Citmortgage principal reduction advice

[XmansMom]

I'm trying to find out if there are any principal reduction programs for people who no longer live in the house. I bought a house in florida right after a hurricane for 145K. I moved to another state and was able to purchase a home there as a result that I had a rent w/option to buy agreement on the florida home. Long story short the sale did not go through, as many know the florida market has dropped. the house is now valued at 95K, can't get out of PMI, and was previously told I could not refinance b/c of LTV and DTI ratio. I've depleted my savings trying to stay afloat. I can't even secure a good renter to cover 75% of the mortgage. It seems like all the government programs are geared towards ppl living in there homes... does anyone know if citimortgage has progams for those not living in the house??? I really can not afford to keep paying for a house I'm not living in. Any advice would be helpful.

[Evan Bedard]

Welcome and thanks for joining the community.

There has only been one program that has came out that offers principle reductions to certain borrowers and that is the DOJ/national mortgage settlement. You will find a lot of information here in regards to the settlement if you type in "DOJ settlement" or "national mortgage settlement" in the google search bar at the top right hand corner of the page. One of the main requirements for the settlement is that your mortgage must be serviced and owned by Citi, meaning they are the investor on the account as well and it cannot be a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA mortgage. You can find more details on the program using the link below.

https://www.citimortgage.com/Mortgag...age=settlement

Also the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) now includes properties that are not owner occupied but this program does not offer principle reductions. Also you must be renting or intending to rent the property to qualify.

Home Affordable Modification Program