Our mortgage is with Countrywide. One mortgage only, owner occupied home, fixed rate of 6.875, convential mortgage, I believe it was done at 80% loan to value. We purchased the house in 1999 for $72,000 with another lender. In 2001, I believe, we took out a home equity loan to pay off credit cards (mistake, I know). The home equity loan was for about $20,000. In 2002, we decided to refinance and roll the two loans into one mortgage with countrywide. This new loan was for around $95,000 at the terms I mentioned above. At that time, the house appraised at $108,000 which I thought at the time "I could NEVER sell my house for that". But I didn't care, cause I wanted the loan. At the time, I thought I was getting a pretty fair deal and had no complaints. Over the next few years, our mortgage payment just continued to go up....not anything having to do with Countrywide, but due to increases in taxes and insurance. Countrywide kept raising our escrow in order to cover these increases and over a 5 year period, our Mortgage payment rose by over $200...but our income did not. That's when we started having trouble making the payments. We were at the top of our budget when we first got the mortgage and just couldn't seem to swing the extra $200 once it rose that high. So, we missed our first payment in January of 2008. I actually DID make a payment at the end of January 2008, but it went for December's payment. At the beginning of March 08, I got the Act 91 notice and immediately met with a Credit Counseling Agency. They helped me apply for the HEMAP program in my state. We were denied. I really thought we had grounds for appeal, and so did the credit counselor, so we appealed the decision. We were denied the appeal as well. But, this entire process, including the appeal, took over 5 months. It wasn't until mid-july that we finally got the answer on the appeal. We were now 7 months behind. The credit counselor we were working with told me that she could help negotiate with Countrywide on our behalf, but that we would HAVE to be able to afford an EXTRA amount each month to pay off the arrears. She said the lenders weren't willing to do any type of "loan modification". Well, I started doing some research on the internet (too bad I didn't find THIS forum back then) and I found a bunch of those so-called "Loss mitigation companies" or "Loan Modification Agents" who claimed to be able to get your interest rate reduced, term extended, and get your payment LOWERED. That's what we wanted, that's what we needed. It has ALWAYS been my intention to try to save my house. So....I hired one of these "companies" and the guy also happened to be a real attorney (which I did verify with the bar association). Anyway, I hired this guy back in August and was relieved that HE would be handling most of it and I wouldn't have to worry about it TOO much. I have four small children and just wanted the "burden" off me. To me, that was worth his fee. Well, he turned out to be a complete SCAM and has done nothing! I really just found this out for sure TODAY. You can read all about THAT in this thread if you like, but it's really here nor there at this point.
No contact from my attorney...what to do?
I am now 12 months behind on my mortgage and I've just found out that a hearing for a "summary judgement" has been set for 2/12.....I have no idea what that even means. I DID try to call Countrywide myself about 2 months ago when i wasn't getting any communication from this so-called lawyer. They took all my information for a "loan modification" and said they would send the paperwork out. About 3 weeks later, I received a packet in the mail with something that I THINK was called The Home Savers Advance Program. Basically, it said I could resume regular monthly mortgage payments the very next month, and then in 6 months, I would have to start paying an extra $150 a month for 20 years I think, to pay off the arrears? Well, I called and said, "What about the loan modification"....they told me I didn't qualify for that and that's why they sent this out instead. I told them I needed to think about whether this was a viable solution for us. You have to remember that, at this point, I still thought this attorney I hired MAY be working on the loan modification on his end. A few days later, I called countrywide back and told them that we would RATHER have a loan modification if possible because we were struggling to make the original payment and could never afford the extra $150. THIS lady I talked to, told me YES we MAY qualify for loan mod and she didn't know why the other lady told me we didn't. But, at this point, I did nothing, because i was still putting faith in this attorney we hired.
We're getting down to the wire now and I don't know what to do or where to go from here. Countrywide's lawyers, whom I contacted today to find out if this so-called attorney had EVER been in contact with him...which he of course HAS NOT...told me I could write up my own proposal and send it over and they would forward it to Countrywide. I have NO IDEA how to do that!!
I need advice...do I go back through the Credit Counselor who originally told me that a loan mod wasn't even possible? Do I call Countrywide directly myself? Do I try to hire another lawyer? Or should I just throw in the towel and file Chapter 13?
And what are all these programs you guys talk about on the forum. I've read about some of them...but it doesn't appear to ME that I qualify for them? We ARE severely behind, we don't have an ARM....and that seems to be what most of these programs are for? Our credit sucks.
I don't understand ANY of this. All this legal jargon is like a foreign language to me. I never wanted to do any of this on my own which is why I hired this "attorney". I'm just not capable of doing this alone.
And I'm afraid to "get things started" so to speak, with a bunch of different agencies or whatever, cause won't that hurt what one is trying to do if there's a bunch of other's working on it too??
ARghhhhh...I'm SO confused.
btw...no sheriff's sale date just yet...but I'm guessing one will be set at the hearing on 2/12? And do I have to GO to that hearing? Do I need an attorney there with me? And how the hell am I supposed to pay an attorney when I can't pay anything else.
One more piece of information....if I am totally HONEST about our income/debt...we are probably about $500 in the whole each month...if not more.
Sorry this is soooo long, but it HAS been a year and there's alot to tell....
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