DOJ Modification legitimate for up to date borrowers?

[Mrclean]

Greetings all,

My wife and I received a letter (FedEx) from Bank Of America telling us that due to a settlement with the government, we qualified for a loan modification. We have never been late on a payment, no issues with worrying about our payments or a hardship, and the reason we qualified is apparently because we are underwater on our loan, and this is to reduce the rate. After doing research into Home Loan Modifications, I started to get a little queasy. From what I read, the home loan modifications CAN hurt your credit (my wife and I have extremely good credit and work hard to keep it that way!)

I called bank of america, and was told that our credit would take a hit, until I pointed out that on the back of the letter we received it said we would NOT have our credit affected, we would not have to pay any closing costs, and would not have to go through any trial payment period. All that would happen is that our rate would drop from 6.25 to around 4.00... They asked me about the FedEx (tracking?) number and when I told them it started with DOJ they sent me to a different number. I spent the 25 minutes on the phone with a representative, who asked my permission to check my credit, after explaining that even the credit check would not affect my credit. He checked my credit rating (He was very impressed!) and we set things in motion. He sent the form, my wife and I filled it out, and sent it back to him (The form was us giving our permission to get our 2011 tax info). Because we obtained the loan before getting married, my wife's last name on the loan is different than what it is now. I was informed that we would need a picture ID (expired passport would suffice) when the notary came out to our place.

I then received an email from another rep who would be working on our case. She informed me that since my wife's last name was different on the loan from what was being requested for taxes, if I sent my tax return from last year to them it would speed up the process.

I guess my real question, before I send off my tax return, is "How legitimate is this"? All the email correspondence has been marked as sent from BofA, and the emails address is "__________@bankofamerica.com" but I just wanted to check and see what people thought (I need to send the tax return today)

Thanks so much for reading through my long winded post!

[Evan Bedard]

I guess my real question, before I send off my tax return, is "How legitimate is this"? All the email correspondence has been marked as sent from BofA, and the emails address is "__________@bankofamerica.com" but I just wanted to check and see what people thought (I need to send the tax return today)

Welcome and thanks for joining the community.

Everything does sound legitimate about the offer, but the one thing I'm a little skeptical about is the fact that the offer is just dropping the interest rate without having to go through a trial period. We have several members here who have been offered a modification under the DOJ settlement/national mortgage settlement but they are being required to undergo 3 months of trial payments before a permanent modification is offered. Here check out the threads below and keep in mind that the national mortgage settlement is the same thing as a DOJ modification/settlement..

National Mortgage Settlement

Letter from Bank of America about the U.S Department of Justice and State Attorneys Settlement

[Mrclean]

That's why I was skeptical...

One of the requirements to be eligible is:

-Underwater on your loan, but haven't defaulted on any payments, and the loan is in good standing (Or something along those lines)

which is the category that we fall under. I called multiple times to make sure that I would not have to go through any sort of trial payment plan, because I had read quite a bit about people running into issues with that and wanted no part of it if that was the case.

We aren't in any danger of foreclosure, nor do we have a real issue making payments. We are just underwater is all. I have been repeatedly told that all that would happen is the rate would drop. No trial payments, no closing costs like with a refinance, and no hit to our credit should we go through with it. (All of these points are in a list of FAQ on the back of the letter) I even called bank of america's department for home loan modifications, and they told me that this was through them, but handled through a different department, and then they gave me the number that was on the front of the letter... It doesn't say anything about principle reduction, doesn't change the term of the loan... If we stayed in the house for the full term of the loan we would save a good amount, but that's just because of the rate dropping... And it would continue to be a fixed rate as well, doesn't shift at an ARM or anything. Again, clearly marked out on this letter (I can scan it, black out my address and info and send you a picture of it when I get home...)

Kinda queasy about it since it has to be in today, but it seems legit and I'm kind of thinking of taking the gamble. I was also informed that we don't have to sign with the Notary when they come to our house for the signatures if we aren't comfortable doing so, and the process would end there...

Thoughts?

[Evan Bedard]

We aren't in any danger of foreclosure, nor do we have a real issue making payments. We are just underwater is all. I have been repeatedly told that all that would happen is the rate would drop. No trial payments, no closing costs like with a refinance, and no hit to our credit should we go through with it. (All of these points are in a list of FAQ on the back of the letter) I even called bank of america's department for home loan modifications, and they told me that this was through them, but handled through a different department, and then they gave me the number that was on the front of the letter... It doesn't say anything about principle reduction, doesn't change the term of the loan... If we stayed in the house for the full term of the loan we would save a good amount, but that's just because of the rate dropping

If BofA is stating that this offer is legitimate personally I would go ahead and take the deal. You are very lucky to receive such an offer because most people will struggle for many months trying to get their mortgage down to an affordable rate. since the number on the letter matches the number BofA has given you to call it does seem to definitely be a legitimate offer.

[Bernmollevie]

Mrclean -- can you share the phone number that was on the letter? or can you scan it? I'd love to see it. I've been talking to different people on the phone at BofA and no one can tell me who/why certain people are getting letters in the mail while others aren't. We are in the same boat as you -- we want to refi, are current, and we don't qualify for any of the other gov't assistance programs like HAMP, HARP, FHA streamline, etc etc. Our only option is to do a traditional refi which would mean putting down over $75K to get to 80% LTV for our jumbo loan. Anyway, our rate is 6.25 interest only and it recasts in about 5 years. We would like to refi it now if we can. Our assigned CRM with Bank of America doesn't have any info on the settlement and we've been working with him since late Feb.

[Evan Bedard]

Does your mortgage happened to be owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac? If so, unfortunately mortgages backed by either company will not be eligible for assistance under the mortgage settlement.. You can determine if either Fannie or Freddie owns your loan using the links below.

https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/

Does Fannie Mae Own Your Mortgage? Loan Lookup Tool

[Bernmollevie]

Hi Evan -- our loan (our 1st mortgage) is a jumbo -- it isn't freddie mac, fannie mae, or FHA. Pretty much the only option available for us besides traditional refi is refinancing through the Mortgage Settlement. I tried the route of an in house modification at Bank Of America, and that was a bust. They won't send us paperwork to get it even started since it doesn't appear we are under financial hardship - we're not late, nor is our mortgage payment more than 31% of our monthly income. I don't know of any other options available to us. Our first is serviced by Banf of America, but i believe owned by Bank of NY Mellon ? and we have a second serviced through Green Tree, owned by Bank of America.

[CASailing]

This is great news. This is indeed legit and is the refinance part of the settlement (Interest Rate Relief according to their website). The modifications have started, and I thought the refis were going to start later this year. Your phone number confusion must be because they have different departments for mods vs. refis.

Looks like you are one of the first to get a refi offer. I am in your situation - B of A servicer, BONY investor, jumbo former CW loan, rate at 6.5%. Not late with payments, only underwater. Glad to hear there are no closing costs and it is just a rate "float down." Hopefully I get a visit from FedEx soon....

Here is another thread on the topic:

National Mortgage Settlement Underwater Refi for BofA in California

[JNewman]

We are in the same jumbo boat never late but contacted Chase, who has both our 1st and 2nd, no options whatsoever, stuck at 6.87....no help in sight. They said we can apply for a refi-nance pay for appraisals and about $5K in closing costs out of pocket "if we qualify" HELP

[Kabieh]

I received a similar letter from Bank of America today (in a FedEx envelope) that stated “Due to a recent settlement, you may now qualify for a no-cost loan modification …” Needless to say I was very excited as I have inquired about my refinancing options before, but have always been told that because this home is currently worth less than what is owed on the loan and it’s not my primary residence there were no options available. So before I get too excited I figured I would do a little research into the terms of this settlement. So my question here is in order to qualify for this loan modification does this loan have to be on my primary residence? I have read nothing in any of the threads or anywhere else for that matter that specifically states that as a requirement for eligibility. So hopefully someone here is in a similar situation and can provide some insight.
Again I qualify because my home is currently worth less than I owe on the loan.
I have never missed any payments nor have I ever been late with any payments. The current status of my loan is good.

Also, maybe it’s because it’s late and I’m getting tired, but I can’t figure out how to create a new post/thread. Can someone help?

[Evan Bedard]

We are in the same jumbo boat never late but contacted Chase, who has both our 1st and 2nd, no options whatsoever, stuck at 6.87....no help in sight. They said we can apply for a refi-nance pay for appraisals and about $5K in closing costs out of pocket "if we qualify" HELP

Are you experiencing a financial hardship that is making your monthly payment unaffordable? Or are you simply looking to lower your current interest rate/payment?

[Evan Bedard]

So my question here is in order to qualify for this loan modification does this loan have to be on my primary residence? I have read nothing in any of the threads or anywhere else for that matter that specifically states that as a requirement for eligibility. So hopefully someone here is in a similar situation and can provide some insight.
Again I qualify because my home is currently worth less than I owe on the loan.
I have never missed any payments nor have I ever been late with any payments. The current status of my loan is good.

Also, maybe it’s because it’s late and I’m getting tired, but I can’t figure out how to create a new post/thread. Can someone help?

Hello Kabieh welcome and thanks for joining the forum.

you may very well qualify for the letter since they sent you this letter and nowheere does it state that the program is not available for non-owner occupied residences.. Also if you would like to start a new thread, just go to the section in the forum in which you wish to post (ie Bank of America) and on the left hand side of the page above all posts you will see a tab that says "New Thread." There you will be able to start your own discussion..

Modification, Refinance, and Short Sale Program Enhancements | Bank of America

As part of the settlement, we plan to introduce an interest rate relief program that will enable customers to take advantage of lower interest rates if, among other factors, they:

• are current on their mortgage
• owe more on their home than it is worth
• have loans owned and serviced by Bank of America

These customers would be able to modify their existing loan and achieve benefits similar to those obtained through refinancing.

[Kidbimmer]

Hi,

Is this thread still active or is there another one that discusses Bank of America loan modification offers to those like the original poster on this thread?

- received notice via FedEx (DOJ?)
- not late on payments
- not experiencing hardships

I just got my letter a few days ago and like Mrclean, am entering the process with a fair amount of skepticism. After all the stories about others fighting for months and years, this seems almost too easy if it meets the claims of the letter. I'd definitely like to hear about others who have gone through this scenario/process already.

I'm attaching the FAQ's to show what the letter claims. Mrclean already stated it clearly as well. The discrepancy I question is the third claim that this is not part of HAMP. When I called and got the third-party (I Googled the number and saw posts verifying the party works with BofA) that screens you prior to being called by a BofA representative, the rep directed me to http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov for more information. I'm not really sure if or how the HAMP and DOJ are different. The rep said that the program I called about initially targeted those behind on payments and is now moving to people that are on time.

Again, just getting this started personally and am really hoping to hear from others who know more about it or especially have been through this particular process. Thanks.

Screenshot_1.jpg