Ready to throw in the towel... Denied DOJ Mod, Granted in-house Mod but it's more $$$$

[MelanieB]

So we would really like to save our home. We were denied our modification request based on they say everything is considered to be affordable under this program.

What I've been trying to tell BOA for the past 3 years is that sure it is affordable if you look at our gross income but in our particular family situation, that's unfair. We got behind on our mortgage when I was forced to change jobs because of the need for a work/life balance due to my daughter being diagnosed with a chronic disease. I took an approximately $25,000 per year paycut. Between my husband I, we have $8,000 taken out of our paychecks for flexible spending for our daughter's medical expenses and then we still pay tons out of pocket.

So I've been browsing this forum and reading about the DOJ help available. Should I ask BOA if we are eligible?

We originally got our home loan from Countrywide over 11 years ago and now BOA has it. We are upside down in our mortgage about 45,000. We are very behind on payments and foreclosure is put on hold because we've been working with BOA for MANY months trying to work this out. Everytime I call, I get a new "direct point of contact" and have to retell our entire story. Do they ever consider particular family situations like ours?

Thanks for any suggestions. BTW, I'm in Texas if that matters.

[Cat Damiano]

Hi MelanieB,



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

You can try contacting BofA about the settlement program to see if you are eligible here;

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).

Here is the information about the different programs through BofA;

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

Keep in mind that;

Eligibility requirements will vary for each program. Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Veterans Administration (VA) are not participating in the programs provided under the settlement. Customers whose loans are owned or insured by one of those entities are not eligible for relief through these programs.

[gray555]

MelanieB,

We were also denied for the same reason ... see my thread regarding recent update and our situation ... RECEIVED NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE TWO WEEKS AFTER DENIAL LETTER FROM BofA FOR DOJ MOD PROGRAM

[anitashell]

Hi, I need some advice too. We are in foreclosure, but have no sale date yet. We want to stay in our home. Our interest rate is 7.69% adj., last payment made May 2012 but we are still 16 months delinquent ($42K), monthly pmt. $2300, owe $266K (conventional) and home worth $235K (zillow). For two years, we’ve been denied for modifications for different reasons. Applied at least 5 times. Each time denied and was told by BOA to reapply. First few times went through MHA and was denied because pmt is “affordable”. Finally contacted OOP asked for help. Just rec’d denial again. Make too much for MHA and don’t qualify for in-house mod., because we’ve had two of them in 5 years (last one Oct. 07). CRM said since we had two in-house mod’s, we don’t qualify for the DOJ settlement either. She said we can ask for another in-house mod. in October. We asked for a repayment plan, we have $21K up front and gross 14K (net 9K) per month, CRM said she would see if we qualify. Although it would be difficult, we can pay the additional monthly payment if it means we get to keep our home. How can we make too much for a modification but not enough for a repayment plan?? We want to get current and stay in our home. We don’t want to wait until October. Any advice on next steps? thanks.

[bdzb1234]

Hi MelanieB and anitashell, the only way to really get a modification with BofA is by calling their Office of the President. That group actually gets things done. The home retention group is a bunch of minimum wage kids who read from a script. Any attempt at HAMP, HAFA, or any other government program will ultimately fail because BofA and the "investors" they represent (Bank of New York, Deutchebank, other banks) have NO INTEREST in participating in these programs whatsoever. Obama is making them participate because of the bailouts and they have lots of escape routes to get out of giving you a modification under those programs. With the office of the president, you can expect a 3 month trial modification and then a permanent mod after the 4th month. The modification will have a reasonable payment and lower rate, but most likely they will not write off any principle and will make you pay all the arrears over time with a balloon payment half way through the term. Do not expect any kind of "good deal" from BofA for you in any way. Good luck!

[anitashell]

Thanks for your response bdzb1234. We contacted the OOP, that's who sent the last denial and suggested we we reapply in October. They also said they would see if we qualify for a repayment plan. I thought all of the modification programs were considerd independently. I didn't think they could automatically deny you for the DOJ because you already had two mods in 5 years.

[MelanieB]

So I found out yesterday that the "BOA" that our modification package came from and was returned to in Houston, TX was actually Stewart Lender Services so I don't think BOA even reviewed my documentation. We sent it in via FedEX, got our letter saying they received it and were reviewing it and it would take up to 30 days. The very next day, we received our denial from them from the same address in Houston.

Also, everytime they send us something, it comes to use twice via FedEx. BOA could really save some money and stop sending everything twice. And this has been over the course of the three years we've been working with them.

Why does BOA let you go so long without paying before they really start working on collecting from you? We know someone who was only like 5 months behind and their house went into foreclosure right away but they were with a different company. BOA has just been so slow to respond to anything over the course of these three years except for this last thing.

[MelanieB]

I’ll try to make this as short as possible. We are 3 years behind on our mortgage and the reason is one of our daughters was diagnosed with a chronic disease and I had to get a different job so I could have more work/life balance, better insurance and therefore I had to take an approximately $25,000 per year pay cut. We simply couldn’t afford to make our mortgage payment and pay all our new medical expenses.

We’ve been working with BOA during this time and I’m just done. We received the letter from BOA about the DOJ and completed all the paperwork and sent in the documents they wanted. We were denied the DOJ modification because they say it should be affordable. BUT we should qualify, I’m fairly certain.

Gross Monthly Income: $6,495.44
Mortgage: $1,865.65
Our total mortgage is approximately $45,000 more than the value of our home.
Our interest rate is 8.8%

We escalated this to the president’s office and we were just granted an in-house trial modification with our first payment due October 1, 2012 in the amount of $2,115.91. Really?? If we can’t pay our current mortgage, why do you think we can pay $250.26 more.

We want to keep our home and we love our home but I just don’t know if I can handle the stress of it anymore.

Any suggestions?

[Cat Damiano]

Because you are three years in default, that could be what is raising the payment. Your actual payment is at 28 percent of the gross income which they would deem affordable.

Have you tried going through a HUD approved counselor for help with a budget and to see if they would be able to help with application process?

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

There is also NACA that is available as well for you to see if you are able to qualify for their program if you would like, you can also see if there is an event coming near you, there information can be found here;

https://www.nacalynx.com/nacaWeb/ref...aspx?language=