[Lisa in MN]

Off to FedEX to fax all the required documentation to WAMU. Via the email addresses here, i was contacted by the Executive Response Team, which is, I was told, above Loss Mitigation ( not sure I totally believe it) so I am headed in the right direction. I am also pasting a copy of the letter I am sending along with it. Any input is appreciated, but keep in mind, I will have already sent it. I just did what feels right, in a manner I was comfortable with with supporting documentation for my request. I will let the forum know what happens

October 24, 2008



From: Lxxxx and Bxxxx Nxxxxx
3942 Wxxxxxx Dxxxxxx
Re: Washington Mutual Home Loan #

To Whom It May Concern:

We are writing this letter to explain the circumstances that have caused us to become delinquent on our mortgage. It is not my intent to bore you with history, but I do feel it is important that you know at one time we were stable, middle class Americans with high FICO scores, who paid our bills, and saved for college like millions of others. and have been in our home for almost 18 years.

Things became an issue for us back in 2000 when we were given bad financial advice from someone we put our trust in to know what was best for us. Prior to that we had perfect credit and rather than file bankruptcy for a bad business venture, we let a mortgage broker talk us into rolling it all into our house, due to his insistence on what a bankruptcy would do to our credit score, etc. The domino effect has continued from that time and we have done what we can to make ends meet, from both of us getting second jobs to minimal spending, but unfortunately we are no longer able to do so and would like you to consider working with us to modify our loan.
In retrospect, we should have filed bankruptcy and not started messing with the mortgage. We now know we would be much better off with that damage to our credit score, (and it would be over by now) than the current situation we are in. We did attempt to contact WAMU in Dec of last year when we knew we were losing income, and would no longer be able to afford our mortgage. We were told by 2 separate customer service people there was nothing they could do because we were current. So, when we were unable to do it any longer, we stopped. A decision we did not take lightly and are not proud of, but we could not continue. Our meager savings have been depleted completely, and sources of credit have been exhausted. Since we have stopped, money has not been spent in a frivolous manner. We have paid thousands on other debt, needed car repairs (our cars are 9 and 15 years old), and most importantly, needed dental work for our child.
We strongly feel that a loan modification in the form of principle reduction and lowered interest rate under the Hope For Homeowners program would benefit us both. Our home’s value has dropped from $330,000 in October of 2006 to $235,000 (as a 30-day sale date) in May 2008, and from what I am reading, continuing to drop.
We would be grateful if you can work with us to lower our mortgage payment to one we can comfortably afford and not be in the same situation.
The unfortunate fact remains, if our payment remains over $1,650.00 (PITI, not just principal) the foreclosure will proceed as it is, and we will be moving on-Minus our home, but able to have some peace. This is the end of the line for us after many years of struggling.

We truly hope that you will consider working with us and we are anxious to get this settled.

Please find in this packet, the appraisals of our home from Oct 2006 and May 2008 . Although they were not requested, they are an important part of consideration and negotiation for the investor of our loan.

Respectfully Yours,