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.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
9 comments:
This is the same crap I went through only through a different mortgage company. They put me in the 4 month trial period and after the 3rd month's payment (at a reduced rate), they sent me a letter saying upon further review, they don't feel I am eligible enough to warrent being included in the modification program. They said my GROSS income is too high. And then I got a second surprise - they said that no only was I NOT eligible for a modification that I owed them the difference in payments over the previous 3 months between the "normal" amount and the "trial" amount.
Its no wonder the statistics show that only 4% of the people applying for help are getting it. Who in the hell can control expenses such as medical insurance/retirement deductions, tax deductions, SS deductions? Why don't they use NET income? This is about as worthless a program as those camper trailers were for the Katrina victims. All these banks and mortgage companies are doing is driving people into foreclosure instead of trying to work with them.
My process took from last December 2008 until this past November before they told me to take a hike. Since my property is underwater, I am stuck with dealing with it. Kratovil's office was NO help at all. They wouldn't even return my calls and did not have the courtesy to give me follow up information after I had contacted their office. Mikulski's office sent me some worthless information and Cardin? please - you should have seen the pat-my-self-on-the-back crap he sent me.
Jane Hoy? yeah, she was polite and understanding and seems to be a fine, Christian person who was the only ray of kindness in the process but they can't help. They are useless in this process.
This country's mortgage/foreclosure problems are a lot worse than the politicians will admit and its going to get worse. The foreclosures will be worse in 2010 than in this year.
Remember that when you go to the polls in November 2010
I'm sickened over the greed and manipulation that corporations use on the American people. We are a country of cheats and liars. People will do anything to make a profit. I guess heaven will be fairly empty when I get there.
I work for a real estate brokerage that is dealing alot with foreclosures and REO's (property which is owned by the banks after or in lieu of foreclosure). I hear the agents struggling with both the unhappy and distressed owners trying to get themselves out of their mess, and the banks who got them into the mess to begin with. It's a bad scene for all concerned.
The representatives of the banks are difficult, unresponsive, and adversarial. This isn't a team trying to solve a problem, it's a "me against you" situation. The homeowner was allowed to borrow too much for their property at some point, and feels like they're the one who was wronged. They're mad at everybody involved, and by the time they get working with an agent they're long past the point of trying to be concilliatory about it. The bank has already been swamped with their mistakes, and don't care about anybody except their "poor, overworked selves". It's a nasty place to be, and the real estate agent is stuck in the middle trying to resolve issues which had their origins with the greedy lenders and the homeowners who wanted more than they should have gotten out of their HOME. It appears to be a problem without a solution, or at least an immediate solution. I'd hope that the former lenders-now foreclosers would at least work with good intent to resolve these issues.
Maybe the legislators can mandate that these banks hire more people to work the foreclosure department, and at least put a few unemployed people back to work. For a start.
fannie and freddie are not private corporations. if you continue to listen to the msm you to will be fooled. the government does not want to help you. the government wants to destroy you so you are dependant on it.
wake up
I also found difficulties in applying for a loan modification. Well no I didn't run into complications, they simply refused to work with me! After I fell further behind they were gracious enough to offer me "forebearance" plan paying $300 extra a month for the next 6 months to get caught up. I reluctantly agreed since there was no other option offered. I made the initial payment, waited two weeks to recieve the agreement in the mail to sign and return. The day I finally received the agreement I also recieved a letter stating since I did not adhere to the agreement they were canceling the plan! I am confused so I evaluated my mortgage account online and the only non compliance I could see was that the mortgage company did not withdraw the money from my account until 3 days after the agreed upon date. Frustrated and certain their error was going to cause me to lose my house I did not pay the next months payment, instead I paid my electric bill and bought food. I know not the smartest move but hell if I am not going to have a place to lay my head in 3 months I want to at least have heat and food for my kids.
I called the company back and they admitted it was their error. The computer system was automatically kicking out cancellations for forebearance plans! Ok so the computers that never screw up nearly helped me on the way out the door of my home. They offered another forbearance plan @ over $500 more than my current monthly payment, well gee if I could afford to pay $500 in addition to my monthly payment I would not be in the position I am in! Finally I told the woman assisting me I cannot do it and if it means I will lose my house so be it because I am tired of fighting to keep it. She punched some numbers and cam back with a one year repayment plan of less than $100 more than my current payment. I agreed and everything is on track so far.
Thankfully we have a house to lay our heads in this holiday season, but the dang mortgage lender is a pain in the rear end. I don't understand why they have to break a person down so much. As if those of us who are fighting to stay a float need to be stressed even more than we are already. During the time that I believed we were going to lose the house I was so sick and depressed it was hard to do anything. Here those companies are getting bailed out left and right, yet they treat those who make their lives possible like dog crap. I am so sick of those companies putting people that are suffering through horrible hardships even more stress.
Dear Voter,
Thank you for contacting my office. I take my responsibilty as a United States Congressman very seriously. You are just the kind of person that I want to help. I understand that you lost your job. Please let me state that the intent of Democrats everywhere is to create a class of people that are entirely dependent on the government, much like our county, state and federal employees. I have checked with my supervisor Supreme Leather Mistress Pelosi and she has informed me that our policy is that you and your family have been deemed as one of the families that must now become dependent on the government for the rest of your lives. One of my aides will be contacting you to sign a contract in blood that will require you to vote democrat for the rest of your life. In return for pledging your allegiance to us, we will take money from greedy evil rich people who are the ones that are responsible for your plight. We will then redistribute that money to you in a trickle format that will allow you to just keep your head above water, but just barely. I am sure you are aware that there is a move afoot by the evil Republians to create policies that will create jobs and force you to actually get a job and provide for yourself. I want to strongly caution you, policies such as theirs will contribute to man made global warming and hasten our demise on this earth. I take your safety and the enviroment very seriously. That is why I applaud everything that Obama is doing to ensure our economy is "changed" to make the enviroment a better place, since you live in a low lying area, global warming and flooding should concern you. Rememebr, the poorer you are the less carbon you create, thereby preventing flooding and keepiong you safe.
Again, I take your safety very seriously.
Thank You for Contacting my office on this important matter.
Sincerly,
Your Congressman
9:19 I swear we should organize some support of "support/advocacy/lobbying" group to deal with this. People like us are getting the shaft every day.
9:31~LMAO
word verification
"Chese"
To the lady who wrote the letter,
Please try SECU to refinance your mortgage if you already bank with them. My friend's husband suffered a dibilitating accident and was forced to retire from his job and then had to get Medicare disability retirement. Their income was severly cut. SECU was very willing to work with them while they waited for the Medicare retirement to kick in and then they refinanced their mortagage. They are not going to have their paid off as soon as they would have, but they can meet the mortgage payment every month. I do not work for SECU. This is a personal experience I was very close to.
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