Sad but true..

[Miana]

My whole mess started when I went through divorce. I had to refinance my home and get my soon to be ex off my loan as well as my title. If I was going to keep my house these were the terms. At the time my home was selling in the area for about $700,000. range. Our current loan was 195,000 balance after paying on it for 8 years. Our original price was 230,000, so keeping the home seemed like a real good deal. We also had an 80,000 2nd line of credit for my business and so they had to be consolidated and refinanced.

The loan broker took some divorce papers, renters agreements I had from renters in my home and added an inflated income to my loan application. Basically I was working my business part time and then had to reflect a full time income after the divorce as I would have to work full time. But..there was NO income documentation to warrant those projections. I qualified and ended up with a flex loan from World Savings who was taken over by Wachovia Bank.

I struggled to make ends meet and after having surgery had to scramble for a fix with my indebtedness. I ended up with a bandaide loan from Tri Mark funding with a promise that after 6 months it would all be rewritten and refinanced. I was supposed to have some cash out of this 33,000. loan , line of credit at a whomping 18% (which I thought was 9% and I guess only reflected for the 6 months and not an annual percentage rate?) After they disbursed all their fees etc, I had under 10,000 to keep up my first mtge for 6 months and nothing to pay off my credit card debts which was supposed to be in the deal. They ended up with a 10% cash advance fee as well and at the end of the loan there was very conveniently a $3300.. reserve for me to advance should I need it. I DID need it and advanced it. When I received only $3000.00 I was surprised that the investor took 10% $300.00 from the advance. This is how I heard about that 10% deal. Even the loan broker said she had no idea he was doing that and it was "somewhere" in the paperwork.

Now I am working hard to bump up my client base and working with a loss mitigation company to negotiate with my lenders and I now have a sick feeling in my stomach because the mitigation company is not a non profit. I know that some are legit but not sure of this one. I posted it elsewhere in the forum "(removed)". I found no negative information on them but I have yet to see if they will be effective. Mean while I am scrambling to make $5000.00 a month in my counseling practice to warrant the supposed new negotiated contract should my lender go for it.

I am praying for the best. I dont want to lose my home and dont want to file bankruptcy, but will do what I can to stay here as long as I can.

[Moe Bedard]

Hi Miana,

I responded to you in the other thread. But you need to get you money back from this guy if he is not an attorney because it is illegal to charge someone in default in the State of California a fee to prevent a foreclosure.

You also appear based on what you stated above, a victim of predatory lending. These people are preying on you and your circumstances is what I gather and it is quite common. Please stop dealing with these people and start getting educated on this website and other safe websites. Non-profits and government sites.

The first thing I would do if I were you is speak with an attorney about what you posted here and consider having your loan documents reviewed for Truth in Lending Act and RESPA violations.

Do you have a website for this company and how did you find them?

OK then, drop the loss Mit folks that you are working with, get them gone....then make sure that you did not sign any documents with them that might compromise the title to your home and/or that they can cause other financial issues to arise...please.

Then contact HOPE or ACORN....888.995.HOPE or www.acorn.org, these are both non-profits and you are not required to stay the course with the folks that you do not like. If you get a really good counselor at HOPE they will pick up right away, do not like the counselor you were assigned, then call HOPE back and tell them to find another one for you.

You are in control, this is not a situation that you should feel that the people working for you are not the ones to get the job done. So be proactive and focused and get someone that you feel will work in your best interests with the urgency that it requires.

[Miana]

The lender on my 2nd line of credit is Tri Mark Funding and their website is
(URL TO LENDER REMOVED)

The loan officer/broker is Stephanie..
I was promised a refinance when October hit at a lower interest rate. She claimed she was re-writing my loan and it NEVER happened. Each time I emailed her she was supposedly re-writing it at a better rate..then I see a notice of default after being late for two months.

I will have my loan docs examined by an attorney. Thanks

[Miana]

I did drop *REMOVED*and of course by the time the owner got back to me today he felt he had not violated the law and told me that I could come back anytime. (whatever). The main thing is that he told me he is overnight mailing my funds back to me and not charging me his hourly fee! (gee thanks! ) I will rest when I REALLY get the funds back.

The next thing is a real estate attorney to examine my loan docs.. all this between networking and making money so I can PAY my mtge when I get it worked out. Im a self employed counselor.

I am just feeling fortunate that I found this site now..while I can still work on the process. The notices of default were filed feb 21, 2008 , so I do have some time. I called one of the non profit orgs and they took my information and were very helpful and kind. I will keep on top of them though!

Thank you!

[Andrew]

Sorry I had to remove the name of the company. We dont want people calling them.

Now you have to stay on top of this yourself, the non-profits will do everything they can, but you have to call them regularly to ascertain the progress, it also does not hurt to call the lender as well to determine that they are getting the documentation needed at least 3 times a week. The non-profits are great, they are free and they do good things...

You have to be the proactive and focused party here to make sure that you do not fall through the cracks...

[Miana]

Hello all!

I am still working on saving my home and keeping informed. I have contacted one of the non profit organizations to do negotiation with my lender Wachovia Bank (which is not easy in itself..they are tough! )

I learned today that there is a law the President signed into action that states that our lenders have to renegotiate our loans if it is a variable rate and negotiate it at the value our home was at the time of the loan with the income that was stated at the time of the loan, as well as our credit! I know of someone who just negotiated with this bank and won and reduced his payment over $400.00 a month! He just told them he would hand over the house to them, which has less value then the loan at this point and they sent him a packet to fill out and they renegotiated him into a new locked in rate that he can afford!

WHAT is this law?? Can someone send me a copy of it. I dont have a lot of time today to seek things out in this forum for answers. I have so many things I am working on at once.

I will come back and check to see if there is an answer to my question and in the mean time I am doing some debt negotiation as well. Lots on my plate right now :-((

Miana

There is not a law, there is a very strong suggestion and "word" from the oval office to assist....there is no law on this, only the "word" that the President requested that assistance be rendered.

Bush is utterly against any bail out or federal assistance in this area as a government mandate.

[Miana]

Oh my gosh! I cant believe that BUSH is against helping people who are losing their homes! hmmmmm...now that IS truly sad.

I DO know that a friend of mine has a son who called his lender and said "IF you dont work with me I am going to turn over to you my house which is now worth less then what I owe you". They sent him the packet to renegotiate the very next day. I am going to give it a try. I really have nothing to lose. I discovered that the value of my home has dropped even more since I last checked.

:-((

Wachovia is a really sound institution as they did not participate in this type of lending all that much. What kind of mortgage do you have....tell me the loan amount, ARM or Fixed, value of the property when you got the loan and value now. Was this a purchase or refi transaction. Who was you original lender, were you a first time home buyer...anything that you think will help me...please.

Then I will probably come back with some more questions, but let me know.

[Miana]

My loan was a refinance after I went through divorce. I had to get my ex husband's name off the home loan we had. The sad thing is that I had to combine and first and second we had. We had a good loan from GMAC which was paid down to $195,000.00 and a second of $80,000.00 for my business.

The loan refinanced and closed in 2 days! World Savings said it was the fasted loan they had ever closed! The loan origination date was Oct 25, 2006 and my first payment not due until Dec 1, 2006. The loan is disclosed as a fixed rate conventional loan but the payment schedule changes in the disclosure. My payment amount in the Truth in Lending Docs is stated to be $1245.14.

This is on my "Truth in Lending Disclosure"
so:
12/1/06 payment $1245.14
12/1/07 payment $1338.53
12/1/08 $1438.92
12/1/09 $1546..84 and so on over the years the payments go up to the conclusion of the loan to year 2036.

BUT!! there is another document wedged into my loan docs that states my first payment will be $1565.80 as of Dec 1,2006 and THAT is the amount I have been paying on my statements, plus I was never told that my "monthly" payment does not pay down my principle, but adds to the balance so my loan balance has been gradually going up. I actually made some additional principle payments on my loan monthly but not enough to affect the balance.

Then I was called by World and they announced my payment is dropping on 12/1/07 to $1338.53. ( he said because of the interest rate changes on my loan which caused me to think it was variable)

I had never done a refinance on my own before so this is all new and went so fast it made my head spin.

I have to finish this in another post.. so this is the beginning.

[Miana]

I could not edit my post but I wanted to add that my original payment schedule was supposed to be the lower amount and going UP as of 12/1/07 and not dropping as the person from world said. He led me to believe that my payment was dropping according to interest rate dropping . Misinformed person , so I was misinformed..

[Miana]

Ok..here is some of the rest.
When my loan broker came to my home he did so because I had just come through surgery on my breast and still had drains that ran from under my arm and into a drain to keep fluid from accumulating. I was on pain meds and could not drive.. so my broker very "kindly" came to service me at home as well as the escrow officer and notary when we were ready to "sign" loan docs.

We closed in 5 days (sorry about my statement of 2 days before) The LOAN was approved in 2 days and we closed in 5.

Ok..the appraisal was based on values found in the neighborhood according to similar homes and what they were selling for at the time and was valued at $516,717 and I was given a copy of what they used to come up with that value.

(Sad but only a year or so before the same homes were selling at $775,000.00)

I fell behind in my payments and obtained a second to pay off some debt and get them caught up. World quoted my lender a loan balance of 306,593.95 and a MONTHLY payment amount of $1245.19 in April of 2007. and then tried to refinance in 5/07 and world quoted a payoff of $317,361.12 . That refinance did not go through because the appraiser appraised my home too high and the bank would not accept it.

I just found my original statement for my first payment and it reads

Minimum payment $1565.90
Pr and Interest $2516.23

Unfortunately I am just now discovering this difference between my Truth in Lending docs and the error on the payment document submitted by World and they have been billing me according to the higher amount throughout 2006 and did not change it till 12/07. (where they said it dropped as opposed to have been billed at the lower amount and raised)

[Miana]

Ok..NOW I see where I thought it was an ARM !! On my original loan application documents the box is checked that the loan is an ARM.

[Miana]

My income was stated as $3635.00 per month which included self employment income , child support and two renters who paid me monthly.

[Miana]

Sorry that this is in segments. I am re-going through my documents and finding things as I do. This was the first time I did a refinance on my own. We purchased the property in 2000 at $230,000. I put 30,000 down and financed the rest with who was then my spouse.

I had the home appraised again and I believe in 10/07 the value was $480,000.00 but now two realtors have told me that Im lucky if I were to even be able to ask for $350,000.. and since my home has sustained some damages since a recent storm and other things I have not been able to re-do in the home such as carpet and small repairs , I would probably get less.. So basically between my first and 2nd I would walk away with NOTHING anyway , even if I were to do a fast sell.


I hope this all helps.. Now I just dont really know where to go next. Ive contacted one of the non profit organizations and I am calling them once again today to address if they are talking to my lender at all.

Please contact HOPE or ACORN... 888.995.HOPE or www.acorn.org...both are non-profits, however since this is an Option ARM that has not yet adjusted due to the Cap being reached or the 5 or 10 year period being met you will have problems modifying as they are not modifying them until on or the other happens.

Also I can not follow all of the segments that you have here...they are to confusing....I just can not do it..sorry.

However you do have an Option ARM that has not fully recast as it has not reached the Cap or the 5 or 10 year period....when it does it will be very unpleasant....without the Cap or the 5/10 year period being met...I do not know that they can modify this loan. You need to realize that when this loan Caps or the 5/10 year period is reached it would be at that time that this would modify. Right now you are paying the minimum payment available on this loan....the investors are not addressing these loans until they reach the Cap or the 5/10 year readjustment/recast point.

Yes it was an ARM, that is why the payment was so low and it was an Option ARM as well, again why the payment was so low....

The income does not look out of line...they must have done a fairly reasonable job of stating the income.

Please contact the non-profits and please you might want to consider a Short Sale to alleviate the problems that you are having. This might be the best thing under the circumstances.

[Miana]

What can I say? I am at a loss for words. I feel like everywhere I turn for an answer there just is not one. I am sticking with the non profit org but I dont see them doing much even when I call . I am seeking a solution so much that my attention is taken from what I need to be doing in my business.

Like many, it is my family home. Although my kids are primarily grown, my home is the "gathering place". It is hard to let go of and even harder to accept the fact that life as I know it is going to inevitably change.

I am the one who teaches others about change and so much has happened in my life that I share with those who cross my path. I also believe we ignite our own changes and determine to some degree part of what our "destiny" is. It just appears that no matter what I do, my home is determined to 'divorce' me.

:-((

Oh you got the World Special, now Wachovia...the old World Savings & Loan Option ARM...they created the product in 1982...they were the very first to offer this product, made it up themselves back then, old World Savings & Loan and then everyone else in about 2002 or 2003 started in on the band wagon...used to be that World did a good job on those loans, very strict 30% equity position and such...making it hard for the product to fail, COFI index, very safe. Not a nice product, very toxic then, but not like it is today, it was impossible with that 30% equity position and that index to really have the problems that we have on them today. Certainly the principle increased, but not like it does today as the interest rates were much more conservative due to the Index. Still not a product that I ever recommended to anyone for anything....

Have you contacted HOPE to tell them, if that is who you are working with, that the counselor that you were assigned is a DUD and that you want another one, like NOW....FAST, right away because things are bad...if they are not helping you, have you tried ACORN...ACORN: Home.

[Miana]

I was contacted by the INVESTOR ..not the lender of my 2nd mtge who said he is willing to negotiate with Wachovia Bank about my loan with a mtge specialist he knows to modify my loan if I will send him a copy of my loan docs.

My dealings with the non profit orgs have NOT helped me even when I received new counselors. All have given me negative news that there is no hope.

It appeared that bankruptcy was going to be my ONLY option and yet now my investor of my 2nd is willing to assist me. He is everything to gain because if I file bankruptcy he will get NOTHING on his investment because his loan will become an unsecured debt and at least 50k has to be protected for me by law.

I am still going to legal aide and have my documents all examined.. first and second. What I am wondering is IF this investor CAN help me..is it wise to trust him at this point that he will or do I run a risk of some kind of problem or scam from him as well?????????

Frankly I would love to know who contacted you as the investors at Wachovia do not contact the customer directly....you really need to make sure this is not a scam.

The investors in my experience have never contacted a borrower directly, ever....this sounds like a huge scam. This is a modifier that is trying to cash in your misery and there will be a COST.

Please try HOPE or ACORN again, please. DO NOT BELIEVE A THING THIS GUY SEZ....HE IS A SCAMMER. TELL HIM TO BUZZ OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Miana]

Thanks.. I am still contacting the non profits and also saw that FHA has a program or grant for those in distress and will pay the mtge payments to make them up if the borrower can pay the next monthly payment. I have a conventional loan ... so what I dont know yet is if FHA will help on a conventional loan OR if they(an FHA lender) will refinance a conventional loan when in foreclosure??

That FHA program is for FHA loans, not for conventional programs...please keep trying the non-profits and see if they can assist.

While you are at it, contact Wachovia and see once again if they can or will assist.

[Miana]

My update now is that I have tried everything I can try to save my home. I have gone to two non profit organizations, used several of their counselors, called my lenders, tried to find an investor to buy it, went to real estate agents for advice, talked to the investor behind my 2nd mortgage (who offered me $5000.00 to take over my home and buy it in a short sale so I could move!GEEZE! This was AFTER I told him I am filing bankruptcy and to NOT contact me again!)

At any rate, I just exposed what my plan is. I have been working toward paying a bankruptcy attorney to liquidate all my debts, put off the foreclosure sale of my home for a couple months and move on. The trustee will sell my home and IF there is anything left I will get it. It gives me more time to relocate and start over. I am so tired and have been turned down for ANY loan modification, I dont qualify for a refinance, in the real estate market I can only sell for what my loans are covering my home and would get NOTHING anyway. My property value dropped another 25k in the last couple months.

I am sooo done!
Miana