Provident Funding .... any luck?

[scottrox]

We are a hard working family with six sons ranging from age 19 to 3. We are
>trying to survive and keep our home but and it is a huge struggle and so
>stressful. We have lived in this home for 9 years and we have not missed a
>payment yet, but it is getting to the point where we may fall behind. We
>did
>refinance to a lower interest rate a few years ago.
>Our house is old and needing repairs so we didn't qualify
>for the refi. again. We have no money to fix things.
>Our home is financed through Provident Funding whom bought it from Quicken
>Loans, with a fixed 6 1/2 % interst rate.
>We are trying to stay ahead.

[Moe Bedard]

Hi scottrox,

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

I am sorry I missed this one................if you are asking if anyone on the forum has had any luck with a modification through Provident.........I don't believe so yet.
If you go to the top of the forum you can do a search of Provident to see if other members are currently working with them..........


Is your interest rate fixed?
Is it FHA or Conventional?
What is your loan amount?
Are you paying interest only?
Do you have one loan or two?

[revcarrie]

Cat,
I will try and get scottrox back in here. They got "lost" and a bit overwhelmed....but need to get this going before the BIG THREE auto bailout is decided.
revcarrie

[scottrox]

Cat, thanks for your reply. We have a fixed rate conventional loan at 6.5% interest. We had the house appraised earlier this year and it came in a little over 200K. Our current loan amount is about 140K with no second. We are paying principal and interest on the loan. So far we have not yet missed a payment and both of our credit scores are 700+.

Due to the way I am paid, my pay is down right now and does not look to get much better anytime soon. We have been living off of the credit cards for the last little while, but they are about maxed out. I do have a 401k that we have not touched yet, but we would like to leave that alone if possible. We realize that that may not be the case. We are at the point that if we cannot get something to happen soon, we are going to have to start defaulting on something or everything.

Any advise you could give us, we would greatly appreciate.

[Moe Bedard]

O.k...........this is good............from the sound of it, your loan is most likely backed by FannieMae or FreddieMac..................do you know if one of them is the investor on your loan?


Previously FannieMae/FreddieMac had made the announcement that they were doing streamlined modifications to the portfolio of loans that they own...............with this program you would have had to be 90+ days in default and facing foreclosure...............however, just yesterday, they made a new announcement called the Early Workout Program.........for their loans that are not in default......but could be soon.....which sounds like your loan. They are telling the servicer (Provident) in your case that they need to do the workouts for these loans when the customer calls them for help.............but it sounds like you would need to let Provident know about this announcement.

click on the link to read the announcement...............you would need to point this out to Provident and ask them if FannieMae or FreddieMac is the investor on your loan and that you want to be modified into this program.................
Media: News Releases > Fannie Mae Provides New Servicer Flexibility to Help


You may also want to see if FannieMae can tell you if they are the investor on your loan too.

[melanieg]

Hi Scottrox,

I also have my 1st mortgage with Provident. I just called in to request assistance from Provident. They will be sending a packet for me to fill out and mail back, which will include 2 months paystubs, 2 months bank statements, and a form 1126 for financial info. I also found out that the investor for my loan is Freddie Mac. I currently have a 30 year fixed at 5.375, which I KNOW is a super rate. Unfortunatley I picked a bad time to get divorced. Also, my ex-husband hasn't worked for about 2 years, so needless to say, I am struggling with 1 income and 2 kids to support. I asked for maybe interest only for a couple of years, but the guy said that he wasn't sure they could do that, but their should be other programs available to help me out.

Also, the guy at Provident mentioned that they did not accept any bailout money since they only funded grade A loans.

Hopefully it will be OK to update this post when I hear anything back.

Cat - does the Fannie Mae press release above also include Freddie Mac loans? Thanks!

Good luck to you Scottrox! I hope it all works out for us!

[Moe Bedard]

unfortunately..........FreddieMac has not followed suit just yet and is still looking at loans that are 90+ days in default for the streamlined modification program............so you will need to continue through the regular modification route and see what the options are.

[scottrox]

Thanks Cat and Melanieg for your replies. I did call Provident today and they are going to send out the loan modification paperwork, but they said that due to the low loan rates and the fact that we are still current on our loan, that we should try to refinance first and get the lower rate. Then if that cannot be worked out or if that still does not help enough, then we will look at the modification. With rates about 5.125 that they are showing today, the refi would save us about 150 to 200 a month and probably not have a payment for two months. That could help alot. I am just waiting now for a call back from the refi guy that is their Idaho specialist. Hopefully he will call soon. I'll post again later after he calls.

[scottrox]

After several phone calls and leaving messages and then finally calling and yelling at someone, I finally got an answer to my refinance question. They said my home value has dropped and now my home does not have enough value to refinance. We had an appraisal done in March or April and even with the housing market being down then, our home value was still up about 16k from when we refinanced 2 years ago. I know the markets are down further since March, but our area has not seen some of the major drops in home values seen in other areas. Our home appraised at 200k in March and our current loan is at 140k, which is a 70% loan to value ratio. My wife and I both have 720+ credit ratings and we are still current on everything, although if something does not change soon, we will get behind. That is what I am trying to avoid. If I could refinance at the lower rates now and drop my payments some, that would be a great help. The mitigation department told me we are current, so they really can't do anything, and they apparently won't do a refinance right now, so I am stuck.

A friend of mine (who is with another mortgage company) said he stopped making his payments so he could try to get a modification done and he is now 4 months behind and only now is his mortgage company starting to talk to him. I am wondering if that is what I will have to do or if there is another way to get this done. I was hoping to be able to do something other than stop making payments to get the lower rates and lower payments. Provident told me I would be better off to just go check into refinancing with another company.

Is my best option to check into getting a loan through somewhere else, or should I stop making payments to try to get a loan modification done? And if I go look somewhere else, who should I look at refinancing through, because it seems to me that no where if safe right now?

I would be grateful for any suggestion any can give! I just am not sure what to do at this point.

[Moe Bedard]

Is this the only property that you own and is it owner occupied?

[scottrox]

Yes, It is the only property we have and we are living there.

[Moe Bedard]

Since that is the case............what you are looking for in a modification.......a low fixed rate, would be something that NACA may be able to help you achieve. The are a non profit that has been around for over 20 years and the services are free.............they will put together a modification proposal to negotiate with the investor through the servicer..........and you may have an easier time getting that fixed rate going this route...........click on the link for the info.........
https://www.naca.com/refinance/refinanceTenStep.jsp

[scottrox]

Thanks Cat. I saw your reference to them in a couple other threads and just breifly looked at that site. I will check it out and contact them ASAP.

Thanks Again

[Moe Bedard]

Keep us posted on how it goes..............they may be able to help....

[melanieg]

Hi there! So just wanted to update on my Provident Funding loan mod. Let me just say....they were GREAT!!! So much easier to work with than Countrywide!

So I filled out the hardship papers at about the end of December. Talked to my negotiator (who has been the ONLY person that I have needed to talk to throughout the process...and he picked up his phone EVERY time!) in January, in which he told me that the reality is I would need to be late to get noticed.

I missed my 1st payment 2/1/09. Spoke with my negotiator middle of February, and told me that it looked like he would be able to get me a loan mod of maybe a little under 5%, but he hasn't gotten to my file yet...alot of people ahead of me, and closer to foreclosure than I was.

Missed 2nd payment 3/1/09. Spoke with my negotiator in the middle of March, in which he told me that he was almost to my file, and gave me an idea of what he could get me for a loan mod...which was 3.375% fixed for the life of the loan for 40 years - taxes and insurance now included. Also EMAILED (which CW won't allow) him paystubs and whatnot.

4/2/09 called me to let me know that everything was approved for 3.375%!!! He emailed me the approval papers, and will set up the notary for next week. Also - next payment not due until 7/1/09, however, I will need to bring a cashier check with me when notarizing (about 2K).

So I am super excited with Provident in general, and would recommend them to anybody...even when I first got my loan they were great, and now for them to have been a huge help as I was about to lose my home, they helped again! I think I need to send some flowers! So my plan is so far (knock on wood) is going according to plan. Next, I am hoping to lien strip my 2nd (CW) through BK13. Then I will be good to go.

Sorry Scottrox, for hijacking your thread, but since I haven't found one other Provident user, I thought I would keep my progress with Provident noted in this thread.

[Corrina]

Melanieg...(sorry Scottrox) I have to ask you some questions regarding your post. I also have Provident and have been calling them every two weeks since January '09 looking for some type of help with our loan. I have consistantly been told every time that they do not have a program set up for people who are current. RRRRR.. I am very frustrated because that is the whole reason I keep contacting them... so that I don't fall behind.

Here's the scenario... We are now paycheck to paycheck and have more going out than coming in due to CC balances. I was supplimenting using CC for grocery, gas, etc to maintain our bank account balance for house, car, ins, utilities. I used to have a credit score in the high 700's but that is now shot. I have maintained my husbands score due to him being the breadwinner because you never know if an emergancy will happen. Provident keeps telling me to check back in two weeks (that's all I ever get from them... two weeks, two weeks. I feel like I am watching the movie Money Pit where the contractors keep telling Tom Hanks the house will be finished in two weeks, two weeks). So, here's my question... how in the heck did you manage to get a modification package? who was it that you spoke to? Right now our mtg. payment is over 50% of our gross income. I also live in AZ and my house is under 140K. I have a 300K loan @ 6.75% 30 yr fixed... my style house is now going for 160K.

Sorry for rambling.. I didn't write this post very poetically but I am baffled after reading your article how in the heck you managed to get anything from Provident. Any and all advice that you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Also, I have not made payments on the first of the month probably all year but I have always paid the late charge and they have had it by the end of the month.

[melanieg]

Hi Corrina,

First off, boy does your story sound just like mine. My person at Provident (Matt Ellis) was super! When I first called, I was current also. He told me straight off that I had to be late in order to get anywhere. By February though, my 700+ credit score was already trashed, so it made no difference to me that I was not paying one more thing. I would suggest talking to Matt if you want a loan mod. Also, Matt told me when I got the loan mod that it was the 2nd lowest that he had seen, so I think I was very lucky to get the rate that I did.

However, not trying to push you in any way, but you are about $150K underwater. Have you thought of just letting the house go and renting instead? Had I been in the situation that you are in, that is what I would have done. As it is, I have 2 loans on my house and the 2nd is recourse, meaning that they can come after me for the balance ($80K now). Anyway, I got my 1st (Provident) modified, and will be filing for bankrupcy 13 soon to get rid of the second. That will make my house payment about fair market value for a rental, and I will be OK.

Not sure if I answered any of your questions, but please let me know if you have any others. Take care!!

[melanieg]

Corinna, also wanted to say....You are not your credit score. Like you, I waited too long to deal with the reality that I had more going out than coming in (I also used credit cards to pay for groceries, utilities, etc. until it caught up to me). I admit it was hard to miss that first mortgage payment, but just hard the first month :-) I also knew that had I not missed my mortgage payment, I was just prolonging the agony. I had to do something, and there was no point giving the mortgage company money when I knew it could not go on much longer. Especially on a house that was worth 50K less than my mortgages.

[Corrina]

Corinna, also wanted to say....You are not your credit score. Like you, I waited too long to deal with the reality that I had more going out than coming in (I also used credit cards to pay for groceries, utilities, etc. until it caught up to me). I admit it was hard to miss that first mortgage payment, but just hard the first month :-) I also knew that had I not missed my mortgage payment, I was just prolonging the agony. I had to do something, and there was no point giving the mortgage company money when I knew it could not go on much longer. Especially on a house that was worth 50K less than my mortgages.

Thanks.. it's still hard to swallow and I loath the fact that I no longer have good credit, it takes away your independence. Believe me, I have thought about letting the house go but we have 4 kids, ranging 5 - 16. Though the 5yr. old will just be starting school this yr. all the others are doing really well at thier schools. Even taking some AP/college level classes so to just let the house go will do a disservice to them. I like our house but my husband loves it. Because of the kids ages we will probably be here for the next 12 or so years that is why we are wanting to get a modification w/lender.

I can probably go through all the threads and such but I need advice really fast. I have still not made the payment for this month (June) and probably won't be able to make it before the end (like I usually do). Do I call them up and let them know? What do I expect? The person that you got...was that a fluke that you got him or did someone recommend him? Since I have a conventional loan they can foreclose right away and I am really scared of that. What is the procedure and verbage that I should use when calling them so that I don't appear like the village idiot. I feel if they can extend the life of the loan and lower the interest rate (in the 4's area) we will have a confortable monthly payment. Plus I have been applying everywhere but since I haven't worked in so many years it has been very challenging. Obviously I have to find something at night so I don't have to pay for daycare (no money for that) or within the hours of their school. Sorry again that I am babbling.

[bewilderedone]

I have a 30 year fixed with Provident Funding. I have been their customer since 2007, and have never been late. I have called them three different times trying to get a modification. My husband has major health problems and can not go back into the work force. I am not looking for any of our debt to be wiped off, just a more affordable mortgage payment. My house is not upside down. Getting close, but not yet. With all our extra medical expenses and such, our credit cards are going through the roof.
The first time I talked with Provident, they told me two weeks till programs in place. I waited a month and called back on 7/17. and was told not ready yet - could be two more months or more to be in place. I spoke with someone from Hope over the weekend, and they told me I qualified, and to call Provident and ask for a package to be sent to me, and in the meantime Hope's counselor would forward their recommendation to Provident on my behalf.
I called Provident today, and told the agent what had transpired, and she asked me a few questions, said "well you are current - we did not accept any TARP money, so we don't have to participate in the MHA program".
She told me to try to get into the program through one of the big banks that did accept the money from the gov't, and if I couldn't find anyone to accept us, to fax a rejection paper from another bank to them and they would "see what they could do". I pointed out to her that my loan is through Freddie Mac, and I understood that a person could not change from their original lender, and she said that was not correct. Am I missing something here??

[Corrina]

So you were given the same run-around that I was... two weeks, two weeks! I was calling them every 2 weeks since January regarding the "program" that they were going to be setting up and nothing.

Unfortunately I had to have a surgery in June which required a down payment, and like you our savings is now gone and until payday the credit cards get used. So due to this the June payment didn't get sent until the middle of July. I called Provident to make them aware that I could not mail it and called again when I did mail out the payment. During that conversation I was told that a MHA package had been mailed out to me (since the missed payment). So it seems that to get the ball rolling with Provident you will have to miss a payment. I have found that it all depends on who you get when you call. I understand your confusion because you read about other people who have good luck with Provident and yet when you try to call yourself you get the run-around. It all seems to be a game doesn't it?

I have placed other posts on this website regarding this and was informed that I should contact NACA. They apparently have a good reputation at being able to do mods and are a non-profit company. Below is the link that was on another thread.

https://www.naca.com/refinance/refinanceTenStep.jsp

[Corrina]

Corinna, also wanted to say....You are not your credit score. Like you, I waited too long to deal with the reality that I had more going out than coming in (I also used credit cards to pay for groceries, utilities, etc. until it caught up to me). I admit it was hard to miss that first mortgage payment, but just hard the first month :-) I also knew that had I not missed my mortgage payment, I was just prolonging the agony. I had to do something, and there was no point giving the mortgage company money when I knew it could not go on much longer. Especially on a house that was worth 50K less than my mortgages.

Hello melanieg.... just wondering how things went with PF.... were there any surprises before signing your paperwork? any suggestion on verbage to use when talking with them? Since you got such a great interest rate with them I wanted to pick your brain. Also, did you let them know that you were thinking of filing BK?