Countrywide Playing Hardball on Loan Modification Request

[EMoney]

Like so many others, we too find ourselves in the aftermath of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, clearly having been the victims of predatory lending practices
EVERY Time we have re-financed our home.

Whether dealing with a direct lender or a loan servicer, we have seen our mortgage go from $1600.00 when we first bought our home to $4300 where it is currenly with Countrywide now trying to add and addional $200 monthly impound for homeowners insurance that they paid in full, using a portion of our last payment.

We had a plumbing disaster that cause us to be late on a payment. That snowballed into Countrywide making us pay two payments in one month to catch up which we couldn't do. We were short a few hundred dollars so they didn't apply the short payment.

Since then, for the past 5 months, as part of a payment arrangement, we have been sending a payment and a half by the last day of each month to catch up. Using that formula, we conceivably should have been caught up by now.

What Countrywide has been doing however, is applying some of the payment toward the interest, and late fees instead of applying all of the payment to the principal, so we still are not current after all of this time. I complained about this, and they transferred a portion of one payment back towards the principal but still continue to apply the payments towards interest & late fees.

What happened to working with us to get current? The letters regarding the payment plan that I receive show that with the next payment and a half that I make, I will be current but the statements show new impounds and a different payment amount due.

I'm a bright guy, college educated, but I tell you, I can never make heads or tails of my monthly statement. Someone mentioned that partial payments go in a separate account until it is a full payment? I belive that is happening to me as well.

I was told that once I get current on my payment, the they would discuss possible Loan Modification. I even did a Income & Expense sheet Q&A over the phone with someone in the retention department.

My concern is that, barring a personal loan from someone (which i'm working on) I'm again going to be short in terms of having the whole payment and a half at the end of the month. If that is the case, what should I be doing RIGHT NOW before the end of the month, in terms of communicating with Countrywide?

I avoid them like the plague, because all I get is the runaround, and I'm not sure what their real intentions are.

[Cat Damiano]

Hi EMoney,

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

It sounds like you keep being put into the collection department where they do the forebearance agreements............you need to get to the Home Retention Dept. to start a modification...........because that forebearance agreement is just not working.......and they need to know that........
You need to immediately put together a QWR, so that you can see exactly where and how they are applying your payments..........
Then you need to put your Hardship Letter and an explanation of exactly what you are going through and how they are not helping you at all, in the body of the email and send it to each one of the email addresses below.......you will get a response and into the right department to help you........
Hope this helps.......
Please keep us posted........


Put together a QWR (Qualified Written Request) In that letter demand your Life of Loan History, Including where and how payments are being applied, Copy of Note, Deed of Trust, Riders, all Assignments of the Deed of Trust, TIL, Right of Rescission (if refi), Lender Final HUD-1, Copy of Initial Loan Application and Final Lender Loan Application, all Disclosures and all Loan Documents in your file, Copy of Appraisal.

There is a blank copy of the request in the Homeowner's Tool Box to the Left of the Forum

Make sure you send it certified mail return receipt required to the two addresses below:

COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
CORPORATE HEAD QUARTERS
4500 PARK GRANADA
CALABASAS, CA 91302
1-818-225-3000

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
400 COUNTRYWIDE WAY
MS SV-314
SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065
1-805-578-6380
1-805-578-6311

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
RAQUEL ROBINSON
1-800-669-2443 x 4115

SUPERVISOR OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
LINDA TURNER
1-800-405-0078 x 5104

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM
CASEY MILLER
Tel: 800-620-6372 ext. 5797
Fax: 800-658-9364

COUTRYWIDE LEGAL DEPT.
PARALEGAL
MARY ARCHER
972-526-3610

Toll free direct number to Workout Dept. in Lancaster, CA:
866-806-8692 (extension 8692 if your negotiator is M. A. Hernandez)

Direct number to Workout Dept. in Lancaster, CA:
661-951-5100

Primary Phone: (800) 669-6093

Primary Contact:
Daniel Whitehead
Executive Relations Coordinator

Also email hardship letter to each of these email addresses:
customer_service@countrywide.com
pressroom@countrywide.com
david_bigelow@countrywide.com
angelo_mozilo@countrywide.com
lisa_riordan@countrywide.com
elizabeth_moyer@countrywide.com
sarah_perek@countrywide.com
chris_oltmann@countrywide.com
Chris Oltmann
SVP, Treasury Finance
818-225-3275 Office
818-324-4116 Cell

vice_president@whitehouse.gov
OCIP@do.treas.gov
service@naca.com

Email Hardship to these News Emails:

Dateline@NBCUNI.com
Nightly@NBC.com
Today@NBCUNI.com
WebEditors@newsweek.com

[EMoney]

So having been in communication with my modification person for the past month after submitting all the required paperwork, and having not heard from him in a few weeks, I decided to call and get a progress report and was told basically that the only thing that would be done is the freezing of the current rate for three years. This even though my current payment as written is well over 50% of our income.

I was told that it was their opinion that we can afford the mortgage as it is and that basically we need to cut back on other things.

The guy i'm dealing with is obviously an idiot who argued with me about the calculations and our expenses even though he was obviously incorrect in his statements. The math speaks for itself.

When I asked for a copy of Countrywide's modification offer in writing, he said he coudn't do that because the offer is not finalized yet, and that I would have to agreed to it first. Huh? How to you agree to something that's not written or finalized.

At this point, i'm prepared to hire an Attorney that specializes in Modifications.

I've come to realize in looking at all of my past loans that we've been a victim of predatory lending practices every time, and am fed up. Bait & Switch, Lowballing on the Home Appraisals, you name it, we've experienced it.

If I take my mortgage payment and hire an attorney will that buy me some time?

I'm current on my loan, which doesn't reset till March of 09, but the current payments are becoming increasingly harder to pay every month. It's taking us
till the end of every month to make that current months payment.

That means the late fees are also adding up.

I've been told that once you hire an attorney, that can buy you some time.

Is that true?