Mortgage companies and H4H success!

[Newman]

I should stipulate here that these are docs, but it ain't over till it records, and I still have some finiancials to get together, this is just a step in the process, a good one, but I'm not done yet....keep your fingers crossed...

[Newman]

Well, I was right, we have the pre-approval. Those of you in the know know that in the loan world, this is a means to an end. But, in this case, I never thought we would get this far, so I am amazed at this point. Small victtory that it is, I'll take it. Now, back to writing letters and diggin up old paystubs... can you believe they want our April 2008 paystubs? Sheesh...gotta go find them, no idea where to look...I only keep six months in the office here, they are out in a box in the garage I believe...and why can we not post pictures or whatever on here Kat?? I got a couple of doozies I could post up...

[Newman]

Well, we are almost there, I am busting my behind because we are at 5% on the loan at the moment, but that could go down on Monday, and we can not lock in a rate until I order the appraisal on the house....just for the OUCH! factor, 450 for the appraisal now....sheesh....used to be 350...if I can get this thing locked in at 4.5% or better for 30 years fixed?? I will live in this house till I die...so, everything I can fax is faxed, CPA faxed over W-2's for '07 and '08, just need to get the March 2008 stubs found, and we should be golden.....thoughts everyone??? Champagne yet? Not yet, but soon...:l

[franklinco]

Originally Posted by Newman

UPDATE!! As I type this, my loan docs are printing out!!! Nice, things are starting to roll out here....

Congrats! It sounded like a tough battle to go through. I wish for things to roll smoothly for you once the loan is set up. With your success, it should encourage others to give the program a go.

[Newman]

Should call for the appraisal on Mon. or Tues. Can not lock in the rate until I get it ordered...hoping for a rate in the high fours....wouldn't THAT be something???

[franklinco]

Originally Posted by Newman

Should call for the appraisal on Mon. or Tues. Can not lock in the rate until I get it ordered...hoping for a rate in the high fours....wouldn't THAT be something???

That would be excellent. I am paying 9% on my current loan. It is $120 per percent for the interest portion. A 6% interest rate would allow me $360 a month for other bills or for other purposes. I sure know the 3% rise in interest took away the $360 needed for paying other bills. Good luck with the apraisal and lender acceptance and terms.

[LenderNoHelp]

Hi Newman,

I have been reading your posts... great info. and good luck.

SPS 2nd mortgage called my Friday asking me to do a "short pay" however CW is my first mortgage and they say they do not accept short pay. Short Refi will not work unless CW accepts right?

[Piscesgirl]

Hi Newman! I am so happy for you and your family! Thank you so much for sharing everything with us!


You had mentioned that you were 'printing loan docs' but that the appraisal hadn't been ordered or the rate locked in? I may have missed something when I was trying to read through everything but I would think that those two things are needed before actual 'loan docs' can be drawn. Did the previous lender have an appraisal done and you are paying to have one done for the new lender? I know things differ from state to state but it’s weird not to be able to lock in your rate… I guess because the loan amount may change based on the new appraisal?

I am trying to start the process myself and really appreciate any details. I am trying to learn as much as I can so I can try to move things along.

I don’t have a lot of time left before I will find myself in my own ‘van down by the river’

[garyys]

LenderNoHelp

I don't know your situation, but maybe you should ask them what they would take in a short payoff? If my H4H fails, I am planning on offering a small cash payoff to my second. (my second is $62,000, might offer them 2,000 to 5,000 dollars?) I don't know if this will work, but it is worth a try.

Gary

[Newman]

Originally Posted by LenderNoHelp

Hi Newman,

I have been reading your posts... great info. and good luck.

SPS 2nd mortgage called my Friday asking me to do a "short pay" however CW is my first mortgage and they say they do not accept short pay. Short Refi will not work unless CW accepts right?

If SPS is in second place, I do believe you would need to get CW to go in first....don't confuse short pay with short refi, they are different. You need to call them and ASK them if they are working with the H4H program, I do believe they are. H4H is a short refi, meaning you are refinancing your current mortgage for less than what you originally signed for. Also bear in mind, that it is NOT a credit based loan, i.e. your credit history does not play a role in the decision to give you a loan, rather, your individual situation does....let me know if I can help any more.....best to you....Newman.

[Newman]

Originally Posted by Piscesgirl

Hi Newman! I am so happy for you and your family! Thank you so much for sharing everything with us!


You had mentioned that you were 'printing loan docs' but that the appraisal hadn't been ordered or the rate locked in? I may have missed something when I was trying to read through everything but I would think that those two things are needed before actual 'loan docs' can be drawn. Did the previous lender have an appraisal done and you are paying to have one done for the new lender? I know things differ from state to state but it’s weird not to be able to lock in your rate… I guess because the loan amount may change based on the new appraisal?

I am trying to start the process myself and really appreciate any details. I am trying to learn as much as I can so I can try to move things along.

I don’t have a lot of time left before I will find myself in my own ‘van down by the river’

The docs I signed are the loan docs, just not the financial loan docs, those are the ones we sign after final approval. As for the appraisal, we thought we would not have to order one for our side, as SPS had done an internal one, and it was thought that would suffice the loan Gods. No. Turns out we need a FHA "Approved" appraiser to do the thing, and how much does that cost? $450.00 folks. Last time I got one, it cost me $350.00. I am so tired of paying for the govt. to do things. The SPS one was fine. And, since this is a govt. loan, don't be surprised it the 450 is in effect no matter where you live.

As for the rate, I can not lock in the rate until I order the appraisal, and I am trying hard to get that done this week as the bonds went down on Friday, meaning the rates most likely will go down below 5% this week, so we are trying to get all of our ducks in a rowto take advantage of that. I have a feeling, that if I do this week right, I will end up with a loan below 5%, fixed for 30 years, at around 250,000.....that said, this may be the last loan I will ever need....I'm not sure I will ever get a better loan than this again...

[garyys]

Newman

One of my big concerns, if I get to where you are, is the FHA appraisal. My home will take a lot of work to conform to FHA guidelines (gutters, sewer hookup, flooring, paint, ect). I am wondering if you have any of those issues? If you do, when it happens, how the FHA deals with them. FHA and HUD have talked about lenders needing to work with homeowners to make H4H work. I wonder if FHA is going to work with homeowners to make these loans work (homes that don't meet FHA lendinding conditions)?

Thanks for the updates, I hope all goes well next week!

Gary

[LenderNoHelp]

Garyys,

That's not a bad idea to offer a settlement with Second Lender. What do you think of lien stripping?

[garyys]

LenderNoHelp

I don't know if offering them a cash amount will work, but if they are willing to work with you it may be their best option. In many cases these seconds are non recourse loans, and if the home forecloses they will get nothing. If you qualify for H4H they will get a small amount of a settlement from the gov. The "resale" of that loan would be worth very little to them also. Research what investors are buying/selling seconds for.

If you go H4H that may be your best choice?

As far as lien stripping, I believe that requires bankruptcy. Why go through bankruptcy if you can avoid it?

Gary

[garyys]

Newman,

Is the principal reduction going to reflect negatively on your credit report? On everything I have been doing I have been requesting that they not report it negatively to the credit agency. I will see what happens.

Gary

[LenderNoHelp]

Gary and Newman,

Are you guys both current? I am going on 60 days late, received NOD from SPS (2nd lender). If applying for H4H, do you know if it will freeze the foreclosure process?

[garyys]

LenderNoHelp

I am current. I think Newman has been behind (research his old posts to see the details). I don't know if it will freeze the process.

Gary

[Newman]

Originally Posted by LenderNoHelp

Gary and Newman,

Are you guys both current? I am going on 60 days late, received NOD from SPS (2nd lender). If applying for H4H, do you know if it will freeze the foreclosure process?

No, I am not current, and yes, doing H4H WILL freeze the foreclosure process while you are working on it....remember, you need to find a broker who does the program, and then he can find you a bank...I have one of each, but forum guidelines prevent me from posting them....email *** if you want them, I will email them to her, she can forward them to you.....hope this helps...
Also, I would not worry about the NOD too much, I got one in Nov. I have it framed in the office here, after it sat in the bottom of the cats box for a week....

[Newman]

Originally Posted by garyys

Newman

One of my big concerns, if I get to where you are, is the FHA appraisal. My home will take a lot of work to conform to FHA guidelines (gutters, sewer hookup, flooring, paint, ect). I am wondering if you have any of those issues? If you do, when it happens, how the FHA deals with them. FHA and HUD have talked about lenders needing to work with homeowners to make H4H work. I wonder if FHA is going to work with homeowners to make these loans work (homes that don't meet FHA lendinding conditions)?

Thanks for the updates, I hope all goes well next week!


Gary

For us, this is new construction, so I am not too worried about the appraisal....talk to the appraiser about your concerns, he should try to help you, if all else fails, a couple hundred in his pocket and a 24 case of GOOD beer, and you should be fine...

[LenderNoHelp]

Newman,

I emailed ***, can you email her the info please? Thanks! Also, I know you said you are not current but, do you have to continue to make some kind of payment?

[Newman]

Originally Posted by LenderNoHelp

Newman,

I emailed ***, can you email her the info please? Thanks! Also, I know you said you are not current but, do you have to continue to make some kind of payment?

Yes, when I get the email from her, I will send it in to her, with everything you need to in touch....

[LenderNoHelp]

Newman,

Thanks for the info... Question, why do you need a broker? Did you contact the list of Approved FHA Lenders directly??

[Newman]

Originally Posted by LenderNoHelp

Newman,

Thanks for the info... Question, why do you need a broker? Did you contact the list of Approved FHA Lenders directly??

I used a broker because when I first started this whole thing, I knew nothing of H4H, in fact, our intitial discussions were not about H4H, rather, they consisted of options for me regarding loan modification. It was only when I started looking at other options, i.e. "is there something ELSE out there?" that we decided to take a look at this program. His deep knowledge of the program, along with his ability to contact SPS on my behalf at levels not available to me, were key to getting this thing as far as it has gone. I'm good, but not THAT good.....LOL...

[Piscesgirl]

I wonder if lenders would be more willing to speak to someone other than the homeowner about the H4H option because it's not like they can say 'hey, how about we knock off 100k?' The more I think about things the note/mortgage/deed of trust… whatever, is a legally binding document and I wonder if they offer something different than what that states then it might not make the rest of their rights enforceable? Or compromise their position in some way? Maybe that’s why the mods they easily offer in the beginning are temporary. Where the H4H is a permanent brand new loan… HMMM…It will be interesting to see if more are approved using a 3^rd party modification company than someone stumbling through the process themselves…


Wow! That was kinda therapeutic!

[Newman]

Originally Posted by Piscesgirl

I wonder if lenders would be more willing to speak to someone other than the homeowner about the H4H option because it's not like they can say 'hey, how about we knock off 100k?' The more I think about things the note/mortgage/deed of trust… whatever, is a legally binding document and I wonder if they offer something different than what that states then it might not make the rest of their rights enforceable? Or compromise their position in some way? Maybe that’s why the mods they easily offer in the beginning are temporary. Where the H4H is a permanent brand new loan… HMMM…It will be interesting to see if more are approved using a 3^rd party modification company than someone stumbling through the process themselves…


Wow! That was kinda therapeutic!

My experience taught me that no matter what I did, I personally was not going to get ANYWHERE doing things myself. And the more people i talked to, the more true that became. This not to say that it can't be done, *** can easily I am sure point you to some strings where the homeowner was able to do it, but I would tend to think the instances of HO's being able to get something more that a token gesture on the lenders part done themselves could be counted on your left hand, with fingers left over. I could be wrong, and if I am, ***, not unlike my wife, will waste no time reminding me of that.

To me, your best bet is to do what I did, well, you did the best thing already, you found this site. Read it, read the posts, listen to the stories, and inform yourself. Knowledge is power, especially with the lenders, thet get really uncomfortable at the point they realize you have done your homework and they can not get past you. Then, call the service on this site, tell them the story, see what your options are. IF you think you want to take a crack at H4H, tell ***, she has the info from me now on who I am using...it is the result of my own personal decision, and should in no way reflect on the very good work the owners and operators of this site are doing. Hope this helps....keep us informed on your progress, and post up any and all questions in here...best to you....