Mortgage companies and H4H success!

[Newman]

Cat wrote.....


did you ever find out who the investor is on your loan that is willing to take the short payoff? That will give other members some hope here..............we are hearing that CW will be on board in April for the loans that they own.

No, I never did, and they would not ever tell me who they were. I did ask though, and they said this and that, but never anything I could use...like I said, I finally realized SPS was a dead end street, and hit the ground running looking for an answer I could use...make no mistake, if this does not pan out, and that is always possible, I do have an attorney in my hip pocket ready to go and pull the trigger on the BK.....someone once said, " A man has to know his options" I know mine, everyone should.....else doom setteth in.....

[garyys]

Stated income thing has not hurt me as of yet (knock on wood). I know the specific details of H4H prohibit it, but I think I have been successful (so far) at showing that it was not my choice to use stated income. I don't think the BK attorney "IS the only thing you may have available to you in order to save your house". I like your quote above, I think its more accurate, " A man has to know his options". I think I have a lot of options before I get to the BK attorney. My credit is almost 800 right now, I know it has gotten tighter, but I could always buy a second home and try to rent this one out. The money I would use for the BK attorney I could use to buy out my second. There are many other options out there, just trying to resolve it the quickest, cheapest, easiest way.

Did you at any point do a QWR? If you did, did that include specifically asking for the investor? Curious if they would respond to that request?

By the way, I think you can post this with out getting the fork, what company is buying your loan?

Thanks for keeping us updated, and for sharing your knowledge Newman

Gary

[Newman]

Stated income would only hurt you, as it has hurt so many others, if you could not prove the income that you claimed you made on the original loan, if you can do that, then you would have no problem with H4H...I mentioned that as a reason that so few of the loans were being written...you sir, with an 800 score have vastly more options than most, good for you. I would think you could go get a loan anywhere and be done with this whole miserable business.....H4H should be a way for you to go..so long as you can back up what you stated as income on the original loan.....loan is an FHA loan...have gotten the GFE so far, we are scheduling the appraisal at this point....

[Maurice Bedard]

Newman is correct about the H4H and the income having to be backed up for it...................

One of the key criteria that is preventing many from getting past the application process alone is the following:

The homeowner did not provide materially false information (e.g., lied about income) to obtain the mortgage that is being refinanced into the H4H mortgage.

[Woodland Hills Worrier]

I have been followed events as best I can. Lots in the news today about the battle raging to allow bankruptcy judges to re-structure mortgages. This is the stick that gets the lenders/servicers off the hook with the investors in the bundled mortgages. You don't have to actually go into bankruptcy since lenders would be more willing to re-structure principal with borrowers to avoid the bankruptcy decision. So it would be the breakthrough borrowers have been waiting for, and the "cram-down" the banks have been dreading.
What Cat wrote is very intriguing: we are hearing that CW will be on board in April for the loans that they own. What does that actually mean. I have first and second with Countrywide and also am part of BofA settlement regarding Countrywide predatory lending. Yet, we can't seem to get any movement out of Countrywide. Also, some comments regarding ability to keep home in Chapt 13 in CA if it is underwater. Not sure about that one. Can Cat or someone clarify? We are trying to figure out what happens next so we can make reasonable plans. Thanks.

[Maurice Bedard]

unfortunately for the answer to that you would need to ask it of the bk attorney.

[Catherine]

Thank you so much Newman for the reply. I spoke to a B/K Attorney's office manager this morning to inquire if filing a Chapter 13 could get my loan modified. I hate doing it, but my lender does NOT play nice.

[Newman]

KAtherine, filing ch. 13 will NOT modify your loan, rather it would freeze it at it's current rate, and if you are behind on your payments, put you on a payment plan to repay those and any other debts you may or may not owe....this is why I call it the "nuclear" option...not only will it blow the lender out of the water, it will do that to you also....but, you will survive, unlike the lender, who goes back to the office empty handed...do not be afraid of this, it is, and will be, the only way to save your home if they go after it for real....

[Newman]

Oh, and Catherine, they will never play nice, this is business, leave nice at the door, be a b!tch....as Shakespeare wrote, " Cry havac!! And loose the dogs of war!!!"

[franklinco]

Catherine, let me do some research for you before I answer your question...I am just a homeowner on here like you, I drive trains for Amtrak for a living, I'm just a regular guy, and I don't have an answer to your question but I will.....what I do know is this....

Chapter 7 is a financial mulligan, where you basically say goodbye to everything you ever owed on, under certain conditions, you can keep stuff...

Chapter 13 is different, there, they put you on a repayment plan, and you pay the court back monthly till your done...I believe it is a 4 year time frame...also, if I understood what I was told, you pay 10% on the balances you owed on, then you are done.

You put in a repayment plan according to your income and different debt classifications. The length of plans is three years minimum if you are below median income and five years if you are over median income. Google "doj median income" for the income table. The amount that you pay to unsecured creditors varies according to what is considered expendable income. The amount can vary anywhere 0% to 100% depending on what your expendable income. Above median income people have to fill out a form where the amount of money that you made in the last six months is used as income (not your present income). Then the form for allowances for debt are used from other tables that can be found if you google the site that I listed above. Below median income debtors can choose to file chapter 7 or 13 and do not have to fill in all of the additional information that those that are above median income need to file. You also need to get an approved financial counselor to get a pre-petition evaluation.

I if I understood correctly from my atty, that if you have no equity in your home, you may keep it. I just forget if that is for 7, 13, or both.

In chapter 13 you are paying back your debtors in a wage earner plan. I'm not positive on the effect of equity but it would most likely not effect the other creditors. Unlike chapter 7 which the funds to creditors come from property. The chapter 13 is from your future wages. The amount that you pay out monthly for housing would determine the amount unsecured creditors get as a percentage.
In chapter 7, each state has exemptions for housing. If your equity does not surpass your states allowances then it would be exempt from other creditors.
If you do have equity in your home not covered by the exemption, I believe you have to pay creditors the equivalent of the equity or sell. I'm not a lawyer so they can cover specifics of the laws for equity in homes. Who has equity right now?

Also, you have to be under a certain amount to file chapter 7, I believe that number is around $63,000 or so, before taxes.

It varies from state to state and also depends upon the size of your family.

Thank Biden for this, he led that takeover of the credit system a few years back, making it harder for people to file. No coincidink that his district is Wilmington DE??? Or that his son sits on the board for one of those banks....in any case, I'll get you an answer.....I would post up my atty's number, but I believe that is not allowed...right?

Biden is a moron when it comes to BAPCPA since he voted with the majority of Republicans. At least the President voted down the complications. The comments about Biden are most likely justified. No matter, the whole act added to the cost of legal help, complications for judges, trustees, debtors and the like. Hopefully the damage can be undone that the 2005 fiasco caused.

Also...everyone...BIG BIG BIG battle shaping up on the hill this week re. BK judges being allowed to reset loans from the bench....last congress could not push it through, this congress it looks likely, which would send these arrogant, useless, world class a$$hole bankers running scared...those of you with impending doom from foreclosure, keep a close eye on the hill for the next few weeks....your salvation might be a vote away.....best to you all, may the Lord Bless and keep you..you are all in our prayers.....

If you want to track the laws being worked through congress, there is S.61 in the Senate and HR 200 and HR 225 in the House.
Also there is legislation that passed the House, HR 384 which sets guidelines for the second half of the TARP which also includes foreclosure moratoriums, Servicer safe harbor from lenders and loan modification similar to the one the FDIC worked out for the closed down banks in their control.
Hopefully help is on the way.

[franklinco]

KAtherine, filing ch. 13 will NOT modify your loan, rather it would freeze it at it's current rate, and if you are behind on your payments, put you on a payment plan to repay those and any other debts you may or may not owe....this is why I call it the "nuclear" option...not only will it blow the lender out of the water, it will do that to you also....but, you will survive, unlike the lender, who goes back to the office empty handed...do not be afraid of this, it is, and will be, the only way to save your home if they go after it for real....

Not currently, Title 11 section 1322(b)(2) prevents loan modification on primary residences. Also it does allow for you to pay back the backpayments over the length of your plan. The interest rate is not locked in, when it is scheduled to adjust, it will. My rate adjusted three times so far. I assumed the same and thought the rate was locked at what was provided in the plan. Ten months later I found out differently. Funny the lawyer never mentioned it and I did not think to ask.

[franklinco]

Gary, loan was origianlly First Franklin....sold to SPS in Oct. We had a hardship last year, got behind on the mortgage, were never able to catch up. I was looking for a loan mod when the guy I was talking to recomended this. So this is not a modification, this is a short refi, which gets me away from SPS altogether. (Not a bad thing, trust me.) So the bank, the NEW bank, was wanting to get us locked in, thus the commitment, but we were not able to due to the lack of a payoff amount from SPS. Got that today, now I can commit to the new lender, get the appraisal done, and sign docs here soon, hopefully within 30 days.....

As an aside, I understand there have been a LOT of negative feelings about certain aspects of the H4H program, not least of which is the equity sharing part. But that is a small price to pay IF, you are terribly upside down in your house, AND, your credit would prohibit you from qualifying elsewhere in a conventional loan. Again, this is NOT a FICO based loan, it is based on your situation. From what I have heard, not a whole lot of folks are getting into the program, but then, there are a LOT of people out there who did stated income loans and lied about thier actual income, so no one should be surprised when they can not prove the income they stated. Those are the vast majority of folks not getting through the gauntlet on this program...BUT, loans are being done, and are starting to close.....it's a 60 day process at least.....best to you all.......

Congratulations on getting the lender to agree to the reduced principal for the short-refi. I am here basically from searching for H4H program and I'm glad that somebody actually got through this far with the program.
Keep us informed!
HR 384 makes some improvements into the H4H program in this excerpt below. I read it as the lender can get 93% of appraised value compared to previously 90%. Also there is something about loan insurance being between a range. I think it is instead of the present 1.5% yearly loan insurance that the original H4H required.
Excerpt:
TITLE V--HOPE FOR HOMEOWNERS PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS

SEC. 501. CHANGES TO HOPE FOR HOMEOWNERS PROGRAM.

• Section 257 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-23) is amended--

• • (1) in subsection (e)--

• • • (A) by striking paragraph (1);

• • • (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking `90 percent' and inserting `93 percent';

• • • (C) by striking paragraph (7);

• • • (D) in paragraph (9), by striking `by procuring' and all that follows through `by any other method'; and

• • • (E) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (8), (9), (10), and (11) as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), and (9), respectively;

• • (2) in subsection (h)(2), by striking `, or in any case in which a mortgagor fails to make the first payment on a refinanced eligible mortgage';

• • (3) by striking subsection (i) and inserting the following new subsection:

• `(i) Annual Premiums-

• • `(1) IN GENERAL- For each refinanced eligible mortgage insured under this section, the Secretary shall establish and collect an annual premium in an amount equal to not less than 0.55 percent of the amount of the remaining insured principal balance of the mortgage and not more than 0.75 percent of such remaining insured principal balance, as determined according to a schedule established by the Board that assigns such annual premiums based upon the credit risk of the mortgage.

• • `(2) REDUCTION OR TERMINATION DURING MORTGAGE TERM- Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary may provide that the annual premiums charged for refinanced eligible mortgages insured under this section are reduced over the term of the mortgage or that the collection of such premiums is discontinued at some time during the term of the mortgage, in a manner that is consistent with policies for such reduction or discontinuation of annual premiums charged for mortgages in accordance with section 203(c).';

• • (4) in subsection (k)--

• • • (A) by striking the subsection heading and inserting `Exit Fee';

• • • (B) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking `such sale or refinancing' and inserting `the mortgage being insured under this section'; and

• • • (C) by striking paragraph (2);

• • (5) in subsection (s)(3)(A)(ii), by striking `subsection (e)(1)(B) and such other' and inserting `such';

• • (6) in subsection (v), by inserting after the period at the end the following: `The Board shall conform documents, forms, and procedures for mortgages insured under this section to those in place for mortgages insured under section 203(b) to the maximum extent possible consistent with the requirements of this section.';

• • (7) in subsection (w)(1)(C), by striking `(e)(4)(A)' and inserting `(e)(3)(A)'; and

• • (8) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

• `(x) Payment to Existing Loan Servicer- The Board may establish a payment to the servicer of the existing senior mortgage for every loan insured under the HOPE for Homeowners Program.'.

[Newman]

Sage advice Frank...with one stip, even in 7, with or without equity, the house can be saved, same as 13..

Now, the fight of the day, judges modifying loans from the bench, better known as the big hammer, supposedly got thrown out this Am, seems Obamby is against it....no word of it on any site that I have found....so until I see something concrete, treat this as rumor and speculation...but my source is usually right spot on....time will tell...

[Newman]

Well, not having access to the original bill, hard to figure out what the bullets stood for before being amended.....that said...I would tend to think I would be "grandfathered in" on the 90% aspect....

[Newman]

BTW, keep posting Frank, I get vast amounts of questions answered reading your stuff..your able to find the stuff I can't.....(file this under "Not nearly as smart as I look" file).....

[Catherine]

Thanks all for the good information. It was worth checking out, but that won't work either, Catherine

[franklinco]

Sage advice Frank...with one stip, even in 7, with or without equity, the house can be saved, same as 13..

Now, the fight of the day, judges modifying loans from the bench, better known as the big hammer, supposedly got thrown out this Am, seems Obamby is against it....no word of it on any site that I have found....so until I see something concrete, treat this as rumor and speculation...but my source is usually right spot on....time will tell...

I heard this recently from another thread. Apparently he thinks he can dictate to Congress what legislation to put forth. He is responsible for signing it or not signing it.
I'll have to write to Washington. Apparently Obama is being bought off by the Mortgage bankers and Chamber of Commerce already. Can I hear a your Fired for Obama if he is trying something so dictatorial and not in the best interest of the country within such a short time in office. Not even 90 days on office and already rumored to decay our country.

[franklinco]

Well, not having access to the original bill, hard to figure out what the bullets stood for before being amended.....that said...I would tend to think I would be "grandfathered in" on the 90% aspect....

Probably so, was the home was already appraised by an H4H program approved appraiser? I am unclear as to what the 440 was in your earlier post. Was it $440k owed on the loan and the appraisal was for the $200k plus amount?
If you want to find the original bill in its entirety and see updates to it, google for the following. "washingtonwatch HR 384" You should get a page where you can vote, check summaries of legislation and post and read comments on the legislation.
Keep us informed as to your luck with H4H. With the lower mortgage insurance it sounds more attractive. I don't mind if the lender got more of a percentage. It sounds better than a loan if modified in BK.

[franklinco]

Sage advice Frank...with one stip, even in 7, with or without equity, the house can be saved, same as 13..

Now, the fight of the day, judges modifying loans from the bench, better known as the big hammer, supposedly got thrown out this Am, seems Obamby is against it....no word of it on any site that I have found....so until I see something concrete, treat this as rumor and speculation...but my source is usually right spot on....time will tell...

Write to the whitehouse on the issue. I already posted a message.

I'll have to contact my representatives and Senators in order to inform them that without the needed anti-modification elimination included, the TARP2 is not worth passing.
The problems with the economies and the housing industry are caused by failing loans. H4H, FHASecure, HOPE Now are proof that this measure is needed.

[Newman]

Frank, I agree...I have not seen one whisper of it being thrown out. So to me there is still hope it is included in the package...I would tend to think that the window for modifying loans is not going to last too much longer, as the folks who signed for the bad stuff are either out, or sold, or refi'ed....those left are in the process of the three, and I can not imagine there are too many more that are still due to convert.....I do think there are some bad ones that will boot folks out with a baloon payment in the 1-3 years still, but those who have not amortized yet are getting smaller by the day...best to you sir....

[Newman]

Probably so, was the home was already appraised by an H4H program approved appraiser? I am unclear as to what the 440 was in your earlier post. Was it $440k owed on the loan and the appraisal was for the $200k plus amount?
If you want to find the original bill in its entirety and see updates to it, google for the following. "washingtonwatch HR 384" You should get a page where you can vote, check summaries of legislation and post and read comments on the legislation.
Keep us informed as to your luck with H4H. With the lower mortgage insurance it sounds more attractive. I don't mind if the lender got more of a percentage. It sounds better than a loan if modified in BK.

Exactly, 440,000 balance, 243,000 is the payoff....this latter number represents the 90% number..actual appraised number for our house is 270,000.....minus 10% (27,000) is 243,000 (not that you can't do the math yourself, LOL)

[franklinco]

Exactly, 440,000 balance, 243,000 is the payoff....this latter number represents the 90% number..actual appraised number for our house is 270,000.....minus 10% (27,000) is 243,000 (not that you can't do the math yourself, LOL)

Thanks for clarifying the numbers for me. $170k depreciation is quite a lot. My! I wonder why the home values are plummeting? Should we ask the profiteers and destroyer of nations in DC or just take a wild guess?

[franklinco]

Frank, I agree...I have not seen one whisper of it being thrown out. So to me there is still hope it is included in the package...I would tend to think that the window for modifying loans is not going to last too much longer, as the folks who signed for the bad stuff are either out, or sold, or refi'ed....those left are in the process of the three, and I can not imagine there are too many more that are still due to convert.....I do think there are some bad ones that will boot folks out with a baloon payment in the 1-3 years still, but those who have not amortized yet are getting smaller by the day...best to you sir....

Most the troubled assets were originated between 2005 and 2007 as far as I understand. Those that had resets which were 2/28 ARMS were already reset when HOPE Now was laughingly proposed as a solution to the toxic asset situation. For example my loan was originated in Dec 2005 and reset in Dec 2007. The loan could not have reset yet for help, so everyone with 2/28 ARMs was eliminated from qualification in 2005. It could have been FHASecure but I thought that worthless measure was where one had to have good credit before the loan reset and then were having difficulty after loan reset.
I tried to post several times on the whitehouse site but the messages would send incomplete whenever one hits the enter key while in the subject area. I would type one thought and then hit enter for the next line but would send incomplete posts.

I guess the way the site is designed it is supposed to represent what happens once Obama enters, its all over and incomplete because of poorly though out compromise when there needs to be no compromise with Republicans to pass the anti modification removal which leaves predatory loans whittling away home values.

Again, keep us updated with your H4H apparent success so far. I'm rooting for your success.

[garyys]

Thank you Cat,
If you read my posts, I never said Newman was wrong about the stated income. I stated in my post #42 that it is a requirement. I was just describing my particular situation. I have disclosed on the H4H paperwork that the loan was obtained using stated income, but not with my knowledge. I had to provide full documentation of my income to the broker, and discovered years later it was pushed through as a stated income. I don't think there is a solid no from FHA on this.

FHA rule,
The homeowner did not provide materially false information (e.g., lied about income) to obtain the mortgage that is being refinanced into the H4H mortgage.

To me the key word here is "homeowner", I did not provide false info. But I will not know how they look at it (I know, I signed for the "false info" in singing the loan docs) until I get approved, or turned down. I have been researching this program since the first day I heard about it (an article I read in July or August 2008) I have been trying to apply since 10-1-08. I finally found a company that is a direct money lender working with this program. My paperwork was submitted in early December. I talked to Aurora and they received the packet (from a outside lender, short refi style) on the 14th of January, they told me they would respond in 15 days. I have my fingers crossed?

Newman said:

"I would think you could go get a loan anywhere and be done with this whole miserable business"

I hope you are referring to a H4H loan, because I know of no bank that will loan 320,000 on a house that is worth 100,000? If they did that we may have avoided this entire drastic drop in home values fueled by foreclosure.

There were 2 questions for you in the end of post #42

Thanks again Newman, looking forward to more good posts from you, with good news! I know you can't get to excited yet, but I am hopeful for you.

Gary

[Newman]

There were 2 questions for you in the end of post #42

And here they are....


Did you at any point do a QWR? If you did, did that include specifically asking for the investor? Curious if they would respond to that request?

No, I did not at any point, so far, do a QWR...but I have asked repeatedly for the name of the investor, to no avail.....



By the way, I think you can post this with out getting the fork, what company is buying your loan?


Let me call on that, as we were not able to commit to a lender without the payoff, though they were asking for a comital. Obtaining one now should be easy, I will have to get back to you on the name of the lender. Cat, is that OK? Or should I send it to you, and let you forward it to him??? Not wanting to break any rules..though my wife would disagree. If you asked her, one would think I spent my entire existence coming up with new and innovative ways to break hers..........

[Maurice Bedard]

Newman............you are too funny........

When you get the information, you can forward it to my email.......

[Newman]

LOL...will do....

[Woodland Hills Worrier]

I have read the Sen Dodd took our the banruptcy judge right to restructure from the Stimulus package to ensure its passage but that this issue is one that Obama feels is necessary. The mortgages owned by the Federal Reserve Bank will be modified and it appears that principal reduction is seem as a necessary solution to stopping forclosure. What it boils down to is a battle between homeowners and lenders and an attempt at a compromise by the government. I would guess more will be revealed in the next few weeks. The idea of millions of homeowners going through bankruptcy judges is somewhat unworkable, so I think the government is going to come up with a standard they will impose based on H4H.

[franklinco]

I have read the Sen Dodd took our the banruptcy judge right to restructure from the Stimulus package to ensure its passage but that this issue is one that Obama feels is necessary. The mortgages owned by the Federal Reserve Bank will be modified and it appears that principal reduction is seem as a necessary solution to stopping forclosure. What it boils down to is a battle between homeowners and lenders and an attempt at a compromise by the government. I would guess more will be revealed in the next few weeks. The idea of millions of homeowners going through bankruptcy judges is somewhat unworkable, so I think the government is going to come up with a standard they will impose based on H4H.

Senator Dodd was also supposed to be for the removal of the anti-modification provision in Chapter 13 plan structures. You are right that the removal of unfair advantage of the anti-modification portion of title 11 will not allow a large percentage of people to save their homes. The projected number is around 600 thousand if my remembrance of the statistics are right. Presently with loan that vary in their original conditions, most people who are made insolvent from the home loans cannot save their homes from toppling their ability to pay their other debt.
Regarding the H4H program. It would be better if the plan was not voluntary but mandated for loans which meet certain conditions like pre-payment penalties, unsustainable interest rate fluctuations and other sure to fail conditions. If modifications were mandated outside BK or within BK, the plan would go further toward restoring cash flow back to the economies.

[garyys]

Aurora sent my H4H (being ran through as a short refi from a separate company) to the underwriters for review and submission to the investor. I was told the investor has 60 days to respond.

Funny thing is, I called the regular number, and was routed directly to the home retention group. It usually goes to a "general" operator, and I have to request the home retention group, and the "general" operator try's to stall me and convince me that they can help me, and I don't need to talk to the home retention group.

Also, the last few times I have called I have requested the name of the investor on my loan, telling them that they need to provide it under RESPA and TILLA, and they told me that they don't have the name. This time when he mentioned the investor, he clarified and told me Freddie Mac is the investor.

I’m now playing the waiting game.

Gary

[franklinco]

Aurora sent my H4H (being ran through as a short refi from a separate company) to the underwriters for review and submission to the investor. I was told the investor has 60 days to respond.

Funny thing is, I called the regular number, and was routed directly to the home retention group. It usually goes to a "general" operator, and I have to request the home retention group, and the "general" operator try's to stall me and convince me that they can help me, and I don't need to talk to the home retention group.

Also, the last few times I have called I have requested the name of the investor on my loan, telling them that they need to provide it under RESPA and TILLA, and they told me that they don't have the name. This time when he mentioned the investor, he clarified and told me Freddie Mac is the investor.

I’m now playing the waiting game.

Gary

Thanks for the update on the stages you have gotten to. To add to some changes to the H4H program, the 3% for up front mortgage premiums may be dropped in addition to the proposed .55% to .75% yearly MIP.
As with your loan, stalling is the name of the game for getting anything done if anything ever gets done at all.

[djt813]

P.S.S. (Or something like that)

...Now for the loan, for those of you still wondering about this program.....

1. This is not, NOT a FICO driven loan, rather a loan based on your circumstances, i.e. in or near foreclosure. Ability to repay, and debt to income are also factored in. FICO is only a factor in reference to APR.

2. It is a short refi, based on 90% of your appraised value on your home. 85% to pay off your existing loan, 5% for closing costs. Nothing, so far, out of pocket. But, according to my lender, the window for these loans is narrow, and not a lot have gotten through it yet. According to him, I have. I wanna see it on paper, so I asked him for a letter of pre-approval, he said I would have it by Tuesday, Monday Maybe. Time will tell. Dad always says, "Trust, but verify" , so I am doing just that. If I get it, I will scan it and post it up on here if I can, just to show those that are contemplating this program it is real...

Best to you all, may the good Lord Bless and keep you, I'll be back with an update as I can....Newman

No updates yet? They aren't kidding about a slow approval process. Did you even get the preapproval letter?

[djt813]

Sorry, not sure I saw the final page of messages before I replied. Congrats on the (apparent) approval! Look forward to hearing of the final paperwork to put it to rest for you!

[franklinco]

Newman and Gary. Were either of you successful in getting through the H4H gauntlet yet?

[garyys]

I called Aurora Tuesday the 10th. When I told the rep that I was calling to check the status of my Short-refi, he asked if I was working on a H4H Refi. I told him yes. He then told me I was under review for a VA loan modification. He then asked if I was a Vet. I told him no. He then told me I should look into a loan modification because not many H4H refi’s are being approved. I told him I had researched loan mods and they weren’t for me. He told me my loan had been submitted for underwriter review on January 21^st. He said I should call and check up in 45-60 days from that date. I asked if I was under review for the H4H or something different. He put me on hold for about 15 minutes. He came back on and told me that it was under review for H4H. He said he sent an email to the person assigned to review it to make sure. He said if it was assigned to the wrong person it would be reassigned and would not affect the time line.

It seems like they are playing games to waste time. I think I am going to start my plan B (expecting them to deny my H4H short refi) and send in the QWR. I may also send something to Freddie Mac telling them what Aurora is doing in stalling a refi. I may also cc HUD, FHA, and my congressman?

Gary

[Newman]

Update for me. I was getting concerned for the last couple of weeks, due to the fact that Samantha, my processor, had not returned my calls, and was not available. So I finally got ahold of Phil, the guy I am working with on all of this, and he said he would call Sam and get back to me. Turns out it was a good thing I did that. Sam called SPS and got me an extension for 6 weeks with them. A few hours later, Phil called back to say that our bank, (the one originating the refi end) had pulled out of the H4H loan program, as had several others. So, Phil hit the ground running, and said he would find a new home for the loan by last Friday. Friday, I did not hear anything back, as well as Monday. then yesterday, I got a call that we had found a new loan through a company. Did a search on them they came up first out on the yahoo and google searches, then looked for any complaints on them through BBB and anything else, nothing. SO, I am again cautiously optimistic about this whole thing. One piece of good news, we have not done our appraisal yet, and the internal numbers for SPS can and most likely go down, which means that the loan can and most likely drop in principal. Keep your fingers crossed, as this is a serious roller coaster. We should get a conditional approval some time today. Best to you all, your in our prayers every day, please post your updates, good bad or ugly. This is by no means a success story (yet )

[garyys]

Thanks for the update Newman. I think that's the same people I am using (they use Lend, in place of Loan).

I received a call today from the mitigation company that the lender (the short refi lender) uses to deal with my current mortgage service company Aurora. They told me that they are preparing to submit my package to Aurora for negations, and needed my most current financial statements. What???? I told him that Aurora told me it was currently underway? He said they have not sumbmitted anything? I am now confused, and think Aurora is leading me on or trying to push through a modification to avoid the H4H short-refi?

Interesting how this process works. I am going to send over my current financial statements, and hope for the best.

Gary

[franklinco]

I called Aurora Tuesday the 10th. When I told the rep that I was calling to check the status of my Short-refi, he asked if I was working on a H4H Refi. I told him yes. He then told me I was under review for a VA loan modification. He then asked if I was a Vet. I told him no. He then told me I should look into a loan modification because not many H4H refi’s are being approved. I told him I had researched loan mods and they weren’t for me. He told me my loan had been submitted for underwriter review on January 21^st. He said I should call and check up in 45-60 days from that date. I asked if I was under review for the H4H or something different. He put me on hold for about 15 minutes. He came back on and told me that it was under review for H4H. He said he sent an email to the person assigned to review it to make sure. He said if it was assigned to the wrong person it would be reassigned and would not affect the time line.

It seems like they are playing games to waste time. I think I am going to start my plan B (expecting them to deny my H4H short refi) and send in the QWR. I may also send something to Freddie Mac telling them what Aurora is doing in stalling a refi. I may also cc HUD, FHA, and my congressman?

Gary

Thanks Gary for the update on the H4H stagnation. For many the H4H program is essential to actually get on the way and to be used. As I mentioned earlier my interest in the H4H program is secondary to the removal of the anti-modification provision from title 11.
H4H if actually implemented would be better than an arrangement a judge would determine, but the voluntary nature of H4H acceptance is pretty much an assurance that the lender will respond with a no. Aurora has all the say in acceptance to my understanding. The short-refi lender would have little trouble agreeing to collateral above the loan amount in my view.

[franklinco]

Update for me. I was getting concerned for the last couple of weeks, due to the fact that Samantha, my processor, had not returned my calls, and was not available. So I finally got ahold of Phil, the guy I am working with on all of this, and he said he would call Sam and get back to me. Turns out it was a good thing I did that. Sam called SPS and got me an extension for 6 weeks with them. A few hours later, Phil called back to say that our bank, (the one originating the refi end) had pulled out of the H4H loan program, as had several others. So, Phil hit the ground running, and said he would find a new home for the loan by last Friday. Friday, I did not hear anything back, as well as Monday. then yesterday, I got a call that we had found a new loan through a company. Did a search on them they came up first out on the yahoo and google searches, then looked for any complaints on them through BBB and anything else, nothing. SO, I am again cautiously optimistic about this whole thing. One piece of good news, we have not done our appraisal yet, and the internal numbers for SPS can and most likely go down, which means that the loan can and most likely drop in principal. Keep your fingers crossed, as this is a serious roller coaster. We should get a conditional approval some time today. Best to you all, your in our prayers every day, please post your updates, good bad or ugly. This is by no means a success story (yet )

Thanks Newman, you just amended my view that the H4H lenders would accept a loan on property worth more than the loan and at terms the homeowner could repay. It may not be beneficial to the new lender if the loan refinancing ends in a dead end.

Good bad or ugly, the information is valuable so others can seek the proper choices. I for one appreciate the updates.

[franklinco]

Just passing on what another article has stated about the H4H program. The link was removed from the article which was posted on a site dedicated to BK and easy to understand reviews both law and opinion.
FYI:
Furthermore, only a third of the modifications reduce the monthly payment while almost half (45%) see their monthly payments increase! If the homeowner was struggling before the modification, he is less likely to make the payments now.
It was thought that the voluntary loan modification programs would provide relief for homeowners. For example, the Hope For Homeowners Act passed last spring was expected to help more than 400,000 homeowners through FHA refinancing if the servicer would accept less than 100% payment guaranteed by the government.
Since October and the program’s inception, 312 people have applied for the program. Additionally, the Hope Now effort has not achieved any real results and studies demonstrate that 7 out of 10 homeowners who are seriously delinquent on their mortgages are not in any loss mitigation stages.
From my own experience, neither I nor my colleagues achieve significant and meaningful loan modifications from servicers that will really keep people in their homes. Voluntary efforts promoted by the lending industry have proven to be ineffectual. Yet, more and more money is demanded of Congress in bailouts.
End Excerpt:

My comment:
Since there are statistically 310 other people who applied for the program, your feedback is essential so more people could determine if the futility is worth it.