My Countrywide Situation - Need advice, tips.

[manny013]

Hello everyone. I am finally posting here after a few weeks of browsing the site. I am severely burdened by my current situation, and a bit embarrassed. I feel a huge weight inside me, and my stress is reaching a boiling point. I just turned 22. A year and a half ago, I met a real estate broker through a friend. I was young and hungry for investing. He showed me a few condos in Miami, and a few weeks later I was approved.

The condos were nice, waterfront properties in a gated community. I bought two. The first one was a 1 bedroom overlooking a lake on teh 2nd floor. Cost me $196,000. Countrywide bought the note from GMAC. Its a fixed rate 30 year FHA mortgage at a 6.85%. The sweetener? a cash incentive by the developer in the amount of $15,000.

The second condo, was a two bedroom in the same complex. I bought this one four months after the first, and was able to negotiate the price down to $209,000. This is a 30 year mortgage through Chase at a 7.35%.

Here is the problem: the one bedroom went SEVERELY underwater. I owe anywhere between $80,000 to $90,000 more than comparable properties in the area. I had been renting the unit for $1,000 a month, with the intention of eventually catching the real estate turnaround in 2009-10. Boy was I wrong!

The two bedroom I won't mention anymore in this post. It has been treating me well. I rent it out for $1,250 a month to exceptional tenants, and the mortgage is currently $1,400. I expect this unit to turn profitable in about 5-6 years with 5% yearly rent increases.

About me: I am a financial advisor for institutional accounts. I get paid a base salary of $40,000 a year, bringing in a little over $1,300 every two weeks. My job is very secure, contrary to what many might think. I work in a small office and my company is very solvent. Previous to this, I didn't make too much money (prototypical sub-primer). I have recently acquired this job and I consider myself stable in that regard. I am also attending college at night majoring in Finance. Based on all this, my income should only get better with time.

Why I am posting: My 1 bedroom condo came with problems from the onset. I had to spend thousands in repairs and had to take a major hit when my tenant turned sour. I spend a bunch more on an eviction. At the time, I was making a small wage at an investment bank internship and had to live off my $15,000 "incentive." I have recently moved into the unit. I might as well enjoy it, and I do. I love it. I have a beautiful lake in the back, all my friends live around the corner, and my university is a few minutes away. All the repairs I made have made the unit exceptionally nice. UNFORTUNATELY, my property taxes ballooned my mortgage payment (I have escrow) to $1,689 without association fees! Then to top it off, my condo association recently did a special assessment. Next year I expect my payment to top $1,700. NOT GOOD considering that consists of 65% of my monthly pay. I have also been going over the 15-day grace period, as I have to WAIT for my 2nd paycheck to come in before I can make the payment. I have over $200 in late fees built up. I can already feel the pressure of having to grind it out every month to feed myself and pay my bills.

Here are my questions:

1) I need a loan modification to bring my monthly payment down to the value of one paycheck. Considering that this is a fixed FHA loan that is CURRENT, do I stand a chance?

2) Can I present the case to Countrywide that my condo is severely upside down? I ran some comps in the area that were selling for as low as $80,000. I can easily walk away and deed it or short sale it, BUT I DON'T WANT TO. I like my condo and I want to keep it. However, if I don't, Countrywide is sure to take a $100,000 hit.

3) Will Countrywide frown upon my 2nd condo property?

4) What options can I take? I have protected my credit with my life. The last thing I want is for my credit to drop below 600 for any reason. I need an option that will protect my credit, and allow me to make my mortgage payment with 1 paycheck.

I would like to thank everyone for reading. I know my situation is dire to me, but I also know there are people out there worse off than I am. I wish them all the best.

[Moe Bedard]

Hi manny,

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

What you are going to have to do is to call FHA to see what options you have. Since this property is an investment property and you own more than one, you will not qualify for the Hope for Homeowner program from FHA............

www.fha.gov

Information for families with FHA-insured loans

The FHA provides many alternatives and ways for borrowers to get help. These may include mortgage modifications (changes), special forbearances (allowances), and other actions you can take to avoid foreclosure.

FHA works closely with customers who have FHA-insured loans. Do you feel your lender is not responding to your questions? The FHA is ready to help! Contact us at (800) CALL-FHA.

To find out more about HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and their services, please call toll free (800) 569-4287 on weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time). The same number can give you an automated referral to the three housing counseling agencies located closest to you.

[manny013]

Thanks ***!

I did a little reading around the boards and the FHA site. My loan currently has "insurance". I read somewhere that PMI is not attached to FHA loans. I was under the impression based on what my broker told me that this was an FHA loan. I am going to have to clarify this.

It is currently about 90 bucks a month tacked on to the payment. Could this be MIP?

If it is a conventional loan, how do things change?

[Moe Bedard]

It would just mean that you would be dealing with the lender and not FHA........the investor would most likely be FannieMae or FreddieMac if that is the case................

if you have MI on the property it would be FHA
if you have PMI it would be conventional

so clarify this first because it would make a difference.............and then we can see what your next step would need to be.........

[manny013]

Okay, I pulled up my electronic statements and at the top, it reads: 30 year Conv w/ PMI.

So yes, it turned out to be conventional.

I apologize for the confusion.

[Moe Bedard]

manny,

It is going to be a tough one because of the low fixed rate..........but still call CW and see what options you will have for modifying..........maybe they can do 5 yrs interest only or something like that to help you out..........

call the executive team and see what they say........
1-800-405-0078