Modification Nightmare

[river22]

Hi my name Mike. I have been trying to modify my loan with Chase Bank since March of 2008. When I first started the process I was not behind in my payments but I knew I would fall behind soon if I didnt make a move. When I called Chase Bank they told me that I would need a referal to see if I qualified for a loan modification. They approved my request. Chase told me that I would need to send them the following documents. paycheck stubs, Tax returns, List of monthly expenses and a hardship letter. I sent all this to fax#: 877-309-0377 I waited a couple of weeks to here somthing back from Chase but nobody ever called me. I finally called back to find out what was going on and they said they never recieved the paperwork. So I had to start over. This time around I talked to Dennis Schrader he is the superviser in collections. Dennis told me to send the paper work directly to him and he would make sure it went over to the right department. I waited for a response but nothing, no calls to me . So I called Dennis back and he said he would find out what was going on and get back to me. Finally a lady from underwriting called me, she left a message on my phone and said she was an underwriter from chase and that she would be handling my loan mod. She also said that she didnt have a phone number for me to call her back but I could get updates from the modification dept. I waited about 2 more weeks and then called the modification dept and they said that there was no record of me being in loan modification. I was so frustrated with everything so I called Chase back to explain what was going on and connected me back to modification dept. I talked to a lady named Penny in the Modification Dept. She told me to send all the paper work to her. Same Fax # . The contact number I had for her is: 877-309-0377 I then called Penny everyother day to follow up with her to make sure she received everything. Then penny called me and said they needed bank statements 1 year all pages. So I sent the bank statements to her. After that I could not reach her anymore. I left her probably 8-10 messages. She never called me back. So Now I just talked to who ever would answer the phone at chase. They would tell me that the loan modification was being done but there was no updated info at that time. I still would call every other day to get updates. In September I fell behind in my first payment. My loan had adjusted and work was very slow. I kept in constant contact with chase but never could get a straight answer on what was going on. I found out by the collection department that my loan mod had been approved in the middle of October and that it was going to docs. Chase never would tell me what the terms were so I just had to wait. It is now November 29 2008 I received my modification docs today by Fed Ex. I was so excited when they came but when I opened the package it was just a big dissapointment. My new loan terms are the same as my old loan terms. Here is what the paperwork says.

Dear Michael & Kimberly
I am writing about a modification to your loan. The terms or the modification are set forth in the encloed modification agreement. The new payment will be effective December 1 2008 upon satisfaction of the conditions set forth below.



Total loan Iterest Payment due through 11/1/08 $16181.11
Corporate advance $110.29
Past Due Escro Payments $2380.44
Past Due Escrow advances $2163.45
____________________________________________
Arrearage: $20835.29

Loan Modification Agreement

Effective december 1 2008 the unpaid pricipal balance will be increased $729790.07 to $744546.36
effective November 1 2008 the interest rate will be 8.875
The new principal and interest payment will be: $6028.66
and it does not include my taxes and insurance.

I cant believe after all the phone calls, the aggravation and stress that this is what Chase is offering me. I am going to lose my home. I cant afford the payment anymore. I dont know what to do. I have to have this modification signed & notarized and send it with a good faith payment of $6079.00 by November 25th Thats in 5 days. and then the new payment of$6028.66 is due on December 1st. This is never going to happen. I dont have the money. I was hoping that Chase would lower the payment or I dont know mabey I was just dreaming.
Please if anyone has any suggestions on what I should do next, please help. I am beside myself.

[Moe Bedard]

Hi river22,

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

The modifications given are up to the investors and what they are willing to do and it would depend on the rate and type of loan that you had........

What is the interest rate at?
Is it fixed or adjustable?
If adjustable when is it adjusting?
Are you paying interest only?
Is it one loan or two?

[river22]

Hi ***,
Thanks for responding so fast. My loan is a 2 year fixed with a variable rate feature. My annual percentage rate is 10.8544
after 24 months my loan starts to adjust every 6 months. The first adjustment was in September the next one will be in march. I am not paying interest only. my first mortgage is with Chase bank and then i have a second with the seller for 131000.00. When I applied for my modification with chase I explained to them that we were struggling with the payments and that we were told by our loan officer that we could refinance the the first and second loan within the 2 years before it would start to adjust. We tried to refinance in January of 2008 and were declined thats when I started to panic and I started calling chase. Back in January my credit was great I had not had any late payments on any odf my bills, but now my credit is not in good shape. I have been hit hard from this econemy situation my business has suffered and are revenues are down I explained the situation to chase in my hardship letter I dont understand why they came back with this offer but if this is all they can do for me I will have to let our home go. I have depleated all my resources , savings etc. I am holding on by a thread if they dont help me I have no choice.
Thank you for your help , Mike

[Zoey24]

Hi River22,
Sorry to hear your story it sounds a lot like mine. I to was going through Chase since April this year was approved and sent the same deal, very upsetting. I wouldn't accept those same terms so Chase cancelled the modification. I then went through a whole process where they told me to resubmit my paperwork for a re-work after about 6 weeks I find out Chase doesn't do reworks to my surprise? My last ditch effort was to send a letter to the CEO of Chase which *** posted on the website. This week we received a call in response to our letter asking that we fax all our paperwork to the executive resolution team and they will send paperwork the office that handles the account. I told them I was only looking for something that was fair and that 8.45% to me wasn't. I even said the going rate at the time was 6% and they were keeping me at 8.45%? I would love to have a really low rate, but I've told them all I'm asking for is something fair and if it means reducing the loan to what they think is fair I will accept the terms within reason anything above 8% just isn't a good deal when they make thousands off this loans anyways. I wish you the best of luck, please keep us posted. Zoey

[river22]

Hi Zoey,
Thanks for the info. I just have a couple of questions, when you didnt except the modification they sent you, did chase start the forclosure process and if so how fast did they do that? Who do I call first? Do I call the phone number on my modification?
(866)-550-7941 I so worried now. Please help with any advice
Thank you, Mike

[Moe Bedard]

Mike,

If the loan was 90+ days in default, Chase will refer it back to the attorneys for foreclosure........call the number on the modification and see if the investor on your loan has any other options ..........one of the things that you might want to check is how many months the tax delinquency was spread out over...........if it was 12 months that right there is over $300 on top of the current escrow so if they could spread it out over a longer period, then the payment could be a little lower that way.........for that you can call the tax dept. of Chase and speak with them.

[river22]

***, yes are loan is 90 days past due. Last month I had received a phone call from my rep in collections and she is the one that said the mod was approved and that is was going to docs, I told her that I was not going to be able to make the payment that month and she told me that it would be ok that even if I made the payment it would only go into a suspense acct. That payment put me over the 90 days.I have not received any forclosure paperwork, I was really counting on a rate reduction even at 5 to 6% i could afford to make the payment but at the 8.875 there is no way I can do that.

[Ambling]

What state are you in?

From what you've described your 1st lien is purchase money and your 2nd lien is carried by the seller. The upside to you is IF it goes to foreclosure you should not have any deficiency judgments against you... assuming your loans are non-recourse.

Search the forum for other stories about non-recourse to see what I mean.

[river22]

Ambling, Thank you for the advice I will look throught the forums.

[Zoey24]

Hi River22,
I was not in forclosure until I became deliquent during the modification process. It's like *** stated you would have to miss 90+ days in order for the process to take place and once we hit the 90 days we got a notice of default right away. The notice gave us an addtional 3 months and 21 days for the sale date. Now that it's with the Executive resolution team the forclosure has been put on hold pending the outcome. I have heard that some companys have put a hold on forclosures not sure if that applies to Chase. Good luck I hope that was your question.

[river22]

Ambling, I am in Arizona.

[river22]

Zoey,
When you sent the letter to the CEO at Chase did you explain the whole proccess you went through and what you were trying to achieve in the end?

I have wrote a letter its ready to send out. My letter ended up being 2 pages long I was going to fax & mail it on Monday. I wanted to get more info before I send it.

I talked to crity at Chase today she is in collections but she has been the only one I can get information from. I told her what the loan mod papers said. Christy told me that they are doing that to a lot of people and to call the Mod department at: (866)-550-7941. Cristy told me to tell them what I told her. That theres no way I can make the payments on the home anymore and that the modification is basically the same thing I already have. Also that I would need a rate reduction to be able to keep the home. I dont know if this is the right way to approch this. I dont want to make them mad and put the home into foreclosure.

[Moe Bedard]

You wouldn't be making them mad..............they just made an announcement that they won't be starting any new foreclosures for 90 days.

[jjet7]

hi,
it seems like we are in the same boat, got screwed by the same lender. i just faxed my paperwork in today, and now im praying for the best. in the meantime i'll have to come up with plan B. my payment will increase from 3000 to 3700, plus 600 for tax and ins. i know some of you has bigger payment than me, but im struggling myself in this economy. these banks got a 25 billion bail out from the gov't to help home owners but instead they just let the money sit. i dont understand why the gov't dont make it mandatory for the banks to bail the home owners who's in trouble. it doesnt make sense to me at all.

[river22]

I just want to say Thanks for all the feedback im getting here. This is great support. I am thankful to god I found you. I will keep everyone posted as things happen.

Mike

[elpjohnson]

Mike.....

Just keep at it .....you'll get positive results!

[river22]

***,
I am sending my letter to Chase on Monday morning. Can you verify if I am sending the letter to the right place.
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
James S. Dimon (CEO)
Office of Secretary
270 Park Avenue, 39th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10017
1-212-270-6000
fax: 1-212-270-1648

What should my letter include?
Thank you, ***

[Moe Bedard]

Mike,

That is the correct corporate address that I have posted here............and I would address just what you posted...........that the modification given made your payment the exact same as it is now offering you no relief and you are about to lose your house and you want to know what Chase is doing to help customers going into foreclosure.



Keep us posted on how it goes........

[river22]

***,

I talked with the modification department today before I sent my letter to the CEO office.(Loss Mitigation) 866-550-7941.......... I told them that I wouldnt be able to make the payments on the modification they sent me. I also told them that what they have done offers me no relief. The represenative of Chase asked me a few questions. He wanted to know what my income was, Did I send bank statements and tax returns when I applied for the modification. I told him Yes I did send those items and I told him what my income is. Then he said he was going to open up the work sheet to see what was done on my account, he put me on hold for about 20 min and then when he came back, he said, " that was the best that Chase could offer me" So I told him that I was not going to accept the modification terms that it would only force me to default on my loan. He said that I could still lock the rate that I had until November 25th 2008 but after that, the modification would be closed. I told him that I would get back with him on Tuesday. After I hung up with Chase I called the CEO office at: (212)-270-6000 they were very nice and connected me with a lady in Chicago. I told her everything that has happened so far she gave me her direct line. I told her that I faxed a letter to the CEO office of Chase (212)-270-1648 fax. She told me to fax it directly to her. I sent over the letter and she told me she would foward it over to the executive lending department and that I would be receiving a phone call by Tuesday afternoon November 25th 2008. I let her know that Tuesday was my deadline and she said that she would expedite it for me. Well thats what happened today, I will update you when I here more.

Thanks, river22

[elpjohnson]

river22.....

I've been following this thread and wish you the best of luck tomorrow! Good luck and God bless!

[Moe Bedard]

Thank you for the update..........I hope you get good news.....
The rep that will be calling will be from the executive resolution team........

[Zoey24]

Hi Mike,
Sorry I didn't respond to this earlier I only sent a letter stating that I didn't think the same rate was fair. I wasn't looking for a really great rate considering the circumstances, but I did state I wanted a reasonable rate. I explained that from my gross it does look like a lot but if they give you expenses such as car, living expenses etc it just didn't make sense with giving me the same rate it wasn't helping my situation it was only making it worse. Best of luck. Zoey

[whatsinaname]

I wish you the best of luck. I am trying to get the courage to call Chase to see if they can help me but I DREAD dealing with them. I just don't see that the Govt has put out ANY help for the homeowners, only the banks!

[river22]

Hi, I just wanted to give an update. Today I received a call from the executive resolution group at Chase. (888)-310-7995 I talked to Alicia, She said that what Chase offered me was really all they could do unless my income had changed since the last time I sent my paper work to them. I told her that a lot has changed since then. That since March of this year I have used all my resources to try an keep up with all my bills in hopes that something would change in our econemy and that Chase would help me with a interest rate reduction. Sales are way down in our business, my wife has started a new job to try and help with the bills. She is still working with me at the company but are income has been reduced quite significantly. Alicia said to send a detailed letter documenting the events that have lead us to this point with new income documentaion. and that if I am still interested in working with Chase on my loan that she would hold my file and when she receives all the new paper work she would foward it over to the underwriter for 2nd review. I asked her what was going to happen in the meantime. Alicia said that nothing at this point. I told her that today was my deadline to turn in the modification paperwork and that I didnt want to my home to start foreclose. Alicia said that as long as I was still working with them that it wont go into forecloser. I dont know if I trust her but all I can do is see what happens. She said the process can take up to 45 days. Now I will have to wait again. I am really stressed out over this. Its hard to go about everyday life when your not sure where your going to live. I hope they can come up with something soon.

Thanks for listening,
Mike

[Zoey24]

Hi Mike,
The executive resolution team is the same call we received and we explained that we were set to retain an attoney the following day and said basically income has not change but we don't think our rate is a reasonable offer. I just don't understand even if you have the income to back the loan which in my case they say we have the income, but we really don't. Chase makes so much money off these loans that you would think instead of losing thousands of dollars on a foreclosure that they would work with you even to cut it a couple percent would help our situation. Our 2nd loan was over 11% they cut it down to 7% percent in one day and lowered our payment by $300.00. The lack of sleep is really affecting my job, social life and attitude. I don't feel like the same person I once was and I need to get my life back. It's like I should have given up a long time ago, but through this I do have hope knowing that others understand what were going through and that that this site people don't judge you and that some of us just made a decision that we thought was going to get better in a 2-3 years and it just didn't happen that way. I really hope things work out for your family, have a great Thanksgiving. Zoey