Dear Representative Kratovil

I am writing as a constituent in Wicomico County. I read an article published on December 10, 2009 by CNN:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/10/news/economy/permanent_loan_modifications

The statements made by the lenders about the lack of cooperation from homeowners astonished me. I am a homeowner who was seeking modification on my mortgage due to lack of income.

My journey started in May 2009 when we (my husband and I) contacted our mortgage lender (US Bank - a Fannie Mae lender) seeking modification. We had to submit paperwork showing our finances and we were given temporary modification for four months. To quote US Bank “During the paperwork process you are eligible for a 4 month temporary modification to process your paperwork to see if you are eligible for permanent modification with the HAMP program". We were scheduled by US Bank to pay half our mortgage beginning in June 2009. We made our payments on time and did everything they asked us to do each month. As a result of US Bank putting us on a temporary modification by the end of 4 months, we were actually 2 months behind in our mortgage payment. We submitted a hardship letter and more paperwork about our finances to US Bank.

We were then appalled to find out the fact that US Bank had released information concerning our delinquency and we became inundated with letters from companies offering to "help us" with our mortgage problem. One company went so far as to have a "representative" drive up in my driveway on a Saturday wanting to speak to us about our mortgage. He was very pushy and rude to us. We requested him to leave our property and as he drove out of our driveway, he stopped and took a picture of our home. We spoke to US Bank the following week inquiring about this company and they instructed us to ignore them. The following Saturday, the same man knocked on the door of my home and I stated to him "we do not want to talk to you". He was very arrogant and stated "We will close you account". If I was not an articulate and educated individual, this statement would have intimated me.

During the month of September, my husband lost his job, which accounted for over 75% of our income and he received a 6 week severance package from his company. We contacted US Bank and updated them on our financial situation. We were told our modification information would be updated and continued to wait with no definitive answer on our status. We started to receive certified signature required letters from US Bank as well as more companies offering to help us avoid foreclosure with financial numbers about our mortgage.

When you held your town meeting in Cambridge, MD, we did not attend because we felt US Bank was still working with us on a modification. After the town meeting, my mother read an article about the town meeting in Cambridge from the newspaper in Easton and she gave me the information about Salisbury Neighborhood Housing being an official nonprofit agency that could possibly helps us.

As the days continued to approach with our full mortgage amount being due October 1, 2009, we contacted Salisbury Neighborhood Housing. We meet with Jane Hoy and she was extremely helpful. I won’t go into the details on the specific help she gave us but she did make a phone call to US Bank with my husband in her office. US Bank stated, “We had to get current with our mortgage before they would consider us for permanent modification”. Jane gave us further advice on some things to do and recommended that we to use my husband’s lump sum severance package to make our mortgage current. After taxes were taken from this check, we had enough money to make our mortgage and other bills current so we could lower our monthly expenses.

We were desperately trying to meet US Bank’s criteria of eligibility for permanent modification. Because we had no savings and no guarantee about our mortgage payment by the end of November, we even cashed out his 401K because we were so scared of losing our home. We made December’s mortgage payment out of the 401K money. My husband had another appointment with Jane Hoy from Salisbury Neighborhood Housing to follow-up with US Bank. Jane phoned US Bank with my husband present on speaker phone to hear the conversation and they were shocked by what US Bank told them. US Bank stated, “Since you are current you are no longer eligible for our traditional loan modification and should try to reapply for the HAMP program.” After a lengthy hold time, we were told that we are not eligible for President Obama’s HAMP program due to the 401K money that we cashed out in a savings account and that money is expected to be used to pay our mortgage now.

We have 8 months worth of mortgage payment from the 401K money, which is in the SECU savings account. US Bank does not care about us and the comments made in the CNN article proves to us as homeowners that the lenders are NOT trying to help. So now we are NOT part of the over 600,000 homeowners waiting on loan modification. According to US Bank, “we are to reapply when we have exhausted our savings or simply roll it into an IRA”.

Everyday, I see the reality of job loss among the middle class, professional homeowner who has been laid off from work. I know how difficult it is to find a job in this tri-county area that requires specialized skills. My income does not cover all of our expenses so I had to take on a second job working in retail for 20 hours a week in addition to the 40 hours I work per work at my primary job.

I will slowly watch my husband’s retirement pay the mortgage each month. Representative Kratovil, we are at our wits end! Please understand that we are not asking for a “free ride”, only assistance in some shape or form. This letter is written to you as a last resort to plea for help, not only for my family, but for all of the other families living this same nightmare that we currently are experiencing. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down and discuss this matter with you in further detail.