DOJ Mod Approval

[JHA2000]

Just wanted to let everyone know that we received an approval for the DOJ Mod approval with principal reduction of $125,604.83. Out turn around time for a decision was about a month. We just made the first trial payment this last week. I asked our customer relations manager if we would need to submit anything additional at the end of the 3 trial payments and she advised me that we would not, that we would receive a packet by mail at the end of the trial period, so we will see how this pans out. We are definitely happy but until everything is said and done we don't plan to breathe a sigh of relief. Is there anyone who's already finished their trial payments? I know it's unlikely because this is a new program but thought I'd ask.

[gintn]

how do you qualify for DOJ Modification?

[illstay]

Just wanted to let everyone know that we received an approval for the DOJ Mod approval with principal reduction of $125,604.83. Out turn around time for a decision was about a month. We just made the first trial payment this last week. I asked our customer relations manager if we would need to submit anything additional at the end of the 3 trial payments and she advised me that we would not, that we would receive a packet by mail at the end of the trial period, so we will see how this pans out. We are definitely happy but until everything is said and done we don't plan to breathe a sigh of relief. Is there anyone who's already finished their trial payments? I know it's unlikely because this is a new program but thought I'd ask.

Is yours also an interest rate reduction? What's your difference in payment? Thanks.

[Cat Damiano]

Hi JHA2000,


Congratulations, that is great news! So far we have only had members being approved to begin the trial.

[Cat Damiano]

Hi gintn,


If your servicer and investor are BofA, you can read the Q&A about the program here;

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

[Evan Bedard]

Congratulations on getting approved for the DOJ settlement JHA2000!

[gintn]

Thanks cat. i will check it.

[Spiderco]

Did your term increase? How about the interest rate? It seems like people are in the dark with the terms until the trial period ends.

[JHA2000]

Hello everyone. Sorry about the delay in my responses. To answer your questions, I applied directly with them but our circumstances are kind of weird because a couple of years ago we applied and received a modification after many issues with BOA. Namely they mistakenly closed our MHA file while trying to correct the amount of income they entered wrong and once they deny you, you don't qualify again but since it was a clerical error, they gave us an inhouse mod to take care of the issue. Fast forward two years and I lost my job last year, we are now a one income family so I decided to apply again and we got denied twice because the programs they offered for inhouse mods were for people 90 days late and we were 60 days late and we got denied for the MHA for the same reason we got denied two years earlier. After months of arguing with them and sending documentation attesting to the fact that our only option was MHA and because of them we didn't qualify, they assigned us a new CRM. She was the one who submitted the paperwork for the DOJ program. The paperwork did not state the interest rate. I asked the CR Manager and she told she has the exact same paperwork I do and she doesn't have the interest rate either. The payment was reduced by $522 a month and the principal by $125k+, they didn't say anything about extending the life of the loan but maybe they will when we get the final package. The paperwork states it is 3 trial payments and the CRM told me if we don't receive the docs by the 3rd month, to continue to make the payments until we receive the perm loan docs. I know with the MHA it took way longer than 3 months for people to receive their paperwork so I am not keeping my hopes up that we will receive those final docs at the end of the 3 months but it would be nice . I'll keep you updated when we receive our docs, hopefully sooner than later (fingers crossed).

[Cat Damiano]

Hi JHA2000,


Part of the settlement includes a timeline and within that timeline, unlike the string along process of the HAMP trial, the permanent docs are required to be sent upon completing the third trial payment on time, and there are to be no additional trial payments necessary. I suppose the crm had not read the over 300 pages of BofA Consent Judgement, lol. Please keep us posted and Good Luck!

[JHA2000]

Wow, that is great! Thank you so much for the information, this is great news.

[Cat Damiano]

No problem, now let's hope they adhere to it as we all know, BofA, is so good at following orders. I do recall some members that have already made the first trial payment, so over the next two months we should begin to see the permanent modification posts. Please keep us updated on your progress.

[debsgirl]

I met in person with the BofA rep and he explained that 3 payments would be needed until the mod would be permanent. He stressed to me that the payments must absolutely made on time. When I told him I doubted what he said about it being made permanent after 3 months he said that BofA is not going to screw around like they did with the trial HAMP payments people made for months only to be then turned down for a permanent mod. He said the bank got into too much trouble for doing that and will not be doing that again. Anyways, I'll be meeting with him again in a couple of weeks with updated paperwork. I doubt the entire thing but I'll go along anyway because . . . who knows?

[tqmshop1]

JHA200, i was told by bank of america that i did not qualify for principal reduction becasue it had to be offerd to me by DOJ and that i had to be 60 days delinquent as of January 1,2012. i have an in-house mod that I started on 8/1/2011 and is now 90 days delinquent due to the fact that my wife passed away in March of this year and lost $1200 if income for the Mortgage. i was told by BofA that they were going to set me up on a forbearance and then try to do a modification. As it stands, i can not afford the mortgage pymt unless they lower the Principal. My Loan amount is 398,000 and the value of my house is140,000. at this point,i don't know what to do. Do you or anybody else have any ideas on what i should do/?

[atmywitsend]

I just got my approval packet in the mail today, they reduced my mortgage payment $145K, which is great, but no where does it state the interest rate. It also does not say if the payment includes Insurance and Taxes. It just says to make those three trial payments. I am a little uneasy. If we pay the payment, does that mean that we agree to whatever interest rate they choose at the end, or will they stick with our original rate?

[Spiderco]

I just got my approval packet in the mail today, they reduced my mortgage payment $145K, which is great, but no where does it state the interest rate. It also does not say if the payment includes Insurance and Taxes. It just says to make those three trial payments. I am a little uneasy. If we pay the payment, does that mean that we agree to whatever interest rate they choose at the end, or will they stick with our original rate?

Does that bring your house down to current value or lower your monthly payments or both?
Im trying to figure out if their goal is to lower monthly payments to 31 percent debt to income ratio or to bring the house to current value.

[bransmom]

I just got my approval packet in the mail today, they reduced my mortgage payment $145K, which is great, but no where does it state the interest rate. It also does not say if the payment includes Insurance and Taxes. It just says to make those three trial payments. I am a little uneasy. If we pay the payment, does that mean that we agree to whatever interest rate they choose at the end, or will they stick with our original rate?

If I do the math on my DOJ mod
i.e.,
Total owed
+Past due amount
+3 payments (regular amount before mod)
+negative/laid out escrow
+1 year escrow
- 3 modified payments
-the principal reduction I am receiving

That sum x 6.625 percent interest (which is what I have before the mod) @ 23 years 11 months + insurance and tax = what the modified payment they are offering is +/- $30

There is a paragraph in the FAQ's that mention if you have a lower than market rate interest it will gradually increase until you are at market rate.

[Sac2010]

Does that bring your house down to current value or lower your monthly payments or both?
Im trying to figure out if their goal is to lower monthly payments to 31 percent debt to income ratio or to bring the house to current value.

I have the same question: How is the principal reduction calculated?
Does BofA want to bring the house down to market value?
OR bring the mortgage payment down to 31% (or 25%?) of monthly gross income?

It'd help if people mention
1. Mortgage Balance
2. Current home value
3. Principal Reduction

Thanks,
Sac2010

[Cat Damiano]

The information may be located in the consent judgement of each of the lenders that are included in the settlement if you have not taken a look yet. They are very long, but there is information in each one as to how the loans that are eligible are to be worked out.

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

[sac42375]

Current balance @425,000 (including past due amount)
reduction @225,000 to current market value.
Bank of America (formerly Countrwide 2005; BONY investor)
More than 60 days late prior to January 31, 2012

We too received our BofA principal reduction offer yesterday. It list's a specific reduction amount to the cent, which would bring us to current market value. However, our monthly payment does not coincide with that reduction amount or with our current interest rate (5.25). The only thing that makes sense in our situation is that the monthly payment was calculated at 25 percent of our gross monthly income. I spoke with our local CRM today and she verified that our loan WOULD be reduced by the amount listed in the trial mod offer, but she couldn't tell me how they came up with the monthly payment amount or if it would stay the same. I know in the offer it states that the payment amount will not likely change by that much if at all. She "thinks" it was based on our monthly income. However, I like everyone else know these CRM's don't always provide us with the most reliable information. It states on the FAQ'S page Q. How was my new payment in the trial period determined? " If the property is your primary residence, your Trial Period Plan Payment was based on your total gross monthly income."

I am curious if anyone else who got an offer if their monthly payments coincide with the new principal reduction amount or with their gross monthly income?

[ferguw]

I have been trying to modify with BOA and the best they could do was "give me three months off" and still report to the credit bereaus. I declined the offer. I have not been more than 30 days late (yet) but they have reported me as 60 days late. I have called and called both locally and the office in CA but can get no response or help.

[Spiderco]

Sac423475

I also received my approval for the DOJ mod. My monthly coincides with the modified balance and a new lower interest rate at the current term of 24 years. It doesn't say but my calculation shows that insurance and taxes are included in the lower monthly. Also, if I add my HOA dues the total is 31 percent of my gross monthly income.

[sac42375]

Thanks Spiderco for the info.. and Congrats on the offer!! I just can't seem to figure ours out. Our payment is at 25 percent of our income but even at our current interest rate (5.25) and remaining term of loan our payment is still 200 more than what the zillow mortgage calculator states it should be. Who knows, I am still beyond ecstatic about even qualifying for the trial offer. I will just eagerly wait to see what type of permanent mods will be offered!! I was told by my CRM taxes and insurance are included. I hope everyone continues to keep on updating on this blessed forum!! Good luck everyone and congrats on fighting the good fight!! WE ALL DESERVE IT!!

[fxhhh]

Please be careful when you make your trial payments. I also got approved for trial DOJ mod, my letter said the first payment was due by July 1st so I made the payment on June 19th and when I called to check on my status BofA has now informed me it doesn't count toward the mod because I made the payment in June instead of July. I have been trying to work with my CRM and office of pres for past two weeks to get it corrected, no resolution yet.

If possible I would make the payment on the phone on the morning of the 1st as they credit the payment on the day you make it (at least for me).

[sac42375]

fxhhh: We learned that the hard way with HAMP. We were told by our CRM to make our trial payments the exact day they are due. I hope your payment gets straightened out.

[fxhhh]

fxhhh: We learned that the hard way with HAMP. We were told by our CRM to make our trial payments the exact day they are due. I hope your payment gets straightened out.

What did you do if payment 1st fell on a Sat or Sunday? Pay on Monday the 2nd or 3rd?

[Spiderco]

What did you do if payment 1st fell on a Sat or Sunday? Pay on Monday the 2nd or 3rd?

That's a good question since September 1st lands on a Saturday.

The letter states to PAY BY the 1st THE EXACT AMOUNT. It also states "To accept this offer make your first trial payment today."

I definitely don't want to be late on the payment but I also don't want to make a double payment. I'm going to have to see my CRM in person and clarify.

[bransmom]

Please be careful when you make your trial payments. I also got approved for trial DOJ mod, my letter said the first payment was due by July 1st so I made the payment on June 19th and when I called to check on my status BofA has now informed me it doesn't count toward the mod because I made the payment in June instead of July. I have been trying to work with my CRM and office of pres for past two weeks to get it corrected, no resolution yet.

If possible I would make the payment on the phone on the morning of the 1st as they credit the payment on the day you make it (at least for me).

That's interesting because I made my first payment for July on June 15 directly with my BoA rep. who waived the fees for check by phone as well as provided me with a confirmation number. I then logged onto my BoA account online and they showed the payment the very next day as a deposit to my escrow account, which is what the FAQ's said to do. Do you have access to your BoA account on line and if so do you have an escrow?

Did you make your payment with your rep or with their general number?

[fxhhh]

That's interesting because I made my first payment for July on June 15 directly with my BoA rep. who waived the fees for check by phone as well as provided me with a confirmation number. I then logged onto my BoA account online and they showed the payment the very next day as a deposit to my escrow account, which is what the FAQ's said to do. Do you have access to your BoA account on line and if so do you have an escrow?

Did you make your payment with your rep or with their general number?

Whenever I call, I automatically get forwarded to my CRM in the office of the president and always get voicemail but there is a message that says press 2 to make your payment. That is what I did. The person who took my payment specifically said, "are you calling to make your first DOJ trial mod payment?" I said yes, he told me the fees would be waived, gave me a confirmation number and he specifically mentioned several times that I was making my July 1st payment.

I have not been able to access any balance information about my home loan online since my house went into foreclosure, it just says account is unavailable. The bank isn't saying they didn't get my payment though, just that it was credited to June instead of July and it might not be counted toward my trial payments.

[bransmom]

Whenever I call, I automatically get forwarded to my CRM in the office of the president and always get voicemail but there is a message that says press 2 to make your payment. That is what I did. The person who took my payment specifically said, "are you calling to make your first DOJ trial mod payment?" I said yes, he told me the fees would be waived, gave me a confirmation number and he specifically mentioned several times that I was making my July 1st payment.

I have not been able to access any balance information about my home loan online since my house went into foreclosure, it just says account is unavailable. The bank isn't saying they didn't get my payment though, just that it was credited to June instead of July and it might not be counted toward my trial payments.

That really ****s. Whenever dealing with BofA its like you are stuck in a perpetual loop of Abbott & Costello's "Whose on First".

[fxhhh]

That really ****s. Whenever dealing with BofA its like you are stuck in a perpetual loop of Abbott & Costello's "Whose on First".

The bank told me today it is sorted out now and has been applied to the right month.

I read an article about someone who got kicked out of HAMP at the end of the trial mod cause of this sort of thing and it was something like they made the first payment on Dec 27 (for Jan) then second payment on Feb 1 so the bank computer decided they were kicked out for making no payments during the literal month of Jan.

I am now thinking I will probably make my future payments around the 28th of each month, that way in the best case scenario they count them correctly and in the worst case scenario they count my early payment as a late payment for the month I make it in but I won't end up with any months with no payment at all.

As far as I have seen on this forum everyone who has mentioned their DOJ trial letter says it stated to make payment "by the 1st" so there must be lots of payments coming in a few days to a week early so I would think they will have to sort this out correctly on the bank side.

I just can't wait till this comedy of errors is over and I get a permanent mod and out of foreclosure trouble!

[Sac2010]

This is a really good offer with a significant principal reduction. Congrats!
We're being reviewed for DOJ Settlement and hope to hear similar offer soon.

Current balance @425,000 (including past due amount)
reduction @225,000 to current market value.
Bank of America (formerly Countrwide 2005; BONY investor)
More than 60 days late prior to January 31, 2012

We too received our BofA principal reduction offer yesterday. It list's a specific reduction amount to the cent, which would bring us to current market value. However, our monthly payment does not coincide with that reduction amount or with our current interest rate (5.25). The only thing that makes sense in our situation is that the monthly payment was calculated at 25 percent of our gross monthly income. I spoke with our local CRM today and she verified that our loan WOULD be reduced by the amount listed in the trial mod offer, but she couldn't tell me how they came up with the monthly payment amount or if it would stay the same. I know in the offer it states that the payment amount will not likely change by that much if at all. She "thinks" it was based on our monthly income. However, I like everyone else know these CRM's don't always provide us with the most reliable information. It states on the FAQ'S page Q. How was my new payment in the trial period determined? " If the property is your primary residence, your Trial Period Plan Payment was based on your total gross monthly income."

I am curious if anyone else who got an offer if their monthly payments coincide with the new principal reduction amount or with their gross monthly income?

[sac42375]

Thanks sac2010 Everytime I think about it I have to pinch myself! I am just so glad we did not accept the HAMP offer we received last summer (which consisted of a 104,000 balloon payment and our home is now valued at @195,000). Keeping our fingers cross that a permanent mod comes through!!

[Preparingfordefault]

Can I ask what may be an incredibly dumb question- does the payment that equals 25 percent of your gross income include real estate taxes and homeowners insurance or will they be on top of that payment amount?

[sac42375]

Preparingfordefault: Not a dumb question at all. I don't think any question is a dumb one on this forum I thank goodness for all the questions and answers provided here. Our payment does include taxes and insurance and it equals a little more than twenty five percent of our gross monthly income.

[Preparingfordefault]

THAT is awesome! Thank you so much for the quick response and congratulations!!!!

[russo]

Congratulations on the approval! We recieved one also! God is good!

[JHA2000]

tgmshop1 I recommend to contact the Office of the President. If it wasn't for this forum directing and teaching me how to escalate my concerns, I would still be in limbo. It seems the only way anyone gets any real help is by escalating your concerns. For everyone else i just made our 2nd trial payment today but I noticed there were issues with some people have the trial payments applied correctly, so I checked online and it seems that out payment also shows in partial balance. I called the CRM who told me that all payments stay in that partial balance account until the perm mod goes through. So I'll have to keep watching it like a hawk, in case something should go wrong. The paperwork is very vague and I do wonder if the escrow is calcuated into this figure. My calculated payment doesn't equal 25% or 31%, I have no clue where they got that sum from. I am happy none the less but it seems to be somewhere between 31 % - 33%, since we are self employed I have no clue what figure they used. Once I receive the perm docs, I'll let you guys know what they say.

[ssanthan]

Its been a while since i posted here in the forums. I just want to add my experience with this DOJ Settlement

My Loan is Owned and Serviced by Citi.

Mortgage : $708K (565 1st with Citi, 109 2nd with Wells, 5% down)
I settled my second about 18m back after not paying for 9 months.
Modified 1st about a year back which made my payments close to 31-35%(Loan terms extended to 40yr) of my income.

I have been on my modifed payment for about an year. About 2 months back i got the fedex that i am qualified for principal reduction based on DOJ Settlement and my balance would be reduced by @77K automatically if i did not decline the offer. I dont know how they came up with this amount. After you reduce this amount from the principal, the balance is close to the market rate. I think they might have done some market analysis or BPO to comeup with this number, but i dont know how they came up with this number. I did not care as i was happy to see this reduction as this brings my loan inline with the market value of my home. I did not have to do anything and they automatically forgave the amount and this has been reflected in my account online when i checked a couple of days back.

My home value: 475-500K. So after the principal forgiveness, my loan balance is inline with the home value. So after 2 modifications(1st was modified 2 times) and a 2nd HELOC settlement and 4years later of fighting, things have worked out ok, and can look forward.

[Tucson John]

So Sac, am I correct BONY allowed your DOJ modification?