Totally Frustrated with Countrywide

[Renee Gorden]

I really don't think anybody can help me, but I can at least write out my frustrates on this site. That alone will might make it better.
I bought my condo back in May of 06. I love this place and wanted to stay here until I retire. It's right by the beach and was totally renovated and perfect for a single person. I've been selling RE for 18 years and thought I was making a wise buying decision. The price was at $340,000 and I had the perfect mortgage I thought at the time. Conventional 20% down, interest only for 10 years, but fixed 30 years at 6.5%
Well, RE took a plunge and I no longer could continue selling RE and had to look for a job and yet earn enought to pay the expenses of the condo. My monthly cost on it with taxes and maintance was around $2,000 a month.
Fortunately, I found work after going about a year using up my savings to pay for my condo. My income is around $40,000 as compared to the $80,000 or more selling RE.
I decided to let the place go and haven't made a payment in 6 months. I'm somewhere between forclosure, loan modification, and deed in lieu.
Since my loan is owned by Fannie Mae, I can't get any help to remodify and I don't think the program in April will help out either. Right now, I'm in the process of deed in lieu and will lose over $100,000 of my savings that I put into this condo, if I give it back. They appraised it for between $150 and $160. Why won't they help me to save my home. I have a job, I want to stay here, I just don't know what to do at this point. I have no other debt and settled on a credit card that I borrowed money on to help with the payments on my condo
Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to save my place. I really love it here and it doesn't make sense for Countrywide to forclose on someone that is willing and able to make reasonable payments according to there present income.

[Justme89]

NACA has made a new deal with Fannie Mae recently. Definitely sign up with NACA if you havent already.

Read this link:

NACA, Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, Fannie Mae | Loan Modification & Home Loan News


Help is coming! But only for those willing to help themselves by applying pressure! I highly recommend you call and email Fannie Mae. What I have found is that even if you email the wrong departments for lack of information to contact the correct one. It will be forwarded. Contact Us

[Renee Gorden]

Thanks, I'll do it now.

[Justme89]

I am ashamed to admit I cant give awesome credit to the original writer of this letter because I cant remember where I read it here but I modified it and emailed it to everyone including Obama.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Sirs/Madam,

I am writing this letter to explain our unfortunate set of circumstances that have caused us to become delinquent on our mortgage. We have done everything in our power to make ends meet but unfortunately we have fallen short and would like you to consider working with us to modify our loan. Our number one goal is to keep our home and we would really appreciate the opportunity to do that. [Your investor] is the investor on my loan have the power to help me!

The main reason that caused us to be late is the due to a reduction of work that caused a lack of sufficient income in our home. [Including the fact that we have X children that we support full time. Explain the reasons that led to this briefly.] Soon after being late and our income not being nearly enough, we had fallen further and further behind. We live in [Your State] the heating season is upon us. Now, it’s to the point where we cannot afford to pay what is owed to Countrywide. It is our full intention to pay what we owe. But at this time we have exhausted all of our income and resources so we are turning to you for help.

We have contacted Countrywide on NUMEROUS occasions over the past year and were told, "Yes, we can help you." "No, I'm sorry you do not qualify." Sometimes we would have a repayment which was much more that what we could afford. [I added in customized honest information pertaining to how my family has suffered and struggled to maintain our mortgage here] NOT ONE PERSON HAS GIVEN US A STRAIGHT ANSWER. We continue to get different stories from different representatives every single time we call. We now owe more on our home then what it is worth. We are asking for a modification of our loan with a new appraisal of the home's actual value! Our county currently has the highest unemployment rate of the entire State of [your State], as you know foreclosing on our home would result in a highly unlikely ability for anyone to resell it at the current amount owed. This is a loss for both you as the investor and myself if this results in an unfortunate foreclosure. We are however willing to pay in full what we owe if only Countrywide would help us by restructuring our loan.

Please be aware that our [Your State] Senator's [local Senator name] and [another local senator name] will both be receiving a copy of this email. Also be advised that our case will be profiled on a public website called www.LoanSafe.org and www.LoanWorkout.org and that the founder, Moe Bedard will be following the progress.

We are sorry that it had to come to this, but we have no other options. We are anxious to get this settled so we all can move on.

Sincerely and Respectfully,

Your name
Address
City, State ZIP
XXX-XXX-XXXX
Loan # XXXXXXXX

[Moe Bedard]

HI Renee,


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

What is the reason that CW is giving you for denying your loan modification?

[Renee Gorden]

My current income is too low for modification. I went from making around $80,000 selling RE to taking a salaried position that pays with bonues around $40,000. At least I have a job and no other debt to pay.

[Justme89]

That seems to be the standard thing they tell everyone. And from what I have read it is what they are instructed to tell people regardless of the truth. I was told to qualify I need to be in the negative which I really am. Then I was told I didnt qualify for it. That I needed to show a positive then I argued for a supervisor to speak with and said listen just tell me what you want to see to qualify me and he said I needed a $250 positive. So I redid my financials and he refused to enter them and hung on me. But I persisted and called back. Then I just said screw them and went with NACA telling them the truth and letting them handle it. But I didnt stop there, I know NACA has a lot of work on their hands so I pressured my investor and I asked my Senators to contact them too.

[Justme89]

Then I got a phone call from a Senior loss mitigator from the investor and because he couldnt get in contact with me he left his cell phone number for me. He assured me he was contacting CW and that we didnt need to worry about losing our home. I have a persistant personality, and have never been able to accept, "NO" but I realize that not everyone is like that. So I encourage you to try it, even if it is outside of what you are comfortable with.

[Renee Gorden]

I can also be pretty presistant, but I think I've been putting my energy in the wrong place and now I'm running out of steam. Intially, when I started I was calling them several times a week and was told to contact the HOPE organization. Hope took me info and never put in the system. I called Countrywide several weeks later and they said they never recieved anything. They then took the info and said I don't qualify, but to try deed in lieu. I applied for that and later was told that my home wasn't on the market long enough to qualify for deed in lieu. The first agent from Countrywide said I only needed to be on the market for 3 months, later I found out I needed 6 months. Once again I started over with the deed in lieu and kept calling customer service about refinancing. They said you can't do both at the same time and to continue with the deed in lieu, in case I wouldn't qualify for the remodification. They also said if they accept the deed in lieu, I don't have to sign the papers and then try again for remodification. It's all very confusing and very time consuming.
Since Fannie Mae owns my mortgage, I think I'm getting the run around. They have around $80,000 that I intially put down on the first mortgage. I just want affordable payments so that I can stay here. I don't see my condo appreciating again in my lifetime up to the $340 that I paid. I'm willing to keep my $285 mortage if the payments are affordable. I can get my RE taxes reduced next year because the value has gone down so low. I just need the mortgage to be at payments of around $800 so I can pay it. They can stretch the payments out to 40 years and lower the interest rate. They should adjust the mortgage balance and be done with this. It should have never appraised for $340,000. The whole thing is just wrong.

[Moe Bedard]

Renee,


If this is the only property that you own, you may want to go through NACA so that they can put together a budget with you and base a modification off of what you can afford if you meet the criteria........their services are free for the Home Save program and they will work with your investor through CW. click on the link here for the info.

https://www.naca.com/refinance/refinanceTenStep.jsp

Please keep us posted on your progress............

[Justme89]

Originally Posted by Renee Gorden

I can also be pretty presistant, but I think I've been putting my energy in the wrong place and now I'm running out of steam. Intially, when I started I was calling them several times a week and was told to contact the HOPE organization. Hope took me info and never put in the system. I called Countrywide several weeks later and they said they never recieved anything. They then took the info and said I don't qualify, but to try deed in lieu. I applied for that and later was told that my home wasn't on the market long enough to qualify for deed in lieu. The first agent from Countrywide said I only needed to be on the market for 3 months, later I found out I needed 6 months. Once again I started over with the deed in lieu and kept calling customer service about refinancing. They said you can't do both at the same time and to continue with the deed in lieu, in case I wouldn't qualify for the remodification. They also said if they accept the deed in lieu, I don't have to sign the papers and then try again for remodification. It's all very confusing and very time consuming.
Since Fannie Mae owns my mortgage, I think I'm getting the run around. They have around $80,000 that I intially put down on the first mortgage. I just want affordable payments so that I can stay here. I don't see my condo appreciating again in my lifetime up to the $340 that I paid. I'm willing to keep my $285 mortage if the payments are affordable. I can get my RE taxes reduced next year because the value has gone down so low. I just need the mortgage to be at payments of around $800 so I can pay it. They can stretch the payments out to 40 years and lower the interest rate. They should adjust the mortgage balance and be done with this. It should have never appraised for $340,000. The whole thing is just wrong.

I can totally relate with what you are saying! I was worn out and beyond stressed and ready to walk away feeling that abandoning the home would actually save me money that I can better spend on my children. It is all about quality of life for me and if there is not a reasonable way to work this out well then so be it. But then I got my second wind and I felt empowered, I emailed everyone and called and I made sure to include CC's in my emails to Senators, News agencies, The President, Govenor etc so that they could see who else I was contacting and I think that made a difference but it took several days. But i am consigned to move if I have to and declare bankruptcy and buy another house if I have to. But if I am going down it wont be without a fight and honestly the only one who loses is the Investors because I pulled out my equity 4 years ago when I refinaced.

[Justme89]

I emailed every department email address I could find for the company even if it was for investment information or press relations. They all returned my emails saying they were forwarding them to the correct departments by the way.