Loans, Debt & Credit - View Single Post

sandyh · 02-19-2009, 08:48 PM

To the original poster -
We were in your similar situation for many months (although we have a completely different type of loan - payment option one). Anyway, for months we kept calling and asking if there was anything they could do to switch to a fixed rate, but since we were current Countrywide would refer us to refinance which with no equity, wasn't an option. Modifications are for those that either are behind in payments or are going to become behind very soon. When we called in Nov, we were told that we qualified for the AG program - but that was only after I cried and had a nervous breakdown on the phone explaining that we weren't going to be able to make our December payment. If I had not have told them about our financial problems for December, they would not have put our loan in for review.

So we paid Nov, and then Dec came and we decided to pay our mortgage and not our back taxes as we had "thought" it was important to make every effort to pay. Our home was/is everything to us and we were so concerned about not paying - as we have always done, we put the mortgage before IRS, medical bills, credit payments, etc. The day after we made our December payment, we got kicked out and our modification was canceled. The moment I saw that online, something just snapped. I decided that the situation was, to a small degree, like a war. You need to make calucated decisions and you do need to take risks. We canceled our payment so we could pay our taxes - we figured since Countrywide wasn't working with us, we wouldn't work with them at the moment. Afterall, our whole life has fallen apart because of the $100,000+ of reverse amortization that has been added to our mortgage principal (we have a jumbo & never made interest only payment, always minimum). The 110% balance to loan has killed our ability to get good rates for any type of credit. It has been a complete snow ball situation and it all started with that @#$% mortgage broker and Countrywide.

We haven't made another payment to Countrywide and are, we hope, in the final stages of getting a modifcation. At the end of the day, you will probably have to decide how important it is for you to get a new loan at this time. Frankly, I'm with you in that I want security and want a fixed rate for the rest of my loan. I'm not sure how it all will shake out - it does feel good paying off the doctor bills that have piled up and getting rid of some tax liens. I can only hope that our choices will pay off and at the end of the day, we will get a modification that will work for us. I really can't imagine what it is like not to have to worry about mortgage terms...it seems like this has been going on forever.

Good luck - hope my experience, while mind you not over yet, can shed some light into why you probably will receive no help for a modification until you have a financial need. I don't think what Obama will put in place will help those that don't demonstrate financial need...such a complicated yin/yang...you need to demonstrate financial need but you also need to demonstrate that you can afford your house. Without those two qualifications, I don't see help out there.

02-19-2009, 08:48 PM	#16 (permalink)
sandyh Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 84 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: My Countrywide ARM Story To the original poster - We were in your similar situation for many months (although we have a completely different type of loan - payment option one). Anyway, for months we kept calling and asking if there was anything they could do to switch to a fixed rate, but since we were current Countrywide would refer us to refinance which with no equity, wasn't an option. Modifications are for those that either are behind in payments or are going to become behind very soon. When we called in Nov, we were told that we qualified for the AG program - but that was only after I cried and had a nervous breakdown on the phone explaining that we weren't going to be able to make our December payment. If I had not have told them about our financial problems for December, they would not have put our loan in for review. So we paid Nov, and then Dec came and we decided to pay our mortgage and not our back taxes as we had "thought" it was important to make every effort to pay. Our home was/is everything to us and we were so concerned about not paying - as we have always done, we put the mortgage before IRS, medical bills, credit payments, etc. The day after we made our December payment, we got kicked out and our modification was canceled. The moment I saw that online, something just snapped. I decided that the situation was, to a small degree, like a war. You need to make calucated decisions and you do need to take risks. We canceled our payment so we could pay our taxes - we figured since Countrywide wasn't working with us, we wouldn't work with them at the moment. Afterall, our whole life has fallen apart because of the $100,000+ of reverse amortization that has been added to our mortgage principal (we have a jumbo & never made interest only payment, always minimum). The 110% balance to loan has killed our ability to get good rates for any type of credit. It has been a complete snow ball situation and it all started with that @#$% mortgage broker and Countrywide. We haven't made another payment to Countrywide and are, we hope, in the final stages of getting a modifcation. At the end of the day, you will probably have to decide how important it is for you to get a new loan at this time. Frankly, I'm with you in that I want security and want a fixed rate for the rest of my loan. I'm not sure how it all will shake out - it does feel good paying off the doctor bills that have piled up and getting rid of some tax liens. I can only hope that our choices will pay off and at the end of the day, we will get a modification that will work for us. I really can't imagine what it is like not to have to worry about mortgage terms...it seems like this has been going on forever. Good luck - hope my experience, while mind you not over yet, can shed some light into why you probably will receive no help for a modification until you have a financial need. I don't think what Obama will put in place will help those that don't demonstrate financial need...such a complicated yin/yang...you need to demonstrate financial need but you also need to demonstrate that you can afford your house. Without those two qualifications, I don't see help out there.