confused and not sure what to do

[danimari76]

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We were given a loan modification offer from Countrywide in December that we didn't ask for. We later found out in February through a letter from Countrwide that we had been denied because we didn't submit 2 of my husbands current pay statements. When he called them about it they told him that we would have to start the process all over again when we weren't even the ones who started the process to begin with. Which brings us to our current situation. We are about $9000 in arrears for our mortgage and our house value just dropped by $50,000 so we are $30,000 underwater on our mortgage (our house was appraised at $300,000 in 2005 the assessment in January was at $255,000 and as of last month it was down to 204,000 and we owe 237,000 in principal however we tried to sell a year and a half ago and the realty company told us they would list us for $200,000 but we would be lucky to get $180,000 and that was before the market became as bad as it is). My husband lost his job last year (thankfully he found a new one after being unemployed for 3 months) but so did my brother who co-owns the house with us (who is also thankfully employed again). Our 7 year old son was diagnosed with Kidney disease on election day last November and due to an ice storm last december we lost electricity for 12 days (we literally got our power back on 36 hours before Christmas) and no we didn't have a generator so that meant no heat, hot water or even phone because we had no power which was also during the period of time we were offered the loan mod from countrywide. We live in a single family home with one bathroom. Our home is literally crumbling around us. It has mold, a water problem in the basement and asbestos siding. We called countrywide in March after the announcement of the Obama plan to try to modify our loan and we were told by a woman who could barely speak english that we didn't qualify so they couldn't help us. She told us we didn't make enough money to qualify for the modification. I thought that that was the point. They modified if you could no longer afford your mortgage. What's going on here? I thought we were the type of family that would qualiy we had 3 qualifying events in less than a year being job loss and re-employment, underwater on mortgage and our 7 year old son being diagnosed with kidney disease which seriously put a strain on our finances. On top of this my parents who survive on nothing but my dad's social security also live with us and I have type 1 diabetes myself. Now my question is this. I have 3 children ranging from 14 to 5 one with a major health complication and have my parents (who are not in the greatest of health themselves) as well if the mortgage company refuses to help us what are we to do. We can't rent because landlords do credit checks and if we become ********, because of my son's condition we risk having him taken away. And also since Massachusetts is a disclosure state should I inform the mortgage company of the condition of the house i.e. bad condition, water in basement, mold and asbestos siding because they would be forced to have to disclose this at a foreclosure auction? We don't live in a mansion, we bought a house we could afford that we worked very hard for. We made a down payment and paid closing costs when we originally purchased our house in 2001 before we refied with countrywide in 2005. We were proud of ourselves as we moved out of the "projects" in Boston to a safe neighborhood in a small town. Now if we are foreclosed upon we won't even have the "projects". Sorry about the rambling I needed to get it all out.

[Dan Bailey]

danimari,
Glad you found the forum and posted.

I'm sorry you are going through this with CW, many folks are.
Unfortunately, the process will have to start over again, and many times info will have to be re-sent a couple times.

First off, you will need to write a hardship letter to get the process started. AN example can be found here:Examples of a Hardship Letter

Here is a overview of CWs plan to deal with the "obama plan":Countrywide Financial - Real Estate Mortgage Lender - Home Loans - Equity Loan Mortgages You can read this over, and decide if you think you will fit within their guidelines.

If you feel you need help with getting a modification, you can contact NACA, if this is the only property you own. NACA:https://www.naca.com/refinance/refinanceSubmission.jsp They are a non-profit HUD approaved homeowners advocacy group. To start with them, fill out the online information and set up an appointment. If there is no office in your area, they will set up a phone arangement.

Lastly, here is a contact number for CW that should get you to someone in AMerica, not collections dept in another country:
CW home retention: CW Home Retention
1-800-669-0102

This will be a long process...as I said before, be prepared to fax and fax again!

Good luck, hang in there and let us know what happens!

[Dan Bailey]

In your hardship letter, I would make a mention that the house is in poor condition, and make a cshort but concise list of the major problems, as this contributes to your hardship.

[danimari76]

Thank you for all your advice. Oddly enough I believe that was the number we called last week and we got an Indian speaking woman. My husband was so po'ed that he couldn't even ask for a supervisor b/c he couldn't maintain his composure long enough. He told the woman repeatedly well then I am going to lose my house and her response was we can not help you call us back if your financial situation changes. Arrrrggggghh

[Dan Bailey]

Danimari,

Go with the NACA process....start filling out the forms and setting up the appointment, theyve helped alot of folks on here...

[danimari76]

What is a mortgage trustee? I have been reading (or trying to) my mortgage documents and it reads "ReconTrust Company, N.A. has been designated as the trustee for this loan. It also says on my loan on the first page that it's a subprime conventional uninsured loan

[Moe Bedard]

ReconTrust provides foreclosure services in selected western states for loans that have gone into default for CW.

[danimari76]

Here is the hardship letter we intend to send. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Countrywide Home Loans
P.O. Box 5170
Simi Valley, CA 93062-
RE: Account number
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing you this letter to explain my situations that have caused me a financial hardship which has caused me to fall behind on my mortgage. My goal is to be able to keep my home
In January of 2008 and my brother-in-law who lived with my family and I and was paying me $200 a week for rent brought his wife and her two children over from Vietnam. In March of 2008 they moved to Texas while only giving me a weeks notice that they were leaving which resulted in an income loss of $200 per week.
In March of 2008 my other brother-in-law who lives with my family and I and who pays $200 per week for rent lost his job of nearly 20 years because his former employer closed the company which resulted in an income loss of $200 per week. He was unable to find work until the middle of August 2008.
On April 30, 2008 I lost my job of over 10 years which resulted in almost total income loss. I did not find new employment until August 2008 and then started with another company in October of 2008 which is where I am employed today.
In October 2008 my seven year old son became ill. On November 4, 2008 (election day) my son was admitted to The Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA and was diagnosed with Minimal Change Nephrotic Syndrome (MCNS) which is a form of Kidney disease. This resulted in medical bills and increased prescription costs as he has to now take several medications daily as well as an increased grocery bill as my son is now on a sodium restricted diet
On December 11, 2008 my town as well as several surrounding towns was hit with an unprecedented ice storm that caused severe damage to our towns’ electrical infrastructure which caused our home to be without electricity for 12 days. That is twelve days without heat, hot water, telephone, or electricity. We had to dispose of almost all of our food as we had no refrigeration to keep it safe and we are still cleaning up from the damage that the ice storm caused.
In addition to the above listed hardships my house is not in great condition of which I was unaware when I bought the home in December 2001 even after a home inspection but for which I have been working on trying to improve i.e. I have replaced boiler, water lines from street to house, 28 windows, appliances, two front doors and upgraded electricity from 60 amp fuses to circuits as well as other sporadic improvements. My home has foundation damage, water in the basement, mold and asbestos siding. I looked into selling my home in August/September 2007 and was told by the realty company that because of the condition of the house they would only list it at $200,000 and that we would be lucky to get $185,000 which at that point was not an option as it would have had to have been a short sale.
I understand that it is my financial obligation to pay my mortgage and I am willing to workout a modification to keep my home. The circumstances that I listed above were unforeseeable and uncontrollable circumstances. In addition, the loss of my home to foreclosure could possibly create another devastating hardship to my family as there is the very real possibility that I could lose custody of my children due of my sons’ medical condition if we were to become ******** because of my house being foreclosed upon.
I am now in a better financial situation as I am now and have been employed fulltime for the same company for the last six months. My brother-in-law is now and has been employed fulltime for the last 8 months and is now able to pay me $400 every two weeks (or $200 a week when you break it down.). My wife is still employed although only part-time and my in-laws who also live with me (mother & father in law) are still paying me $600 a month for rent from their Social Security income. However I am still at a loss of $200 per week from loss of my other brother-in-laws rental income. It is my sincere hope that you are willing to work with me to save my home.
Sincerely,

[danimari76]

sorry it didn't copy and paste well

[MP927]

I think it sounds really good and describes your hardship in great detail.