CW 5 yr. freeze~ SUCCESS!!!

[egirl0468]

Today the reality of my mortgage situation hit me hard. I've gone from being "The glass is half full" personality to "The glass is almost empty" kind of attitude after watching things with our mortgage go from bad to worse. Countrywide is our main (largest portion) lender. They sold part of our loan to Litton Loan Servicing Co. No excuses, we made the choice to sign on the dotted line two years ago. Our mortgage broker was a friend of ours and we trusted his advice that he would refinance us "easily" within a year or so. We knew we could make the payments until then and refi, no problem. We loved the house, and really needed a bigger place for our family of five boys (and us). We've both worked hard to make all of our payments on time and have been successful in doing so...somehow. We began inquiring about a refi about a year after we moved into the house, and our "friend" the mortgage broker told us, NO GO. Hmmm?... He said it just wasn't possible now with the "situation" of things in the mortgage world. We turned to Countrywide and Litton for help asking for a loan mod. But, NOPE. They told us they couldn't help and cited different reasons. We actually worked hard to raise our credit scores, we made all paymts. on time, and yet we couldn't get a mod. or refi? My husband desperately begged for at least a freeze on the ARM for a few years, but again, NO GO. Countrywide transfered him to several different departments, he got cut off several times, and was put on endless hold many times. Finally, he was told that we should check back on getting a possible ARM freeze, but not until 3 months prior to the date our ARM was to come due.

We have attempted to go through other mortgage companies to get our loan refinanced, but it's not happening for us. We are told we fall through the cracks for one reason or another and hear the same old "Sorry, can't help you." Oh yes, and my husband called the HOPE line and after 30 minutes of answering questions (like how much we spend on pet care/food?) he was told that we couldn't be helped because we aren't BEHIND on our mortgage payments. Um...excuse me? I thought paying on time (as hard as it's been) would be a GOOD thing? Color me CONFUSED. The customer care rep actually implied we'd have better luck getting help if we were BEHIND.

Truthfully, my husband knows far more about our loan than I do. I am trying to educate myself so I can try and help "him" to help us. He's worn out and close to his breaking point. We're both taking on second jobs in anticipation of our payments going up to a point where we'd have to put the house up for sale. Problem is that homes in our area aren't selling for much these days, and we'd play heck getting what we owe I'm sure. I try not to think about it, but I just cannot imagine uprooting our kids (ages 1-14) and moving. Where would we go?

I'm pretty desperate. Really tired today, and just not sure where to start or where to turn? I cannot imagine giving up and just throwing in the towel on all of our dreams. But, then again...I never imagined we'd be in this position.

It's cloudy here in the Midwest today. Looking for a ray of sunshine....

Thanks for listening~
E.

[Moe Bedard]

Hi egirl0468,

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

If anything is going to be a ray of sunshine for you, it will be this forum..........there are so many stories that started out like this and are now in the success section of the forum...........let's see if we can't get you there too........

I am so sorry to hear about all that you have been through just to get a rate freeze from CW.........and no you don't have to be late to get one.......we have several success stories that were not late on payments...

What you need to do to get started is to put together a hardship letter and state in it that a hike in the rate will cause you to fall behind and that you are looking to freeze the rate.............
there is an example in the Homeowner Tool Box to the left of the forum........

Then you need to email that hardship letter along with an explanation of the runaround that you have been given by CW to each one of these addresses..........you will get a contact from this and they will begin the loan modification with you.......

Please keep us updated on your progress...........
We are here for you anytime.........

[egirl0468]

***~ Your reply ...well, just hearing from someone who cares misted me up (and that's a hard thing to do to this wanna-be-tough-girl). Thanks for your words of encouragement and hope. I'll take your suggestions and run like the wind with them. Will probably have a thousand questions once I get into this tho. Maybe I'll get my ray of sunshine yet.

God Bless & T.Y. again~

E.

[Moe Bedard]

E.

You be that tough girl that I know you can...........afterall we gots to kick some serious CW @ss........

It isn't going to be easy, but it can be done and has been done over and over........just go into the Success Section and read all of the CW successes it will blow you away..........and give you lots of hope for the fight.......

You can do this.........
And ask away.........any questions you have, that is what we are here for.........

I am so glad you found us........

[schwefls]

EGIRL0468:

I wanted to stop in wlecome you and let you know it is difficult to get the attention of Litton but I did after 3 attempts. And I won. I just got my mod. You can do it to, the trick is getting them to even look at your modification. I do have some contact information that worked for me.

Larry Litton llitton@litton.C-BASS.com,

Elizabeth Folk Senior Vice President and CFO efolk@litton.C-BASS.com,

Ann Kelley Senior Vice President and general counsel akelley@litton.C-BASS.com

Once my email was sent to them I received a call from the executive resolution team. That was 2/18, 4/2 I was modified, everything signed sealed and delivered this past week

[Moe Bedard]

She can keep that great info for later...........she has to concentrate on modifying the first with Countrywide to start........and once she gets that in place then she can go after the second............
First things first.......

[tiffany]

Hi EGIRL0468,

Welcome to the forum. I have to ask this, have you considered refinancing with FHA? It would seem like and easy fix and they just raised the loan amounts. Here is the website.

index

We will help you with any information that we can.

Tiffany

[schwefls]

Got ya, sorry

[Moe Bedard]

No worries, it's all good............because after the first is wrapped up, we will definately need your help on that Litton second.........for sure........

[egirl0468]

Hi all...and THANK YOU for the warm welcome here. Feels good to know people care and want to help with advice. It's so much appreciated!!! I've actually S-M-I-L-E-D today. My mouth was starting to get into a permanent down-turn. Ugh! Well, while I was off following ***(s) advice writing and emailing hardship letters, I come back to find MORE great info. and support! Holy Cow! Where have ya'all been? I guess it's where I've been...with my head in the oven. I'm glad to be here and wish I'd found this site sooner. This whole thing really had me feeling beat, and now I feel there is hope.

On the FHA issue: I think we checked into that and were told that our debt to income ratio was just off by a few %? I'll check again tho.

Schwefls...thanks for the Litton info! Will definitely keep my ducks in a row with that and start with CW. But, that info. and the fact that you WON with them, is amazing and gives me extra hope when I go down THAT road for the next battle. T.Y. ! We've had trouble with Litton off and on, so I expected a fight. Never paid them late, but had them report a late payment once. Took me about 2 months, but got them to remove it off our credit.

So~ letters have been sent. Let's see where we go from here. Maybe my pot at the end of the rainbow isn't filled with "crap" afterall.

(((You guys Rock!)))) E.

[schwefls]

Just remember this........ you need to fight hard, patience is a virtua and good things come to those who wait. Your pot of gold is on its way it will just take awhile to get to sometimes you may lose hope...But don't... Keep up your spirits and remember call, call, call. Don't assume anything. Follow the advice given by ***, Moe, and Andrew you will be fine.

[Moe Bedard]

Welcome to the forum nd look at all the members stepping up and helping. This is GREAT! They have all offered sound advice and encouragement. My only suggestion is that you have your husband check our website out. We have been at this for almost a year and we FIGHT lenders daily. It really comes down to fighting fire with fire.

So, with that said, you WILL save this home and you WILL get the support and guidance you need to make it through this and conquer these lenders who have been giving you the run around. If you can afford your home and just not your loan, then you will SAVE YOUR HOME.

It may take 2-4 months of playing the games with them, but as long as you know what to expect, you will be fine. They really do not want your home, they just love to play payment games and make you suffer a little. Once they realize that you are truly in trouble, they will help. They do not want to take your home.

Start drafting the hardship letter and an income and expense sheet. Post your results here and we'll check them out for you and assist you in any way we can

I wish you the best and keep fighting the good fight!

[ladybug1221]

Egirl, welcome to the battleground. I too have been at this for it seems like an eternity. As everyone says, "keep up the faith." It will get you emotionally, but remember, "we are all here together to win this battle."
I have been dealing with CW's "bull sh..." for now going on 5 months, and even had to fight for a "freeze" on the "sale date" of my home. I took extreme steps and took it all the way to the federal level to make them pay attention to me. I was turned down for any assistance from CW 2 or more times, but that didn't stop me.
I took the advice of Moe,***, Andrew and others, and begin emailing, faxing, phoning, emailing,faxing, phoning, and the "merry go round," keeps on turning. It is defineltly a hard road to travel, but the end results are worth it. Just try to stay one step ahead of the mortgage companys, and you "Will Make It."
We are all here for you.

[egirl0468]

Thanks to all who have posted in response to my belly aching. It is SO appreciated!!!

I went right to it and emailed a hardship letter to all the addresses *** provided. Two days later my phone would ring once, then stop. It happened about five times within a 2 hour period. I called the # back to see who it was, and it was none other than CW! It was an automated system leaving me a message. Not sure why it only rang once and then they hung up??

That same day my hubby got a call from "Misty" at CW. She said she had received our email and wanted financial info. from us. He gave her some info. over the phone while he was driving in the car and while being distracted, so I really don't know if that was a 'wise' thing to do after reading MOE'S advice on being very cautious about what info. you give and what you say to them. UGH! Hope nothing said was a negative against us already!

"Misty" told my DH that she needs bank statements from him and gave him a fax #. He faxed her what she asked for immediately upon getting home from work. I spoke to him today, told him to scour this site, read everything pertaining to our situation here, and together we will get a financial statement done and all other paperwork that MOE recommended. I hope we didn't just put the cart before the horse. I think we were just WAY too overzealous about getting any contact from CW after over a year of nothing.

Am really holding on by a thread. Cannot believe we've paid on time up to now. Talk about smoke & mirrors! But, I'm not giving up. I'm NOT losing our home. I'm gonna fight! Here's hoping we're going in the right direction. I know we're in for a battle.
BTW: It's SUNNY in my part of the world today. That counts for something!

E.

[Moe Bedard]

E.

Thanks for the update..............it sounds like things are rolling along for you now......

In the Homeowner Tool Box to the left of the forum are examples of the Hardship Letter and the Income & Expense Sheet.............
Just try to stay within the $100-$250 surplus range with the household income verses the household expenses.........

Keep on top of them............you are doing great!!

[egirl0468]

Recap: Been talking with "Misty Jackson" at CW. She tried to get just some basic financial info. from my hubby over the phone, and requested he fax her payroll stubs and bank statements saying she would send them to a negotiator. We did an I&E sheet as MOE suggested coming up with about $200 left over. I also faxed a copy of the hardship letter we had originally emailed to all the CW depts. given to us by *** here on this site. Payroll stubs and bank statements were also faxed. All this was done this A.M. Just got a call from a "Teresa" at CW who stated she is our negotiator. She said she is going to ask for a five-year freeze on our loan (same interest rate...same payment) and it will be 7-10 days before we hear back from her. She claimed that was the only "program" we qualify for.

Here is my question: I am definitely not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth. A freeze would be better than nothing. But, we started out a year and a half ago trying for a refi. After nothing, we went for a modifi. After we were shot down repeatedly by CW for that, we were desperate and asked for at least a freeze to keep our payments from increasing. We were told to call back 3 months before our ARM was up.

My husband asked Teresa why we didn't qualify for a loan mod? We have made the payments on time so far (within the month they are due), but we've had financial setbacks, had to borrow money, unforeseen issues, and that was all part of our hardship letter. They KNOW we are just barely getting by, and one more little unexpected problem and "whammo" we'll get behind on those payments. I even explained about my self-employment and that my income fluctuates month to month. I do pretty well, but then there's that month where it's more famine than feast you know? So, we really go by my husbands income since he's got a steady 8-5'er. I'm frustrated as to what it takes for us to "qualify" for an actual modification so that our interest which is 9.5% can be lowered a bit, and our payments accordingly. Don't they want to make sure we keep paying? I just don't understand why they can't drop that int. down a bit? Geez...it would be so much easier for us and foreclosure possibilities wouldn't be a stresser anymore.

I am very grateful to have found this site, and the support, info. and advice has been awesome! It's already gotten us call backs from CW! T.Y.!!!!!! But, I'm just wondering what to do from here? I guess wait. If they say they can only offer a possible freeze ...then I guess we take it and be grateful.

Thanks for listening~(again)
E.

[Moe Bedard]

E.

Don't get down....you made it this far....farther than you thought 4 days ago........CW can only do what the investor on your loan is allowing them to do..........it isn't up to CW. The investors have their limits that they are willing to go.......
alot of the workouts that CW are doing result in a 5yr freeze of the start rate of the loan before it adjusted..........

Is that you start rate?

[egirl0468]

Yes I believe it is. Our orig. int. rate is set to adjust when our ARM comes due in Sept. (Did I say that correctly?) I just checked and it's 9.8. We knew the terms were not great when we bought 2 years ago, but it was all we could get then (going through divorces, credit issues..blah, blah, blah). Thought we'd refi in a year or two. If you say a freeze is good...then GREAT! I'd be happy just knowing that we're not going to see our payment go UP. And yes, I am absolutely amazed we already have contact and a negotiator. THANK YOU!

E.

[Moe Bedard]

The question is...........would it be o.k. with you.........it seemed like a struggle from day to day.............

If I were you I would tell your husband to ask them if they would be willing to freeze it at 6% or 7% for the 5yrs to offer you some breathing room.........
and try that as soon as you can........
It doesn't hurt to give it one last ditch effort before they present it to the investor.........

[egirl0468]

Thanks *** ....will ask the nego. Who knows...worth a try!

[egirl0468]

I posted here just weeks ago. Followed everyone's great advice here and got CW to call us regarding our request for a loan Mod or Freeze. We gave financials, hardship letter...etc. Last week we were put through to a negotiator who was requesting a 5 year freeze at our current int. rate. We asked for a lower int. rate, but they refused. Oh well.

Today my hubby received a call from someone other than our negotiator. A man named Zach who said he's taken over our case and we've been approved for a 5 year freeze. My husband tells him that we've been trying to make a payment online (as always) but, we've been blocked. He says, "Don't worry about making a payment unil June 1st 2008. My husband expressed GREAT concern over not making a payment, not wanting to damage our credit, and made it clear that we have not been late yet and don't intend to pay late EVER if we can help it. "Zach" ASSURED him that we would not be counted LATE and that because of the freeze/paperwork...etc. we did not need to make a payment, and that it would NOT be accepted if we did. He said our first "new" payment will be due in June. He repeated that we would NOT be counted late, and that the May payment would be added to the end of our loan. Once again, my husband expressed concern, but "Zach" told him payment should not be made until June 1st.

Ok...GREAT on the 5 year freeze, even at our crappy 9++% interest rate. But, that gives us time to get our finances worked out and refinance in a couple years. We can make the payment and it won't go up, so that's all that matters. HOWEVER...I feel very nervous not to make a payment until June. We have "Zach's name and number" at CW. What should we do? Trust these people or find a way to pay the payment? Or call someone else at CW to confirm this situation? I'd love nothing more than not having a payment due until June so we can get back on track with our finances. But, I find it hard to believe that this is acceptable.

OK, I'm repeating myself. Sorry...

Thanks for any advice you can give~
E.

[Moe Bedard]

Hi E..........

Relax...........this will help you and your husband out...........

This is normal for them to put a payment on the end of the loan and offer to have the new payment begin on June 1st...........it gives them a chance to update the system.
Besides they will be sending the modification docs really soon..........so you will be able to see this all in black and white before your May payment would ever be considered late........

Just keep up with Zach as to when to expect the documents to sign.......

This is good......... and you get a month breather..........

[egirl0468]

Awwww ***~

T.Y. (again and again) for responding so quickly. We have worked so hard to make our payments. We just don't want it all to go down the toilet now with late payments on our credit, or foreclosure issues looming. I used to be such a trusting person, and I guess my trust cage has been rattled with all of this mortgage stuff which is quite confusing to me at times.

We will RELAX for today and just sit tight while we wait for the paperwork. He said it should arrive by Wednesday, and if not to call him. I admit I'm a bit leary about jumping for joy just yet, but hope to be doing so very soon.

I cannot express my gratitude for this SITE!!!! In just 2 weeks my entire stress level has gone down to a semi-normal level. Heh. Now off to have a glass of wine to help the relaxation. It's only 2:33 here in the midwest, but it MUST be 5pm somewhere!

Thanks a million~
E.

[Moe Bedard]

It's always 5:00 somewhere............

Just let me know when you receive the docs and if you have any questions on them..........k......


Cheers..........

[schwefls]

Hi egirl0468:

Things are sounding good, very very happy for you. I can tell congratulations are in order YIPPEEEEEE