No hardship yet, 250k upside down

[SMoore]

I am completely consumed by what is happening and I keep waiting for the "right" time to address my issues with our 1st and 2nd w CW...

We have interest only jumbo loans on both our first AND second, our home is currently appraised at approx 250k under what we owe. Our mortages are current and I am just wondering if I will even get help while staying current OR do I need to stop paying both mortgages?

I keep hearing about Mar 4 and the bailout, just dont know if I should start now or wait.

[Dan Bailey]

SMoore,
Glad you found the forum and posted.
It is not too early to start the process (sending in hardship letter/making first contact with CW). Even on the slim chance that the March 4 "bailout" actually helps homeowners, you will still need to contact CW.

Here is the best breakdown of the plan Ive seen, posted by ***:http://www.loansafe.org/forum/stop-f...html#post63591.

It's never too early to start the process!

Hang in there and good luck!

[SMoore]

Thank you for your response! I am wondering if you or anyone can offer assistance on how to proceed:

I am married; however, my husband is NOT on the mortgage due to a BK 8 yrs ago - do I include his income in my balance sheet?

We have a rental property - payment is 2200, rents for 1650 a month - do I include this as income and an expense?

Should the balance sheet look as though we are in serious trouble or that we are still in the black each month? eg misc expenses, etc.

Again, our mortgage is current; however, we need to stop the bleeding, being 250k upside down makes me SICK, especially knowing we are on an interest only jumbo fixed for 10 yrs at approx 6.5%

Thoughts? Thanks a million

[Moe Bedard]

You would need to start the process by contacting CW and asking what they would need you to submit..........they can let you know..........or you can do a budget sheet with HOPE............
1-888-995-HOPE
Homeownership Preservation Foundation

CW Home Retention
1-800-669-0102


Because the criteria varies from one investor to the next and is always changing as programs are released............we do not have that type of information available to us.............

[SMoore]

Hello everyone

This forum is really great, I am amazed at what I have learned over the last few weeks. I thank you and I wish all of you the best of luck...

Although we are current, we are upside down by about 250k. In Las Vegas, we depend on the hospitality industry to keep compensation consistent and things are getting worse by the day....that being said, I do expect my income to decrease over the next 6 - 18 months; however, I am not sure if I can wait that long.

Has anyone been successful at a loan mod without proving a true hardship? I am done with this economy and what it has done to the value of our home. We will never recover from this loss......

[Schnelle]

SMoore,

I completely relate to your situation. My condo is currently 50% less than what I purchased it for. It sickens me to think about it.

Even with hardship my mod has been denied twice. Not to mention the second time around is with attorney representation! My processor is continuing to fight my case. I believe my denial has a lot to do with the fact that my account is current and my bank statements show a positive balance every month.

I hope the government will recognize the need to help those with excessively underwater mortgages - whether they have hardship or not.

[Larry2630]

SMoore,

We are on the same situation. Our house is more than 50% underwater. Purchased for 685K now worth 324K. We also have 1st & 2nd loan both from CW. Just like you, we are still current on our payment and no immediate hardship - but i see it coming in the next few months. Our savings depleted a lot. Anybody has an idea what to put in the hardship letter regarding our situation?

[SMoore]

Just called CW regarding a loan mod and I am so frustrated that I could scream! He said I do not qualify because I have positive cash flow (for now). I explained that by being a commissioned employee in the city of Las Vegas, we depend on convention business to keep us above water, my compensation will decrease significantly and then I WILL be late on mortgage payments, trying to be proactive gets us no where. He referred me to HUD and said or wait til March, told him Obama isnt going to help us due to our LTV and the fact that we are on a jumbo loan, we are too far upside down, he said, well, I cant help you and your payments are current. I told him to make a note in my file letting CW know that I am going to stop making payments, they can take $4200 a month and shove it, I will concentrate on paying off debt for the next three months to the tune of $12,600. I am so DONE with this whole situation....

[Moe Bedard]

Larry2630............

These are what most lenders consider to be generally acceptable hardships....

1. Loss of job or reduction in income
2. Death of the homeowner, spouse or family member
3. Illness of homeowner or family member
4. Divorce or separation
5. Forced job relocation by employer
6. Adjustable rate reset-payment shock

The best way to set up a hardship letter..........

* First, describe the hardship and the circumstances that caused it
* Explain what steps have been taken to correct the situation
* Provide the lender with your plan to get back on track and stay there
* Assure the lender that you are a responsible homeowner who just needs a second chance and that you are very motivated to save your home.

[gray517]

I think that because so many people have suffered a loss of income, that they are helping people in a "triage" kind of system, helping those that are in the greatest need first. I got laid off last year and have been unable to secure full time work or even any part time jobs, husband has had 4 paycuts for a total loss of $4000 a month in income, with the new modification we got using Naca we barely meet our obligations (i am talking about necessities, like mortgage, utilities, insurance car payment and food) we stopped paying credit cards 9 months ago, had to give 1 car back and I don't have health insurance, but require medical care as i am a diabetic with high blood pressure, I can't go to the doctor (even though he's been my doc for 10 years) they require insurance or payment upfront. We didn't just buy our house, we have owned it for 10 years, but got conned into refinancing in 2007 to get rid of mortgage insurance on first and high rate 2nd mortgage, we were promised (like others) that we could refinance the loan into a new lower rate after 1 year. I thank god for Naca, we now got a 6% fixed for the life of the loan rate, but like others we have lost our equity and more with the declining home values, I look at differently than most, I would rather pay a monthly payment on something that is mine (even though its upside down) than pay monthly rent payments that go to someone elses mortgage, lucky for us our mortgage payment is now about the same as it would cost to rent a house in our area.

[patnj]

I think you really need to be behind or they don't consider you as having a hardship...It will hurt your credit temporarly but when the loan is modified they list you as current.

Grey, what's happening with your credit cards? I also stopped paying 9 months ago and the calls seem to be easing off. I wonder if they are getting ready to sue me and if so what that will entail....I cant afford to be garanished and pay my mortgage.

[Schnelle]

patnj,

"It will hurt your credit temporarly but when the loan is modified they list you as current."

How sure are you about this? Do you mean that if I fall behind on my payments leading to negative credit report and lower fico score, they would restore it once the loan is modified?

This sounds unlikely.

[gray517]

Originally Posted by patnj

Grey, what's happening with your credit cards? I also stopped paying 9 months ago and the calls seem to be easing off. I wonder if they are getting ready to sue me and if so what that will entail....I cant afford to be garanished and pay my mortgage.

all of ours are now charge-offs handled by collections agencies, I don't get as many calls as i did in the past, i still get letters occasionally each time it is a different agency, the original creidit charged off the debt and sold it and then it looks like it was sold again and again, I have multiple collection accounts for the same debt in my credit report, (good luck getting that fixed, lol) I do know that what they can do is take you to court for a judgement against you for the unpaid debt before they go to court and try to get a garnishment, in fla if you go to the judgment hearing you can sometimes work out a payment arrangement if you don't show up they automatically get a judgment against, I have had 3 judgements filed in past years (all paid off now) only 1 tried to get a garnishment of my bank account. We are probably going to file a bankruptcy on the credit card debt and repossession, just don't have the money right now to pay an attorney for that nor do we have the money to make even small monthly payments that would be required for a chapter 13, but if I ever can find a job we will start putting aside funds for that. unfortuenately the jobs, if any are paying around $10-$12 an hour in sw florida, last year my income was $25-$32 an hour, ouch! and unemployement which is about to run out is only $275 a week before taxes.

[gray517]

Originally Posted by Schnelle

patnj,

"It will hurt your credit temporarly but when the loan is modified they list you as current."

How sure are you about this? Do you mean that if I fall behind on my payments leading to negative credit report and lower fico score, they would restore it once the loan is modified?

This sounds unlikely.

they don't restore your negative credit report, i recently got mine and it still shows mortgage behind 6 months, even though I got my mod in jan. supposedly when they report in march it will show the acount is current but it will still show that i was past due for 6 months

[gray517]

what they can do is take you to court for a judgement against you for the unpaid debt *before they go to court and try to get a garnishment, in fla if you go to the judgment hearing you can sometimes work out a payment arrangement if you don't show up they automatically get a judgment against


oops! meant to say *they get a judgment against you first before they go after your income or bank accounts for garnishment

[patnj]

It will take some time to adjsut but you have to decide if the mofification is more imortant. I would have lost my house eventually without it so a couple of late payemnts is nothing compared to a foreclosure...

[gray517]

Originally Posted by patnj

It will take some time to adjsut but you have to decide if the mofification is more imortant. I would have lost my house eventually without it so a couple of late payemnts is nothing compared to a foreclosure...

Agree with you 100% my credit got messed up when i lost my job anyway as I couldn't pay credit cards and lost a car. now I wish I hadn't used my $6000 from 401k (actually is was $4500 after taxes) to make 2 mortgage payments, since we ended up behind anyway and now have no savings. Thank God for Naca or I would be in foreclosure or still waiting for CW to give me a temporary 5 year modification. Now just have to survive the unemployment situation its 10% here in sw fla, once i am able to get a job then we will worry about having a savings and rebuilding credit.

[mybailout]

I am pretty much in the same boat as you. I'm now 4 months past due and trying to get Countrywide to modify. I've asked for a forbearance period so I can pay off all my other debt and then be able to afford the mortgage with no problem. The smart thing money wise would be just to walk away since the house is worth about $230K less than we owe Countrywide. If they take the house back they will lose at least $400K and we are in an non-course state. You'd think that they would want to work with us but we have been turned down twice because our cash flow would be negative. No Kidding! that's why we applied for the help. I've now reapplied because our debts are lower every month that passes. If we get turned down again I will hire a lawyer as I feel there were things the broker did wrong. Not sure how far that will get us but the more time that passes the more debts I have paid off. By the time Countrywide would foreclose we'll have most if not all the debts repaid.

This website has been a great source of information and is greatly appreciated.