In review limbo, any suggestions?

[skeptical and confused]

We had a rental property we had been living in and had it under contract. We started looking for a house for our primary residence and bought one March 2006 with an 80/20 loan totaling $135K.The first loan was bought by ASC and the second by Saxxon. The rate on the first is 7.5 and 14.55 on the second. We knew they were ridiculous but we were going to refinance in a couple of months when we closed on the rental and pay off the second loan entirely. Well, the sale fell through and it took over a year to sell the property and walk a way with nothing. We were also hit by the high oil prices as the rental ran on oil. So before our debt ratio was bad and our credit good. So now our credit is shot but our debt ratio is good. We can't refinance because our house is appraising at 75k now. We were contacted by a loan mod company and it seemed like a great idea. They told us not to pay our mortgage and sign on with them and they would modify the loan. We did as they suggested but we wanted to see what they would do in writing. When they would not show us, we decided to modify on our own.
We started on 12/23/08. Saxxon said they would do nothing as it was a second. ASC denied it 2/09 and then put us on a special forberance plan with a mod at the end. We made our last payment 6/09 and have yet to be assigned a negotiator. If I make a payment they refuse to put it against my balance they will just hold it in a suspense account until they get to our loan. We call every other day and don't get any further along.
We were contacted by a CA law firm who states they think they can get the Saxxon mortg. wiped out and negotiate the ASC. They want $2995 to do it. I am not sure if it is wise to hire a lawyer in a different state to represent us and I don't even know if I trust them. The docs they sent are almost identical to what is in the free loan mod booklet on this website. I just don't trust anyone anymore. It just seems as though we are getting nowhere on our own except deeper......Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Evan Bedard]

Hi skeptical and confused welcome and thank you for joining the forum.

We were contacted by a CA law firm who states they think they can get the Saxxon mortg. wiped out and negotiate the ASC. They want $2995 to do it. I am not sure if it is wise to hire a lawyer in a different state to represent us and I don't even know if I trust them. The docs they sent are almost identical to what is in the free loan mod booklet on this website. I just don't trust anyone anymore. It just seems as though we are getting nowhere on our own except deeper......Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

It would not be a good choice to hire an attorney outside of your state. Any reputable loan mod attorney should only take you on if you are located in the same state. Personally I have seen homeowners do well hiring attorneys, but make sure you check their backround. You can also contact NACA and try to go through them, they are a non profit organiztion who have helped many here as well:

Here is the link to the site.

https://www.naca.com/index_main.jsp?language=null

[skeptical and confused]

Thank you for the information. NACA looks like a great organization, unfortunately the closest location is over 100 miles away.

[Evan Bedard]

Even though they are not close they should still be able to help...