DOJ Modification Approval!

[InlandEmpire]

Just wanted to take a quick moment to thank everyone on this forum for sharing their experiences and advice. I've been fighting this battle for the last two years and finally I received approval for the DOJ modification. I still have to make my 3 trial payments and once I make all payments, they will reduce my principal balance by $180K and interest rate (not disclosed in the letter). My payments were also lowered as part of the modification. The approval process for DOJ took less than two weeks! I was completely surprised with the turn around time. To all going through this process, hang in there and continue the fight.

[Evan Bedard]

Thanks for joining the forum and sharing your success with the community! The DOJ settlement is the best type of assistance available and a $180K principle reduction is the largest I have seen thus far!!

[Cat Damiano]

Hi InlandEmpire,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for joining.......

That is really great news, thank you for sharing and keep us posted on your progress.

[achoicys]

The approval process for DOJ took less than two weeks!

Congrats! Could you share when you submitted docs? I am waiting for approval for the DOJ modification too. Two weeks of turn around time is amazing.

[TomEason]

Hi InlandEmpire

Thanks for that post and congratulations! Yours is the first DOJ mod I've seen done within the two weeks; even though lenders' CRMs are trained to promise that time interval to borrowers, most have unfortunately been taking longer.

Who is your lender, if I might ask?

[rulleejr]

I just received my trial modification paperwork yesterday, and they have that the principal forgiveness will be 189,653 My question is how does that work for when it is reported to the IRS?

[TomEason]

I just received my trial modification paperwork yesterday, and they have that the principal forgiveness will be 189,653 My question is how does that work for when it is reported to the IRS?

rulleejr

Congratulations on having received the conditional approval with substantial principal forgiveness!

For your potential tax liability due to CODI, I recommend you consult with your tax person, as he/she knows of your overall financial and tax situation. No one here can provide personal and specific advice for you on your income taxes.

[freedomwon]

where did all the posts go from rulleejr? It says there's 16 posts & the previous 15 are missing. I looked because I was curious to see if rulleejr had a 2nd on the property & who the lender is. Hmmm.......

[TomEason]

Hi freedomwon

I hadn't noticed but upon investigation, I too find no prior posts. I don't get it unless someone deleted them, and it certainly wasn't me, LOL.

[freedomwon]

TomEason - The many mysteries of cyberspace! $189k principal reduction sounds almost too good to be true which is what led to me want to know more & look at previous posts. Thanks for checking on your end.

[TomEason]

TomEason - The many mysteries of cyberspace! $189k principal reduction sounds almost too good to be true which is what led to me want to know more & look at previous posts. Thanks for checking on your end.

Yes, there are gremlins that create mysterious problems in cyberspace! I agree that size principal reduction appears quite generous, depending, of course, on the size of OP's current loan balance.

[Tiredoftherunaround]

I have yet to see a positive post for the DOJ that can be verified as legit.

[TomEason]

I have yet to see a positive post for the DOJ that can be verified as legit.

Tiredoftherunaround

I concur with that observation. Neither have I.

[Cat Damiano]

Nobody deleted the posts, it is because all of their prior posts were posted back in 2008 and the new system only pulls up your most recent posts, it doesn't seem to go back that far if you have been inactive until recently.

[freedomwon]

Thanks for looking into it Cat.

[Cat Damiano]

This member has received the trial modification from the DOJ program. Since it is only newly being implemented and starting with trial payments, we will have to wait and see what comes to fruition after the three trial payments are made.

WE GOT IT!!!! DOJ Modification

[NJHomeowner]

Sorry for my ignorance but what does DOJ stand for?? What type of Mod is it?

[Cat Damiano]

Department of Justice

[NJHomeowner]

What type of Mod is that?

[Cat Damiano]

It is part of a settlement reached back in February;

Welcome to the United States Department of Justice

[anansi]

Hi I am just joining in to this discussion and urgently in the need of loan modification ...can anyone direct me to where I can find more info on how ro file this DOJ application?

Just wanted to take a quick moment to thank everyone on this forum for sharing their experiences and advice. I've been fighting this battle for the last two years and finally I received approval for the DOJ modification. I still have to make my 3 trial payments and once I make all payments, they will reduce my principal balance by $180K and interest rate (not disclosed in the letter). My payments were also lowered as part of the modification. The approval process for DOJ took less than two weeks! I was completely surprised with the turn around time. To all going through this process, hang in there and continue the fight.

[Cat Damiano]

Hi anansi,


Welcome and thank you for joining the discussion.........

The five servicers that are a part of the settlement are sending out notification to those whos loans are serviced and backed by them and that are eligible for this program. In brief, your loan can not be backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, or other Government type loans.

There is information, a Q&A, and contact numbers as well as the settlement documents located here;

Federal Government & Attorneys General reach landmark settlement with major banks | NationalMortgageSettlement

[anansi]

Thank you...I am not in any government loan program...do I contact the banks to see if I am eligible or do I wait to be contacted?

Hi I am just joining in to this discussion and urgently in the need of loan modification ...can anyone direct me to where I can find more info on how ro file this DOJ application?

[Cat Damiano]

You can contact the servicer that is handling your loan to see if you are eligible, the contact information is located on the home page of the settlement in the link that I provided.

[Scudenjott]

I have yet to see a positive post for the DOJ that can be verified as legit.

After tying to get a modification from BofA for the last 4 years, we have been offered a trial modification through the DoJ settlement. Our principl was over 600,000, and the original principal, interest, and taxes and insurance totaled around $4,200. The proposed trial plan reduces our principal by 227,000 and lowers our mortgage to $2,330. We were ready to move out of our house and get an apartment that we wold pay around 2,300 for. God totally helped us out and hooked us up! Is this too good to be true? I guess we find out if and when they finalize it. I'll update it then!

[Cat Damiano]

Hi Scudenjott,


Welcome to the forum and thank you for joining.........

Congratulations on receiving the DOJ trial plan, that is a significant principal reduction and lowered payment. Please do keep us posted.

[TomEason]

After tying to get a modification from BofA for the last 4 years, we have been offered a trial modification through the DoJ settlement. Our principl was over 600,000, and the original principal, interest, and taxes and insurance totaled around $4,200. The proposed trial plan reduces our principal by 227,000 and lowers our mortgage to $2,330. We were ready to move out of our house and get an apartment that we wold pay around 2,300 for. God totally helped us out and hooked us up! Is this too good to be true? I guess we find out if and when they finalize it. I'll update it then!

Scudenjott

Congratulations; a very favorable mod!

[kwalls]

After tying to get a modification from BofA for the last 4 years, we have been offered a trial modification through the DoJ settlement. Our principl was over 600,000, and the original principal, interest, and taxes and insurance totaled around $4,200. The proposed trial plan reduces our principal by 227,000 and lowers our mortgage to $2,330. We were ready to move out of our house and get an apartment that we wold pay around 2,300 for. God totally helped us out and hooked us up! Is this too good to be true? I guess we find out if and when they finalize it. I'll update it then!

i also just got a approved after a 4 wk process for the DOJ settlement and close to 4 yr ordeal with BoA. Reduced original loan of approx 691,000 (plus 90,000 of unpaid mortage) by $ 108,000 and fixed interest from 5.6 to 4.2% Payment decreased from 6,000 to 4,700. The only reason they initiated the process for DOJ was after placing a call stating I would not pay past my 3rd trial payment of 6,000 (went up from 5,000) & was willing to initiate process of short sale or foreclosure. I have yet to received the documents but will update everyone on the process. Keep on fighting, i'm finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel! (btw, no negotiations for second loan as of right now)
Kat

[TomEason]

kwalls

Thanks for your post and welcome to Loansafe.

Congratulations on your tentative settlement! I can empathize with your long BOA ordeal; your to be commended for your tenacity and persistence.

Looking forward to your follow-up on this settlement.

[airahcaz]

Bumping and adding myself

[abrill]

Can you apply directly through the DOJ? I am serviced throught BOA and owned by Wells Fargo and they really didn't say I could apply or try. they said I would receive a letter if elgible but could give me no reason why I wouldn't qualify. Is there anything else I can do yet? We have not been served papers as of yet.

[Cat Damiano]

Can you apply directly through the DOJ? I am serviced throught BOA and owned by Wells Fargo and they really didn't say I could apply or try. they said I would receive a letter if elgible but could give me no reason why I wouldn't qualify. Is there anything else I can do yet? We have not been served papers as of yet.

They are notifying homeowners by mail, but you can also call and see if you are eligible;

You will be notified by mail if you are eligible for a principal reduction. If you want more information about your potential eligibility, you can call 1.877.488.7814 (Mon-Fri 8am-12am ET, Sat 8am-8pm ET, Sun 3pm-12am ET).

[chewey]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me how long it took to recieve information from them in the mail after being told over the phone you are appproved?

[Spiderco]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me how long it took to recieve information from them in the mail after being told over the phone you are appproved?

Mine took about 3 weeks. I was originally told it would take 10 days, I didn't mind the wait after my CRM gave me the details on the mod.

[chewey]

Mine took about 3 weeks. I was originally told it would take 10 days, I didn't mind the wait after my CRM gave me the details on the mod.

Congratulations Spiderco ! They didnt give me any info over the phone just said 60 to 90 days and I dont know if I have that long. I have realtors knocking at my door (didnt know they were allowed to ?) trying to get me to short sale. Ive made it this far I hope to hear some good news aoon. Thank you !

[melacher]

They are notifying homeowners by mail, but you can also call and see if you are eligible;

You will be notified by mail if you are eligible for a principal reduction. If you want more information about your potential eligibility, you can call 1.877.488.7814 (Mon-Fri 8am-12am ET, Sat 8am-8pm ET, Sun 3pm-12am ET).

Hi!
I am already in the short sale process. We have a buyer but have not opened escrow yet. I have been trying to Mod through BofA for years as well. I received a call from CRM this week and she said she hates to make these calls but is required to. The reason for her call was to tell me I am eligible to participate in the DOJ Mod if I qualify. Now, why would she hate to tell me something that is potentially fantastic news?

The issue I have is that in order to find out if I even qualify, I have to cancel my short sale! I want to keep my home!! But at this point I am in the HAFA program as well. I'd hate to lose those benefits as well as my option to short sale again. My CRM said I could start the short sale process from scratch if I don't qualify...Can I have that in writing?

I'm just wondering if I am already denied (perhaps that's why she hates to make these calls) and if it's worth the hassle and possible foreclosure after the denial letter.

Anyone have experience in my situation?

[Spiderco]

melacher, ask your CRM why she made that statement. My CRM was straight forward with me when I asked her how my situation looked. We were also about to short sell but we really love the house and decided to take the gamble. Hopefully a good gamble, I'll find out in November. Good luck.

[widespreadpanic]

344trpi.jpg

I thought I should share a sample letter of acceptance into the modification process.

[thankGOD]

Yes, totally thank GOD.
My first mortgage was modified 2 years ago with Indymac now Onewest and cut my payment from $4,900.00 to $2,200.00 PITI and my second with BofA from 529.00 PI down to $89.00 (interest only but paying more than this amount to apply to the principal) and was HAMP approved a little over a year ago. We did not get the principal reduction from both banks but they sure cut our monthly payments in half. We also still have a balloon payment on the first mortgage after 27 years of paying it but when I calculated the loan amount, the balloon payment is fair because our total REGULAR loan was around 700,000.00 and Indymac took the $529,000.00 in order for us to achieve the lower monthly mortgage (2% for the first 5 years, 3% on the 6th year, 3.5 on the 7th year and it will top out to %4.25 on the remaining of the 27 years) and the baloon payment will be around $179,000.00 after the 27 years or if we choose to refinance or sell the house.
TODAY, September 21, 2012, I just received a UPS package from Bank of America and was so excited and so happy because the letter stated that we now do NOT owe them the second mortgage due to my participation on the forgiveness program offered by DOJ and State Attornyes General global settlement with major banks services, including BofA and will receive a full forgiveness of the remaining principal balance of your loan. BofA also noted that they will report the cancelled principal debt to the IRS so consult a tax professional. I am so happy, I can't think straight right now. Goodluck to everyone! GOD is really good to us...

[thankGOD]

Yes, totally thank GOD.
My first mortgage was modified 2 years ago with Indymac now Onewest and cut my payment from $4,900.00 to $2,200.00 PITI and my second with BofA from 529.00 PI down to $89.00 (interest only but paying more than this amount to apply to the principal) and was HAMP approved a little over a year ago. We did not get the principal reduction from both banks but they sure cut our monthly payments in half. We also still have a balloon payment on the first mortgage after 27 years of paying it but when I calculated the loan amount, the balloon payment is fair because our total REGULAR loan was around 700,000.00 and Indymac took the $529,000.00 in order for us to achieve the lower monthly mortgage (2% for the first 5 years, 3% on the 6th year, 3.5 on the 7th year and it will top out to %4.25 on the remaining of the 27 years) and the baloon payment will be around $179,000.00 after the 27 years or if we choose to refinance or sell the house.
TODAY, September 21, 2012, I just received a UPS package from Bank of America and was so excited and so happy because the letter stated that we now do NOT owe them the second mortgage due to my participation on the forgiveness program offered by DOJ and State Attornyes General global settlement with major banks services, including BofA and will receive a full forgiveness of the remaining principal balance of your loan. BofA also noted that they will report the cancelled principal debt to the IRS so consult a tax professional. I am so happy, I can't think straight right now. Goodluck to everyone! GOD is really good to us...

Also, go to the DOJ loan modification program and should send you to that link.