Modification rejected so hired lawyer

[Schnelle]

Update:

Jan. 21, 2009

- I forgot to add, I also got an appointment to speak with the Attorney tomorrow at 10:30 am.

[jasonsmith123]

Can you pls explain: What is Third-party authorization?

[Andrew]

Thank you very much and it was pleasure speaking with you also.

[Andrew]

Jason, a third party authorization is when someone else is aloud to talk about your account on your behalf for example a law office or a family member.

[surfdoggy1234]

Did you have to pay any upfront fees to the lawfirm?

[Schnelle]

surfdoggy1234,

The consultation is free and if you decide to go through the process with them then you pay an up front fee; I paid $2995.

[newjersey24]

Hey Schnelle,

Great updates. Your team seem to be running and all cylinders.

I'm suprize that you have an appointment with your attorney so quickly.

All I got was in a couple weeks. I wish I had a designated date or something.

Oh well, I just dropped by to see how you are doing and cant wait to here about the consultation with attorney!

Good Luck!

[LHarveyMadman]

Schnelle,

Good luck on your quest. I hope you are successful.

I would point out, however, that the issues regarding the finance charge and APR might not be as strong an argument. This is because in the case of an ARM, it is impossible to accurately predict what the total finance charge will be over the life of the loan. This came up in another thread recently.

The finance charge for the first 10 years of your loan can be easily calculated, because the interest rate is fixed. However, no one can tell what the interest rate will be in 2015, so no one can tell what your interest rate will adjust to.

When lenders prepare their estimates of finance charges for ARMs, they first calculate the interest paid during the fixed period. For the adjustable period, they use the interest rate that would result if it adjusted ON THE DAY the estimate is prepared.

For example, if I were to obtain a 5-year ARM today at 5.25%, I could calculate exactly how much interest will be paid during those first 5 years. Let's also say that the adjustable part of the loan is based on the 1-year LIBOR + 4%. There is no way to tell what the 1-year LIBOR will be on January 22, 2014. So they take today's rate (1.84%) and add the margin (4%) for an interest rate of 5.84%.

They then take this 5.84% and calculate the interest paid for the remainder of the loan WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE NEW RATE WILL NOT CHANGE. Add this to the amount paid during the fixed period, and this is how they come up with the interest paid. There is no other way for the lender to make an estimate.

If I had opened the mortgage on 1/15, the adjusted interest rate would have been 5.75%. If I had opened the mortgage on 1/6, the interest rate would have 6.09%. You can see just how unpredictable an ARM can be.

For the same reason, it is impossible to calculate what the true APR will be over the life of the loan.


So, the lender cannot be faulted as long as they did their calculations correctly. Having said all that, I think that something is still fishy about the numbers that lender came up with back in 2005. The reason I say this is because all the indices used for ARMs have gone down. That is, if your interest rate were to adjust today, it should be LOWER than what would have been calculated at the time your loan was originated. That means that the calculated finance charge should be LESS than on your original loan documents. So something still doesn't sound right.

[das0331]

Schnelle,

I also hired Griswold & Agdeppa. I just sent all my documents fed ex today to LaFollette, he is the one who is going through all my paperwork and getting it ready. So far I am getting a good response, however I paid $3995. I'm wondering did the price go up? Anyway please let me know how you are progressing with them. They also told me not to pay my mortgage when it is in modification. Just to let you know the reason I hired them was that CW have me a modifiction but it was worse then my original loan plus they added over $10,000 to my principle. My payments went up a month and it was a 5 year fixed and after 5 years it would go up to what they said would be a Payment Shock I thought they had made a mistake but they said that was what I qualified for. Unbelievable. I'm hoping that the lawyers that I hired will be able to help. It's my last resort.

[Scott Hazlett]

Schnelle,

This is really a great thread. Your play by play account is enlightening. I appreciate you keeping myself and all the other members and vistiors informed of your progress. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be checking back frequently...

[Schnelle]

Update:

Jan. 22, 2009 (Thursday)

10:30 am – Time of appointment scheduled with Attorney Griswold; did not receive a call.

10:45 am – Called law office (951-531-0147); the rep. transferred me to attorney’s direct line but I got a voice mail. I called back again and was transferred to attorney’s assistant’s voice mail; I left a message inquiring about the missed appointment.

3:30 pm – Got a return call from attorney’s assistant; assistant apologized for inconvenience and rescheduled appointment at 4:30 pm. I was told that somehow the attorney was not notified with the scheduled appointment.

4:35 pm – Received phone call from Attorney Griswold.

We discussed the following:
1. Overview of forensic loan audit.
2. My chances of a successful modification.
3. Statute of limitation to file a complaint against violations.
4. How my case will be presented to Countrywide.
5. Communication system with Countrywide.

I was very pleased with my phone meeting with Attorney Griswold; he was reassuring and answered all of my questions. Before the meeting ended, he provided me his personal email and encouraged me to contact him for further questions.

[Schnelle]

Update:

Jan 24, 2008 (Saturday)

Access to online payment is disabled. I have been looking forward to this because it means that my case is now under review by Countrywide.

Below is the current workout status:

Loan Modification	View the Details	Hide the Details

Workout Status Details:	Your request for assistance is under review. During the review process, a thorough examination and analysis of your loan will be completed. During this time, we may or may not need additional information from you. It is common that you will not hear anything from us during the review period, but please be advised that all collections activities have been temporarily suspended during this review period. We expect more information to be available on 02/16/2009. If your status remains unchanged after the 02/16/2009, please call and speak to a customer service representative. Please do not call back before 02/16/2009 as that will delay the process. Please respond promptly to any calls or requests that you may receive from us during this period. Lack of response will cause your workout to be delayed or cancelled. Thank you.
Information as of:	01/24/2009
Workout Stage:	Processing
Phase/Sub-Phase:	Active Processing

[Andrew]

I guess I was just about right with the friday deadline to show online

[Schnelle]

Yes Andrew you were very close! Thank you for processing my documents timely and efficiently.

Update:
Jan. 26, 2009

Documents submitted is reflected on Countrywide online account:

Documents Received

Processing Date	Workout Type	Document Type
01/26/2009	Modification	POWER OF ATTORNEY
01/26/2009	Modification	BANK STATEMENT
01/26/2009	Modification	BANK STATEMENT
01/26/2009	Modification	INCOME ANALYSIS
01/26/2009	Modification	PAY STUB
01/26/2009	Modification	PAY STUB
01/26/2009	Modification	LETTER OF EXPLANATION
01/26/2009	Modification	TAX RETURN/FORM
01/26/2009	Modification	TAX RETURN/FORM
01/26/2009	Modification	TAX RETURN/FORM
01/26/2009	Modification	VERIFICATION OF DEPOSITS/ASSETS
The above list is real-time and reflects the documents processed to date for this account. We may have received additional documents recently sent to us that have not been processed and therefore do not appear in the list. Please do not call us to check the status of a document not showing in the list as our representatives will not be able to provide any additional information than what is shown here. Thank you for your patience.

[chooch]

Schnelle,

You don't know how lucky you are to have heard from Griswold. Nothing has been done with my file in over two months. Finally when I advised them an auction date was set, they "expedited" my file a couple of weeks ago. At this point, I am not impressed with this Griswold and Agdeppa outfit and I think they are overwhelmed. Maria, my case worker is very sweet, but she only knows what the players tell her. I hope I can write about a positive experience later, but after paying $3k, I have had no substantive communication with anyone until speaking to Scott. "Vincent" the poor English speaking "Expert Negotiator" as he is described, told my second who I am attempting to settle my account that I would like to modify my second, thus throwing a wrench in the settlement process. Scott, who is very competent was able to get that straightened out, only to find out later from “Vincent” that my second required something that was impossible for me to produce and not necessary to settle the account. I confirmed this by calling my second directly and speaking to the same loss mitigation agent that spoke to “Vincent.” The agent said he at first didn’t believe “Vincent” was representing a law firm because he couldn’t speak English well. The agent said he would not want “Vincent” representing him and requested that I just work directly with him. (Scott said other clients rave about Vincent, so he could be the best negotiator in the world. My short experience with him did not demonstrate his abilities then). After numerous phone calls I got a hold of Scott who promised to give me a 100% substantive update on my case by then end of day today. Otherwise, I am going to request a full refund and a letter from Griswold explaining how he has represented me for the last two months for the Cook County Court handling my foreclosure. In two months, I have not spoken to an attorney. I should have known better I guess.

[girlnc16]

Im still not clear if you dont make payments at all while your going tthrough the laon mod process when i spoke with CW they said it stops teh foreclosure process. but she did not going into details about payments. In our situation we are 8 motnhs behind and havent been making payments so we wont make them now either but im curious how safe it will make it. We want to move back into the home to save money on rent if we dont have to pay mortgage during mod process.


Let me know thanks

[newjersey24]

Chooch,

Sorry to hear your story. I hope things turnaround quickly for you. I too chose same attorney and the process so far is going well.

Before joining, I worried about them being overwhelmed and not able to give you the full attention. At times, even during the process I felt the same, when I had to call several times when waiting on a call back.

However, they process is goin well and got verbal word that an loan mod offer was received from WAMU.

So, I just wanted to say dont give up and keep at it.

Originally Posted by chooch

Schnelle,

You don't know how lucky you are to have heard from Griswold. Nothing has been done with my file in over two months. Finally when I advised them an auction date was set, they "expedited" my file a couple of weeks ago. At this point, I am not impressed with this Griswold and Agdeppa outfit and I think they are overwhelmed. Maria, my case worker is very sweet, but she only knows what the players tell her. I hope I can write about a positive experience later, but after paying $3k, I have had no substantive communication with anyone until speaking to Scott. "Vincent" the poor English speaking "Expert Negotiator" as he is described, told my second who I am attempting to settle my account that I would like to modify my second, thus throwing a wrench in the settlement process. Scott, who is very competent was able to get that straightened out, only to find out later from “Vincent” that my second required something that was impossible for me to produce and not necessary to settle the account. I confirmed this by calling my second directly and speaking to the same loss mitigation agent that spoke to “Vincent.” The agent said he at first didn’t believe “Vincent” was representing a law firm because he couldn’t speak English well. The agent said he would not want “Vincent” representing him and requested that I just work directly with him. (Scott said other clients rave about Vincent, so he could be the best negotiator in the world. My short experience with him did not demonstrate his abilities then). After numerous phone calls I got a hold of Scott who promised to give me a 100% substantive update on my case by then end of day today. Otherwise, I am going to request a full refund and a letter from Griswold explaining how he has represented me for the last two months for the Cook County Court handling my foreclosure. In two months, I have not spoken to an attorney. I should have known better I guess.

[Andrew]

girlnc16

What happens is when you start the modification process, cw will stop accepting your payments online and when you mail them in they will hold them. They perfer you dont mail a payment in since its changes their LMF (financials). I know when a borrower mails in a payment CW will ask me how you want the payment applied, its either used towards principal/interest, just interest, just principal, or towards your modification if any funds are needed. The only down fall to not making your payment is that they will ding your credit.

[newjersey24]

Ok, this makes some sense Andrew.

So, once the modification process begins, the typical online payment is disabled but you could still either call or send a check to your mortgage company.

It just will be held and not cashed?
Therfore, you protect your credit scores too?


If you dont send any payments during process your credit score will more likely take a nasty hit?

Reason I ask, my Mortgage Investigator recommended I make payments if I can, but didnt really explain why.

Thanks!!!

I have 2 more days to borrow a little and pay for this month. I really need to keep my scores up.

Originally Posted by Andrew

girlnc16

What happens is when you start the modification process, cw will stop accepting your payments online and when you mail them in they will hold them. They perfer you dont mail a payment in since its changes their LMF (financials). I know when a borrower mails in a payment CW will ask me how you want the payment applied, its either used towards principal/interest, just interest, just principal, or towards your modification if any funds are needed. The only down fall to not making your payment is that they will ding your credit.

[ocalalady]

I am finding these posts so very helpful.

Here is my concern...I have just spoke with a local real estate attorney today who mentioned that we should "stear away from" firms that ask for payment up front.

Are there any stories out there where this firm has been successful in the modification process? What happens if you are still denied the modification or that it is not at all a relief? Is that person left to start over again and furthermore out the amount of money paid for services? That worries me, mostly when we are counting every penny these days.

After reading your posts, schnelle, I am very tempted to call the Griswold offices. I'm just very nervous, too. ...I will be posting my CW story very soon...
Thanks again for this info....very helpful and inspiring.

[Moe Bedard]

ocalalady,



Do you own only one property that is owner occupied?

[ocalalady]

Yes, we live in our home...it sits on two parcels. It is agricultural.

[Moe Bedard]

Since you do only own the one property..............you may want to try NACA first if you feel that you would need help going through the modification.................they are a non profit and their services are free...
here is the link
https://www.naca.com/refinance/refinanceTenStep.jsp

[ocalalady]

Thanks, ***. I have looked at their website (NACA) and notice that if you have two properties they want you to sell one, or at least have it up for sale. Our house/farm is on two parcels. The mortgages are for the entire place. Do you think they would want us to sell part of it? That would negatively effect our farm. We don't have a big farm, but it helps out to supplement our income.

[ocalalady]

Regarding the law services, I've just spoken with the Florida Attorney General's office. I was told about House Bill 643. It states that as of October 1, 2008, you do not pay for services up front for foreclosure assistance or modification services. Not sure if this goes in all states or only in FL. To look at the bill, google "HB 643 staff analysis".