Modification rejected so hired lawyer

[Andrew]

I have seen one file that had 10k in medical debt at a payment of 400 a month, CW deleted that as they considered it unnecessary.

[Andrew]

Hehoo do you work for a bank?

[heehoo22]

I work for Countrywide.

[Schnelle]

Update: March 10, 2009

Submitted the following to Andrew for consideration for the Obama plan:
1. Most recent bank statement.
2. Two most recent pay stubs.

My 2nd loan is still under review.

I am keeping all my hopes up.

[Schnelle]

Update: March 11, 2009

File has been resubmitted to Countrywide for the new Obama plan. According to Andrew new info should show up in their system within 14-18 days. According to him Countrywide is getting more and more files that are running 14 days for the initial review.

[ocalalady]

hi Schnelle, Hope you don't mind me asking you what you think here:
Our file was sent to CW 3/6 by G&A. Were you sent or informed of the terms they were going to present to CW beforehand? I believe the negotiations don't begin until once a person at CW is assigned the file? We were not very pleased with the opening numbers that G&A were going to propose and we are hoping they havn't sent those to CW already. I've asked them, but not getting a direct answer. When we spoke with them a few weeks ago during the audit interview we were asked what we wanted and our reply: lower fixed rate for life of loan, extend term to 40 yrs. I was asked if we wanted a principal reduction and I said yes! That would be great...if it would even happen. I said that a reduction of the neg.amortization to bring the loan to originally financed amount would be sufficient, but then I was asked if lowering to current value would be better and of course I said yes. It really made me feel good knowing that what we wanted was being voiced and heard. During my recent phone appt. with Agdeppa, he metioned that they would be asking for a 3.5 step rate on first and a fixed 6% on heloc. No mention of the extended term or low fixed rate or the principal reduction (I do realize principal reductions have yet to be seen, but it doesn't hurt to ask). It worried me that no one had talked to me about those terms before....and I really hope that they havn't already been included in our file that went to CW. Since that conversation with Agdeppa, we have sent an email to Andrew and Adgeppa letting them know of the concern we have over a step rate that would climb higher than we can afford and that the heloc rate seems to be too high for an opening negotiation. No response from Adgeppa, but Andrew sent a reply saying that the step rate shouldn't go too high...maybe cap at 6...and that he'd know more in a week or so....no mention of the heloc rate.
In your recent experience, do you think our terms were included in file that they already sent? The opening welcome letter from G&A that explains the process said that the attorney would talk with us by phone 'before' the file was sent to CW...we were surprised to learn that it already had been sent prior to that conversation.
Maybe we need to be more firm in asking questions to G&A. I have been trying to stay polite and patient and let them do their work on this, but it's worrying me that they won't be asking for what would help us. Perhaps it is all going well, but that I just feel out of the loop.
I hope you don't mind me dumping like this.....just wondering what you think.
And any word yet on your mod under the Obama plan? I know it hasn't been a week yet. I am hoping and praying for you as well!
Thanks, Schnelle!

[Schnelle]

ocalalady,

Sorry for not getting back to you promptly. I saw your message a few days ago but have not gotten the chance to sit down and reply until now.

"Were you sent or informed of the terms they were going to present to CW beforehand?"

Yes. Below is the initial proposal:
1) 1^st Loan - 4% fixed for 30 years
2^nd Loan – 5% fixed for 30 years

OR

2) 1^st Loan - 4% fixed for 5 years (Interest Only)
2^nd Loan – 5% fixed for 5 years (Interest Only)

You can always request a copy of what was submitted to CW, I believe its called "workout letter."

"I believe the negotiations don't begin until once a person at CW is assigned the file?"

Correct. Wait until your online payment function is disabled; it means your file has began the review process. There is nothing much to do or expect before then. I think initial proposal is immaterial since CW will perform their own analysis and calculation to determine what we can or cannot afford.

"We were not very pleased with the opening numbers that G&A were going to propose and we are hoping they havn't sent those to CW already. I've asked them, but not getting a direct answer."

Like I said, you can always request a copy of the proposal emailed to you.

"When we spoke with them a few weeks ago during the audit interview we were asked what we wanted and our reply: lower fixed rate for life of loan, extend term to 40 yrs. I was asked if we wanted a principal reduction and I said yes! That would be great...if it would even happen. I said that a reduction of the neg.amortization to bring the loan to originally financed amount would be sufficient, but then I was asked if lowering to current value would be better and of course I said yes. It really made me feel good knowing that what we wanted was being voiced and heard."

Stay positive and allow time to pass until your file gets reviewed. You will either get approved or denied a mod. If you are approved then that is the time to counteroffer if the offer is unacceptable to you.

"During my recent phone appt. with Agdeppa, he metioned that they would be asking for a 3.5 step rate on first and a fixed 6% on heloc. No mention of the extended term or low fixed rate or the principal reduction (I do realize principal reductions have yet to be seen, but it doesn't hurt to ask). It worried me that no one had talked to me about those terms before....and I really hope that they havn't already been included in our file that went to CW."

I completely relate to your concern. I was emailing Andrew almost everyday at some point. Don't hesitate to email him and ask specific questions.

"Since that conversation with Agdeppa, we have sent an email to Andrew and Adgeppa letting them know of the concern we have over a step rate that would climb higher than we can afford and that the heloc rate seems to be too high for an opening negotiation. No response from Adgeppa, but Andrew sent a reply saying that the step rate shouldn't go too high...maybe cap at 6...and that he'd know more in a week or so....no mention of the heloc rate."

From my experience the attorney is not involved in your mod process. I initially had the impression that the attorney will perform active negotiation for you; don't expect this to happen.

In regards to Andrew's email responses, when he leaves a question unanswered, don't hesitate to reply and ask the same question again. At some point I was emailing him almost everyday. If I don't get a reply within 1-2 business day, I resend the same email. I am grateful that he has replied to all my inquiries if not promptly eventually. He is also a homeowner and went through the modification process himself; he understands the stress, frustration and confusion that comes with it.

"I hope you don't mind me dumping like this.....just wondering what you think."

Not at all!

"And any word yet on your mod under the Obama plan? I know it hasn't been a week yet. I am hoping and praying for you as well!"

I am waiting for my file to be reviewed for the Obama plan. According to Andrew it has been taking cw 14-18 days to review files submitted.

I hope this helps.

[ocalalady]

Schnelle,
Thankyou sooooooo much for your response! I am so very grateful for the time that you took!
I agree with what you said about the attorney not being involved in the negotiations as much as we originally thought...from what I gather it is an attorney backed company....as long as everything goes well, that's fine with us.
I will definately ask Andrew my questions and request a copy of workout letter/proposal....I need to not feel like a pest....thanks for giving me that push. After all, we did spend 3000....and that was a tough one.

Thank you again for all the info....and we're still keeping you in our thoughts and prayers that you will see a happy result soon! :-)

[Schnelle]

My file is finally under review for the 3rd time! Below is my work out status message.

Current Workout Status

Our records indicate that there is more than one workout plan associated with this account. Please select "view the details" for each section below to expand the page. You may collapse individual sections by selecting "hide the details."

Loan Modification	View the Details	Hide the Details

Workout Status Details:	Your Loan Modification has been canceled from workout servicing. We regret to inform you that the loan did not qualify for a Workout Assistance program. Please be advised that normal collections activities will resume on your loan. Please continue to explore alternative options to bring your account current. If there is any change in your financial situation, please call for reconsideration. Thank you.
Information as of:	02/19/2009
Workout Stage:	Canceled
Phase/Sub-Phase:	Borrower Did Not Qualify

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 04/10/2009. If your status remains unchanged after the 04/10/2009, please call and speak to a customer service representative. Please do not call back before 04/10/2009 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:	03/20/2009
Workout Stage:	Processing
Phase/Sub-Phase:	Active Processing

[LORAINNE6]

I have been working with Angela from Fransen& Molinaro. She is a legal assistant and got package ready for Alex the lawyer that will review. They are now asking for a payment of over $2,000 plus their 3%fee. Is this normal? We have AHMSI as our holder and have had nothing but problems for 2 years. First we got a loan mod aproved in Dec payment to start in March 2009. Then AHMSI didn't provide any more paper work and I called back to verify to send payment and they said it was denied?? I had to resend all paperwork to a supervisor and then it was denied? I also sent complaint to Attorney General Mortgage Department 2 weeks ago. I am just waiting. We did get a letter from another lawyers office they want to start foreclosure process again?? We need help? Do I go to the NACA site or pay this law firm money??

[Moe Bedard]

Lorainne,

Try contacting the attorney directly to clarify the questions that you have about the process and fees for the law firm.




Paul J. Molinaro, M.D., J.D.
Attorney at Law, Physician, Broker
______________________________

Fransen & Molinaro, LLP
980 Montecito Drive, Suite 206
Corona, CA 92879
1-888-MD-JDLAW
1-888-7-LOAN-LAW

[Schnelle]

Update - April 2, 2009

I called cw to confirm that the following documents submitted to them by Andrew on March 11 was received:
- Bank Statement
- Pay Stubs
- Revised Financial Worksheet

According to the rep. the last document received was on Feb. 25 (Workout Letter)

I emailed Andrew about it. He assured me that everything was received and he has confirmation of it. He also mentioned that it goes to a different department and does not always show for regular representatives to see.

In regards to successful mods under Obama Plan, according to Andrew he has yet to see one. :/ However several are in the works.

[Yanqui]

Good luck Schnelle

[Schnelle]

Originally Posted by Yanqui

Good luck Schnelle

Thank you Yanqui. I need all the luck I could get after 2 consecutive denial from CW.

[Schnelle]

Update - April 10, 2009

My workout status online states "We expect more information to be available on 04/10/2009." That day has come and my status remains the same.

Andrew said yesterday that my file is still under reviewed. He estimated that a decision may be made by next week.

[Schnelle]

Update: April 10, 2009

I got a voice message from cw negotiator requesting to call back. I informed Andrew and he contacted the negotiator on my behalf. The following are the info I have gathered:

- An appraisal of our 1 unit condo has already been ordered and they are awaiting to get it back.

- Cw deleted the $500 education expense and said we have a surplus of $500; Andrew had the expense added back to my financial and was officially accepted by negotiator.

- I am apparently not being reviewed for the Obama program.

- They are looking at possibly offering a 5% interest rate for my 1st loan and 0% margin for 2nd loan (my loan is already at 0% margin so this does not help)

- I should hear more within two weeks.

- Andrew left a message to the negotiator to request to have my heloc fixed at current rate.

[Schnelle]

Update

It is about 12:28 am. I should be going to bed but instead I am here posting an update!

April 13 ' 09 (Monday)

I called my cw negotiator to clarify a few things. This is what I have gathered:

1. My investor for my first loan is not Fannie Mae but Wells Fargo.

2. CW is using the ">31% of gross" income formula to determine eligibility for modification.

3. In regards to my heloc, bringing it to 0 margin (which is what I already have) is the best the investor is willing to offer. I've seen forum members here get their heloc rate fixed for two years.

4. My negotiator expects to get my modification finalized and sent to manager for approval on Friday, April 18 '09.


April 18' 09 (Friday)

Well today is Friday and I was anticipating to get a call from the negotiator. I also constantly checked the website for a change in status. Unfortunately, I received no call and no online update
I emailed Andrew, requesting to follow up on my behalf; I was tempted to call myself but I do not want to risk saying anything to undo Andrew's efforts and jeopardize my chances for approval. I did not get an email response from Andrew which is unusual; I emailed her assistant Stephene but got no response as well.

This journey truly is an exercise of patience. We'll see what happens next week.

[ocalalady]

Schnelle,
I've learned that stephane is no longer with them....Andrew's asst is now Evan...evan@loansafesolutions.com. I've emailed as well with no response...I just sent an email with my complaints to andrew, evan, and to the attorney Agdeppa....rec'd a call on thursday that Agdeppa wants to have aphone meeting with me. That is set for monday 5pm. I have not been impressed with the communication, or lack thereof. My requests for info and copies of what was sent to CW on our behalf have gone ignored. Hopefully I'll get some more info when I speak with Agdeppa on monday.

How did you find out who your negotiator at CW is? My online status says it should have 'done' 3/23, and to call after that date. That date came and went....no word from G&A. Wondering if I should call myself....but like what you said above I don't want to risk anything that may be in the works already.

I really am hoping that behind the curtains andrew and his team are really working on this and that it will have a positive outcome. I see how long this has taken you...such an emotional roller coaster to say the least. I just hope we arn't being taken.
sorry to be such a downer this morning! I think i need my coffee!
I hope you post again soon with GOOD NEWS!!!
Have a good weekend!

[frustratedbeyondwords]

I understand your frustration. We are currently in a battle with CW over a loan mod we started in July 2008. As of May 1 we will be into month #8 with no idea of what they are doing. We finally got fed up in March and ended up mailing and faxing letters to our U.S. Senators & Congressman as well as all our state reps, President Obama, Kenneth Lewis - CEO Bank of America and CW and all local and national news media. We received replies from one of our Senators and our Congressman as well as a reply from President Obama. The President has forwarded our letter to HUD with directions for acting in a timely manner to contact us. Our Congressman sent us a reply he received from CW, the Office of the President on Monday (4/20/09). I am now waiting for the Congressman's office to open as I need to correct a few things that the CW letter has in error. Since he sent me a copy of CW's letter which they faxed to his office, I now have the address of the Office of the President as well as a copy of the fax cover sheet with the person's name and phone number that wrote the letter. I plan on calling them today as well.

However, my husband and I feel that we will have to end up in court over this because of the "Heart Team" that started all this. According to the "Heart Team" our documents were accepted by CW on Oct. 31, 2008 at 5:30 PM via email and when I spoke to the "heart team" again on 11/9/08 they said the paperwork had been filed and all should be up to date by the first or second week of Jan. 09. Yeah, right.

At least the letter to the Congressman said that they would halt any foreclosure proceedings that may be in the process until this matter is resolved.

Please let me know how you do with the attorney. I have a feeling we'll need one as well.

Good luck to you

[frustratedbeyondwords]

Originally Posted by Schnelle

Update

It is about 12:28 am. I should be going to bed but instead I am here posting an update!

April 13 ' 09 (Monday)

I called my cw negotiator to clarify a few things. This is what I have gathered:

1. My investor for my first loan is not Fannie Mae but Wells Fargo.

2. CW is using the ">31% of gross" income formula to determine eligibility for modification.

3. In regards to my heloc, bringing it to 0 margin (which is what I already have) is the best the investor is willing to offer. I've seen forum members here get their heloc rate fixed for two years.

4. My negotiator expects to get my modification finalized and sent to manager for approval on Friday, April 18 '09.


April 18' 09 (Friday)

Well today is Friday and I was anticipating to get a call from the negotiator. I also constantly checked the website for a change in status. Unfortunately, I received no call and no online update
I emailed Andrew, requesting to follow up on my behalf; I was tempted to call myself but I do not want to risk saying anything to undo Andrew's efforts and jeopardize my chances for approval. I did not get an email response from Andrew which is unusual; I emailed her assistant Stephene but got no response as well.

This journey truly is an exercise of patience. We'll see what happens next week.

Just remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I understand your hesitancy, but keep at them. It's the only way you'll get any results.

[teenut]

Thats why I believe in writing as many letters as possible to our state officials and the government. Once every week if you have to. They may not be able to get you exactly what you need, but they do work for us and they are a resource we should be using. We really need to pressure them as much as possible to get more changes done with this mortgage mess. The more we bother them, hopefully the more they will bother CW because they are tired of hearing from us!

[tandm]

Schnelle,

The email has changed - in case you weren't aware - and the countrywide.com is gone. And all the emails are going nowhere. I spoke to someone in their internet technology department who told me that. So try your negotiator's first name, than a period, than their last name @bankofamerica.com. That will work. You may already know that but I found that out last week when I tried calling the extension I had for my negotiator and changing the last number. When someone picked up, they told me they were in I.T. and that's how I found out about the change.

[Schnelle]

Update - April 28, 2009

My cw negotiator finally got back to Andrew with the following update:

- I should have my paperwork by next week.

- To date they are offering 5.25% Interest Only for 10 years. The terms are not final; at worst they would offer 5.25% for 5 years interest only with 5.25% rate cap for the remainder of the loan.

This reduces my monthly interest only payment from 1,100 to 962.50, a 137.5 difference. Although I am incredibly grateful that my modification is going somewhere, it does not solve my cash flow problem; I am negative $300 every month.

I emailed Andrew about my concern. I don't know if I should try to negotiate a lower interest rate or not.

[tandm]

Schnelle -

We too received another improved offer (after countrywide had offered their first one, they've stuck to it like glue every time I ask them to do better). The only reason they changed the offer was to accommodate an increase in our personal expenses to pay 2008 taxes. And instead of lowering the amount of our payment by the full payment we'll incur to the IRS, they halved it. Otherwise, they seem rather determined to stick with their original offer as much as possible.

And it is a generous offer we would have fallen over with happiness with an offer like this 8 months ago but a lot has changed over that time. They are offering 3.5% interest only for 2 years, 4.5 interest only for the next 2 years and then 5% principal and interest in year 5. The problem with this offer is that it is such a short term fix. Every two years, our payment will go up by $1000 per month in 2 years and then $2000 more ($3000 total) in 5 years. So we're going to get a raise of income of $3000 a month in 5 years? I want that job!

At the same time, I've been filling out the info on the NACA site. One hour after the offer from Countrywide, I spoke to my NACA rep and she says she's confident they can get a better long-term agreement with their sources at countrywide. So she's submitted our documentation into countrywide as we were speaking. She says it'll take between 90 to 120 days to finalize.

Have you thought about trying NACA at the same time? Maybe they could do better for you?

[Schnelle]

Update: 05-26-09 Monday

Still waiting for a mod offer...sigh