WaMU-what does today's news mean??

[Victoriann]

We have a mortgage with WaMu. We have a fixed rate but it is at 11.25%. We were able to Refi with them in 03 when we were on the brink of forclosure with another company. At the time we didn't feel like we had a choice. It was either accept their terms or loose our house.

We then had layoffs and got behind again. Any little unexpected thing can put us behind with the interest rate we have. We stared our own business and are doing ok, but the economy in Michigan isnt helping. We did a "loan modification" last October which now I realize wasnt what we got.
We had to pay a goodwill portion of what was owed and then the rest was added to the end of the loan, they didn't even add the late fees to the end, those are still listed in the amount "due". We also pleaded with them to lower our rate. If it was lowered we would have no problem making payments, they said no.

Fast forward to last December and my husband falls on the ice and breaks his ankle in 3 places. We are self employed and own a plumbing contracting company in Michigan. He was out of work for 3 months. We got behind again. We have been paying a payment every month since he has been back to work but havent been able to "catch up".
I called to tell them our circumstances and was told basically "sorry about your luck" but you already did a modification and only one is allowed during the life of the loan. We have recieved paperwork a few times to see if we qualify for a mod. I have called each timeto ask about it and am told we would only be able to apply for deed in lieu or short sale because we already did a mod.

Fast forward to today. We are still behind, will be 3 months Oct.1st. We will make at least 1 payment, hopefully 2. I have been just wiring the money Western Union so they can't tell me they won't accept one payment, so far they have been taking them every month.

My questions now are:
1) Now that they have been bought out will they stop accepting less then the balance owed?

2) Will they be more likely or less likely to work with us now?

3)Will they now consider doing a "real" loan modification and lower our interest rate?

Our mortgage loan would not be a bad debt for anyone if they would just lower the rate!!

Any advice would be appreciated!

[Dan Bailey]

Victoriann, Welcome to the forum and thanks for joining! *** or Moe will be by as soon as they can to answer your question.....

[Lisa in MN]

I also am waiting to her what opinion is on this. We are in a situation where we are working with a private bank on a "short refinance" Our banker seems to think things might move on it now.

Last Decemeber I knew I was going to be losing a 1,500 a month contracting job and approached WAMU. They told me flat out there was nothing to help me because I was not behind on payments. They also refused to transfer me to Loss Mitigation. So, in April I decided enough is enough and stopped making mortgage payments. I decided they can have my house- the struggle is just not worth it anymore. Very little collection calls from WAMU since that time but after I missed 3 payments all of a sudden they wanted to help. Too late. We then spoke to a real estate attorney who told us there is evidence of appraisal fraud in our mortgage documents which we could use to take advantage of TILA if it comes to that. Apparently our home has gone down in appraised value from 335,000 to 224,000 in 18 months! I know the market is bad but not that bad!

So I will follow this thread to see what opinion is.

Thanks for being here---- for the first time I see I am not alone and am starting to believe I am not a loser.

Lisa

[Moe Bedard]

Victoriann,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for joining..................

You would need to contact WaMu and see if the investor on your loan has any additional options...........the servicing of your loan could change, but the investor might not................you will have to wait and see what happens as a result of JP Morgan Chase taking over and how they address this to the customers..........

Washington Mutual
Loss Mitigation
1-877-533-8960

Lisa in Mn
Could you please start a thread for your story and loan information in this section also, so that we can assist you, answer questions that you may have, and follow your story...........

[intervale]

WAMU: Possible Options When Hitting a Roadblock. If you hit a wall with one person try to get another representative to work with you. It might even be the person answering the phone if you don't enter an extension. I have been working with various WAMU reps for close to a year on a modification. I'll post more details and a request for advice in another memo. (By the way, thanks Moe for your great work. I used this site and the advice provided extensively as I prepared to negotiate and it works).

What I found at WAMU is the bank seems to want to help. They have more flexibility depending if they own the loan or manage it for an investor. Although almost all the reps have been very kind and attempted to be helpful, their knowledge/skill level can vary dramatically. Especially with company policy and their own loan products. This is exacerbated by what I found a very closed system that a customer is forced to work within.

First the initial phone representative, then a negotiator will be assigned your file. The negotiator has the biggest role. He/she will request and review docs, budgets and determine if one is eligible and if eligible for which program. They seem to "create" the deal with customer input. Unfortunately some reps ask income and budget questions they don't understand. Then if the budget you submit is $100.00 or maybe $300.00 too high or too low you may be eliminated from any assistance or forced into a plan that you don't like. And unlike the initial mortgage application the WAMU rep isn't offering helpful hints so you will answer correctly nor will they necessarily review everything that should be included or exluded. For example in the household budget include food but not the cable service you're giving up. For example one negotiator assummed that a company's financial statement would include household expenses like food and heating oil. The household info was on another WAMU form but had escaped her attention. If not questioned the budget numbers would have been a mess. When and if this is all is worked out you are assigned a closer who takes care of the final paperwork and monthly payments.

It is very easy to find oneself getting wrong answers or incorrect information from different WAMU reps and not having a company manager or "expert" available to handle difficult or even seemingly simple policy and or procedural questions is frustrating.

Again, if your problem seems to be with one person I might try to find a different rep at the bank. Start from the perspective of a good customer who wants this temporary situation to work out and get behind you. Let them know that this is a new experience and you are a bit overwhelmed by it all and appreciate any and all of their help. As I said I find most of the reps very simpathetic and wanting to help. Ask them if they have any suggestions for someone in your situation. If they don't then you be ready to propose one or two simple options that are available at the bank which would work for you. I think creating a "custom" option may be tough. Remind them you are committed to your family home (goes to the hardship letter which may be useful for you again) and tell them you know you can make whatever agreement you reach work.

Please note I am not an expert just someone muddling along a very odd path to save my home. I have been able to get several second chances with the available options.

Often the person who picks up the phone first can access then give you very useful information from your file before you are forwarded to an assigned representative. Almost all communication and or company rep notes are logged in the electronic files. The full history of you file is available. For example, Would you do me a favor? Can you tell me looking at the notes where things stand now? What is the status? What does my situation look like to you? Do you have any ideas or suggestions? You may be suprised at what you learn.