Countrywide Loan Modification & I Wasn't Late on My Mortgage - Loan Modification Forum

slateman100 · 05-27-2009, 03:02 PM

So here is my situation and sad tale. Forgive me if I leave out any details.

I have one of the Pay Option ARM type loans, with full intentions of refinancing this year. We all know what happened to home values, so yes, I am also now "upside down."

I tried many times to call CW/BoA for a loan modification to allow me to adjust my payments so that I can start to pay some principal. Again, I don't need to describe how hard it is to get through and all that. When I finally got through, I got the standard "Well, you are not behind on your payments, so we can't help you." You guys are all familiar with that one too.

Frustrated, I hit this forum and found some useful threads with very good information on suggestions of what to do. I ended up emailing the office of the President and several other bank executives. Lo and behold, 2 hours later, I get a call from them and they ask for all kinds of reasonable paperwork. I did this immediately, and made sure everything was organized very very well (I numbered the pages, typed everything, table of contents, etc.). I send it over, and my loan negotiator in the Executive Home Retention team told me it would be about 2 weeks to get an answer.

The time goes by, and she calls me and basically says 2 things that I just can't fathom. The first is: "Well, we can't help you until your ARM balloons or your loan recasts. So try back when that happens." and the second is "Well, we know your debt to income ratio is above the 31% mark, but to help you, we'd have to raise your payments." I said fine, go ahead, make my loan fixed, and I will pay the payments. She said they can't because of reason #1. This is insane. Read that again. I said "I'll pay you more money, right now, just make my loan safer." And in essence, they said "Nah. Wait til you're in jeopardy and we can trash your credit... then come begging and MAYBE we'll help." I am astonished. Simply astonished that they wouldn't want more money now. It's win win. The other piece of advice she had was hilarious: "Well, try and at least pay your interest only payment. That'll hold your balance down." Sure, and then the recast never happens before my ARM increases. Brilliance!

Anyway, that's what happened. Am I completely up the creek? I want to stave off this problem NOW and not kill my finances in the process. I have already gone through the office of the president like suggested, and failed. Now what? Any thoughts? Please help! I have 2 kids and I love my home, I have worked so hard on it, and the kids just love it. It is so hard to sleep at night knowing I may lose the place in when I recast or ARM balloons. Thanks all for lending me your ears at the very least.

mgallant · 05-27-2009, 03:13 PM

Not sure how long you have been trying to get a MOD but I would say that first and foremost if you want any chance of getting a MOD you can live with now and in the future you need to be prepared for a long and crazy ride!

You are right in thinking that they are not terribly rushed to "help" those who are not behind on payments. You most likely won't get the answers you want until you really start to push the right buttons and/or fall behind on your payments thus destroying your credit!

Have you tried NACA. This should be your next step if you own only one home. Get them going on your behalf and you may see some pretty good results in 60-90 days at the soonest, but at least you will have someone with a bit of clout helping you.

Good Luck and fight for what you feel is fair!

slateman100 · 05-27-2009, 03:16 PM

I had been considering whether to use NACA or to hire an attorney. Which one seems to hold more weight in these situations? I am willing to hang on to the ride for the long haul, but I want to start the ride out correctly if that makes any sense

sarge · 05-27-2009, 03:17 PM

You can call NACA at 1-888-302-NACA. You may have a wait but they will be able to tell you if they can help.

sarge · 05-27-2009, 03:27 PM

Their services are free unlike the attorney.

Irish Gal · 05-27-2009, 03:30 PM

Hi Slateman100,

Welcome! I agree w/ mgallant, try NACA. They have a specific contract for CW/BofA loans and usually get much better deals for folks than they would get trying directly on their own. Nothing the lenders/servicers tell you will make sense. Nothing! So, don't bother trying to reason with them or understand their reasoning. You never will! It's a run around game, a sham IMO. But, if you go through NACA, you can sit back and let them do the hard work w/ the lender clowns once your papers are up to date/forwarded. You will have to be patient w/ NACA too as they are overwhelmed most of the time also. Every now and then, I've seen some folks here complain about their NACA counselor, but for the most part, I've read very good results for folks re NACA. With NACA, you won't have the roller coaster ride day in and out directly with the lender's servicer folks. It's a waste of time and energy. Also, from what I've heard (on Ask Attorneys thread), once a pro is involved (NACA, attorney, etc.), CW is one of the better lenders to negotiate with. So, hopefully you'll do alright through NACA. Keep us posted. Good luck!

Irish Gal · 05-27-2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slateman100

I had been considering whether to use NACA or to hire an attorney. Which one seems to hold more weight in these situations? I am willing to hang on to the ride for the long haul, but I want to start the ride out correctly if that makes any sense

I would try NACA first, as its free. They have a very good track record. I posted on article recently re founder of NACA (Bruce Marks) on Breaking Foreclosure News thread. Also, if you decide to try NACA don't be alarmed or put off by the org's requirement that customers must do some type of volunteer work to get their help. Bruce Marks is a long time comm activist. He has demonstrations from time to time and mobilizes NACA customers to join in his protests. You don't have to participate if you don't want to. You can volunteer in an office, or in some other way you are comfortable (if you end up having to volunterr at all). I note this as sometimes new NACA customers express concern (here) when they first contact NACA for help, thinking they have to be willing to be on the news (via a NACA demonstration) or let them put a NACA sign on their yard, etc. They were mortified as they wanted to keep their housing troubles private. You can, if that is a concern. If you are asked to actually do some volunteer work (which I am not aware of anyone here having been asked), just offer to do office work, whatever you are comfortable with. Let us know how it goes if you choose to use NACA.

CW California · 05-27-2009, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irish Gal

I would try NACA first, as its free. They have a very good track record. I posted on article recently re founder of NACA (Bruce Marks) on Breaking Foreclosure News thread. Also, if you decide to try NACA don't be alarmed or put off by the org's requirement that customers must do some type of volunteer work to get their help. Bruce Marks is a long time comm activist. He has demonstrations from time to time and mobilizes NACA customers to join in his protests. You don't have to participate if you don't want to. You can volunteer in an office, or in some other way you are comfortable (if you end up having to volunterr at all). I note this as sometimes new NACA customers express concern (here) when they first contact NACA for help, thinking they have to be willing to be on the news (via a NACA demonstration) or let them put a NACA sign on their yard, etc. They were mortified as they wanted to keep their housing troubles private. You can, if that is a concern. If you are asked to actually do some volunteer work (which I am not aware of anyone here having been asked), just offer to do office work, whatever you are comfortable with. Let us know how it goes if you choose to use NACA.

Irish
Fast forward a couple months here of dealing with these crooks. Now I'm ready to have the news crew at my house. Infact I'll set up the easy up so they have some shade!

Irish Gal · 05-27-2009, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CW California

Irish Fast forward a couple months here of dealing with these crooks. Now I'm ready to have the news crew at my house. Infact I'll set up the easy up so they have some shade!

Too funny ! I love to see folks fight back and to not get played by these lender fools. Yea, punk em !

slateman100 · 06-04-2009, 04:42 AM

Okay, so I have filled in all the NACA information on their site, but I am confused about the workshop versus the councilor part. I hope someone can explain this.

I signed up for a seminar, but the only one close to me is all the way on 7/25/09 (almost 2 months). Am I in limbo until then? The site allowed me to set up a phone appointment with a councilor, but it didn't say anything about what else I need to do in the meantime or if the councilor will even call me because I haven't attended the workshop. Can someone explain this part of the process?

Thanks!

rozuki · 06-04-2009, 05:07 AM

slateman100,

If you set up your appointment, you are good to go with NACA. They will go over everything you provided, come up with a proposal and submit it to CW/BofA for review.

You can attend the workshop if you want, they will give you booklets explaining the history of NACA but you don't have to attend to get the process rolling. The important thing is to get your documents uploaded/faxed/emailed to them , speak to the counselor over the phone and let them do their thing!

As many on here have experienced, I wish I didn't waste 6 months trying to deal with CW myself before I came here and found out about NACA.....my credit is trashed thanks to the CW runaround but at least NACA is behind me now in my battle with CW/BofA for a loan mod.

Good luck in your journey!

slateman100 · 06-04-2009, 05:13 AM

Do I fax them they stuff right now or wait until I speak to the councilor? Thanks for all the support everyone!

cwprisoner · 06-04-2009, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CW California

Irish
Fast forward a couple months here of dealing with these crooks. Now I'm ready to have the news crew at my house. Infact I'll set up the easy up so they have some shade!

LOL I'll provide the lemonade and snacks!

I'm so ready to do the same thing. Fox News, Oprah, CNN, I'm ready to tell the world about the games and corruption at CW/BOA.

CW California · 06-04-2009, 07:59 AM

slateman
you can print out your own personal fax page. Send them you last 2 paystubs, your mortgage statement(s) and your property tax and insurance bill. I took mine up to kinkos. That way they will have everything for your phone appointment. If you have trouble making an appointment after they have received the documents you can call them and they will schedule an appointment. Make sure you have made a list of your budget that you provided them so you can talk it over with them. Good luck.

slateman100 · 06-08-2009, 01:28 PM

I was supposed to have a phone conversation today at 4:00PM, and it's already 4:30 here. Is it normal for them to call late for an appointment or should I call them and see what's going on?

Odd thing is I got a voice mail at 12:30 saying "If this is [my name] press 1" but I wasn't there to press it. Was that them? If so, why would they call so far off the time?

Help!

slateman100 · 06-08-2009, 02:15 PM

Well, that's nice. I just got an automated email saying that I missed the call even though I am inches from the phone since 3:00PM.

I scheduled another one for tomorrow, I hope it works this time.

I am certain I set it for the correct phone number. What a great start

rozuki · 06-08-2009, 02:26 PM

Slateman100,

Some people on here had same experience....I made sure to make my phone appts at 7:00 and 8:00 pm on 2 consecutive days hoping that I would be lucky! And I was.....

Don't give up.....reschedule at night if you can!!!

slateman100 · 07-13-2009, 10:46 AM

Well, after several months of going it about it myself, I have successfully secured a loan modification I can live with from Bank of America, and... this is the important part... I am one of their customers who was NOT behind on mortgage. Usually, as evidenced by multiple threads here, you can plainly see that people in my older situation (read my first post) are usually hung out to dry. We aren't important enough to deal with now, but we want to be responsible for our families and take care of things before they go south.

So the story went as follows with a sort of rough timeline:

March/April 2009 - Called Bank of America's regular home retention toll free numbers time and time again, just trying to get through. When I finally got through, I was told flatly that they do not assist people who are not behind on payments.
May 2009 - Emailed the 4 bigwigs at BoA as suggested here at loansafe.org. In about 2 hours, I got a call from their "Executive Home Retention" department. She had me submit all sorts of paperwork via email and fax. Then I wait. And wait.
End of May 2009 - I get a call from her that "My managers say they will only assist people whose loan has either recasted (I have a Pay Option ARM), or if the ARM has expired which would put me in an impossible payment situation. Tried to plead with them that I am being responsible and trying to fix my mistakes, but they flatly denied my requests.
June 2009 - I emailed all 4 bigwigs again with an even more emphatic (but nicely worded... I was not nasty or obnoxious in any way) email, pleading with them to help me. I used everything I could muster without being rude to figuratively beg for help. The next day, the same lady from Executive Home Retention called me and noted that when I send those emails, they just go right back to her, so it's almost pointless. I ask to speak to someone else, which I have a feeling she does gladly. She says someone will call me back, which I took as a blow-off.
Second week June 2009 - I begin NACA work, setting up all of the necessary stuff, and jumping through all of the hoops. Takes about a week or two of faxes and emails. I fire off another email to all 4 people at BoA that I am letting NACA handle it, again, trying to say it as polite as possible.
End of June 2009 - Lo and behold, a new guy from BoA calls me, a guy who asks me to sort of start from the beginning and explain everything. I do that. He's very nice, takes the time to listen to pretty much a verbal version of my hardship letter and says he will get all my documents from the other lady I was working with and see what he can do. He calls me later THAT DAY and says that he will submit it to the lender.
July 2009 - The guy calls me back from BoA (about 5 days) and says that I have been approved for a loan modification. They use the "Obama Formula" (31% of your gross or whatever) to come up with my payments, which I can afford. I say a huge "hell yeah" and they submit it for PMI lender approval, which happens right after the long 4th of July weekend. I get a FedEx packet at my front door with a copy of the new terms, and they set up a notary to come to my house (that was this past Friday). We signed, and that's it. I am just waiting for the system to update the new numbers.

So that's all there is to it. I dunno if saying I was going to use NACA mattered, or talking to the right person mattered, but someone there was listening to me. It took lots of calls, lots of emails, and lots of waiting. I am not trying to equate myself to some of those of you out there who are facing more immediate danger, like foreclosure or loss of employment or even loss of a loved one. But I can say that it APPEARS that if you are persistant enough, and you keep trying, you can get the right person to hear you. Just DON'T GIVE UP! It worked for me after only 5 months, and that was with some misfires I think. Thanks to everyone on this forum and the admins, mods and everything of this site for your support. It is amazingly helpful to know we aren't alone out there... it's important to have a crutch like this and that we help each other in times like these. Good luck to all of you. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask me... I will still check this thread.

rozuki · 07-13-2009, 07:34 PM

Congrats, Slateman100!

You are one of the few I have read about here that got CW/BofA to modify without being late!!! In my case, even though I tried from Oct 08 to Feb 09 to work with CW/BofA, I could never get the ear of anyone who would do anything....luckily, I found this forum and learned of NACA, who got me 2% fixed for life of loan.

Moe Bedard · 07-13-2009, 08:56 PM

Congratulations!

It is very rare that someone obtains a loan modification without being late. This definitely gives others hope!!

Take care and I wish you the best!

wattsm · 07-14-2009, 08:03 AM

it certainly me some hope... I'm just a few days into my process with NACA. I haven't yet missed a payment on my Countrywide/BofA loan but I will in the very near future. Hopefully this is a sign that they're more willing to offer modifications/restructures to current accounts.

one1luv629 · 07-14-2009, 09:57 AM

Hi, your story is inspirational as I've been struggling with CW for more than 8 months now. I currently have a negotiator but she's of no help. I was wondering if you can provide me with the emails to the "big wigs" at CW? I'm willing to try anything now to receive the help I need. Thanks!

one1luv629 · 07-14-2009, 10:15 AM

Hi Slateman 100, would you be able to give me the email addresses to the "office of the president" and the other executives at CW? I am desperately in need of help! Thanks!

slateman100 · 07-14-2009, 11:00 AM

Absolutely:

This is who I emailed, but I am not certain which one really made it through (i.e. which one caused them to call me). None of them ever bounced, so I am fairly certain they are accurate.

barbara.j.desoer@bankofamerica.com
Barbara Desoer, President of Bank of America Home Loans

maryellen.baker@bankofamerica.com
Mary Ellen Baker
Senior Vice President Bank of America
Consumer and Small Business Bank Technology and Operations Executive at Bank of America

ken.d.lewis@bankofamerica.com
Ken Lewis
CEO and President Bank of America

liam.e.mcgee@bankofamerica.com
Liam McGee
President, Bank of America Consumer and Small Business Bank

I have heard that Barbara Desoer is the one that seems the most responsive (you aren't going to hear from her personally obviously, but it's forwarded or screened). My advice is to be as polite and calm as possible... I know it's really hard especially when staring down the barrel of a gun, but I am fairly certain that they will instantly be turned off by a nasty email.

Good luck to you!

one1luv629 · 07-14-2009, 12:59 PM

Thanks! I emailed Barbara this morning but will also forward the email to the rest of the 3 people you suggested! I will post any results I get.

05-27-2009, 03:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
slateman100 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 10 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Countrywide Loan Modification & I Wasn't Late on My Mortgage So here is my situation and sad tale. Forgive me if I leave out any details. I have one of the Pay Option ARM type loans, with full intentions of refinancing this year. We all know what happened to home values, so yes, I am also now "upside down." I tried many times to call CW/BoA for a loan modification to allow me to adjust my payments so that I can start to pay some principal. Again, I don't need to describe how hard it is to get through and all that. When I finally got through, I got the standard "Well, you are not behind on your payments, so we can't help you." You guys are all familiar with that one too. Frustrated, I hit this forum and found some useful threads with very good information on suggestions of what to do. I ended up emailing the office of the President and several other bank executives. Lo and behold, 2 hours later, I get a call from them and they ask for all kinds of reasonable paperwork. I did this immediately, and made sure everything was organized very very well (I numbered the pages, typed everything, table of contents, etc.). I send it over, and my loan negotiator in the Executive Home Retention team told me it would be about 2 weeks to get an answer. The time goes by, and she calls me and basically says 2 things that I just can't fathom. The first is: "Well, we can't help you until your ARM balloons or your loan recasts. So try back when that happens." and the second is "Well, we know your debt to income ratio is above the 31% mark, but to help you, we'd have to raise your payments." I said fine, go ahead, make my loan fixed, and I will pay the payments. She said they can't because of reason #1. This is insane. Read that again. I said "I'll pay you more money, right now, just make my loan safer." And in essence, they said "Nah. Wait til you're in jeopardy and we can trash your credit... then come begging and MAYBE we'll help." I am astonished. Simply astonished that they wouldn't want more money now. It's win win. The other piece of advice she had was hilarious: "Well, try and at least pay your interest only payment. That'll hold your balance down." Sure, and then the recast never happens before my ARM increases. Brilliance! Anyway, that's what happened. Am I completely up the creek? I want to stave off this problem NOW and not kill my finances in the process. I have already gone through the office of the president like suggested, and failed. Now what? Any thoughts? Please help! I have 2 kids and I love my home, I have worked so hard on it, and the kids just love it. It is so hard to sleep at night knowing I may lose the place in when I recast or ARM balloons. Thanks all for lending me your ears at the very least.

05-27-2009, 03:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
mgallant Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 170 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Not sure how long you have been trying to get a MOD but I would say that first and foremost if you want any chance of getting a MOD you can live with now and in the future you need to be prepared for a long and crazy ride! You are right in thinking that they are not terribly rushed to "help" those who are not behind on payments. You most likely won't get the answers you want until you really start to push the right buttons and/or fall behind on your payments thus destroying your credit! Have you tried NACA. This should be your next step if you own only one home. Get them going on your behalf and you may see some pretty good results in 60-90 days at the soonest, but at least you will have someone with a bit of clout helping you. Good Luck and fight for what you feel is fair!

05-27-2009, 03:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
slateman100 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 10 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here I had been considering whether to use NACA or to hire an attorney. Which one seems to hold more weight in these situations? I am willing to hang on to the ride for the long haul, but I want to start the ride out correctly if that makes any sense

05-27-2009, 03:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
sarge Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coastal NC Posts: 307 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here You can call NACA at 1-888-302-NACA. You may have a wait but they will be able to tell you if they can help.

05-27-2009, 03:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
sarge Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coastal NC Posts: 307 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Their services are free unlike the attorney.

05-27-2009, 03:30 PM	#6 (permalink)
Irish Gal Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 640 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Hi Slateman100, Welcome! I agree w/ mgallant, try NACA. They have a specific contract for CW/BofA loans and usually get much better deals for folks than they would get trying directly on their own. Nothing the lenders/servicers tell you will make sense. Nothing! So, don't bother trying to reason with them or understand their reasoning. You never will! It's a run around game, a sham IMO. But, if you go through NACA, you can sit back and let them do the hard work w/ the lender clowns once your papers are up to date/forwarded. You will have to be patient w/ NACA too as they are overwhelmed most of the time also. Every now and then, I've seen some folks here complain about their NACA counselor, but for the most part, I've read very good results for folks re NACA. With NACA, you won't have the roller coaster ride day in and out directly with the lender's servicer folks. It's a waste of time and energy. Also, from what I've heard (on Ask Attorneys thread), once a pro is involved (NACA, attorney, etc.), CW is one of the better lenders to negotiate with. So, hopefully you'll do alright through NACA. Keep us posted. Good luck!

06-04-2009, 04:42 AM	#10 (permalink)
slateman100 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 10 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Okay, so I have filled in all the NACA information on their site, but I am confused about the workshop versus the councilor part. I hope someone can explain this. I signed up for a seminar, but the only one close to me is all the way on 7/25/09 (almost 2 months). Am I in limbo until then? The site allowed me to set up a phone appointment with a councilor, but it didn't say anything about what else I need to do in the meantime or if the councilor will even call me because I haven't attended the workshop. Can someone explain this part of the process? Thanks!

06-04-2009, 05:07 AM	#11 (permalink)
rozuki Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 356 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here slateman100, If you set up your appointment, you are good to go with NACA. They will go over everything you provided, come up with a proposal and submit it to CW/BofA for review. You can attend the workshop if you want, they will give you booklets explaining the history of NACA but you don't have to attend to get the process rolling. The important thing is to get your documents uploaded/faxed/emailed to them , speak to the counselor over the phone and let them do their thing! As many on here have experienced, I wish I didn't waste 6 months trying to deal with CW myself before I came here and found out about NACA.....my credit is trashed thanks to the CW runaround but at least NACA is behind me now in my battle with CW/BofA for a loan mod. Good luck in your journey!

06-04-2009, 05:13 AM	#12 (permalink)
slateman100 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 10 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Do I fax them they stuff right now or wait until I speak to the councilor? Thanks for all the support everyone!

06-04-2009, 07:59 AM	#14 (permalink)
CW California Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,127 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here slateman you can print out your own personal fax page. Send them you last 2 paystubs, your mortgage statement(s) and your property tax and insurance bill. I took mine up to kinkos. That way they will have everything for your phone appointment. If you have trouble making an appointment after they have received the documents you can call them and they will schedule an appointment. Make sure you have made a list of your budget that you provided them so you can talk it over with them. Good luck.

06-08-2009, 01:28 PM	#15 (permalink)
slateman100 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 10 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here I was supposed to have a phone conversation today at 4:00PM, and it's already 4:30 here. Is it normal for them to call late for an appointment or should I call them and see what's going on? Odd thing is I got a voice mail at 12:30 saying "If this is [my name] press 1" but I wasn't there to press it. Was that them? If so, why would they call so far off the time? Help!

06-08-2009, 02:15 PM	#16 (permalink)
slateman100 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 10 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Well, that's nice. I just got an automated email saying that I missed the call even though I am inches from the phone since 3:00PM. I scheduled another one for tomorrow, I hope it works this time. I am certain I set it for the correct phone number. What a great start

06-08-2009, 02:26 PM	#17 (permalink)
rozuki Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 356 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Slateman100, Some people on here had same experience....I made sure to make my phone appts at 7:00 and 8:00 pm on 2 consecutive days hoping that I would be lucky! And I was..... Don't give up.....reschedule at night if you can!!!

07-13-2009, 10:46 AM	#18 (permalink)
slateman100 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 10 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Well, after several months of going it about it myself, I have successfully secured a loan modification I can live with from Bank of America, and... this is the important part... I am one of their customers who was NOT behind on mortgage. Usually, as evidenced by multiple threads here, you can plainly see that people in my older situation (read my first post) are usually hung out to dry. We aren't important enough to deal with now, but we want to be responsible for our families and take care of things before they go south. So the story went as follows with a sort of rough timeline: March/April 2009 - Called Bank of America's regular home retention toll free numbers time and time again, just trying to get through. When I finally got through, I was told flatly that they do not assist people who are not behind on payments. May 2009 - Emailed the 4 bigwigs at BoA as suggested here at loansafe.org. In about 2 hours, I got a call from their "Executive Home Retention" department. She had me submit all sorts of paperwork via email and fax. Then I wait. And wait. End of May 2009 - I get a call from her that "My managers say they will only assist people whose loan has either recasted (I have a Pay Option ARM), or if the ARM has expired which would put me in an impossible payment situation. Tried to plead with them that I am being responsible and trying to fix my mistakes, but they flatly denied my requests. June 2009 - I emailed all 4 bigwigs again with an even more emphatic (but nicely worded... I was not nasty or obnoxious in any way) email, pleading with them to help me. I used everything I could muster without being rude to figuratively beg for help. The next day, the same lady from Executive Home Retention called me and noted that when I send those emails, they just go right back to her, so it's almost pointless. I ask to speak to someone else, which I have a feeling she does gladly. She says someone will call me back, which I took as a blow-off. Second week June 2009 - I begin NACA work, setting up all of the necessary stuff, and jumping through all of the hoops. Takes about a week or two of faxes and emails. I fire off another email to all 4 people at BoA that I am letting NACA handle it, again, trying to say it as polite as possible. End of June 2009 - Lo and behold, a new guy from BoA calls me, a guy who asks me to sort of start from the beginning and explain everything. I do that. He's very nice, takes the time to listen to pretty much a verbal version of my hardship letter and says he will get all my documents from the other lady I was working with and see what he can do. He calls me later THAT DAY and says that he will submit it to the lender. July 2009 - The guy calls me back from BoA (about 5 days) and says that I have been approved for a loan modification. They use the "Obama Formula" (31% of your gross or whatever) to come up with my payments, which I can afford. I say a huge "hell yeah" and they submit it for PMI lender approval, which happens right after the long 4th of July weekend. I get a FedEx packet at my front door with a copy of the new terms, and they set up a notary to come to my house (that was this past Friday). We signed, and that's it. I am just waiting for the system to update the new numbers. So that's all there is to it. I dunno if saying I was going to use NACA mattered, or talking to the right person mattered, but someone there was listening to me. It took lots of calls, lots of emails, and lots of waiting. I am not trying to equate myself to some of those of you out there who are facing more immediate danger, like foreclosure or loss of employment or even loss of a loved one. But I can say that it APPEARS that if you are persistant enough, and you keep trying, you can get the right person to hear you. Just DON'T GIVE UP! It worked for me after only 5 months, and that was with some misfires I think. Thanks to everyone on this forum and the admins, mods and everything of this site for your support. It is amazingly helpful to know we aren't alone out there... it's important to have a crutch like this and that we help each other in times like these. Good luck to all of you. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask me... I will still check this thread.

07-13-2009, 07:34 PM	#19 (permalink)
rozuki Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 356 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Congrats, Slateman100! You are one of the few I have read about here that got CW/BofA to modify without being late!!! In my case, even though I tried from Oct 08 to Feb 09 to work with CW/BofA, I could never get the ear of anyone who would do anything....luckily, I found this forum and learned of NACA, who got me 2% fixed for life of loan. __________________ ~Rozuki...NACA loan mod approved 6/10

07-13-2009, 08:56 PM	#20 (permalink)
Moe Bedard Founder Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Southern California Posts: 16,887 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Not Sure Where To Go From Here Congratulations! It is very rare that someone obtains a loan modification without being late. This definitely gives others hope!! Take care and I wish you the best! __________________ Moe Bedard Founder LoanSafe.org "America's #1 Home Loan Forum" LoanWorkout.org "America's # Loan Modification Blog" Get My FREE Loan Modification E-Book \| Please donate to LoanSafe.org \| Loan Modification Training For Attorneys \| Rate Your Mortgage Servicer The comments by me and the materials available at this web site are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Most of the information you find here is easily available on the internet. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. The opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of the firm or any individual attorney. Please Read our Privacy Policy and Legal Disclaimer Here.

07-14-2009, 08:03 AM	#21 (permalink)
wattsm Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 78 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Countrywide Loan Modification & I Wasn't Late on My Mortgage it certainly me some hope... I'm just a few days into my process with NACA. I haven't yet missed a payment on my Countrywide/BofA loan but I will in the very near future. Hopefully this is a sign that they're more willing to offer modifications/restructures to current accounts.

07-14-2009, 09:57 AM	#22 (permalink)
one1luv629 Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 11 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Countrywide Loan Modification & I Wasn't Late on My Mortgage Hi, your story is inspirational as I've been struggling with CW for more than 8 months now. I currently have a negotiator but she's of no help. I was wondering if you can provide me with the emails to the "big wigs" at CW? I'm willing to try anything now to receive the help I need. Thanks!

07-14-2009, 10:15 AM	#23 (permalink)
one1luv629 Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 11 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Countrywide Loan Modification & I Wasn't Late on My Mortgage Hi Slateman 100, would you be able to give me the email addresses to the "office of the president" and the other executives at CW? I am desperately in need of help! Thanks!

07-14-2009, 11:00 AM	#24 (permalink)
slateman100 Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 10 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Countrywide Loan Modification & I Wasn't Late on My Mortgage Absolutely: This is who I emailed, but I am not certain which one really made it through (i.e. which one caused them to call me). None of them ever bounced, so I am fairly certain they are accurate. barbara.j.desoer@bankofamerica.com Barbara Desoer, President of Bank of America Home Loans maryellen.baker@bankofamerica.com Mary Ellen Baker Senior Vice President Bank of America Consumer and Small Business Bank Technology and Operations Executive at Bank of America ken.d.lewis@bankofamerica.com Ken Lewis CEO and President Bank of America liam.e.mcgee@bankofamerica.com Liam McGee President, Bank of America Consumer and Small Business Bank I have heard that Barbara Desoer is the one that seems the most responsive (you aren't going to hear from her personally obviously, but it's forwarded or screened). My advice is to be as polite and calm as possible... I know it's really hard especially when staring down the barrel of a gun, but I am fairly certain that they will instantly be turned off by a nasty email. Good luck to you!

07-14-2009, 12:59 PM	#25 (permalink)
one1luv629 Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 11 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0	Re: Countrywide Loan Modification & I Wasn't Late on My Mortgage Thanks! I emailed Barbara this morning but will also forward the email to the rest of the 3 people you suggested! I will post any results I get.

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