I know it does. I have been through the front to the end of citi’s program for refinancing.
Not to mention, I approve loans and dont start the process.
TO BRYAN< Andrea is an awesome person, I have dealt with her once when trying to exception an account. I have to say, she is an excellent Citi asset.
I am sorry to hear about your difficult times that you and your family have endured.
To the bonuses, no i dont recieve them, I didnt even get a pay increase when i moved posistions, nor this year at all. Even with the economy as it is, I didnt. But managed my expenses. I pray my family and I would be fine. I am sorry you feel you have to wish short for my life.
I came here because I want to help. I said things about homeowners that arent responsible and some feel I meant it towards them, I in fact have come on here through AN and Just Try It. Because people kept stating how they cant get help, and yet, I put what excatly you should do to get it.
But for your situation, thats touchy, if you filed for bankruptcy and didnt reaffirm, well there are certain things that can not be done. If you reaffirmed well its a go. We move along. I cant help you on that. I am still workin a loan that has been reaffirmed but I have some questions on it, gotta get back to you on that.
TO MICHELLE:
I would call 800-888-6001 and have someone check to see if you have been assigned a loan couselor. Get their name and ext.
If they say no. tell them to verify your fax has been received. Make sure if we dont escrow, you send your tax bill and homeowners ins.(most common delay). If you are self employed send in your 08 tax retrn, if you havnt filed, make sure you filed for an extension..send your last 12 monthly bankstmts for your business.
Find out if your loan is Securitized/or has PMI. See if Citi owns the loan and there are no other investors.
I live in Elkhart County, Indiana. I was recentl laid off when the manufactured housing company I worked for declared bankruptcy and closed. I went to a homeownership preservation company who helped me and my husband complete the hardship application for a loan modification. Months went by and paid our mortgage as we could. We called Citi several times a month since February when we submitted our paperwork. Nobody could tell us anything…until just last Friday when I called. They informed me that our modification had been denied. Unemployment compensation does not qualify as income. Even though I could continue to receive the compensation for another year and half, they deem it as not reliable. I received a grant to go back to college to pursue my LPN. I was told by Citi that I could forgo the college, accept a special forebearence that would reduce our loan payments by more than half for 3 months and look for a job making $10/hour and then maybe we would be elligible for the modification. After asking the right questions, CITI finally told me that if I couldn’t find a job in that period of time, our monthly payment amounts would probably increase due to late payment fees and the lessened payment amounts. Citi actually told me that if unemployment qualified as income, we would have been approved for the modification with no problems. So what is the stimulus for? Isn’t it for people like me? People who through no fault of their own became unemployed? People who live in a region where the unemployment rate is over 20%? I’m devastated. I have an opportunity to go back to college and earn a good living in a stable industry, but my lender is throwing up roadblocks. Can anybody give me some ideas of what to do?
Kathy,
How delinquent are you?
Is your loan owned by Citi, or securitized/pmi Private investor?
Sounds like you received a temporary rate reduction for 3mths if you are saying that “Citi said your monthly payments would probably increase due to late payment fees and the lessened payment amts” (1. late fees dont increase your payment, they accumlate on a seperate balance, 2. payments wld increase if you had a temp 4.99% rate till may1 or an arm adj.)
Unemplyment does count as long as you can show you will be receiving it for 6 more months. Im thinking your loan isnt Citi owned, there may be something more to your denial.
And about school, unfortunatly that cant be a hardship for your mortagage lender to give you a lower rate/payment. That is something many adult homeowners are realizing that they need to finish college. You just have to find another way to do so, night school, 1 or 2 classes at a time.
To the Woman Who Works at Citi:
I googled this site today because I also feel I am having problems. My husband lost his full time job 2 months ago and I filled out the Hardship app. almost immediately and faxed as advised. We have great FICO scores, have always made payments on time (usually paid extra principal when I could) and I wanted to try to keep it that way by working something out before we went dilenquent. I had begun to save money for this when the economy tanked so I had a few months of mortgage money saved up. We are current on our mortgage and can stay that way in the present circumstances for maybe 2 more months. My husband, a senior level environmental consultant, is working part-time for a couple of firms and we have started our own small LLC (in April 09)to try to bring in some income, but he still only makes 1/2 what he used to most weeks. My hours have been cut some as well. We did not buy more house than we could afford and I financed with a lower interest fixed 20 year mortgage (800+ FICO’s don’t happen by accident). I have almost no non-mortgage debt, but I do have a HELOC with CitiFinancial. Total mortgage debt: 123K on first and about 33K on second. On hardship app: Current Expenses about 3,800/mo; current income about 3,000/mo. gross. We are obviously heading for trouble in the future is we can’t raise our income and full-time jobs in my husband’s field are very hard to come by in Florida where we live.
My experience with Citi:
App. faxed 3/20/09; logged by Citi 3/23/09
I was told it could be 30 days until I heard from a counselor; then 45 days; then 60; then 60-90 days! At just about 45 days, I decided to get a little assertive (because if they tell me 90-120 days next time I call I will surely be delinquent by then)and was given the name of my counselor (Rovena…..) and a number beginning with 301 area code to reach her. Rovena is never there so I finally pushed ‘0′ on 5/6/09 and got Connor, who ran the numbers for me and told me I did not qualify for a modification. I was very depressed because I have tried to be financially responsible all my life and a good Citi customer. I thought my figures obviously showed a need for assistance. so I spent that evening going through alll my financial records to hone my income and expense figures. On 5/7/09 I called Rovena’s number again; no answer so I hit ‘0′ and got Shelina who started into a wordy speil about how I might just want to consider selling since I did not qualify. I begged to talk with a supervisor to see if my figures could be run once more, since I’d spent the evening trying to get as accurate as possible. Jayshre spoke with me and agreed to turn me over to another counselor, Kyrie, who ran the figures and said I did qualify for a HAM Mod. she said she thought Connor had run the numbers under an older mod program and that the HAM mod was new that week. Kyrie promised to send some paperwork in the mail in 10-15 days and gave me a number, 40954 as some kind of confirmation although she did not say it was exactly a confirmation #.
One thing bothers me: I asked these people if some sort of modification might also be available to the HELOC. I was told no. However, I am now reading that part of Obama’s plan does include an automatic mod of the 2nd mortgage when doing a mod on a 1st mortgage. Apparently this is fairly new, info I found was dated April 28th, but it seems that if Citi agrees to a mod on the 1st they are supposed to look at the 2nd as well. Is it possible that some of this is so new the counselors don’t know about it?? I’m bothered that I am getting conflicting information.
Most importantly, am I on the right track or would I move through this faster if I did something else…like calling one of the numbers you listed earlier?
For the woman who works a Citi, again:
I made mistake in my post earlier today. I gave the confirmation # for my Mod. proceedings as 40954. That was the phone line extension! Sometimes my own notes are hard for me to read.
Anyway, there are actually 2 confirmations and they are much longer numbers beginning in 005751—–. One is to confirm what they called a 251 Case- Est. Property Value request and the other is a 283 Case- Update to File.
I spoke with an Ashley today and she verified that the HAM mod is approved (does this really just mean prequalified) and that I should get paperwork soon in conjunction with the 283- File Update.
Still, I don’t really know how far along I am in the process or if there is reason to get my hopes up yet. What happens next? And after that?
Ashley also said they had not talked about the 2nd lien mod (Hope for Homeowners) because the 1st mortgage has to be modified before the 2nd can be addressed. Is this correct?
Again, am I on the right track and are my bases covered…or will I find out a month or so from now that an important step is missing?
The HAM is the new program. And yes you are on the right track, its good that you qualified. Now as long as what you send in matches to the income you gave Ashley, then its all good. Basically, since this is new and I just received minimal info since we dont recieve the file until after you 2nd modified trial period payment. If that makes any sense. You will have a mod payment. They will put you on a 3month trial period. After the 2nd pmt, your account will be forwarded to a closer, we will then review your docs for income verification and make sure what was given still matches for the qualification. And to be honest, I am not sure what happens from there, again this is new, so “we” have a month for traiining,BUT I PROMISE TO BE I WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED .
OH AND ONCE MORE THING>>THE OLD TOOL THAT MAY HAVE BEEN USED WAS BASED ON A HOUSING RATIO. THE NEW PROGRAM IS THE HAM PROGRAM, WE CONSIDER AND LOOK AT EXPENSES, INCOME AND HOUSING.
I am waiting for Citi to give me an answer on a modification. they took my info over the phone and said an apprasal would take about two weeks. I’ve bee calling for a week and they keep telling me it hasn’t come in yet. They say i have been pre qualified for the “HAM” program. Does anyone know the relevence of the apprasal to qualifiing for this program? The income and expence numbers were accurate but does being upside down help or hurt. What if i’m upside down by 100,000.00? This form was great help. I’ll keep everyone posted of my success/failure.
To JUST TRY IT
I sent in a Hardship Assistance package around April 15th, and received a letter that I was being forwarded to a loss mitigation specialist for review and should hear something back in 30 days, I called and was even given the name of a counselor and their phone number. This first letter stated that the request had been received on April 15, 2009. Today I got an identical letter, except that it had stated that the request had been received on May 8th and the name at the bottom of the letter had changed from Kyle Hedgpath to Mortgage Outreach Services.
Do you know why this is? Is this Mortgage Outreach Services helping Citi to go through their claims? I also got a phone call from the same company. Is this for verification purposes?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
To Just try it:
Thank you, thank you. I called that number you gave me and my loan modification is in the works.
To Curious in AZ,
I am assuming that you may have either mailed in the package or faxed it or sent it in 2x some way or another. They may have just reassigned it to a different couselor and that person sent you an introduction letter. The package you send in, to me, is the longer process. I know there is a package they say to go online and fill out. But if you say you dont have internet, they will do it by phone. I believe the front line team calls it the HAM program.
Things are changing so much, you guys have no idea. Every day I go to work, I stress about trying to close and book as many as I can. Today, I approved 1 loan. The rest of my time at work, I was hunting down people for their down payment. You would think someone who is approved for a mod, is delinquent by yrs, months, that when someone tells you hey, your approved, make your first mod payment and I will send you a package and we will change the terms, then you would do it. YAH RIGHT! I have to hunt people just to remind them they have 48hrs to pay so I can quit worrying about losing thier mod, and work on someone elses. 1 loan, pathetic, I usually approve 4 a day, if i have everything and the rest of my day, im tracking payments so I can send docs. Everyday this week I have gone to work 1hr before my shift, worked through my lunch and stayed 1-2 hrs, yah the overtime is great, w/out being taxed. Well, enough venting from me.
P.S
When you become approved and you have a 1st down payment to make*usualy your mod paymnt*, MAKE IT, for heavens sake, make the payment. There are others waiting to be approved.
Kate: HELOC accounts are different than a second converted to a laon you cant pull funds from. HELOC is a credit line, 2nd mortgages are not that are handled by citimortgage. I wouldnt be able to tell you what is offered for HELOC, but I can tell you that your case#s are the start of the HAM program, found that out today. Apparently they open them up to get a full report of the property prior to further review.
To Leo:
A BPO is ordered(appraisal): this is to check at the current market value of the property(external and comparison to other homes in the market near you)
Example today: CA home, loan originated for 480000.00. Client purchased in 07. Balance around 445800.00*roughly, I ran the review and he didnt qualify, income around 3000.00 Combined gross, not so good, Housing ratio over 31%, way over.
Before I denied, I looked to see if a current BPO was on file. I about swallowed my gum when I saw the value was 140000.00, NO KIDDING> I couldnt believe it, i had to double check the address and make sure I didnt pull the wrong file. But it was right, i plugged in the current value and it passed, w/exception.
So, let the BPO be ordered, we *modification dept* need it at times like this.
So we have had the hardship PKG in for a month now….and no luck getting anyone to call us back… they all know the situation and i may end up hospitalized again.. help anyone?
THE AMERICAN I THINK NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND ONE THING EVERYONE IS TO BLAME THE BANKS THE IVESTORS AND THE HOMEOWNERS WHO SIGNED DOCUMENTS TO A LOAN THEY KNEW THEY COULD NOT AFFORD AND THE REALESTATE AGENTS WHO LIED TO PEOPLE TO MAKE THEM GO TO CLOSING AND NOT KNOWING WHAT THEY ARE GETTING THEM SELVE INTO, AND THEN OF COUURSE THERE ARE THIRD PARTYS SAYING THAT THEY CAN GET A LOAN MOD DONE OR ANY HOME RETENTION SOULTION QUICKER THAN THE SEVICER OR LENDER, AND MOST OF ALL THE GOVERNMENT WHEN ARE PEOPLE GOING TO LEARN THAT THE GOVERNMENT ARE FULL OF MEN THAT ARE LIARS AND MAKE PROMISES THEY CANT KEEP. ITS CRAP THAT PEOPLE BUY INTO THIS . HOMEOWNERS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT FIRST THING THE ONES MAKING THE DECISIONS ARE NOT THE SERVICERS IT IS THE INVESORS B/C THEY ARE TH ONES THAT GAVE YOU THE LOAN SO YOUR SERVICER LIKE CITI OR WEELS FARGO OR COUNTRY WIDE HAVE TO AND WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO FOLLOW THE INVESTORS RULES AND IT IS THAT CUT AND DRY. THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO INFORM PEOPLE IS THAT WHEN THEY ARE GOING OVER YOUR QUAILIFACAIONS AS A MRTG THEY ARE LOOKING AT THE DELIQUENT AMOUNT AND THE INVESTOR AND IF IT IS A RENTAL PROPERTY BECAUSE NO INVSTOR WILL MODIFY A RENTAL PROPERTY, THEY ARE MOSTLY LOOKING AT THE FINANCIAL SITUATION AND IF YOU CAN NO LONGER AFFORD YOUR PROPERTY IN 6 MNTHS FROM NOW THAN SELL OR APPLY FOR DIL WHY PUT YOUR SELF THROUGH ALL THE STRESS AND THE CRAP. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH . AND THE WHOLE CREDIT SCORE AND SELF EMPLOYMENT NEEDS TO STOP, NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS RECESSION BUT EVEBODY IS DEALING WITH IT JUST THE SAME, AND THE EMPLOYEES AT THE MRTG COMPANIES, THEY GIT THERE HOURS CUT AND OT TAKEN AWAY AND THEY DONT GET PAY RAISES AND MOST OF ALL THEY PAID AND GOT TAXED FOR THE BAIL OUT JUST LIKE YOU DID, GROW UP PEOPLE. AND FYI THE BAIL OUT AND THE STIMLUS FUNDS WENT TO INVESTORS NOT HOMEOWNERS AND DONT CALL INTO YOUR SERVICER AND SAY THAT YOU DONT WANT YOUR CREDIT RUINED AND YOU HAVE BEEN RCVING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR 2 YEARS IT WILL NOT HELP YOU. PLACES LIKE CITI AND WELLS AND CHASE AND COUNTRY WIDE ARE INBOUND CALL CENTERS YOU WILL NEVER TALK TO THE SAME REP SO YOU BETTER START GETTING ID #S. REALLY PEOPLE THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THE RECESSION AND ECONOMY ARE NOT JUST HAPPENING TO YOU THEY AR HAPPENING TO EVERYBODY, NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS. BE PATIENT AND ABOVE ALL TREAT PEOPLE LIKE YOU WANT TO BE TREATED AND YOU WILL GET A LOT FURTHER BECAUSE IF YOU ARE NICE THEY WILL BE NICE TO YOU.
MORTGAGE OUT REAH SERVICES IS A THIRD PARTY THAT CITI HIRED TO HELP WITH THE OVERFLOW OF CALLS ON A DAILY BASIS TO LOSS MIT AND THE HOMEOWNERS ASSISTANCE TEAM WHICH IS FRONT END LOSS MITIGATION.
Obama administration anounced today that he is putting another 75 Billion in incentives to encourage modifications. Is this going to help those that are uside down on their mortgage. I hope you all know Obam’s plan did nothing for those of us who’s principle to value is greater then 105%. There are other programs for us but hopefully Obama is putting something forth that may help me.
Wow, I can’t believe all the new posts!! I’m still waiting to start my loan modification. I am in a Forebearance and just made my second payment. I was told to call after that payment and they would begin the mod, but have been trying for a week to contact my counselor and keep being told to email her or they will email her and have her call me because she doesn’t have a direct line.
I’m getting nervous though because the 3′rd payment on the Forebearance was a balloon payment which she told me not to worry about beause my mod would be done before then. My counselors name is Cheryl Glynn. Anyone heard of her??? I’m almost afraid to ask!!!
Linda
Your not going to believe this!!! Cheryl Glynn emailed me this morning telling me she was no longer in that department, but that she’d have someone call me!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!
I also spoke with Citi and they were so unhelpful. I am going to be unemployed next month and they have the nerve to tell me I don’t qualify for a loan modification. I can’t believe the BS the girl was feeding me. It seems the only way to get anything done is to get a lawyer involved. They say they are to help but when tell them you need help they turn you away.
What a scam! Citimortgage is telling people like me that have hardship from income reduction that they can help, oh for a non-refundable $100 of course. This Homeowner Ass’t program was put together from President Obama’s effort to reduce foreclosures.
I was told I don’t qualify because my debt to income was too high. DUH!!! Why would I be coming to you if my financial situation was great.
Banks once again walk away with all the money and we’re left with empty promises from Obama.
I am also frustrated with citi mortgage I called and told I would be unemployed next month and they stiil said I don’t qualify for a loan mod. They say they are to help but they really don’t care. It seems like they could care less if they for close on your home. I sent an smial and we will see if I get a response from them.
GOOD LUCK, I’ve been working on getting a modification since NOVEMBER of 08….they claimed to have never gotten the first packet I sent via fed-ex overnite, costing around 18 dollars, even though my tracking # shows delivered. I started over in Jan.09 with a new packet filled out on line. Finally they set up a three month plan of full payments to be made on the 15th of March, April and May…I was told by the last payment I would get an answer to my modification. I checked up on it at the beginning of May, couldn’t get a call back by the person that I was told handled my modification after many many messages to her. I complained via email to the executive customer service team and I got a call from them asking how they can help. I explained what was happening, I was told they will now handle my business in trying to get me a loan modification. He asked me to RE-FAX all of my information to him, which I did yesterday…and he’d have an answer in one week. We’ll see!In the mean time, today is the 15th, my last payment is suppose to be made today for the temporary payment plan, I told him I’ve had a hard time in the past getting someone to accept a payment due to having fallen behind. He advised I wouldn’t have any problem. I called back to make that payment, the first person reviewed my account without giving me a chance to tell him the purpose of my call,he said he had to transfer me, without hearing a word from me, he transferred me to ext.0000, because a recording came on saying ext 0000 does not exist!The call disconnected me.I called back, was told by the next person, he couldn’t take a payment from me, the system wouldn’t allow him, I was thinking maybe the third time will be the lucky call I’d get someone that knows what to do…I called back a third time and was told I have to western union it to them. I told him I wasn’t able to get any where to do this today, and I advised him that I’ve made all of my other payments by check by phone, never had a check bounce and wanted to know what the problems was! I finally called the executive response person back that is working on our case, I was very aggravated by this time and he got someone on the phone to take my check payment by phone right away. Hopefully, with all that we’ve been through with this company and they’reloan modification process, this person will come through and make all of the frustration and stress that they’ve added to our lives, worth while! If they do not, I plan to go to the news with this story. I have every single person’s name and employee ID number that I’ve spoken with since November 08, I have pages of notes of the conversations I have with each, and all the conflicted information I’ve been given. No story was ever the same, every person that I was dealing with had different information, difference advice, leading me to believe the last person I spoke with didn’t know what he or she was talking about and so on. I’m sure you get the picture. It was very very frustrating as everyone on this blog has described! As I said, I’m hoping by the end of next week, it will all be worth while and some stress will be lifted! We’ll see!
To be on the safe side, LINDA, I would call 8008886001 and ask someone to see who the assigned counselor is and to see if anything has been looked at or reviewed. If you cant get help, ask for a manager to help you. “ESCALATE THE CALL” Let them know you were told you would have a Forbearance leading to a modification and now your counselor is saying she is no longer the couselor. If shouldnt take that long to be assigned to a processor from loss mitigation. Call today. I would.
I’ve been working with Citi since Nov/2008 I finally heard today that my loan was sent to freddie mac for approval. they are asking for a 2% interest. I am in arrears 50k and it just keeps getting higher. i hear ppl say that they have no down payments and have been behind 3 months multiple times and getting approved via indymac. when i hear stuff of citi all i hear is be prepared to make a down payment. if i could me a substantial down payment for 50k arrears i wouldn’t be asking them for modification . i have no clue what a 2% is going to do when i owe this money. i know freddie has to tell me what the terms are. i’ve barely worked. i have nothing to really give. now tht i’m back to work i can afford my mortgage. why is it that some people get a lower interest and claim no down payment just send a check of what their first payments should be and others have to wire 3-6k . Anyone ?
Lets just get this started off right. THE BAIL OUT ARE YOU SERIOUS…. COME ON PPL you need to take a step back and take a look in the mirror you did this to your self you took on a mortgage that you cant afford and you need to look at all the options here. You have to be able to show you can afford your house. the ppl who call in and make decent money that there grocery bill is 1200 or 700 come on stop eating lobster steak caviar and eat oodels of noodels its not hard.IM MEAN SERIOUSLY. If your unemployed go to fast food get a job citi is going to help you and by callin in and yelling. think about it your yelling at ppl for your mistakes in life and when you call loss mitt and yell we are there to help you but your not going to get help becasue your actin like a fool and were honestly think are they serious you are callin in yelling at us becasue you cant pay the mortgage. Look ppl you need to realize and that they recv millions of applications in one day ok not just yours. Theyvgo thru a process. I think citi mortgage does have its faults but thats becasue some of it we just get the info as much as you do and they floow with it. There is assistance out there for PPL THAT NEED IT unemployed yes its hard to swallow ur pride but ppl have more respect for you that you have a job and gettin by everyday. They get overtime cut out and they have problems and yes its nice tov vent to starngers but you need to be opened mined about it. And some of you ppl arent. The obhama planb works and your mad becasue you think the investors owe you. No we dont we all us americans made the economny like this not your mortgage companies by callin in and yellindoesnt workv yeah a loan mod may tqke 5 months but when you get thoes papers in the mail you feel great and the ppl thta have to sell rental OMG at least you have a home to sleep in the media isnt who you should listen to bc they are just as confused. think about if you work with them not agains them then you will be helped. If you believe in ur self then you can get by in this recession but as soon as you stop putting the blame on other ppl or inverstors banks and put some of the blame on your self then you might find life easier think about it ppl that live on the streets not ppl who are worie abiout oh my god my credit get over it you can build it back up take the hit its not the mortgage companies fault they cant stop the credit…. Think about it what is more important your kids life food for them to eat and a roof over there heads or you gettinvur credit ruined
One more thing you should remeber about third partys come on they are taking your money ok they still go by the mortgage companis guidelines and you cant pay your mortgage but you can pay them to get you out of this mess. Remember this mortgage companies are huge and there a big company to sue. its all a scam call your mortgage company if you are honest and nice to them they will help you and save your home. These reps know what it is like to struggle to.
For those that are truly caught in a bad situation because of lay-off or job cuts, I really do feel bad for you.
However, many of the screaming masses wanting a bailout are the very folks that do not deserve it. If you took out loans beyond your ability to pay, you are an integral part of the problem. If you want someone to cry to, then go to your real estate agent, appraiser or banker, they were right there with you when this foolish venture began. Taking a second out at the time of purchase or doing a re-fi so your wife could drive a fancy SUV are YOUR problems not the mortgage company’s. Yeah, you were riding high on the market value for a while, now you are stuck! Why didn’t you just gamble your earnings at the casino. Now because you made a bad decision the blame should go to everyone but you.
Fact: Not all the bailout money from the government was intended to go directly to helping homeowners. A large share of it kept the institutions from bankruptcy.
Fact: Not all homeowners in jeopardy of losing their home will get a bailout. The mortgage companies WILL look at the details of your loan and YOUR ability to pay.
Thank you to those of you who have information to share and take your time outside of work to help us understand.
Now, i have a question. I owe taxes for 2008 equal to about two mortgage payments (i didn’t qualify for an impound account). I have missed aprl and may payment. I have scheduled a payment for may 30th (forbarence i think?). I haven’t sent in the signed agreement for the forbarence but i’m ok with making the payment.
My question is, should i make the payment but not sign the forbarence agreement? should i take my future missed payments and take care of the taxes, or hold for any downpayment i may need to make? If i am modified will they do anything regarding the taxes i owe? I’m wondering if i should have not agreed to make a payment and taken care of my taxes with it. also, any word on Obama’s latest plan anounced on the 14th of May? Apraisal still not in. by the way, my total gross income is 8000.00 loan principle is 460,000.00 if that helps.
To: Just Try It
I need a loan modification (fannie mae loan) and the Obama program 31% is a modification from 6.4% to 2.4% for 40 years … have you seen these approved recently?
For those of you ranting about how homeowners deserve this: You are right that some people were irresponsible. But there are those of us who would not be in this situation if not for a job loss or a serious cut in hours. My husband and I have always bought late model used cars and bought homes within our means, financed with low fixed rate loans because we paid our bills and had good credit. We do have a HELOC because we had to repair a septic drain line and pave a road (the Florida county I live in does not use my tax dollars to pave roads–we pay) I never got a HELOC so I could go on vacations or buy anything extravagant. This problem has spread beyond the first wave of foreclosures to a new kind of victim, and this new victim is not like the one you describe.
Just my two cents.
I actually handle only Citiowned accts, Kevin. But you can call 8002724749 to get more information on Fannie Mae Invested loans. I will see if there is anything I can find out for you.
Leo, Here Goes…..1. if you are delinquent on taxes, then citi should know by now. We usualy get notification from 1st American tax. Sign the agreement, take whatever is offered now. But push forward for a modiciation. IF youare doing a forbearance to mod, that means your 3payment is the final mod payment. Question: did they start you on the HAM program? If you dont know, ask!
i’ll try not to rant..
5 years ago i bought my house 7.25 interest 30 years fixed, i though not bad i was 28 years old married kids. wife and i made 80k
at my closing found i had a 756 PER MONTH PMI.. I TRIED TO STRANGLE MY BROKER
i was stuck homeowner was going to keep my deposit she was ruthless i think she works for citi. 3 1/2 years ago i filled chapter 13
mortgage payment and trustee patyments were 3,800 PER MONTH i fell behind job lossess etc. i ate oodle of noodles and my ate pb&j every day!!! this year i filed chap 7 to d ate i have paid citi a ton of money. i have written 40 plus times for a loan modifacation. i will not give up i have stopped paying my mortgage and i am saving all (MY MONEY) i see 1 of 2 things happening citi actually modifies my loan to or i hit the lottery in which case i belive my chances are equal. so i will continue to save MY MONEY until they evict me and in a year or 2 buy another home.
remember the banks only care about MAKING MONEY ESPICALLY YOUR MONEY….
i found this article and read the posts, i am so sick for some of you for having to go through this. but just a bit of advice, my parents are/were having trouble, two months behind at times. almost three and we have a family member who is an appraiser and is married to someone who knows how to talk to lenders, my parents signed a form giving her permission to talk on their behalf. They are in a hardship, and on paper it’s apparent so i would they would qualify, but ya never know. anyway, it’s been less than a week, she had not only talked to them, faxed all the paperwork they wanted, and just this am found out they are working with my parents on this HAM modification and are getting a fixed verses the variable rate they had. it’s a miracle. but i am sure it had alot to do with knowing what you are talking about. i honestly believe her talking on their behalf was what done it. good luck!
I have a ? for Citi Rep. My husband and I are getting a divorce. He wants to remain in the home. We have never been late on a payment, but he will be loosing my income, so he is going to have a very had time making the payments. We tried for the HAM and were turned down, I think because of the ratio’s, still not sure. We have just sent in for the hardship, will a divorce with loss of income qualify you for a modification? He can not refinance because he has just retired from GM and his ratio numbers will be way off.
The agreement is just to bring my payments current. I postdated a check for the 30th. The request for modification is seperate. I have not been placed on or offered a modification yet (still waiting for the apraisal). I was told by the person that answered the phone that i was pre qualified for the HAM modification. I’ll go ahead and sign the agreement and keep calling to see if they have made a descision yet. Any word yet on who Obama’s latest plan is intended to help?
debrasmith:
I’ve heard some stories too, like my boss who got a call from her lender saying she may qualify for a modification. She faxed him her info and the reduced her principle by 100,000.00. she hadn’t even though of asking for a dodification. she makes 100K per yr. My other boss got a 100K principle reduction too. I’ll be happy to get a fixed rate 30 yr loan i can afford.
Wow! I just spent the last 2 hours reading all of these posts. I work 13 hours a day to pay not only my mortage, but all of the other expenses and credit card bills. To the lady that works for Citibank…good for you, for trying to help those in need and taking your time to write on this site. The only reason I’m on this site is because I was thinking about a loan modification and Citibank is my lender. After reading all this, I changed my mind. I am working as many hours as I can or want to. If I can’t keep up with the mortgage because I lost my job last October, I’ll just let it go. Life is to damn short. Yes, I have a hardship story, but I am so grateful for all that I do have, that I am not going to complain. To all of you that want to keep your homes, may I suggest that you just keep swimming. You won’t drown. If you have to be late or even miss a payment so you can feed your children, do it. If you have to downsize, do it! Because when all is said and done, do you want your tombstone to read…”Here lies John, he had really great credit, but he died of STRESS”
There is help out there, all you need is WISDOM, STRENGTH AND COURAGE and if I had lots of money, I would help each and everyone of you. As a matter of fact, when I win the lottery, I’ll be back to see how you are doing!
Read “The Secret” it can help. And always remember to BELIEVE!
? from Michigan: Divorce decree w/loss of income wld qualify, Havnt had a Ham mod yet, those just started this month i believe, so i wont see one for another month or so, after the second payment is made. But I just did a mod for someone using the divorce decree so I didnt have to use the co borrowers income.
Best of luck and dont stop checking up on your ongoing requests that you send in. Never want your account to slip through the cracks.
I know you all may see things on the outside that Citi doesnt care. But I want to encourage you not to give up on getting help. I just worked a 13hour shift today, only to approve as many loans as I can. We have atleast 2meetings a day in the mod dept just to touch base and be informed of new changes that take place to help homeowners.
We are now going full speed*lightening speed* to close as many loans. Just to give you an idea as to what Citi targets our group(just 1dept in 1 location) 4,000 loans to be booked(thats processed/approved/doc’ed and booked.
I dont even own or have purchased a home yet, but I have a full sense of the urgency that is behind each homeowners issue. Every rep there is under “STRESS”…thats your stress, our stress at work, and the importance of our job to not have it taken from us.
So although the new program may seem like a long drawn out process, follow it, and ifyou are asked to send something, send IT ALL! Trying to get something thats missing once in closing from a client is the most challenging part of my day. Just about everyone thinks your a bill collector for citi and either never returns your call or just hangs up on you
. And it unfortunate, but when that happens, we have nothing else to do, but send a letter and hope you respond or put it to the side and move to the next eligible client.
BE POSITIVE<CUT EXPENSES<IF YOU ARE TRULY HURTING FINANCIALLY, STOP PURCHASING UNNEEDED ITEMS(WE SEE IT ALL IN THE BANK STATEMENTS)BUDGET WHILE YOUR WAITING.
Citi’s collection agents are the worst customer service I can’t image. Last month, one correction agent yelled at me that i have stopped the payments. I told him that I can’t talk to him because he is yelling at me and asked him I wanted to talk to a manager or supervisor. He said he is a manager. I was suprised that he is a manager of collection dept. I got shocked. I told him “Don’t yell at me. I am still your customer! I don’t deserved his yelling at me because i couldn’t afford to pay. I said I want to talk to someone else. He said “Who?” I said I don’t know who. He said “Give me the name”. I said “How would I know who’s working at your company” and he said “You want female or male?”. I said “Female”, still yelling. I was so so shocked. Stephani got on the phone and we went everything smoothly. I think those people works at some other company which Citi gave these kind of collection works to. I don’t know if they were thud or what. Since I am not the only one compaining about Citi’s service, I think Citi really has to look inside what’s going on. I will NEVER work with Citi in my life ever again.
The last re-fi we had to get due to me having 2 major surgeries with-in a few months was with….are you ready????? AIG!!! They immediately sold it to Citi (of course Citi would be insane not to buy a mortgage with a 10.21% interest rate). We paid $24,000.00 in interest last year. Due to my husband’s income being cut at the minimum of $1,200.00 a month we are having financial problems. A great credit rating has gone down the tubes. Does Citi listen??? We are on our third application for a modification loan. We keep getting turned down. I finally told them after receiving 6-8 phone calls a day, sometimes as late as 9:00p.m. on a Sunday night, please, just foreclose on us. I don’t care anymore. I just can’t take the pressure. They do not want to work with anyone. I can feel everyones frustration with this company. I just hope there is someone out there who has some luck with these people. “Sure Obama, bail out the banks. Forget about the American public that is hurting right now”.
I was hoping that Citi would prove these posts wrong but that is not the case. Even dialing the number above, 866-272-4749 did not help any. I have submitted my hardship info and I have given the same info over the phone several times and each time I call they want it all over again. Citi contracts out a lot of this work so the information that you think you are sending to Citi is actually going to another company, and, as Citi’s representative told me today, they have no access to your information in these company’s computers. Now that’s nice to know isn’t it? I don’t remember giving Citi permission to hand my info out to whomever it chooses. I am so frustrated with them. I just want to be able to lower my monthly payment. They make it sound so easy on their website but trust me, if you haven’t dealt with them yet don’t do it. When I sign on to my Citi account online it shows me that my modification is under review and will be answered within 30 days. The rep today told me that 30 days is not true, it’s more like 45-60 days. And I’m still getting these letters from Citi everyday and they have the nerve to say in their letters: “without talking to you, we can’t help you.” They can’t help you even when they DO talk to you. I’m not sure what to do, whether to go to an attorney, complain to every agency that I know of or find out the CEO’s home phone number and give him a call and see what he can do for me.
Yes, as the rep told me today, Citi contracts out this modification work to other company’s so you may think you are giving your info to Citi but you’re not. And then when you call Citi they can’t find the info you gave previously because it’s not in their computers and they don’t have access to the outside contractor’s information.
To Just Getting By: First off, you need to learn how to spell before you go and leave a post on a website. It’s just proper etiquette, obviously something you don’t possess. True, the mortgage companies are busy, extremely busy, but they have brought this upon themselves by selling people on the idea that they can help everybody. Just go to Citimortgage’s website and read the Homeowner Assistance Program information. It reads as if you’ll be approved in a matter of seconds. They mislead you so in some cases they do deserve to be yelled at. It’s such a frenzied situation inside these call centers that nothing can be kept straight. The fact that Citi sells it’s work out to other companies removes them from any of the decision process, which is wrong. I have called three different people at Citi in two days and gotten three entirely different stories, and the information that I have previously given has mysteriously disappeared from their system. And the entire time you are on the phone with them the main thing they are asking you is when you are going to pay. I had hoped Citi would be different from other companies but there is NO difference whatsoever. They are batting in the dark.
Citi has a terrible habit of calling you and NEVER leaving a message. I work in a lab that is enclosed in the middle of a building and get NO phone reception. I see that I get calls and when I attempt to call the number back I am put through to the “hold” graveyard. So Citi, I know you are busy but you could alleviate a lot of the problems you have by simply altering the way you deal with customers. And leave a message next time. Trust me, I want to talk to you.
I spoke with someone yesterday and they told me that since my loan was backed by Freddie Mac and that my house is worth less than the mortgage, then I should go to the Homeowner Assist and fill in the paperwork. I will be doing this this weekend, if I don’t hear anything in about a week, I am actually hiring an attorney to do this for me. Has anyone else tried using an attorney for this?
A reply to that Citi LO:
You may be one in a million…Citi reps are not helpful AT ALL.
Let alone that sometimes when you call someone from India answers and this guys is supposed to know about refi. programs from Freddie Mac..Seriously. Really???
I have called almost every day for the last couple of months to find out when will Citi start the refi. program for Freddie Mac loans. Each and every single response was different. It seems as though no one at Citi knows what the heck is going on.
Citi got our tax money but yet is not showing and effort to help homewoeners that are current with their pymts. to refinance…
Citi will have the worst reputation ever when this will be over.
And let me tell you I will do whatever I can to let everybody know what a HORRIBLE customer service Citi has…
Slaming Citi must really make you feel better, when its homeowners such as yourself that have cause all of us good responsible tax payers suffer from your issues. Its life, people get sick, people lose their jobs, life happens. Then there are the people out there that sign contracts based on “stated income”, which thank the lord, you cant do anymore. There are people who get to closing and wonder,wow this isnt what was offered, but continue on with the closing like morons.
Citi had to hire third party agencies more than likely due to all the people trying to get modifications to take advantage of the fall of our economy.
To Just Try It:
You mentioned in a reply to me that my HELOC might not be subject to the second lien mitigation program that is part of the new HAM program….at least that is what I gleaned from the post. The online information I read did not really make distinctions between HELOCs or true second mortgages; it just talked about ’second liens’. A HELOC is a second lien against my home, right? My first mortgage is with Citimortgage and my HELOC is with Citibank N.A. Have you all been specifically told that HELOCs are not eligible for 2nd lien mitigation under the program? If so, I need to start looking at other options. Thanks.
Just a Heads Up on some confusion I had with my HAM mitigation:
My HAM mitigation seemed to be running smoothly; I had been given confirmation numbers and told that an estimate of my property value had been ordered on May 7. I was also told that I would receive paperwork within 10-15 days of the May 7 date (by a young lady whose name and ID# I noted in a file, along with notes on the conversation). I was told that I should fill out this paperwork and mail my first, reduced, trial period mortgage check in with the paperwork. I have this documented.
On May 18 I called to check on the status of my file. (my advice to you is to call, call, call…..never wait and hope everything is going fine. You take responsibilty and follow-up) I had not received the paperwork yet and just wanted to make sure it was indeed in the ’system’ to be sent. The representative I got this time informed me that the paperwork was now taking 30-45 days to get to the homeowner so I would get it 30-45 days from the May 7 date. However,…and this is the part to take note of… I was told that my trial period had actually started May 7 and that my first payment had to be in by June 7, whether I had the paperwork in hand or not. If I did not have my first check in by the June 7 deadline I would be ‘OUT’ of the program. Now, I take very good notes and I listen, so I am telling you the young lady on May 7th did not tell me this; she gave me no drop dead date by which I had to pay, or else. I was waiting on that paperwork as the next step because that is what I was told…I was anticipating sending in my money WITH that paperwork. It is a good thing I called because the information was totally different and I had not received one thing in writing informing me of this difference. I could have done nothing wrong..been trying to do what they told me to do in total good faith…and still been bumped because I didn’t have good information.
Now, I don’t think the lady on May 7th was doing anything malicious. I think they tell you the latest thing they have been told to say in the last meeting or training they had in an attempt to understand new programs. So, what they say one week may be different if you call next week. They are learning and maybe in a state of chaos with all of this themselves.
The moral here is to take control of your mitigation. If you’re in the early stages call different numbers until you get someone who listens and gives you the right number–I spent hours doing that. When you get the right number and things seem to be progressing, follow up at least once a week to make sure your information is still current and that your application is still progressing. If you are told you are not eligible, ask why. Find out what programs you are not eligible for and do some internet research on those programs and soem of the new programs out there, like the Making Homes Affordable Program. Sadly, not everyone will be eligible,but many are. Even in good times not everyone was eligible for rescue from their choices. Fiscal irresponsibility is fiscal irresponsibility in any economy. However, many of us are in bad times right now even though we have lived a life trying to make good fiscal choices. These programs should help us, but you do need to follow up on them or you could fall through the cracks, like it seems I almost did!
To Wow,
What you say is horrible. There are many of us right now who were responsible and smart about our finances. I never went into a closing accepting things like a moron…I insisted on my disclosure at least 24 hours before so I could study it. I bought with low interest 20 year fixed mortgages and bought what I could afford, not what the lender said they would give me. My husband and I both still have FICO scores of 800 or better…how is yours? But we are in trouble and in imminient danger if the economy does not pick up. He lost his job in March. He is a Sr. level Environmental Consultant who has worked every day of his adult life to until now, unless he was in college. In a normal economy he would not have lost a job and if he had he would have been able to get another within a week. It has always been like that in the past. But we live in an area where foreclosures are high (Florida) and construction is hurting. This means jobs in his specialty are very scarce. he is working part-time for several firms right now at a good hourly rate, but definately nothing near full time. To top it off he is 55 years old…not a great time to lose your job for the first time in your life. We have all heard that age discrimination is certainly a factor in hiring right now.
Anyway, you are being very narrow minded when you lump everyone who is having trouble with a mortgage into one ugly little category. I have paid my mortgage on time for decades, had even developed my own accelerated schedule to pay it off years early. You are just wrong in your ASSumptions.
I have been to trying to get my loan modified with citi. I am $140K down on my home. I am just asking them to refinance to the current interest rates. I cannot because I am underwater…According to Obama’s plan I am eligible to refinance if I am underwater….Anyone in my situation who is going thru’ this? Please let me know if there is any class action suit with Citi.
I called up Citi’s loss mitigation department to refinance my home which worth less than loan amount. My loan is also Freddie Mac account. Citi told me that I have to fill Home Owners Assistance application. Why do they need this to refiance?? I checked Obama’s affordable home program and I am eligible for refinance if the home value is less than the loan to the current interest rates..Does any one know who got help like mine? Is there any class action suite?
First of all I am in the Citi loss mitigation dept and we dont refinance. We only modify terms. And due to the fact that we arent the investor on your loan, we have to go by that investors decision as to what can be done for your loan. Research more on your investor, call them directly. Also, if you are trying to refinance, you dont have to refi with just Citi, you can go anywhere. Refi for citi is 1800Mortgag.
Hey Kate, I can honestly just tell you what Citimortgage can do, I am not sure about Citibank. Although we may be affilates, there are certain things that Citibank*a financial instituition can do for you. Like you were saying dont stop checking on your mod, you dont want it to fall through the cracks.
I ran into a HELOC just the other day, which reminds me that I still have to call the client. I actually cant pull up those accounts since they arent found in our system. Borrowers sometimes think because we are affilates we can help with a modification, but its not true.
Its not like we do it intentionally, but its so tough to keep up with the changes,focus on a mod, making sure you get the docs right,be called into meetings though out the day to get updated and still feel pressure of losing your job to a third party they have you competing with. I hate when I forget an account, i have 200 accts assigned to me. its tough
I NEED ADVICE DESPERATELY, I APPLIED FOR A MODIFICATION AND AT THE TIME GOT ACCEPTED FOR THE STREAMLINE. I STARTED MY PAYMENTS ON MARCH 1ST AND PAID ON TIME FOR THE 3 MONTHS, A COUPLE WEEKS WENT BY AND I DIDNT RECEIVE A PACKAGE OR ANYTHING SO I CALLED CITI AND THEY GAVE ME THE NAME AND EXTENTION OF MY NEW REP, NOW I AM FREAKING OUT BECAUSE THEY ARE TELLING ME IT WAS A FORBEARANCE PAYMENT THAT I WAS MAKING AND NOW I HAVE A BALLOON PYMT AT THE END OF THIS MONTH OF $20000. ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO REACH MY REP, I HAVE LEFT MESSAGES AFTER MESSAGES, ITS A NIGHTMARE AND EVERYTIME I CALL BACK AND SPEAK TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE THEY TELL ME SOMETHING DIFFERENT. THEY SAY THE REASON MY MODIFICATION CHANGED TO A FORBEANCE IS BECAUSE WHILE I WAS MAKING MY PAYMENTS OBAMA PASSED THE HAM SO NOW I HAVE TO REQUALIFY. SO WHEN I WENT TO REQUALIFY THEY SAID I WASNT ELIGIBLE. NOW I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO. SHOULD I WAIT FOR MY REP TO RETURN FROM VACATION AND SEE IF HE COULD HELP ME? DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? I HAVE TO SAY WHEN I FIRST STARTED ALL THIS THEY WERE VERY HELPFUL NOW THEY ARE A NIGHTMARE TO GET AN ANSWER FROM. IF THEY WERE NO LONGER DOING THE STREAMLINE MODS AFTER 10/04 WHY WASN’T I NOTIFIED AND WHY DID THEY ALLOW ME TO MAKE TWO MORE PAYMENTS TOWARDS A STREAMLINE?
I do have a citimortgage. I have sent a application for a modification 3 times with a counselor. Now the last time I called there was only a record of conversations no app. I was told it was being sent in and I qualified each time.
To Just Try it:
After 6 months and hunderds of hours on the phone and 2 forebearnaces. I did get a mod, but they only added years to the note and added all the missed interest.
I am still upside down 100K after putting down 20% and making 2x payments on my orignal 15 year loan. I am 100K invested.
Question will Citi give me a reduction in principle or just want the house back at a bigger loss? Will they entertain a short sale?
I just want to let you all know that i applied for the Obama affordable Loan Modification and was turned down so I was told by loss mitigation that i really need to do the hardship package online and fax my proof of income… I did that today afteri was turned down from the other program and not only did I submit the app online but I faxed a copy of the app plus all the other income infor they asked for..It seemed to work because i just called the loss mitigation Dept back and they have already received the info and it is under review… They also put in my file that they will be calling me on Thursday…
the fellow I spoke with said they get 12,000 or more apps a day and they are working on better ways to try and service us quicker, frankly he couldnt believe that they already had all my info and reviewing it when i just sent the info a few hours ago…. STAY PERSISTENT with them… Dont just send online send to different fax numbers too… he did say the quickest way was to send online and to fax the proper income information right after you submit the application… I wish you all good luck in gettting everything straightened out… Be sure to call and bug them as much as you need to and be sure to do what needs to be done and send the right information and it should work out for you, hopefully in a timely manner!!!! God Bless!!!!
Just Try It
I have spent many many hours on the phone with loss mit looking for a win/ win with Citi. I have a primary and secondary mortgage with Citimortage and understand they need to make a fair amount of interest/ profit on my loans. I am not behind yet but without I mod I will be.
My wife and I had a baby, with some complications on Christmas of last year. Baby is doing well, but the medical bills and economy might prevent us from making our mortgage payments. My work has slowed and she is having trouble finding work.
I managed to reach a supervisor- Franciso in loss mit who was helpful. Unfortunatley he said that I do not qualify for HAM afterall because the appraisal came in much higher than the mortgage balance. Is this correct? If so, what should I do to pursue another program or option?
I am glad that you and your family are doing well now. Unfortunatly its true about the HAM program. When your appraisal comes back and it says your home is worth more than the mortgage it means you have enough equity in your home for other opts.
Just call 8667513691( i hope that number is the right number) i always forget it, but if its wrong call 8008886001 and ask to see if your account can be ran through the FDIC program…some loans cant if they never have been.
TO Las Vegas,
Well if you are upside down we will know. We will do a BPO on the house under the HAM program. If you are qualified and its to the companys benefit we will do so, but I have seen little accounts that I do hat for.
I was trying to apply for refinancing and after a few calls finally got a live person. This guy wasn’t even interested when I said i would like to speak with someone regarding refinancing our home. The guy asked me a few questions, thought he’d be able to help me out. But all he did was give me a number and say “call that number and someone might be able to help you”. Huh? Makes me wonder what will happen when our loan term ends next year with them. I bet they won’t be so slow and uncooperative when they want more money from us even though our house value dropped a lot.
To Just Try It:
Thanks for replying. At least someone on the inside is truly trying to help us out here.
I not sure what you mean. I am upside down I assure you that by 100K even with my 100K i have paid into it.
You will do what if its in the companies benefit?
Reduce principle or accept a short sale? Which have you seen little done for?
The last thing I was told is I cant even apply for another MOD for a year, so I will list the home for a short.
Is this true I cant even apply for another mod?
I was told I could when I felt pressured to agree to the one they offered, which is not a long term solution.
Thanks!!
Okay, I got my counselor and he was Very, Very Nice!! He said that the mod would be started by June 1’st and he would be the last person I talked too. I am so excited. I’ll let you all know.
)
Dear Kate,
Yes, I agree with you on your response to *wow*. We’re going through enough right now without some Idiot getting on the blog trying to bash everyone.
Thanks for your post above.
Linda
So we recieved papers from the court today saying our loan was foreclosed on… even though Citi’s loss mit department had SWORN this would not happen….
We filled out the hardship papers… we filled out all the forms so they could track the payments they had lost.
Thier lawyer and the court did not even notify us there was going to be a hearing in our case… we called citi and were told that we should not worry, that we qualified for several programes…What a bunch of liars!.
So now i don’t even get to die in my own home… one we saved for years to buy… nope for me when my time comes i’tl be Hospice…
Citi i hope you and yours get EXACTLY what you deserve… i hope all misery that you have heaped on the rest of us comes right back to bite you.
BTW.. I’ve forwarded copies of this case to CNN, Fox news and the White house and my Congresman.
They should have let you fail.
I feel everyone’s pain.
I have found a few tips helpful in dealing with Citi.
First, even though it is difficult, hold your cool them stay calm don’t let them get you going. It is also important to hold your ground when speaking with them. If you need to go over somebody’s head do it and keep going up the ladder until you get results.
Educate yourself on all available housing and modification plans through the government websites.
Document every phone call, emails and faxes, be specific including the time and date. Ask them which office you are talking with. Ask them which office is handling your account and get the direct number to that office. Always write down the Citi rep’s name and their ID number, they by law….. have to give you their ID number.
This will hold the reps accountable for the information they are giving you and taking from you. Every time you call make sure you request that they note your account that you called them today. Follow up with them as often as possible.
Ignore comments on this page that are RUDE. People are ignorant and have no clue what they are talking about. Don’t let anybody bring you down and don’t give up that is exactly what they want you to do.
Pray for strength and guidance.
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
To Freaking out and Just Try It:
Freaking out: why is the balloon payment so high? Do you have a fairly high monthly payment anyway? That is a scary amount. I’ve heard all this talk about baloon payments so I asked the rep I talked to last time if that would happen with my HAM if the 3 month trial ended before they had completed the modification. i was assured that would not happen. Just Try It: is that correct? Were the balloon payments part of another program out there before HAM?
Just Try It: I have started the 3 month trial, but I am concerned that Citimortgage has sent me NOTHING yet in writing. In the ‘old days’ I know they would not have entered into any agreement of any type without contracts and signatures everywhere. As a former business major myself, this lack of documentation makes me very uncomfortable. What is up? My first trial payment is due June 7th, but I already paid it. When I expressed concern about having nothing in writing and asked what might happen if I reached the end of the 3 month trial and they had not processed the mitigation- I was just told we’d cross that bridge if we came to it. What does that mean? I’d like something more definitive.
Thanks
Citi actually contacted us yesterday in regards to my last post… we will see what they can do to fix this mess..
To Those Worried about being ‘underwater’when they still have income to make payments:
I’m really not trying to be confrontational but I wonder if there are some on this blog who still have jobs and adequate income to make payments and other expenses, but are just very worried because they bought a house at the height of the market and it is now (on paper) worth less than the mortgage they hold.
You are not really in financial hardship or in danger or losing a home, you just have an investment that really stinks right now….kind of like most of our retirement accounts!
If so, you do realize that this market will bottom out and begin to go back up, right? Maybe not back to where it was because those were false gains anyway. But if you are not planning to sell right away and you are not close to retirement and had planned on that equity for living expenses, you really may not be in a bad a shape as you fear. Home values only matter when you want to sell or borrow more money on the home. If you can hold, things will look better in the future.
Is the governement really offering programs to adjust the ‘value’ of your mortgage just because it is worth less, even if you still have income to pay for it? or are you all just talking about ‘refinancing’ at what you hope is a lower interest rate?
I WAS WONDERING I JUST GOT PRE QUALIFIED FOR THE HAM PROGRAM AND I HAVE TO SEND PAY STUBS WHICH IS NO PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM IS THAT MY WAGES ARE GETTING GARNISHED 25% OF MY PAY, WILL THIS AFFECT MY HAM QUALIFICATION…..OR DO THEY NOT EVEN LOOK AT THAT AND JUST LOOK AT THE GROSS PAY
KATE
YES MY PAYMENTS WERE HIGH, AND WHEN I GOT APPROVED ORIGINALLY FOR THE STREAMLINE SINCE IT CHANGED TO HAM DURING MY TRIAL PAYMENTS IT WENT TO UNAPPLIED FUNDS BECAUSE IT CHANGED OVER TO A FORBEARANCE AND NOONE FROM CITI CONTACTED ME SO I NEVER KNEW UNTIL AFTER I MADE MY LAST TRIAL PYMT, AND WAS TOLD AT FIRST IT WAS DUE AT THE END OF THE MONTH BUT I APPLIED FOR THE HAM AND HOPEFULLY I GET APPROVED
This Press Release came off HUD’S web site. It might be helpful to some people. Lenders have 30 days from May 20th 2009, when these new laws (THE HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THEIR HOMES ACT OF 2009)was signed by the president. So by June 30th all participating lenders must be up and running with this program. This is huge for people with FHA loans that need help!
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD News
HUD No. 09-068
http://www.hud.gov/news/ For Release
Wednesday
May 20, 2009
———-
HUD SECRETARY DONOVAN STATEMENT ON THE HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THEIR HOMES ACT OF 2009
WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. The law expands the reach of the Administration’s Making Home Affordable Programs, improves the Federal Housing Administration’s Hope for Homeowners program and streamlines how HUD supports thousands of homeless support programs across America. To read more about the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, click here.
The following is a statement from HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan:
“Today, President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. This is another critical step forward in this Administration’s effort to strengthen our nation’s housing market and help millions of American homeowners stay in their homes.
“Specifically, this law improves FHA’s Hope for Homeowners Program, making it a more flexible and attractive option for homeowners and lenders alike. By reducing the cost of this program and easing the eligibility requirements, we believe Hope for Homeowners is better able to help struggling families. The law also permits FHA lenders to offer families more substantial loan modifications, similar to those currently provided under the Making Home Affordable program.
“FHA will now have more authority to keep bad actors out of the FHA programs and additional enforcement tools to police those lenders who employ false or misleading marketing tactics.
“Finally, this law allows HUD to take a giant leap forward in our ability to help thousands of local homeless housing and service programs across this country. Local communities will have much greater flexibility to put federal funding to work in a way that makes sense for them. I applaud the Congress for its hard work to give us the tools we need to meet the modern challenges that confront those who would otherwise be faced with living on our streets.”
Sorry, I made a typo.
The date is June 20th, “2009″ that the lenders must be up and running with this new program: “The Helping Families Save their Homes ACT of 2009″. It is mandatory for Citimortgage to participate. If you are someone who has been denied on an application for “Making Homes Affordable” try again, because the rules have now changed for requirements for that program. If you have an FHA or a USDA loan, they are now included in the “Affordable Home Plan”. This new law has changed a lot of rules and regulation regarding refinance options and modification for all loans. So educate yourself on this new program. It might be very helpful.
GOOD LUCK!
Really, some of you just don’t make sense. You want to argue and complain with Citi. You do realize they make money when they modify your loan. If they are able to do so, they will. Don’t blame them because you bought more home then you can afford, half of the people I know are in interest only loans, and can’t even afford that, what will you do when the principle kicks in.
The fact that your home lost value is not a hardship. Your home is a long term investment. In fact, that’s part of the problem now, no one wants to stay in their home for 30 years anymore, everyone wants the bigger better home, too much home for them to even afford in most cases. Then complain when they can’t afford it. That is not Citi’s fault, that is your fault. Plus in most cases, Citi is not your investor, they just service your loan to investor guidelines. Plus, Citi does not have to modify your loan, the fact of the matter is your investor will do it if it makes financial sense, if not, it sometimes is cheaper to foreclose on your home then modify it.
Sorry,
I have done many applications on line for citi but each time
its say an error. Citimortage have given me the run around.
Is this program for real. They said that I had to pay for an appaisal but remember I do not have money. My house note is $2,000.00 per month. My husband was an auto worker I am
the only one working. Each time we get the payment up its late and each time I talk to customer service and each time I explain that we need help and I love my home but these people (rude)and they don’t care about your problems they just want that payment.Let me know if you have any suggestion for me. I may have many typo. But I need some
assistance or relief.
To brooks:
Citi reps are experts at giving people the run around. Don’t allow them to treat you that way. You don’t have to yell at them, simply hold your ground and ask to speak with a supervisor, they do have to put you through one.
When Citi added the on-line application, they removed their printable download and fax option. If the on-line application does not work (error messages), requested a hardship application be mailed to you. If you don’t get one in a timely manner and they have told you, it was sent, but you never receive it because it was in fact never sent. The next step would be to request to speak with a supervisor. A supervisor can e-mail one to you. Only a supervisor can e-mail this form to you. Make sure you document your problems and attempts and problems you are having with Citi in your hardship application. That is documented proof that you are working hard at trying to save your home and Citi needs to step up to the plate and fix these millions of communication problems. I know they are very busy as everyone is, but it is essential for improving and saving not only our homes but our whole economy. Everything has a domino effect. There needs to be more effective ways of handling help for these homeowners. This new legislation hopefully will help in that process.
P.S. I have found that even when Citi is the investor, they are reluctant to tell you they are.
I hope you find this information will be helpful to you.
I have been working with Citi Mtg since Dec-2008 to modify
my existing loan. I have gotten no where @ all.All I get is rep’s calling me saying that I qaulify for the Govt modification and have sent in all the paper work twice and still have not heard from anyone. But you will sure hear from them if you are behind on your pymt by 3 days.They just keep saying it is being reviewed. I have talked to so many different reps it’s crazy. No one knows what the other one’s have done. It’s like a dog going around in circles chasing his tail and getting no-where. They just tell you what you want to hear @ the time you are calling and that’s it. If they do not know what is going on they just say it’s being reviewed. That answer is getting old. Ist there anyone I can talk to @ Citi Mtg that does know what is going on there? Then you talk to someone that sounds like they want to help you and they give you their direct ext. you call and it is not even them it’s a diif. rep. that answer’s.I’m so tired of wasting my time with them and getting no where I can’t stand it any longer. I want to save my home but they do not seem like they care @ all.
Thank you for listening.I feel a little better getting this off of my chest.
Read This!!!!!!!!
Cops enforce illegal bank foreclosure
Homeowner dies resisting eviction
By Kris Hamel
Detroit
Published May 27, 2009 1:55 PM
Mark D. Fussner died May 22 after an hours-long shoot-out with police following the bailiff’s unsuccessful attempt to evict the 44-year-old homeowner. Two 24th District Court officers had come to Fussner’s home on Anne Street, in the working-class downriver Detroit suburb of Allen Park, to carry out a writ of eviction after foreclosure.
Fussner reportedly ordered the bailiffs to leave his property and said he would open fire to defend his home. They left but returned with armed cops determined to carry out the eviction. The bailiffs’ provocation led to the shoot-out.
Fussner was the author of the 2004 book “The Zen of Permanent Weight Loss,” which chronicled his struggle and method of conquering obesity. A short biography of the author on Amazon.com states: “Educated in public schools, Mark designed his first invention at 16 years of age. In 1989 he received an Associate’s [degree] in Science from Henry Ford Community College. Working his way up from the bottom, he has made his career in Design and Project Engineering. … He has owned and co-owned several businesses.”
After a five-hour stand-off, Fussner was found dead in his basement from a gunshot wound. It is not yet clear if the fatal injury was self-inflicted or if a police bullet killed him. The homeowner had barricaded himself inside his dwelling and exchanged dozens of rounds with cops from at least five cities, including Detroit’s “special response teams” and Michigan State Police. An Allen Park police officer was shot in the arm, leg and stomach early in the stand-off and was released from the hospital the same day. (Detroit News, May 23)
Neighbors and cops reported anywhere from several dozen to hundreds of shots fired by Fussner and police during the incident. People were told to stay in their homes, and schools in the area were put on lock-down. The state police have taken over the investigation, and the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office will perform an autopsy on Fussner.
Moratorium must be enforced
What is missing from the limited stories in the big-business local media is that Fussner’s death and the entire eviction situation should not have happened under the law.
On May 20, two days before the visit from the eviction bailiffs and the ensuing gun battle that ended Fussner’s life, President Barack Obama signed public law no. 111-22, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. By placing a moratorium on subject foreclosures, the law enhances provisions of the Making Home Affordable Program instituted in March.
The MHAP already requires Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other major lenders–which together hold approximately 75 percent of home mortgages in the U.S. and which have been bailed out with hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ dollars—to work out loan modifications in order to avoid foreclosure. These lenders are to lower at-risk homeowners’ monthly payments—including property taxes and insurance—to no more than 31 percent of gross income.
Some of the 14 banks and lenders included under the program are Bank of America, Chase Home Finance, CitiMortgage, Countrywide, Ocwen and Wells Fargo. The MHAP guidelines apply to any homes that are owner-occupied, including homes that are already in foreclosure. (financialstability.gov)
Section 401 of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act states that it is “the sense of the Congress” that there be a “foreclosure moratorium” in that “mortgage holders, institutions, and mortgage servicers should not initiate a foreclosure proceeding or a foreclosure sale on any homeowner until the foreclosure mitigation provisions” of the Hope for Homeowners program and Obama’s “Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan” have “been implemented and determined to be operational by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of the Treasury.” (thomas.loc.gov)
Where were the headlines on May 21 in the capitalist-owned press about the just-signed Helping Families Save Their Homes Act and its foreclosure moratorium? There were none or very few.
Jerry Goldberg, a Detroit-based attorney who represents homeowners and renters in foreclosure and eviction cases, told Workers World: “The Register of Deeds records show that Mark Fussner’s mortgage was owned by Chase Bank, which had a duty under federal law to work out a solution that should have prevented the bailiff from coming to his home on May 20 to evict him.
“This eviction should not have happened. Fussner’s death should never have happened. It was entirely preventable except that banks and lenders don’t follow the law until they are forced to.”
It took a protracted struggle by activists around the country to win the new federal moratorium on foreclosures. It will take even more struggle to publicize this law and stop more deaths from occurring, as well as other drastic actions by homeowners who face the life-altering, heart-wrenching process of losing their homes in record numbers to foreclosure and eviction.
E-mail: khamel@workers.org.
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
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Sorry……I didn’t mean to send a shock wave.
There are new laws are out there to help homeowners.
If you read the article carefully, no foreclosure are to be taking place right now!
New help is available!
Educate yourselves. Know your rights and the new laws.
Even people who work for the lending institutions are not educated properly on how they can help you. They are in the dark.
Protect your rights. Know your rights!
DH signing out…….
HAS ANYONE TRIED REPORTING THE COMPANY TO THE BETTER BUSSINESS BUREAU?
i have a citi group mortgage 1 and 2 loan first is 9% second 13% my house was purchase 2 years ago for 360,000 now is worth 270,000 i stop making payments because is not worth paying all the money goes for the interest,i aply for modification back on february now i receive a letter offering me 4.75% for both loans but for only two years,i call them and say i will sign papers if they gave me 30 years fixed but they told me take or leave,i dont know if i should take or wait for better offer from them.
TO CURIOUS:
IF YOU DID NOT INCLUDE THE GARNISHMENTS IN YOUR MONTHY INCOME AND EXPENSES WHILE PRE APPROVED FOR HAM PROGRAM THAN U WILL BE PLACED ON ANOTHER TRAIL PERIOD..VERBAL VERFICATION AND THE INFORMATION THAT U FAX IN MUST BE THE SAME OR IT WILL NOT BE APPROVED AND CITI WILL PLACE YOU ON A NEW TRAIL PERIOD BASED ON THE DOCUMNENTS THAT YOU FAXED IN.
Update on my modification. I talked to my counselor today and he said it should be about two weeks until I get the call again and have new docs sent to me. He said they are going to offer me a very low interest rate the first year, I want to say it was like a 2.5 (I was in shock) and then a little higher the second year and a little higher the 3′rd year taking it up to a 3.5% fixed for the life of the loan which is awesome, I would say.
I also would like to add to someone who wrote above stating that this was basically our fault for buying over priced houses. I can agree to a point. But……..my house appraised for the price I paid for it. The bank loaned the money based on the fact that my house was at market value. I have no crystal ball. I had no idea that the economy was going to turn to shit and my house would be 200K upside down in negative equity in as little as two years. We actually thought we were being safe with a 10 year IO. Ha!!! Jokes on us. The whole street has foreclosures up and down it. And for your information, we bought our house to raise our two older daughters in. It’s a whopping 1660 square feet so I wouldn’t say it’s Too Much House.
So far, so good with Citi. They’ve done good so far and they’ve kept to their word. I’ve answered every single call from them though and I call them at least once a week. Stay in contact with them. That way if a problem comes up you can nip it in the bud. But, they really seem like they want to help now.
I am holding you all in my thoughts. And I’ll let you know how it goes. .
Linda
We are trying to refinance our 1st Mortgage, and need to have Citi “approve” the subordination as we are keeping our 2nd with them (believe me I’d change if I could!).
The problem is that we locked in at the low rate, based on someone at Citi telling my broker that it takes 5 – 10 business days to get the subordination complete. It is turning into more like 15 – 30 days… it took 7 business days for them to scan the paperwork into their system!
We have made numerous calls to no avail. Bottom line, my locked in 1st Mortgage rate of 4.875% ends tomorrow… and Citi will not even call us back.
We will miss out on saving money on our 1st, which would only help us pay our 2nd!!! I’m intereseted to find out if anyone else has had similar issues with broken promises, and deadlines being missed due to the Citi subordination dept not having enough staff to take care of business, and due to misrepresentation of the department’s timing on getting things done. Any class action going on here???
Dear Sad in San Ramon,
I hate to say it, but we stopped paying our second mortgage with Citi. Our second was 60 K and our first is 230 K and our house is worth 100K!!! So, it wasn’t worth even paying it anymore. I talked to an attorney and as long as we keep our first up, all they can do is slap a lien on our house which is never going to be over 288K again. At least not in my lifetime. The Banks have learned their lessons with handing loans to anyone with a pulse.
Ya, I know, my credit. Well, my credit is crap now anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. If the second tries to garnish my wages, I’m going to file a chapter 7.
I tried to work out a lower interest rate with Citi, but they didn’t have anything available. They do now, I think though. Have you talked to them about a Forebearnace Plan??? We’re almost done with our modification, but before they will do that you must do a Forebearance.
Good Luck. They’re being really nice and cooperative with us now.
I can’t imagine them wanting your house to go into Foreclosure.
Let us know how this goes.
Linda
I would like to Thank You for this article in here. In my searches for what to do to get help I came across this article. I immediately sent an email to the email address you provided. I got a response within a day, faxed info to them a couple of days after that. Within 1 month our modification had been approved and we are saving $500/mo!! I really couldn’t believe it!! I had been on the phone with sooo many people before that and was so done with the process. All it took is 1 email and we are worry free again. If people would just try it they would see!!
To Just Try It:
I posted a while ago(early May) and you advised me to call another number since I hadn’t heard anything. After I called and spoke with Donovan everything sounded good. They were just waiting for Estimated property value and I was to call week of June 7th to lost mitigation(bankruptcy dept). Well I called that Monday gave them all the info, gross income, expenses etc and I was not approved. The income wasn’t high enough. Its been hard but I am making every payment as high as it is every month, having little left over for food/gas and I have never missed a payment. So the rep tells me my case will be sent to the Fannie Mae department and I should hear something in 2-3wks. Where the hell was my case to begin with?? I thought if your loan was owned by Fannie Mae there was help. I just want to lower my interest rate and extend the length of my loan to lower my payments. And at this point I have no idea what else to do. I have zero hope of ever modifying my loan. I have been trying since the end of March…..
To Michelle,
Could you please be more specific about your current mortgage amount, your monthly payment including taxes and insurance, your gross income and the total of the expenses you have given them.
What was the original purchse price and how much do you think your house is worth now?
Where is ” To just try it” Been?
Waiting to hear from you on the inside.
Our current mortgate amount is around $190,000 with a monthly payment of $1791, which had just increased due to escrow shortage. It was $1678. The monthly payment includes taxes and insurance. Our gross income is $4800. Our expenses not including the mortgage is around $1800, not including Quarterly bills we have: Water, sewer, garbage and city taxes. Those total $550 every quarter. And we have yearly association fees of $550. The original price of our house was $167,000 and is worth atleast what we owe, but houses in our development are selling for way less than expected so I couldn’t say for sure. I know Citimortgage did an estimated property value. Let me know if you have some advice on how to modify our mortgage.
call 866-751-6913 just push any ext….
I have been reading all the latest submissions but havent had much time to relax, but since my children are away for the summer I am enjoying every bit.
Okay, so the HAM program is suppose to hit hard at the end of the month( due to most people who started 2months ago on the HAM are coming to their third payment, which means I may be speaking to some of you out there about your modification. I am the closing end of what you have been on pretrial for.
The main thing to remember is if you gave numbers(money figures) that don’t match your documents then you were never pre-qualified in the beginning. Also, if you DO NOT send everything in that is required, such as, W2s, 12 months bank statements if your are self employed, Tax returns for 08 and 07(both just in case you are self employed) last 2 consecutive pay stubs, and proof of homeowners insurance and property tax bill( if you are not escrowed already)…..then you have a problem. ITS SO MUCH BETTER TO SEND EVERYTHING THEN TO FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS BECAUSE YOU ARE MISSING SOMETHING. IT HAPPENS TO EVEN ME>
I try now everyday to call people and even overnight simple letters to call me, but I never get them to call. I even have 2 approvals for modifications and not once have they tried to contact citi, I even sent them a modification agreement thinking they would get that we can help, but nothing. So if you get to this last step, stay in touch. Dont call everyday but atleast 2x a week so say, Hey dont forget me! I am taking vacation and will be back at the end of the month since its going to be hectic at work. Bear with us, Its new to Citi and Closing hasnt touched a file yet. Are we ready? I think we are prepared better than when the housing industry first got hit.
Also, I would suggest to send a reason of hardship letter for your file. Any single one of these things missing can cause you to go back to the first step, which is being setup on a new trial period and waiting another 2 months just to find out if you are qualified for a modification….definitely not a good thing.
Best of luck and will keep you informed when I start getting the files, till then I am off and enjoying my vacation.
TO JUST TRY IT
Please help me. Please got denied from Citi and all the tell me was my income is too low….PLEASE HELP ME WHEN YOU Are back from your vacation. I”m in my 4 months late already….Enjoy your vacation.
To just try it,
You are the bomb. I just got the apprasal in and it appears i qualify for the HAM program. If any of you want to see the details of this plan just go to the govt website detailing Obama’s plan. you can even calculate what your payment will be. My payment will actually go up 100$ per month but taxes and insurance will be included. the reason my payment didn’t dramaticlly drop like some peoples is because in am being switched from a interest only payment @6.53% to a fixed rate interest and principle @ 3% per obama’s plan. payment is 31% of gross income. I haven’t received anything written but my 1st payment will be due 7/16. I’ll be checking in to see what insights i get from those farther along then i. good luck to the rest of you and i’m glad i didn’t pay 3000.00$ for a lawyer to do it. if you qualify for obama’s plan, no lawyer is needed.
I called Cit to see if my 1st payment can be made for Aug 1st instead of July 16 so i can get caught up on some bill. i was told that my 1st payment isn’t due until 30 days from when i receive the paperwork and that may not be until after the 1st of july. this seems to contradict an earlier posting that says 1st payment is due 30 days from the date you are told even if you don’t get any paperwork. Hmmm. I’ll call them again on the 1st and see what someone else says when asked the same question. unless anyone here knows the answer.
To Just Try It and everyone
Just try It, my previous posted for you was on Jun 19, 09 I don’t know if you still can help me or to late. On Friday I received a letter from Citi Mortgage they transfer my loan Servicing company to Bay View Loan Servicing effective July 01. I”m 4 months behind and been working to Citi Mortgage now they transfer my loan to a different company…Now I have to re do everything again…Instead of helping me Citi mortgage make my life is more stressful ..I don’t know what to do next…I’m so lost…I do search on Bayview Loan Servicing don’t have much information about them. I”m so lost and stress…I start to get sick because of all these. Please anyone have the same experience like me…Please help me out….
I responded to lw2lw with my mortgage info and they haven’t responded. Jana wrote a number to call but was that for me…. Does anyone know how to modify your loan?????
have been in touch w/ executive office and they have been sent another copy of what we sent to loss mit… They have also said that the sale of our home is on hold unhtill they straighten things out… hopefull but wary at this point.
call 866 751 6913
I called the number above and you need an ext or the connection is disconnected.
The Helping Families Save Their Home Act of “2009″ was signed by the president and made into law on May 20th, 2009, but very few lenders, FHA and HUD are acknowledging it. There seems to be an issue with HUD not releasing updated Mortgagee letters to the public and to the Mortgage lenders and even their own staff. Does anybody know WHY or when HUD/FA will update their Mortgagee letters to reflect these new laws to help people save their homes? This is very frustrating as this information has already been made public and it was suppose to be up and running no later than 30 days from May 20th 2009.
For all of us inclufing myself, unity makes a difference when we face with thieves such as Citimortgage. I was promised over the phone I was approved for loan mod. of $1,600.00/month, starting 7/11/09 and to sign affidavit when packaged arrived. Never received it called a million times it was never approved. Here I am 2 months behind. I am in the same hole as all of you. My idea is to write to Barack Obama and with the millions of letters to him and congress will receive, I am positive some help will come. We are the people who vote for those who represent our rights. I guarantee if we take this action they will regret the day they opened up their business. Whom ever wishes to do this even if its not citimortgage but other companies involve let our voices be heard……..I will search for address post it and set up a date where all this thousands of letters will be mailed.
Lets write millions of letters to Barack Obama and tell him what this idiots are doing……
Okay, you all have to do this!!! Fill out the *Hardship* info on Citi’s Website and FAX everything in that they require. Then follow up with phone calls every day until you know that they have recieved your info. *Faxing* is quicker than mailing.
They will assign you a counselor who will put you on a *Forebearance* Plan if your not 3 months behind. If you are, then not sure.
This is everything that I did. Once we were into the 3rd month of the forebearance a new counselor called and said he would be the final person I would talk too.
He called a few weeks later and made me a verbal offer over the phone and I accepted it. Later I recieved 5 pages of a Modification that I signed had notarized and sent back (Came UPS). VERY SIMPLE!!!
Our first payment is Aug. 1’st. Our first year is at 2.5%, second year is at 3% and 3′rd year is 3.5% for the next 27 years and it’s all FIXED!!!
This is exactly what I did. And you can be where I am TOO!!! Do Not Miss Picking up the phone calls from them though. If your not home and see they called, call them back, keep telling them what your doing.
We are keeping our home now. You can be too.
Also, I’ve posted from the beginning of this and you can look above to see all of my posts from beginning to end.
Take Care,
Linda
I have just emailed Citi at the referred email address. Let’s see how long they respond.
I just emailed Citi at the email address referred. let’s see how long it takes for them to respond.
I am not that far into the process yet; however, I notice this statement in the modification agreement: “If all or any part of the Property or any interest in it is sold or transferred without Lender’s prior written consent, Lender may, at its option, require immediate payment in full of all sums secured by the Mortgage.”
Anybody know what this is suppose to mean? Do we have to obtain written permission to sell the property in the future 10, 20, 30 years down the road? If we don’t have written permission, does that mean we have to pay the “original” mortgage in full or the “modified” mortgage in full? I do understand why the lender would like to ensure the real estate market is not overloaded with houses for sale in trouble times like we are in, but what concern me is 10, 30, or even 50 years down the road. Will this lead to problem for the borrower down the road? Will this become an instruement for the lender to secure whatever the lender desire in the future within the confine of the law? Any thoughts?
Dear Joe,
In regards to your question above. When I did my modification, I don’t remember reading that. But for one, if your upside down, it’s going to be quite sometime before your going to be able to sell your house anyway unless you have money to pay to sell it. In my case I owe 230K on it and it’s worth 100K and we haven’t bottomed out yet.
Also, you stated 10, 30 or 50 years away. For one, your loan should be paid off in 30 years and there are no 50 year loans. I doubt you have anything to worry about on this one.
Linda,
Thank for your comment. When did you receive your modification agreement? Perhaps, this statement is something new? I don’t know. Anyway, my main concern is the requirement to receive ‘written approval’ from the lender ‘before’ the property can be sold. 10 or 20 years down the road, when we have to ask for such ‘written approval’ and given there is no stated condition under which the lender has to provide the approval, it may lead to pain later on. Yes? Can the lender demand something additional to what is in the modification agreement when the time come? Like you have to be in such and such financial condition or do such and such things before lender will give you the written approval or else you can choose to pay the original mortgage back plus the interest over the years. …Of course we have to pay back the mortgage before any sales can be completed and title transfer. However, is it the original mortgage prior to the modification or the new modified mortgage we have to pay back if we are unable to meet any additional demand in connection to getting the ‘written approval’ when the time come? Our property is our only property and primary residence. I do not expect to sell it anytime soon, not even 15 years from now. But with such open statement as ‘get written approval’, it may lead to pain later on. Thoughts?
20391 or 20392
maybe it was 20353 i cant recall what the young lady told me.
To: Just try It
I was told that Citi needs to do a valuation on our home. This was around July 1, 2009. The rep said to call back in two weeks, so we called back on July 15, 2009 and was told that they are back logged on home valuations. In CT, how long is the back log for home valuations? I don’t want to waste my time and the reps time to call back just to find out it is still not done. How long should I give Citi before trying to call again?
Thank you for taking the time to answer this question.
As for Obama’s plan, it does not make sense. A person has to have a loan to value ratio of 105%, and the loan will only be modded down to a debt to income ratio of 31%. Who fits into that category? Only the borrowers who did interest only, less than interest only, variable interest rates, and outright scam mortgages. In other words, it only helps the borrowers who caused the problems in the first place.
Buying a home is not hard mathematics. If the interest rates are high (8% or greater), your loan should not be higher than 2.5 times your income. If interest rates are low (6%), your loan should not be higher than 3 times your income. If everybody followed this basic mathematics (borrowers and lenders), the country would not be in the current situation. It is ironic that everybody plans everybody else, except the one group of people that could actually make a different — the high school consumer education teacher.
But what about the people who were affected by the ripple affect? Are we are going to be getting help? My husband and I took out a standard 30 year fixed rate at 25% debt to income ratio in Feb. 2007 (right when everything started to fall apart). We are religious and want religion in our chidren’s education. Paying for private school tuition was part of the original equation.
Since then his income has been cut by 20% and the value of our home has been cut by 20%. The income cut is due to bad economic times. The home value cut is due to the housing games ending and everybody having to go back to sound economic principals. Houses now have to be sold for what people can actually afford.
If my husband’s income was not cut, we made an agreement based on my husband’s income — not the value the home. If value of the homes (whole community) were not cut, we could just sell our house and downsize. But with both happening at the same time, things become difficult.
I know that right now I am very angry, because if the situation stays the same, we will be spending the next 10 – 15 years paying for the previous home owner’s retirement. Because that is how long it will take before we begin to start paying equity towards our house. Plus, the only thing that we could have done differently was to have just staying out the housing market. If we did stayed out the housing market, what would have happened? We would have brought my next door neighbor’s house that is currently for sale instead of our current house. Our income dropped, but so did the housing prices. The end result would have been a similar house in a similar neighborhood.
Will citi help us? I don’t really know. A lot will depend on the gut feeling of the rep handling our account. We went into our mortgage with a mutual agreement. Cit would lend us X amount to pay for our house. We would then pay back Citi X amount plus Y interest over 30 years and in exchange we would increase our share in our home by Z amount every month until after 30 years the home would be truly ours.
The day that the final clause was no longer valid was the day that we were no longer home owners. It was the day that we became renters, but instead of renting from a landlord we are renting from the bank — Citi. But it is worse than being a renter, because we have none of the protections of being a renter and none of the benefits of being a renter (landlord pays for home repairs).
I never signed a contract agreeing to be a renter of Citi for 10 years before becoming a homeowner for 20 years. And I am furious that the people that caused this to happen are the ones that are being helped by Obama’s plan.
Obama’s plan helps the creators of the problem, not the true victims — the people that are caught in the game of others.
Melissa
We were contacted back about the valuation. We do not qualify for the Obama plan (no surprise there), but Citi does have their own modification program. They told us that it will take a month to go through that process (until we should try to call them again).
Melissa
Dear Joe,
I’m going to look over my modification papers and get back to you. It won’t take me long. I believe it was only 6 pages!!! I signed about 7 weeks ago. I just made my first payment for August 1’st at 2.5%. And you know these are all so new, I just don’t know about selling down the road. I don’t remember reading anything about having to get approval, but I *get* what your saying.
For us, we aren’t planning on selling maybe ever. It’s going to be a very long time for us to ever have enough equity to sell.
Take Care,
Linda
Melissa,
We didn’t qualify for the Obama Plan either. Your loan has to be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to qualify for that. Mine was not. So, we went through Citi’s Modification which was good too. They didn’t reduce the balance, just the interest rate and we are now a fixed principal and interest. It’s not a bad mod at all. We’re very happy with it.
Linda
I live in Southern California. Just spent the last 2 hours reading all of the posts. I too have my mortgage serviced by Citimortgage and owned by Citibank. I was VERY sad to learn that my 20 yr fixed was not sold off to fannie or freddie as I would have qualified for the HASP program. I was not behind in payments yet but knew it was coming and was trying to be proactive. I downloaded, completed and mailed in the “workable solutions” application along with all of the attachments requested. This was at the end of May, 2009. Shortly thereafter I was called by Citi about the “new” program that was a 3 month trial. Unfortunately I didn’t qualify for it. I guess my income/expense ratio was off kilter. I was called a couple more times about this program.
I did get a letter in the mail confirming that my application had been received. 2 weeks later I received a letter stating they tried to call me and write me and got no response. I had 7 days to call them or home would go in forclosure. Funny thing is…the number in the letter was no good. I think it was prolly that third party they contracted with. You would sit on hold for exactly 20 mins and then you would get disconnected. i did this 3 times just to make sure. i then jumped online and called the homeowners assitance #. The lady was helpful and confirmed the receipt of my app and then ordered the valuation assessment on my home. She told me to call back on 7/8. I did and went through the “HAM” process on the phone with the rep from the loss mitigation dept only to find out that I did not qualify because I had too much equity in my home. The program told her “short sale”. Mind you she advised she is just the (what i call) the “first line of defense”. My app was still sitting back in the 2nd layer where a real person would look at my app and my situation.
I have talked to many different reps and been told many different things. My account was updated on 6/16/09 online to state that they have my app and it is being reviewed. Yes it says 30 days but read carefully. It states 30 BUSINESS DAYS. That equals 6 weeks…not a month. I am at about 6 weeks now. Yesterday 7/30/09 they told me still no update… call back in 7 days. I can do that.
The thing that drives me crazy is the calls from the collection dept. Anyone been drivin absolutely mad by the “we need to verify your account info”? property address, home phone # (duh – you called me), work #, cell #, email address and last 4 numbers of your social security #. I am sick and tired of giving all that info like a broken record. I am more than happy to answer their questions about why I haven’t made my payment but to have to go through all of the info that they already have has become unbearbable. I now tell them…. “I’ll confirm the address and last 4 of my SS and that’s it. Everything else remains unchanged.”
So I sit and wait. Monday I am going to call that # for the “executive offices” and see if that will move my app along quickly. I am hopeful because of Linda’s story. Diligence is key and have all your paperwork in order to respond quickly to what they need.
CALL, CALL, CALL. They need to know you care about saving your home. Get names with employee ID #. Take notes and don’t believe everything they tell you on the phone. some of them don’t even know how to read the notes in your file. i went through a bunch of crap becasue some reps were looking at my loan “gandled by the home equity dept” and then stating that my loan was a home equity loan… when in fact it is not. So believe me… although they are trying.. they don’t always know what they are doing. Best thing to do is to call back and talk to someone else and confirm that what the last person told you was in fact the truth.
Linda and everyone else in trail period or beyond:
I have not heard any discussion about what the modification process has done to your credit rating. We went into the HAM trial period in June and Citi is reporting us delinquent to the credit bureaus. My FICO score was 801 in April, it is now 635! We are current on everything and went into the trial period current on our mortgage payments.
Now the holders of my business and personal credit accounts are writing me nasty letters taking my limits down and citing the Citi reported delinquency as the reason. This is very bad because my husband and I have tried to start our own small consulting business since he lost his job in March. It is difficult if not impossible to run a business without a credit line.
What are we going to do when the business fails for lack of beginning capital (can’t get a small business loan with this my current credit score!) and jobs are still not available for my husband? The HAM mod will be the very reason we lose our home anyway.
Does anyone else have experience with this and know if it really will correct after the trial period is over?
Citi says it will get better, but I’ve read some financial gurus saying the credit hit could be with us for awhile. They say it is fair to report us negatively because we did not fulfil our original obligation. Believe me, with an 800 credit score, we always fulfilled our obligations. I guess we are to be held responsible for the situation which led to my husband losing his job.
Thanks,
Wow, these comments are amazing. Citimortgage is full of crap. I worked with a rep. named Heather for 4 months getting all my numbers in line. She asked me for my expenses over 4 times. She put me on a pre-modification that reduced my payment about $213.00 for 3 months. If I didn’t accept this pre-mod, I could not even try to qualify for the real modification. The only catch was that it would show I would be one payment behind on my mortgage. I am never late on any payments, but took this offer because I had hope that I would qualify for the real modification. The next hurdle was getting a value on my home. It took over a month but she kept answering her phone and telling me when to call back. Finally, last week, I caller her and she said that I did qualify for the real modification and my mortgage payment would be reduced to over 1/2 of what it normally is for 5 years. My interest rate would lower from 6.25 to 2.0 for 5 years then go up 1 point each year. The last I heard from her was she would call me back and let me know when to make my modified payment and what the cap interest rate would be. Well, I can’t reach her. Seems she has vanished off the face of the earth. I got in touch with Another rep. named Michael and she ran a few of my numbers and said that I had been rejected for the modification. He suggested I borrow $15,000 from Citimortgage to help me out with my mortgage. I was outraged!!!! I have left Michael numerous voice mails but now he won’t call back and I can’t get through to anyone at Citibank today. If I look online at my account, it shows me behind 2 months. I feel I’m screwed. They screwed me and now won’t even call me back. It’s an aweful feeling. If my credit it not too screwed up by this pre-modification, I am going to try to do whatever I can to get out from underneath Citimortgage.
They are criminals as far as I am concerned.
Ginger,
Was Heather reached at the same phone number and in the same department as Michael? Are you actually dealing with Citimortgage’s Loss Mitigation department or some type of 3rd party vendor? Is this a Freddie or Fannie loan and a HAM modification, or something else?
Your story is very bizarre and I’m sorry to hear you are going through this. It is scarry news for those of us who are still in the trial stage.
We first applied for a modification back in January. (As soon as Obama started his spending spree with taxpayer money). It finally got approved Today! (First week of August). Lowered our interest rate to 2% and cut our monthly payment by $800 a month. We had gotten $5000 behind in our payments but were told we were not responsible for it. So I guess after a lot of sleepless nights it was all worth while. We first signed up for the “in-house program”, but they switched it to the HAMP after a couple of months. It did not work, so they went back to the original one that finally went through.
We got “pre approved” back in May for the ham program. We made two of the trial payments and then they said we should have never been approved due to our income.
They orig. only looked at my husbands income since he is the only one on the loan. No “co-borrower” but since my name is on the deed of trust, they consider me as a co-borrower.
Does anyone know if this is correct information?
Any information would be appreciated.
CITI is to say the least very confused internally and very confusing to us as well!
I had a pay cut back in April and in June, finally reached the point where I couldn’t make my full payment. I was told by a rep at CITI not to send in a partial as “the computer wouldn’t know what to do with it” and once I was officially 30 days late, to call them back…which is exactly what I did.
I spoke to a very pleasant rep on 6/30 who took all of my financial info, advised that she was ordering a BPOE (whatever that is) and that I should sit tight and check back on 7/23. She also asked that as a backup, I fill out a hardship assistance application on line, which we did.
When I called on 7/23, I was advised that I had been approved for a modification from our existing rate of 8.40 (it was due to adjust in 6/09) to 6 3/8 and that I had to make a payment by the end of July so that I didn’t fall 30 days behind……so I did just that. I was then told to await the package they were sending me via UPS….and it did arrive.
The package stated that I had no further payments due until 10/1 with subsequent payments due for my trial period on 11/2 and 12/4….I thought all was set.
A week later, just to be sure, I called and spoke to a rep who told me that the paperwork was wrong and if I didn’t make another payment by 9/1 that I would be in default of my trial period! I was further told that CITI is “confused” as this is a new government plan.
Today, 8/10/09 I called again to double check and was told that new information is being sent to me today which we clearly spell out the interest rate, terms and payment dates and will request additional information which actually gets sent to the treasury department.
I’m getting the feeling that nobody has a clue as to what’s really going on and I’m guessing that this new paperwork will muddy the waters further.
I’ll bet I’ve been on hold for over 20 hours though this process and that I’ve been disconnected dozens of times while either holding for a supervisor or actually speaking to one.
One would assume that since they ask you to verify your home phone and cell #’s that they could actually call you back when this happens?
The one real positive I will say is that when I have actually gotten to speak with a rep at CITI…they have been polite….it just seems as though no two of them are on the same page.
Boy are you people right about citi being confused. Every time I call I am told a different story. My loan is so messed up that I don’t believe I will ever get it straightened up. I am only one payment behind and I have become disabled and they won’t give me a loan modification. I barely pay my bills because my mortage is so high. You would think this program woould help someone who is disabled but it does not. There are no programs out there for the disabled and if you become disabled you are just lost. Citi has no sympathy and I believe they are more cruel to me than they were before I became disabled. I’m not very happy with them either and the only people who promise to help me are lawyers who want to charge me a big lot of money.
My Citi mortgage story has been going on for 9 m0nths. September 2008,we contaced Citi in regards to not be able to keep up with increased mortgage payments due to income loss. They told us we were not behind so they could not help us. No we weren’t but we stressed we were down to our last 2,000 and it would happen shortly if we didn’t get some relief on our increased mortgage . We were told to sell or find an investor to buy our mortgage at current value. As a realtor and heavily affected income, I am very aware of the programs offered and I tolod the guy that there was recently a law passed to help those who were current but were in need of help to save their home. My income dropped 95% as a realtor therefore we were perfect candidates for a modification. My husband makes a steady income but it isn’t enough without my contribution and 3 kids, 3 people with medical conditions that require monthly dr visits, meds, and testing. Unable to keep up with our mortgage, we had to cease the 401K contribution taken out of my husbands check to make ends meet-that was still not enough without my income. In January, we called again and were told to fill out the hardship letter- we did so and faxed in paperwork. of course when we called they hadn’t received it. I also kept the confirmation that it was received by fax confirmation.
Like everyone else-we sent it again.l This time they received it We received our letter that we would have a counselor call us about our modification from loss mitigATION. No one called us for 7 weeks. unable to keep up with 0ur outstanding medical debt and trying to keep oour house we had to file bankruptcy7 and guess what we received a call from our loss mitigation person 7 days after our BK petition was filed. & weeks after we received the letter from citi regarding a workout–guess w3hat now they couldnt talk to us because we were in BK…
In our paperwork, we stated we were reaffirming our house. Guess what the paperw3ork never came because Citi wouldn’t reaffirm with us being 2 month behind. We were still making payment but got behind on 2 and I asked citi if we could send partial until the 2 months were cawught up and she said no-it had to be the full amount. I told her if I had the 2 months then I wouldn’t be calling her for help.. Now we had to wait another 60 days until our BK was discharged. I expressed to her we are doing everything we can to keep our house. We are upside down 60K and as a realtor I know that they don’t want to take this house back if they have willing homeowners who want to keep it. Still no help. After our discharge in July, I called again stating We have income to show but my husbands pay has been reduced by 10% and our house payment takes half of our monthly net. We are wanting to keep our house and minimized all expenses to be able to make our house payments because we want to keep our house. She looked up our file–oh she couldn’t get anything because her computers were down-likely story. She just wanted to get us off the phone. My whole life has been turned upside down this year and I am trying everything I know to get someone from Citi to talk to us because we do have a steady income and have always paid on time for the last 12 years except for twice when we hit a rough patch. As for the lady that works for Citi-we don’t spend frivalously-my childrens wchool clothes were bought at Goodwill so that we can stay in our house-these are the stories of people who have hit rough patches and no one from Citi is willing to help and we helped yall and gave you guys all that money that we will never see again and we’ll be kicked out of our houses because of lenders greed. Yes I am pissed. I have been trying for 9 months to get help from citi and still can’t get the same answer from anyone.
FEDUP
Citi has been nothing but a complete pain to me. Read my story published in the Oregonian here:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/finance/2009/08/modifying_loans_creates_credit.html#preview
Still fighting them.
Just Faxed my papers for the modifacation with CitiM. will keep you all updated.
I wish I can buy another house and leave this things behind ……..
To: Just Try It!
Any idea when FHA is going to give the go ahead to the mortgage companies (especially Citi) for their HAM? I’ve read on the FHA web site that their plan is effective as of Aug. 15, 2009. When I spoke to the Citi Loss Mitigation dept. on Friday Aug. 28th, I was told that FHA has not given them the okay to start implementing the plan.
Please help, I’m running out of time!
Check out this article on http://www.foxbusiness.com How They Fared: Treasury Releases Rankings of Mortgage Units. Its from August 4th and has a lot of insight into the monitoring process the government is doing. Banks and mortgage companies were rated an F!! Big surprise to all of us. Also check out , click on helpful resources and read Home Affordable Modification Program(HAMP) outline and guidelines from March 4th, 2009. Knowledge is power and these resources tell us what Citimortgage is suppose to be doing. Still trying to modify myself since March. I know it might not help but I emailed my state’s senator/governor and the President letting them know what Citimortgage is doing to us all. Some hopeful info in that article I mentioned in the beginning of my comment states that if the lenders do not increase their numbers of modified loans the government will start to pass legislation to make them. They have a November 1st deadline to improve.
It took a long time (6 months)…multiple contacts at Citi…persistance on my part…and I finally got hooked up with a AWESOME person at Citi who took the ball for me and scored a Grand Slam!! This one person and the loan mod I got will change my life forever…I am incredibly grateful. CitiMortgage came through for me in a big way!! Thanks a million to D. Shelton…My man of the year! rick
We just got our call and “offer” from citibank yesterday. I don’t feel it’s a great deal at all! $300 off our current payment. 3% for the next 5 years, then 1% added every year until it gets back to 6.75%.
My husband asked if they could do better and the guy said, that was all he was “authorized” to offer. We had to say yes or no on the spot, no time to talk to each other about it. We said yes because if we said no, then what? We just lose our house? $300 doesn’t help us with our situation. We have a 2nd that cost that much. He also wouldn’t help us with our 2nd because it’s with another bank.
Our house is worth 1/2 or less of the balance.
The paperwork on this offer is on its way. Not sure what to do now.
Does anyone know what happens if you say no and can’t afford the offer? Any advice.
**Rick vanH, do you mind me asking what kind of Grand Slam you got???
So this is HAMP? Have a 1st and 2nd, house is now worth $79,00 we owe $300,000. Income is down 1/2. Submitted hardship paperwork via NACA (the WORKS, 2 yrs taxes, hardship letter, bank statements, etc.) CONFIRMED they had it in their system in June. Two DAYS later rcvd a HAMP offer: 3 month trial lowering my 1st by $400, to be followed up by a review. 2nd Mort not addressed. No interest info included and vague threat that if our income wasn’t low enough we may end up with higher payment. Sent our “polite no thanks, please look at our original proposal” via Fed Ex. Called Citi a zillion times (documented), finally told that they had my “verbal” ok to lock in the HAMP but that they had none of my paperwork on file. They told me the details were 3yrs at 2% then up and up to current rate at year 5. HELLO! This is an interest only loan, by the 5th year it would be resetting and the payment would be through the roof. ALSO, the system showed a “verbal authorization” to modify my 2nd with an INCREASED payment of guess what – about $400. 2nd is also interest only with a balloon payment. As of September they claim they have no other paperwork, hardship packet or otherwise, basically HAMP trumps anything else? Even if it won’t work. I still have NOT been assigned a Citi counselor and suspect this is all for nothing. Continued to make my proposed payments which ended up directly in an “unapplied accounts” fund. They are showing that I am 4 months behind as of yesterday. Personally my crying days are over but my husband and kids want to stay – I just wish I could get a STRAIGHT ANSWER so I could be done with this!!!
Our FICO is over 770 and we never missed any payment on anything. I lost my job and wrote my first letter to Citi in Oct 2008…no response.
I went online in Jan and filled out the hardship info…in Feb I called and they said they had nothing from me…the person said “about 50% of the time the online service doesn’t work.” I re-submitted everything in Feb.
Waited 30 days, no update…on subsequent calls I was transferred, cut off and got a busy signal…never any information.
In April I called my senator. I got a voicemail a week later saying I didn’t quality for modification.
THEN…I didn’t receive a statement for two months so I called Citi. They told me I was in the load modification program for the past two months even though I didn’t know it and was making full payments.
The person took my update info over the phone (I now had a job after eight months) and they said I now didn’t qualify. I said but, I was qualified for the past two months so does that count in reducing my payment at least for May and June? They said no because I never signed the papers. Of course, they had never sent me any papers.
Finally, this month in Sept I have not made the payment and don’t plan to make another one. Does anyone have experience in how long it takes from the first missed payment until you have to be out of the house?
Is there a guideline that Citi follows to determine what modification you will receive? It doesn’t seem like any of our expences were put into account.
I wrote my offer above, I forgot to add that he said we need to pay the new payment for 3 months on time or the deal is off.
Is this deal final or will I get a better, worse or declined offer after the 3 months? Are the 3 months for them to look over our paperwork??
Any Citi reps or Someone in my same situation out there??? Thanks!
Update… still working with Citi… the hospital that put us into bankruptcy has a lien on our home… stuill going through the courts to try and have it removed as the lein and the debt were discharged in the bankruptcy…Everything is on hold untill Muskogee regional drops the lein or the court in the county where we reside removes it….this whole thing is rediculous….
BTW they want to take out a piece of my brain… go figure.
Hi Liz, Sorry it took so long to post back to you. I know that everybody’s situation is different, and my plan from Citi…based on my situation…could be way different from the plan everybody else is offered. I offer this as help so everybody else out there knows what has been happening.
I have a jumbo loan with Citi. I have a FICO over 800. I was laid off in December of 2008. I continued to make my REALLY HIGH (6.875% interest) payments on time by using funds from a unsecured loan that I have with my credit union. That money ran out in June so I could not make my July 1st paymnet. They have a intermediary company (not a citi company I believe) reviewing all the “Workable Solutions” applications. Their person who reviewed my package couldn’t offer any help, only to say it was processed/approved on their end and it would now be forwarded back to Citi. Then D. S. from Citi called. At that point I was at wits end, and had accepted the fact that I was probably going to loose my home. I also had just started back at my old company, but now at about 1/3 of what I used to make. David for Citi assured me that there was a solution…and that he would help any way he could. His first offer back was incredible…1.5% fixed for two years…2% for years 3 through 5, then 2.5% for the balance of the loan! You won’t belive this, I said no. I was so frustrated with paying so much for so long, and I was really scared about the future. I at this time wanted long term security. So I asked David to go back and ask for 2% fixed loan for the life of the loan. Did I take a chance or what! He got back to me when he said he would, and said that the best he could do was his original offer. I accepted. I just made my first payment September 1. They also added the interest from my missed payments to the loan balance with no late fees. David even stopped any reporting to the bureaus for the missed payments of July 1 and August 1. To verify this however I will need to obtain my current credit report. David and Citi did indeed change my life. I am so grateful I what to tell the whole world how great Citi is…but I know that for every one person thay make happy…maybe one or two are mad at them. I hope that you, and everybody else gets what THEY NEED that will change their life. Hope this helps…rick
Rick, thank you for replying. I’m really happy for you. I understand everyone has a different situation and circumstances.
I’m still hopeful…thanks!
I’m in the process of going through Citi’s pre-trial loan modification. I’ve UPS’d over my package and am waiting to hear of a final approval. I can say it has been a lengthy process, I started back in March 2009 but my BPO (home value) finally came back after 2.5 months and I was told that I was approved for the loan mod, contingent upon my 90 day pre-trial phase (making the new set payments on time and submitting the required documents, paycheck stubs, tax return, application, etc.). My payments have been dropped significantly and prayingfully my loan mod will be finalized with the new set pre-trial payments that I am currently making. All in all through out this process, I have ran into a few inconsistant answers from Citi reps but mostly all of the reps have been very warm and nice. I remain(ed) persistent on following up with them to make sure that they do what they said, to make sure all my ducks are in a row (as well as theirs) and to make sure that each rep was/is telling me the same thing. So far so good. I’m so sorry to read about the many horor stories pertaining to Citi’s unprofessionalism towards the many homeowners. I would say continue to try and get a loan mod via it be through Citi or NACA… The Home Assistance Program set by President Obama is for us homeowners so continue to be persistent…
Hi Kay,
How long did it take for you to receive your pre-loan mod paperwork?
We still have not received anything and the rep said our 1st payment is due Oct 1st.
Do they do home value checks on all modifications?
Please keep us all informed on your process and progress.
Thanks, Liz
Hi Liz,
It took about 3 weeks for me to receive the pre-trial loan mod paperwork (3 weeks after I spoke to a rep telling me that I was pre-approved for the loan mod). The rep also told me to make sure I make my first pre-trial payment by the first due date even if I haven’t received my paperwork. So, taking her advice I did… my first payment was due on 9/1 (she told me that over the phone and keep in mind this was before the paper work was UPS’s over to me). So Liz, I would say if your first payment is due 10/1, go ahead and make that payment even if you haven’t received your paperwork as of yet. Call Citi (866-272-4749) and ask whichever rep that answers your call to give you your payment amount… that’s what I did because I was reassured that if I missed any of the pre-trial payments I would be put out of the program.
As far as the home value checks (BPO /home appraisals) I think it depends on the loan mod program you are in. My loan mod is with the Pres. Obama homeowners assistance program and that particular program (from my understanding, what the Citi reps told me) requires a BPO for my home. As long as your home value is below the price of what you were financed for you should be ok and pre-approved contingent upon other documentation.
I hope this info helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
P.S. I have a PDF copy that I found on the internet of the President Obama’s Homeowner’s Assistance Program guidelines. It’s very interesting and helpful. It explains in great detail what is needed/expected via mortgage companies and homeowners pertaining to the loan mod. If you want a copy le tme know and I can email it to you or try and get the URL and post it on here.
Thanks and be persistent!
Kay
Please Liz dont believe them they told me to skip payment and pay First payment by July 1st for my new mortgage payment. Ofcourse it was a little over my regular mortgage. I waited for this packet I never received. When I called to check status 5 days prior to July 1st they told me I was never approved and here I am 1 month behind. Used all monies to pay other debt. I am now delinquent 3 months behind. I tried loan modifications one time after another and they wont qualify me. Please continue to make your payments on time until you get documents in writing. Citimortgage are liars and they continue to scam people until they loose their homes.
The Worse Help in My Life!!!
Applied for loan mod pre-trial to reduce payments for 3month starting 7/11/09. According to rep they would send documents in mail. Never received them. Called 5 days prior to 7/11/09…..Guess what I was never qualified. Here I am a month behind. Used my monies to pay other debt. I asked for a forbearance plan while I look for a solution. Tried 3 modification loans and got rejected for all of them. I borrowed money from my parents to catch up and all of a sudden the rep says “Wait a couple of days to try again”. Common!!! 7 months gone by and they keep repeating the same story. What I dont get is why not let me pay my full outstanding balance…..there is nothing they can do. Im frustrated Ive done it all. Im tired and exhausted I wish there was a law to force them to help you. I feel alot of chest pain and anxiety attacks. I just want to die and forget this nightmare.
Teresa, I’m sorry to hear about your misfortunate experience w/Citi. I am aware that every persons loan situation is different. My experience w/Citi loan mod was different from yours and others as I explained to Liz. I hope that things will work out for you but wishing to die over this is an extreme cause of measure. Check out NACA (I’ve heard that they’ve assisted many homeowners w/loan mods) and see if they can assist you w/a loan mod. Your health and mind set in this ordeal is very important – trust me, trying to get approved for a loan mod is very frustrating but try to hang in there. I’m not officially approved yet (I’m praying that I will be) but until I do I am going to remain persistent by reaching out to Citi as much as I can.
Guys where can I get loan modification docs so that I can fax them out. Everytime I call them they just say “someone will get back to you”.. I want the web page where I can download citimortgage hardship assistance docs to atleast get the process started.
Thank you!
Hi all,
I have a second loan with Citi. I have been told since sept of last year that they would modify my loan but that the 1st loan had to modified first. I received a modification for the first loan ! Citi took a few months but kept reassuring me that alls good. Guess what in Aug. I recieved a modification package from Citi. I UPSed it back and I thought my nightmare was over (at least for 5 years). Nope a couple of weeks later Sheila Hackman calls and said that Citi made a mistake – someone accidentaly signed my paperwork thinking it was someone elses file. I started to receive collection calls again – I must know everyone in that department now! Anyway the collection department stated that Loss Mitigation made a mistake and my file should have been fine and asked for another payment. I don’t believe anyone at Citi anymore – truly a disorganized mess. My credit report reads “charged off” , I continue to make my modified first loan payments. Citi has threated that they will garnish my wages for the rest of my life – but i’m self employed so not sure how they will do that. Won’t they have to pay the first loan if they foreclose on me? Any advise is appreciated.
Hi John,
I think you have to be approved/pre-approved first before you can get loan mod paperwork. But there’s some homeowner’s assistance documentation that you can download from Citi’s website regarding homeowner’s assistance. I hope that helps.
Kay
I have been talking to Citi mtg since May.. I have submitted paper work and they keep wanting it again saying its outdated, thats because they wait so long to act. Has anyone else been charged a $470.00 application fee…? Not only was there no service but now Im out money too.
I have been calling Citi since March. I am getting the run around faxing paperwork calling back only to be told to call back in 10-15 days to find out more info and then nothing just keep waiting , they told me that my investor CMSI REMIC is not working with the modification program. But someone will call me in 10-15 days, that was earlier tonight I am not behind i have good credit but salaries are down everything else is up. We are struggling and just want some relief. I don’t believe a word they say. I thought all companies were to help homeowners stay in there homes.
I feel like if i stop paying i will get help. I was actually told that by a phone solicitor that wants to help me get modified. I don’t want to pay someone to make phone calls.
I am sick over this. Stress level is horrible.
Has anyone really been helped?
Citi is unreliable. If they DID NOT accept government money, then I would appreciate their refusal to “do business”. But they made poor financial decisions, suffered for it, and asked for help from the government. They got help. However, if you, the individual, made poor financial decisions, suffered for it and asked for help from Citi, you will not get it. The help they offered me? Lowering my payment $63.00 a month, but only after closing costs of $4000.00. YUP! Better yet, “I’m too responsible”. I have a FICO score over 800 – no debt or car notes – just my expensive mortgage. Because I am responsible Citi figures I’m an easy mark. Lesson? You take care of yourself, your family, your bills – and the one time in your life you ask for a break, for some help? Nope. You don’t deserve any help. Eff Citi. For the record, I’m now putting a nice down payment on what is basically the same house I am already in – getting it about $78,000 cheaper and with a better rate. Once installed in the new home with a much lower payment I’m walking away from the other house. What care I if a lifetime of good credit doesn’t get a person any help when the ask for it? I pay cash for everything else anyway. Citi can eat that house. In fact, they can shove it up their ******.
Amen to JDW. Same experience with Citi, and I feel the same way. They took $60 billion of taxpayer money to help THEM out, but they can’t be bothered to help the people who need it. I lost my job, and had planned to use my Citi stock to fund my unemployment. Oh, gee, that’s right! My $60 per share stock was then worth $.97!!! So, needless to say, I couldn’t use that money to keep my mortgage current. I got so much run around from Citi, I’m still 60 days behind. I wrote my Congressman, and all he did was refer me to a department that has yet to work with me.
I want to know how much the author of this was paid to write this nonsense. CitiMortgage has been completely irresponsible, and no one in government has the ability to do anything. It’s an insult to our intelligence to suggest that CitiMortgage has helped a number of people. They haven’t and they won’t.
I wrote this approx. 1 year ago and it was what was happening at the time and Citi was helping those who came to my website and needed help. From the looks of things, times have changed for the worse.
Update:
Obviously I am not paid because these comments are not censored in Citi’s favor and if you look at all who I am or what I am about, you will come to find out that I am on your side 110%. It is unfortunate that a lot of you are not getting better service and are feeling frustrated. I care and hope it changes because I have been fighting for 2 and 1/2 years and it still is the same ole, same ole.
Peace to all and if I can recommend one thing, don’t let this consume you and focus on making more money and looking for opportunities.
Money is now like water and food in our society. Without it, we perish. Sad but true.
I feel that if homeowners really want to find culpability, blame the Federal Reserve, finance committees in government and the CEO’s before that took off with your money. That is the root of the problem and still is.
Vote all of Washington out in 2010 and let us on Main Street form a new party.
That is the answer.
Citimortgage is the worse ass company I have ever encounter.
I don’t blame them but blame the Presidents stimulate package without any supervision. The president has put his hands in his enemies mouth to chew him badly and to destroy his effort. If I were the president, I will send task force to go houses to see how many people have been helped who do not have mortgage with Fannie Mae and Freddi Mac.
Why is it that people who have mortgages with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are being helped. I thought we are all US citizens and we have been scammed by these mortgage companies. I challenge the government to buy most of the loans from the private mortgage companies to see how much money they going to make and improvement in the worse economy.
And I thought I was the only one…………………………………..
Since I was laid off, we are currently in a negative cash flow situation. We contacted CITI mortgage during the middle part of June to initiate a mortgage modification. We filled out all of the proper documentation and faxed it as requested. We heard nothing for weeks so I contacted CITI’s contracted servicer the first week of July. Apparently, the information I faxed was never processed and subsequently lost. In a ten day period, I gave the same financial information to four different people. Obviously, I had questions about the process and as hard as it is to believe, I received different answers to my questions every time I asked them. Each individual gave me an extension number that I could contact them at; each time I called I was forwarded to their voice mail. During the third call, I asked the worker “if I leave a message, will you call me back”? She said matter-of-factly “sir, I have two weeks of calls on my voice mail, I do not have time to call anyone back”. On the fourth call I worked with a woman who stated that they just received new software that day, they did not know “how to really use it” as they were not trained on it, and during the middle of the interview, the software stopped receiving input deciding we were not qualified. The worker then went into the old software system which did in fact pre qualify us and I was told that CITI would contact us about the modification. I logged into CITI’s web site and the message I received was that they would contact us within three business days, and that the modification was in the final review process for approval. CITI contacted us FIVE business days later and imagine my surprise when I was told we did not qualify for a modification. I asked why and was told that since I have not been on unemployment for nine consecutive months, they could not that as income; they could only use my wife’s and that would leave too large of an income gap to get our house payment in the 31 % range. I then asked if this was a CITI policy concerning income and was told that she did not know however since they could not use my unemployment income, we could not modify our mortgage.
My next move was to call HUD , and Hope Now. I worked with a woman who was very knowledgeable about the mortgage modification program. I asked her if she was aware of a government rule that forbids the use of unemployment as income in order to qualify for a modification. She stated that this is not a government stipulation; that the mortgage companies are able to make their own rules. I then proceeded to answer all of the financial questions for the fifth time. We qualified for a modification by HUD’s standards. In the end, she said she would write a letter to CITI asking them to review our application. She wanted to do a conference call with CITI however since Hope Now records all conference calls between mortgage holders, myself, and Hope Now that CITI refuses to take part. The irony of this is that CITI records all phone conversations with their customers?
We are hoping that Hope Now will be able to help us. The only month I have worked this year is March. I was employed by a tier 2 automotive supplier for better than ten years. Like most of my peers I was permanently laid off since my job was eliminated. I understand this and I feel fortunate that I was able to hold onto my job for that long. I saw this coming a long time ago and did put money in the bank to augment my unemployment and my wife’s wages. Our money is starting to run low and I see a financial nightmare down the road. My intention was to receive a mortgage modification in order to stem this from happening. I do not know what will happen with the mod and I am hoping that we do not have to withdraw money from our 401 K’s. Our intention for the loan modification was to protect our good credit that we worked so hard to establish, and the plan is in jeopardy. It would appear that CITI will not grant mortgage modifications unless you are delinquent and I am thinking that this story is consistent with other people who are current with their bills and are attempting to receive a mortgage modification. In addition, CITI stated that our home was worth the same exact amount that the county says it is worth. CITI will tell you that they will perform a drive by to determine the value. This is simply not true either. Here are the facts:
The home next to me sold recently for $123,000.00, 2600 square feet. a home three doors down sold for $108,000.00, 1900 square feet. My home? They say it is worth $148,000.00, 1044 finished square feet? This is laughable!
UPDATE: 8/04/2009
We finally received an approval from CITI for a mortgage modification however the approval came better than five weeks ago and we are waiting for the paperwork, which they said would arrive in four to eight weeks. They could not give us the modified terms on the phone so we have no clue as what the modification contains. Meanwhile, we are still in a negative cash flow situation and we face the prospect of two additional “full” mortgage payments. In the meantime, we have cut expenses as far as we can and are hoping that the modification happens soon. As of this writing, it has been nearly three months since I originated this process and it would seem that CITI is in no hurry to help which is contrary to the article on CNN.com last week in which CITI was singing their own praises about how many people they have helped. Who are these people; whom have they helped and how have they been helped? How long did it actually take for CITI to help these people?
UPDATE: 9/23/2009
After waiting better than a month, I contacted CITI Mortgage today (09/23/2009) to inquire about our loan modification. I was told by the person whom I was working with that we had been denied since the underwriter would not allow it due to the fact I was on unemployment. This comes a month after they said we had been approved. The person whom I was working with stated that a letter had been sent out the first week of September however we never received it. When I asked how communication could have gotten so fouled up she apologized profusely, but had no answers. I am in total disbelief at the moment; we were counting on the modification to alleviate the stress on our finances and now the options are few. I am waiting on a call back from her however, I am assuming that there will be no help coming.
I have had the same experience with Citi as everyone else here. They do not/are incapable/or have no interest of helping you on your mortgage. The people you talk to on the phone are clerks who have no power other than to make a note in your file. They will tell you they do not want your home and want to help you, but sadly those are only words.There is no one you can talk to, or ask to talk to that can make a decision.
I have a sale date next week and have given up on the modification they said I was approved for, and now would just be happy with a re-instatement of the mortgage. Paying money down and catching up with the arrearage.
.
My call to Citi this evening is a good example of some of the things I have been dealing with for the last 8 months: First call I could not hear them very well and had to call back(I have had many dropped calls from their system). Second call I explained everything, they agreed with me, said they were showing payments I am approved for, but they would have to transfer me to someone else, on hold for a long time, then someone else picks up who knows nothing about who I am, so I start over, explain everything again, ask if I have been transferred to this person, they answer no but tell me to hold and they will connect me with the right person, on hold for a long time, then I am cut off. Third call, I seem to find someone who is intelligent which gives me hope, I tell her what I’m looking for, she says the department I need to talk to, she cannot transfer me and does not have a number for, says there are a lot of people in the company that do not have direct lines, but she says she can e-mail the person I need to talk to, she does that , I thank her, end of call.
I talked to an attorney today about filing CH 13, but at this point I think I’m going to walk away unless by some miracle they (or me) can get in touch with me to work something out. I am willing and able to send a down payment on the past due amount, and willing to send a larger monthly payment, but they seem incapable of doing anything. As it is, I don’t see how this company can survive other than fleecing taxpayers. Screw Citi….I’ll spend the rest of my life campaining against them.
I must have been the only one in the whole world to have a POSITIVE outcome with CitiMortgage. It took 5 months but the Loan Modification I received was awesome. I truely feel for everyone out there who is having diffuculty.
I just finished helping my sister-in-law with hers. It was a FannieMae. It took us 4 months for hers. Great plan…2% for the next 5 years. Maybe I have the special touch. She ended up being 3 payments behind.
I don’t undestand the unemployemnt thing…the rules seem to be constantly changing.
I have just been asked to fill out the hardship assistance package. We are in the middle of our trial period and they have all of our paperwork. My questions is, should our net disposable income be positive or negative? Mine is down as negative now, but I can’t remember the exact figures I used and since it is within a few hundred dollars, I’m worried they’ll deny us now if we are a little too high or a little too low.
Interesting how someone on the topside made the comment that people such as I just got ourselves into too much home. Not the case. We have never had any payment issues until I had to change careers due to my wife’s cancer. We are now single income with four kids, and we still make every payment. We qualified for the HAM and tried it, and CITI screwed up the paperwork. I have their admission of guilt in the form of cases which have been opened to fix the erroneous entries on my credit report. It has had devastating effects on my finances, with credit card limits dropped among other things. This is a nightmare, Citimortgage is a nightmare and a fiasco, and whoever wrote this article is so far into the Citi payroll that it’s not even funny. I have been fighting this thing since June and it’s still not settled. How in the hell is that customer oriented? I am SICK AND TIRED of hearing “I apologize for the inconvenience.” They have ruined my credit, and while it is in the slow, slow, slow process of being fixed, it has made my life hell for months, and my wife, with kidney cancer, does not need this crap. And all of this after we made every single payment in good faith. Period.
I started the same thing with CitiMortgage back in April. I actually thought they cared, because I too was one of those that cared about her credit. I had lost my husband of 20 years to cancer and was left raising 4 sons on my own, with two being in college. I called Citi and was told they couldn’t help me because I was current on my payments and had never missed one. So I fell hook line and sinker when they told me, we could help IF we put you on a Forebearance Plan for 3 months at a 20% reduction in my monthly payment and change the due date of my loan by 25 days. Here I am in September and have never received not one call from them…I called them every day/week up until August and to this date, have never received a call from the Loss Mitigation Dept, but I sure have from collections. I have gone thru every single scenario from people on this site. All I can say is CITIMORTGAGE YOU ARE CROOKS AND COULD GIVE OR CARE ABOUT ANY OF US. SEE MICHAEL MOORE’S MOVIE AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND! Who ever that person is on this site from CitiMortgage is PAID to monitor this site I guaranteed you, because why if she supposedly works so many hours would you want to come home to read this and you have children and are a single parent? SHAME ON CITIMORTGAGE FOR DOING THIS TO PEOPLE! I have cried so hard that I don’t know what to do. I have decided to not fight this any longer. My children need their mother and my health and sanity.
I started the same thing with CitiMortgage back in April. I actually thought they cared, because I too was one of those that cared about her credit. I had lost my husband of 20 years to cancer and was left raising 4 sons on my own, with two being in college. I called Citi and was told they couldn’t help me because I was current on my payments and had never missed one. So I fell hook line and sinker when they told me, we could help IF we put you on a Forebearance Plan for 3 months at a 20% reduction in my monthly payment and change the due date of my loan by 25 days. Here I am in September and have never received not one call from them…I called them every day/week up until August and to this date, have never received a call from the Loss Mitigation Dept, but I sure have from collections. I have gone thru every single scenario from people on this site. All I can say is CITIMORTGAGE YOU ARE CROOKS AND COULD GIVE OR CARE ABOUT ANY OF US. SEE MICHAEL MOORE’S MOVIE AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND! Who ever that person is on this site from CitiMortgage is PAID to monitor this site I guaranteed you, because why if she supposedly works so many hours would you want to come home to read this and you have children and are a single parent? SHAME ON CITIMORTGAGE FOR DOING THIS TO PEOPLE! I have cried so hard that I don’t know what to do. I have decided to not this any longer. My children need their mother. I have ended up with ulcers due to this.
I’ll make this as quick as possible. I lost my job which I was making $4500. a week. Then the new job I was able to get nets meI have been trying to get a loan mod due to hardship with CM since April 2009. Before that I was on a forebearance plan which I paid, then the balloon payment came do I had no choice but to apply for a loan mod. Got the complete run around over the phone (yes I qualified,never heard back,called back, no you don’t qualify, on and on) until I final came upon a Carol Martin (w/Loss & Mitigation) in May who initially was my angel, my savior. I have a large loan and don’t qualify for the Obama plan. I was close to foreclosure. On May 11th after sending in all the docs (back in April) she phoned and said I did qualify for a modification, and that she was able to remove my home out of pending foreclosures ( I was there because I had not paid my original loan payment ($5000.) since December 2009) But in order to get me out of the foreclosure arena and into this loan mod I had to make a payment of $746. which I immediately did. Then to cut to the chase she said I qualified for mod at 2.5% $2500. and blah, blah, blah. Paper work would be coming in the mail. No paper work arrived ever. I emailed her up until June 23. My loan mod rep who had been talking off and on with kindly angelic Carol over these months got her on the phone at the end of June and she was a completely different person. My payment went from $2500. to $4107. all of a sudden. My rep was blown away he tried to find out what, why and she ended up hanging up on him. I called her a day later and she acted as if I was her enemy and told me to talk to her supervisor. He never came on the line (Michael Peterson) never answered a call or an email. I was left hanging. I then (thru blogs) found the wonderful Executive response unit and a young man by the name of Christian (no last name,hmmm) who some said had helped them. I found out that Carol Martin had me on the Obama plan which I never qualified for and now I can see that she must of been reprimanded for implying that I was getting a mod. I still don’t know why she hung up on my rep and was angry with me. In any case the experienced Christian first told me to just sell my house (of 19 years) a short sale. I tell Christian, no I want to stay in my home. So I email,fax, send all the docs, paystubs, etc to him to go over and then to submit if I pass the test. Days or a month later he phones my rep, he tells him I do qualify for a hardship mod. It’s 3 payments at $3909. they will drop $106,000 off of the loan and after the 3 month trial I will be locked in at 3%. Oh my god! I am golden! Docs will sent in 2 to 3 weeks. Not so fast. That was the end of August. The only docs that arrived where from the mod (that was incorrect/obama plan that I don’t qualify for) for $4107. for 3 payments. My rep called Christian and he said oh that was a mistake. Your docs should arrive soon. Got a call from my rep September 26th from Christian things had changed. My payment was now $5600. a month for the life of the loan @ 4.8% take it or leave it and they will not drop any of the excess fees,etc. The $106,000 Christian had said would be subtracted remains. My loan mod rep has spoken with Christians supervisor and he says that the FDIC will not allow them to subtract the $106,000. I just don’t get it because first he said it was the initial investor or whomever put the money up for the loan disallowed the subtraction of $106,000. My point in all of this is that event their Mission Impossible highly trained Executive Response Team is F@%^D up. And I don’t know if there is anything or anyone to turn to. I am going to contact as many execs at citi as I can and complain. I do have word out to Senator Feinstein here in California. I am going to contact the attorney generals office and us attorney in hopes someone will say HEY, look at this guys file so he doesn’t bother us anymore.
Thanks for caring.
I started the same thing with CitiMortgage back in April 2009. I actually thought they cared, because I too was one of those that cared about her credit. I had lost my husband of 20 years to cancer and was left raising 4 sons on my own, with two being in college. I called Citi and was told they couldn’t help me because I was current on my payments and had never missed one. So I fell hook line and sinker when they told me, we could help IF we put you on a Forebearance Plan for 3 months at a 20% reduction in my monthly payment and change the due date of my loan by 25 days and take a relook in August. But by the way, don’t pay attention to that park where it asks for the balloon payment at the end and your credit won’t be affected. I was thrilled!! Here I am in September and have never received not one call from them…I called them every day/week up until August and to this date, have never received a call from the Loss Mitigation Dept or my counselor. BUT I sure have from collections, even on Sundays. I have gone thru every single scenario from people on this site. All I can say is CITIMORTGAGE YOU ARE CROOKS AND COULD GIVE OR CARE ABOUT ANY OF US. SEE MICHAEL MOORE’S MOVIE AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND! Who ever that person is on this site from CitiMortgage is PAID to monitor this site I guaranteed you, because WHY, if she supposedly works so many hours would you want to come home to read this and you have children and are a single parent? SHAME ON CITIMORTGAGE FOR DOING THIS TO PEOPLE! I have cried so hard that I don’t know what to do. I ended up with heart palpations and ulcers. I have decided to not fight this any longer and have just stopped making payments. My sons need their only parent and I need my sanity to go on.
Wow. Wow…. Wow! This is amazing!
CitiMortgage has done it to me also folks! Just got a letter 2 days ago stating my home will be sold at auction on November 2, 2009.
I have never been so frustrated in my life. My son is no longer in my home. CitiMortgage used his disability check of $600 to approve a modification of this loan from $1400 per month to a reduced payment of $1300 per month when he was in the home. The interest rate on this loan went from 6.8% to 6.5%. (huh?) Since this is a VA Guaranteed Loan, I suppose this was acceptable. The whole point of this is after numerous calls and submissions of hardship packages, etc. April Whyatt, Brandi, Robert and other representatives all had different stories on why I could not receive a restructure of this loan. My son moved out…the supplemental income is no longer in the home…I had bad financial management. Whatever the case may be, I have 5 children in this house now…Government Bailout money was given to assist people to stay in their homes. I was told not for me and my family because we were not as bad as others. WHAT part of assistance did CitiMortgage no understand. Still working with organizations that may be able to help me save our home even when we have this sale date. I will keep you folks posted. I hope that people are strong enough to stand up and hold CitiMortgage accountable for all thier actions.
message for rickvanh.
please give us some advice. how did you do it? we try and try. no one knows what the story is at this company. citi. i feel sorry for the employees, telling lies all day. i know i couldn’t sleep at night. the truth will prevail, but it is going to take all of us to collaborate against them. we’ve payed our 4th month trial period to re modify, still no paperwork in the mail. citi rep’s. “against the law to fax it. don’t know what department sends it, don’t know what shipping company we use… um,um,um.” it’s is very funny! wish i could get payed to know nothing and could give people the run around all day. (not really) to rick, please if you read and have a moment give a couple of details in how you got it done, because we are losing faith in humanity here. thanks a million
Everyone needs to be taking notes and/or recording everything you do with Citi. People need to take their anger and follow up with your investor (Freddie Mac or Fannie) and also to state Attorney Generals and your Congressman. This is not the end of this story, big changes coming down the pipeline for the crooks at Citi.
I would just like to echo the comments that so many others have posted. Citi Mortgage is a scam ! They bought up all of these mortgages and made millions. Now they are letting people loose their homes at a alarming rate. If there is anyone that knows of a attorney that would know what grounds and is willing to start a class action lawsuit, please contact me..Together we can bring them down !! It would be a win for the people that really need it..
Bryan,
Here is what I did:
My loan is not a Fannie or a Fanny, so the “Making Homes Affordable” (Obama) Plan didn’t come into play. When I applied back in March of 2009, there was the option to print out the Citimortgage “Workable Solutions” application from the Citi Web site. I did that, filled it out and Faxed it to Citi. I just tried to find it on the Citi site but it seems to be gone. There was also the option to set up an appointmnet with a Citi Loan Mod Representative. I also did that. After talking with them I soon realized that the Rep. was a different group that received the Workable Solutions Package. I decided to not work with the rep. over the phone and go with the Workable Solutions Group. At the time I could not understand why they had two separate groups working loan mods. I basically flipped a coin on that decision.
I waited 10 weeks before I made my first call. I was assured that it was in work. I then received a call from a third party. They were reviewing these packages for Citi. So Citi received my package, and sent it to this third party for more review. I finally received a call in June, and was told that I made too little and had too many bills. Essentually told that a loan mod was not an option. This rep was very tight lipped about what numbers they were looking for. They told me they wouldn’t even send it back to Citi unless certain parameters were met. I told the guy that I could eliminate some unnecessary items from my monthly nut. I did that and re-adjusted the financilal portion of the application. This did take a couple tries, but finally got it to the point to where they would “Approve” it to be reviewed again by Citi.
A couple more weeks went by and finally received a call from my HERO at Citi. His name was David. A had been supplementing my income with a HELOC loan, but that had run out. I could not make my payment due July 1st. It did seem that they took more interest after I missed my forst payment. David was EXTREMELY helpful. From that point forward everything he said he would do he did. They put together a package that I could not refuse. I made my first payment under the loan mod. on September 1st. They used UPS to send the docs back and forth.
Maybe since my loan was a Jumbo, I’m out here in Washington State, or ??? made the difference for me. I do not know. It is frustrating for me to read how difficult it is for everyone out there. In fact i just helped my Sister-in-Law complete her loan mod. Hers was a Fannie.
My only advice…You hear that you only have one chance when submitting your packagae, i.e. the numbers you show on the financial portion. In my case and my in-laws, they allowed us to make some spending habit changes, document them, and re-submit our forms. (can you find cheaper car insurance, cut back/eliminate cell phone, etc). They are definetely looking for certain numbers for them to move forward…and these numbers seem to be all over the board. And…as hard as it may seeem, don’t give up. Pry them for the numbers they are looking for. My in-law already worked full time, but tooks a second job to pay off some CC bills, payed them off then quit.
I really feel for those going through this and I hope everyone has a positive outcome. It does appear that the application process has changed since I applied. There is the online application for you fill out now, and like I mentioned, I couldn’t find any reference to the “Workable Solutions” package that I used. I think that is gone in lieu of the online form?? I hope any of this helps!!
Rick
I work for CitiMortgage and I just want to say that this is the most un professional shit I have ever done. We are not trained correctly at all and our procedures change on a weekly basis so if U do learn how to do something, it will change as soon as U learn it. If U have CitiMortgage as your mrtg co. Good Luck, You will need it. I work there and I see how fucked up it is. Beleive me, U have no idea
Tommy, I would not be surpise that CitiMortgage is choatic. I wonder if Citi or whoever it be “purposely” permit or “even promote” the choatic atomsphere to flourish. It is like some retailers purposely permit or even promote the “merchandise return” line to be very difficult to work with so as to “discourage” consumers to return items they brought. Regarding CitiMortgage, I am just guessing. No proof. If Citi really care about helping homeowners, I would believe their assistance program would run a lot smoother. I guess, once Congress make whatever CitiMortgage accountable for what CitiMortgage representatives said over the phone or wrote to homeowners, then perhaps, Citi will change. Until then, taxpayers, we have to suck it up.
That is such BS!!!! I just got off the phone with the mitigation dept at citi motrg. Since I have been out of a job for 7 month, I asked them if they would do a loan modification. I was told by Ashley that there is no such thing and they don’t do that. She said my only course of action is to short sell my house. So much for HELPING PEOPLE.
Citimortgage is a joke! They hold my second mort (11,000). When I got laid off last January, I immediately contacted both them and my first mort. holder (TBW). Citi told me to go modify my first, then come back to them. It took my first 7 months to modify my first – it was sold twice in the process, and finally landed with Saxon, who just installed the HAMP software in Sept and I am now in trial mod payments. I was in contact w/Citi *EVERY MONTH*, updating them on progress w/first mod. Now that I had my first trial payment w/first mort. in September, suddenly I find that my 2nd w/Citi has been charged off! No notice to me. I spent 4 hours on the phone w/citi yesterday in a round robin of homeowner’s assistance, customer service, load mod., loss mitigation, and recovery departments. They all had different answers – some said recovery dept could get loan back into citi, then recovery dept (they were the nastiest) said the loss mitigation dept. didn’t know what they were talking about and obviously needed more training! I couldn’t get the same person twice on the phone. They must make more money charging it off than putting it through HAMP, but it’s a worse case for me. Surprise!
I went to see the movie “Capitalism” last night (Michael Moore) – no shit!
It worked for getting interest lowered for credit card holders, why can’t it work for CitiMortgage?
My story is much like the ones I have read over the last hour. Only for me, we have not received any paperwork and have been given the run around and wrong information since August 17, 2009. I was told that we were approved and that we should start sending in our trial loan amount starting October 1, November 1 & December 1. During that time I would receive a package of information via UPS, send in the requested information and they will assess our new loan amount. Never received the package from UPS. Called again, told they would resubmit the request, wait 5-10 biz days. Waited…no paperwork. Called again, told the request was never made, will put it in again….waited….no paperwork. Called again, spoke to supervisor, guaranteed me that we would receive our paperwork….waited….no paperwork. Made my first trial payment ON TIME. Called again, told that our account was not documented for the approval, we’d have to start the loan mod. application all over again. NO, that is crazy…wait, perhaps I can make some changes…wait you will receive your paperwork now with in 10-15 days. Called to make second payment, was told our account was never entered into the system that we were approved. I honestly do not think anyone know what they are doing. I spoke with another supervisor, she told me that she would ‘email the department’ but in the meantime can I pay 1100.00 to bring my account to a two month default instead of three…well if I COULD pay the full amount, I WOULD and I wouldn’t be putting myself through this aggravation! She told me she would call me by the end of the day with news and don’t pay the trial payment because it won’t be reflective of the trail payment it will just go sit in unassigned funds. Of course, she never called back. I am just so confused, frustrated and exhausted. I have a letter that I am prepared to send to 20/20, Dateline, CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN, the White House, my State reps, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Suze Orman and anyone else who will read it, and then I will get my handy little video recorder ready and go viral with it! I am so beyond done trying to do my part in following their directions only to get further into a default status!
Can somebody help me understand all that mess. My story is almost the same : I just called Citimortgage yesterday and got approved for 3 month tryout , I sould make a payment on dec 1, jan 1 and feb.1 in amount of $ 1907, my actual monthly payment is $ 2100. I asked for loan modification and they preappoved , I sould receive pac to sign in 30 days, that’s what they say…Should I wait or just cancell everything couse it looks like nobody has any positive experience. I’m going to be late with my payments 3 months now , I can borrow money and try to make a payment …don’t know what to do ? Any advise ?
My wife and I purchased our house 10 years ago. A modest if not frugal home with only the two of us and our new baby daughter. About 1 1/2 years after purchasing this from ABN AMRO, CitiMortgage came calling offering their ‘Equity Builder’ program.
Since then, I’ve given up trying to change the loan or have it
“modified” (which to them really is just taxing you with another LOAN). Now, in later 2009 we’re going to move out of the house as we’re a family of 4 (8 if you count the beagle and 3 cats) and the neighborhood has become criminal since we moved here.
We’ve already been pre-approved for quite a nice loan from our Credit Union and have an offer on the table on one currently. Since CM won’t even talk to us, especially now, what do we do?
Short sale?
Foreclose after we’re “safely” in our new home?
Chapter 7 on the old house?
Rent (and hope someone doesn’t trash the house?)
I’m out of options – oh, did I mention that there is no “equity” in this type of mortgage, absolutely NONE. Over 90% of any mortgage with this plan goes only to the interest (not the principal) and we’re way underwater on the house (current value is < $20K) and we bought it for 75,000 and still owe around $65k almost 10 years down the road??? What a joke – and how terrible especially now. I have to believe there's a way out from this predatory type of loan structure.
Any help is appreciated – please send any email to
toddbanng@gmail.com
Regards,
T Bostwick
Anna, the reduction in your trial payment is not much lower than your actual payment but if you can afford to pay the $1907 ON TIME for the 3 months then you should do this while you are working on the package they send to you. If you honestly can’t afford the $1907 then this arrangement could cause you to be denied for a loan modification and possibly not have an opportunity to get a true long term solution. What is your monthly gross income?
Yes , I can afford $1907 for now …we don’t know how is going to be later …We’d like to have it modified because it will reduce our interest rate to 2% and maybe we refinance to longer term, now we have loan for 15 years and 10 is left, the sad thing is that we pay more than half to principal and after refinance we would go back again paying everything to interest . Our gross income is ~ $ 6000 in a month.
I was approved on the phone for the Citimortgage modification program. They said the package would be sent out immediately and we should have it in 2 weeks. Several calls later and more than a month later, so package. Always saying its been recent, its in the mail. I asked for a UPS track number – They don’t have one
I met a lady that hadn’t received her package in 5 months, all the time the reduced payment is reported to the 3 credit companies, reducing our scores, yet we still aren’t accepted in writing
The problem I have is that I have no idea what I’ve agreed to do here, other than a phone call saying “you’re accepted”. Based on the Citimortgage promise of getting the docs to me asap so I can go over them, I agreed to it. Now I see the Citimortgage team have no way on fulfilling their promises
After getting legal advice, I was told to make full payments, as normal, but submit the payement with a note stating the purpose.
Can anyone advise on how to get paperwork from them once verbally accepted and then there also appears to be issues of ‘lost paperwork’ getting it back to Citimortgage
Does Pre Obama know that his plan here isn’t working? People are lossing their credit, waiting for acceptance, and if not accepted will not only have bad scores, but will owe the difference made from the lower payments.
Citimortgage needs to be held accountable by the FED Gov. It’s their programa that Citimortgage legally must provide, but they’re damaging more than they’re fixing
Please email me with suggestions
yosi3000@yahoo.com.au
I have been playing this modification game for 3 months now and am growing tired of them repeatedly writing to me only to say there is missing information in my application. I have heard this is a tactic of there’s but I don’t see their angle in the long run. Do they want this to end in foreclosure? I am from the state of Washington and I would like to know if I can walk away from this mortgage with no recourse. I would like to know if I can walk away and not be liable (moneywise) to Citi or anyone else. My credit is already shot because I applied for a loan modification so I’m not going to worry about that. I cannot seem to find any useful information about walking away, when it comes to the particulares, on the internet. I am broke, so most legal help seems to be out of the question. If I knew I could leave Citi and this house behind I would do so immediately. After my divorce and after she moved away is when the problem started and now I just want to start fresh.