Countrywide PayOption ARM SUCCESS!!

[Killwind]

Hello.

I'm new to this forum. Like many, I also have loans with Countrywide (first loan is a 30 year PayOption ARM ($978K balance) and the second is a HELOC ($173K balance). In two years or if I continue to pay the minimum payment up to 115% of the loan, which ever comes first, I will be forced to pay the fully amortized loan based on the current principal balance at that time. I am not far from being there, thus, my loan will increase from minimum payment of $3370 per month to ranging from $6500-$9000 plus based on current margin and interest rate for that particular month. I have been making mostly the minimum payments but for the past several months, I have been making the interest only payment of ranging from $5500 to $6000 plus per month.

I am having many sleepless nights because I can't refinance my loans (already tried w/ Countrywide back in 7/07 and was denied because of their "new stricter lending guidelines." If I can't afford to pay the fully amortized loan, I will loose my home. The bottom line is that the broker I used advised us to take this awful PayOption ARM and I didn't fully understand how this loan really works. I am so mad I took this loan b/c I didn't have to. I put 20% ($230K plus) down on my home and should have went w/ a 30-year fixed loan.

I desperately want Countrywide to modify my loan to combine the first and second to a 30-year fixed interest only based on the initial rate I was given of 5.5% or even a 30-year fixed fully amortized loan w/ the same or reasonable rate. The way this loan is set up, the fully amortized loan varies from $6500 up to $9000 plus based on the margin and rate for the month. This is very scary and it sets up homeowners like me to fail and be forced to go into foreclosure.

I sent my hardship letter (husband on medical leave for past 2 years AND that we are considering bankruptcy) to Countrywide Home Retention coupled with all of the supporting documents required since 12/07 and have been literally calling Countrywide weekly to find out the status of my loan modification. I have been provided different information from different customer service reps and has been transferred to 4 different Loss Mitigation officers since I started this process only to be told back in April 08 that my modification was approved but when I didn't receive any paperwork of the modification I called back and was told it was denied because I did not have enough surplus income (although we had about $500-700 surplus) after income and expenses were factored. Thinking that this would change their minds, I called back in late April 08 that my husband secured a second job and was told that now we have enough surplus income and the investors did not approve to modify our loans because of that.

I think Countrywide is giving us the run-around because we have NOT YET been delinquent w/ our payment. Based on the last customer service rep I spoke to this month, she hinted that if I continue to current with my payments, Countrywide will not modify my loans. Countrywide is giving priority to homeowners who have been delinquent 30-90 days plus. So, do I need to intentionally default on my loan to get them to modify my awful loan?
And, based on my the type of loan I have, when they calculate income and expenses, are they factoring my minimum payment or the fully amortized payment as the monthly mortgage? Please provide examples on what the heck they are looking for when they factoring income and expenses because I just can't make them happy.

I am seriously considering being delinquent in June to see if they will change their minds?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

ALEX

[Moe Bedard]

Hi Alex,

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


First.......you do not have to be late to receive a modification.......we have many success stories from members who were not late.
You can go to the Success Section of the forum and you will see several stories about CW pay option arm modifications..........so you can see what is required for that type of modification.........
Second.....keep in mind that each loan has different investors on them......so what someone else received isn't necessarily what will happen in the case of your modification......
Third........they will not modify a first and second together into one loan..........that would require you to qualify for a new loan through a refinance as a first and a second have very different pools of investors.......a modification doesn't change the terms of the loan.......just the rates and type......ie....from an Option Arm to a Fixed Rate......

At 5.50% on the first alone the payment would be $5,549.35 this is just Principle and Interest then add in your taxes and insurance so you can get an idea of what the payment would be if you received this interest rate....but it is up to the investor on the loan..........and this payment is based on 30 yr amortization............when they modify the loan........since it doesn't change the terms of the loan they usually amortize over the term that is left.......so that will raise this payment amount slightly.....


Here is the contacts to the two departments that do the workouts so you can get to the right department........

Workout Department
1-800-669-6087

Advocacy Team
1-877-327-9225

I hope this helps clarify the process for you..........

Please keep us updated on your progress.........

[Killwind]

Hi ***,

Thanks for the quick response.

Based on your other blogs, you mentioned that CW wants homeowners to have a surplus (I think $150-$250) after income and expenses are factored. What is considered too much and too little of a surplus b/c I think this is why our loan modification was not approved?

Should I also draft an email and forward it to the list of individuals at CW you provided to others in this forum?

Thanks,
Alex

[Moe Bedard]

Alex,

You have a very large jumbo loan........on this type of loan.....I am not sure what amount you would need to stay within........the $100-$250 is just a guideline on a regular loan amount.........with each investor having their own workout formula it is hard to say......I wish we did have the magic formula.......that would make things alot easier.......

It won't hurt to give it a try........
Put your hardship letter, loan number, and contact information along with an explanation of the runaround that you are getting trying to modify your loan....into the body of an email and send it to each of the email addresses below.....

Please keep us posted on how it all goes...........

[Killwind]

Thanks ***,

Just curious, how many has received loan modifications that had the PayOption ARM loan w/ Countrywide?

Many of the customer service reps told me that the investors are very reluctant to modify these loans as opposed to the 2, 3, or 5 year adjustable ARM loans. If you are aware of the individuals that got the modification approval from CW w/ my identical loan, please give me their names so I can email them.

Thanks,

Alex

[Moe Bedard]

Alex,

I can not give email addresses out.............however, if you go to the Success Section of the forum you will see the Option Arm Successes and the the word Option Arm is in each one of the titles..........I am not sure that anyone had that large of a loan but some of the investors on the Countrywide Home Loans are modifying Option Arms.....

Take a Look and see..........

I see that you have already taken a look..............as far as how they all did it..........they used the email formula that I gave them in their posts.........just like I gave you above........it works and it worked for each and every one of them...........they followed the advice given to them and became successes........

CW Escalation Dept.
(800) 669-6607

[whatdidigetinto]

hi alex! i have an option arm w/ country wide and they are actually offering me a modification on my loan with a new interest rate of 6.25%for the remainder of the loan paying principle and interest at $3,490.00 for a loan of $548,000.I am actually sending the paperwork back today.When i first started calling countrywide they told me they were not modifying these type of loans but i guess now they are.I think you should follow what *** is saying and send your hardship letter to all the e-mails she is providing you with.

[Killwind]

Hello,

I wanted to share my great news!!!!! After spending many sleepless nights and reading numerous threads on this forum, I discovered on one of the threads that an individual was assisted by loss mitigation officer Tabitha MacKellar and also provided her direct telephone number 800-405-0078 x5224. As previously noted, I have been completely frustrated with Countrywide and have been given the run-around for almost 6 months and my modification request was actually denied TWICE but I refused to give up.

Feeling hopeless, I didn't think my loans would ever be modified but I didn't give up and on 5/23/08 (Friday) at 4:30pm, I called Tabitha directly and she actually picked up the phone. I was shocked! I briefly explained my situation for about 15 minutes and she immediately pulled up my account. She said she will look into modifying my loans by next Tuesday since Monday was a holiday. By Tuesday, my Option ARM loan was modified to a 5.5% for the next 5 years interest only and then it converts to 6% principal and interest for the life of the loan (30 years) and the margin was completely removed from my HELOC which leaves me with about 5% rate as opposed to 9-12% plus I was paying before.

She FED-ex the modification, I notarized it and fed-ex it back to her and it was done. YES, it was this SIMPLE. I can't believe all the hell I had to go through during the previous 6 months.

This forum is absolutely wonderful. Without this forum, I would not have known to tell her the magic number .....of only having $200-$250 surplus after expenses and income were factored. Without this forum, I would continue to have sleepless nights and constantly stressing about loosing my dream home. Since I sent in my loan modification, I am sleeping very well. This forum is wonderful and please spread the word b/c there are so many like me out there that need this information.

P.S. I told my neighbors (who were on the verge on having their home foreclosed) about Tabitha and they contacted her directly and to their surprise she offered them a spectacular modification. 2% for 2 years to catch up on their missed payments and the loan was fixed for 4% for the life of the loan (30 years). They were in a much dire situation (as they would have been evicted next month) and I don't think Countrywide wants to take another foreclosed home. The message here is that don't give Countrywide or any lender/banks to much power. The power is actually in OUR HANDS b/c lenders/banks DO NOT want another home to foreclose. Definitely, get you income and expenses lined up and fight for your home. DON'T GIVE UP.

[Killwind]

You can definitely put me in the Countrywide Success Story!!!!!

[schwefls]

Congratulations killwind:

kudos to you, party hardy you deserve it

[Moe Bedard]

Alex,

You Did It!!!!
YAY for YOU!!!!!!
That is Awesome!!!
I am so HAPPY for YOU!!!

[elpjohnson]

Alex,

Congratulations!!! That is so awesome!!! Enjoy your home and your family!

[RudyJay]

WAY TO KEEP YOUR HOME AND MOVING FORWARD..CONGRATULATIONSRJ