[cristiei]

So we got our modification documents via fedex yesterday. They're giving us an interest only loan starting at 5.375% (or close, docs not in front of me to quote exacts). It's scheduled to go up each year incrementally for the first 5 years, each year. By 2016, it would hit 8% and would stay there, never changing. After 10 years, were we to hold this loan for that long, we'd start paying principal in the required monthly payments.

Our payments will be $2000 and some change without escrow. Our escrow payments are around $400/month. So we're going from a $4,700 payment at 11.5% (yuck) to about $2400/month.

I can't say that I'm thrilled with the interest only bit, but it sure as heck beats the alternative we were facing.

There's no pre-payment penalty and nothing else really changes.

Oh - it also brings our loan current. We had just hit 90 days late Jan.1, but we've been running about 2 months behind since about September. The past due amount gets tacked onto this new loan, bringing the new loan to over $20k more than the original loan from 2 years ago. It makes me cringe to think of that, but again I'm reminded of the alternative.

In the end - a SUCCESS story! It took a LOT of work. We've been talking to various people at Countrywide for over a year now, starting months before we were even struggling, but knowing that it was coming up. Towards the end, we were calling every other day if not every day to keep updated. Documenting everything and when our calls weren't returned, we called someone else.

This site has helped tremendously - not only with great information, but with letting us know that we were not alone in our struggle. Our biggest turn around came after I emailed about 20 people at Countrywide with addresses that *** posted on these forums. I got to customer service and the office of the president and things progessed quite nicely from there.

Thanks to everyone!
-cristie