modification? how long should one wait? no word after almost 1 year,

We have been customers with CitiMortgage since 2002 and had an adjustable loan that I finally was able to get to a fixed rate about two years ago. However, the fixed rate is high at 10.4%. I have done everything CitiMortgage has told me that we needed to do and they would not refinance to a lower interest rate. So in the fall of 2008, we entered into a loan modification. At the time we were current on the loan. However, to qualify, we had to be "late" on a fwe payments. I was assured all the way through that the loan modification would not effect our credit rating. We filed out the forms, submitted information several times, spoke with many different people, and made each and every payment that was set up for us. Then in December 2009, 14 months into the modification process, I received a call that there was nothing they do on the loan and that we owed $13,000 in past due amounts and needed to bring the account current immediately or face foreclosure.

I have called in all cash that I could and have brought the account current. Now I am told that the "current amount due" did not include the February payment although it is on the February statement that the balance we paid does include the February payment. And for further injury, I have checked our credit reports and now we are showing tht we were 120 days late!

I feel that CitiMortgage has not held up their end of the deal and that their dealings with us was handled poorly. If only the housing market would turn around so that we could refinance locally. I hope to never do business with them again.

In a few words...Wells Fargo said they had already started my remodification process and I hadn't even requested th is...all I asked was for them to mail me some info. In the course of the conversation, they said that I should
know my credit report would take a hit. This makes no sense to me...could you explain.

We were originally with Countrywide, then BOA bought them. We had put 25% down on the house in 2004. The home was sold for $334K, mortgage sat at $255K. Then it tanked (we live in Vegas). I lost my job and had medical issues. Our home was now coming up at $200K.

I called BOA for help, they said since the payments were being made there was nothing they could do to help us and to keep sending them payments.

We more than qualified for a loan mod. There is NOTHING in the qualifications that say you have to be behind so I was not about to take this answer.

I wrote to Barbara J. Desoer at:
President of Mortgage, Home Equity & Insurance Services
Bank of America Corporation
100 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28255

In my letter to her I outlined why we were eligible for a loan mod and what I had been told so far by BOA.

Within on month BOA was calling me to start the process. The wheels were slow and squeaky but I did not waiver. I called and called and called. Documented EVERYTHING. By the time we were done I had almost 30 pages of notes.

I contacted a wonderful woman by the name of Juanice Neal who is a customer service advocate for the 'Office of the Chairman' for BOA in Simi Valley, CA towards the end since this is when it seemed I was getting the most runaround. She stepped up and pushed it through and actually got the underwriter to contact me directly. Without her help I am sure we would not have gotten the loan modification.

By the time the dust settled:

We had made 5 'good faith' payments at $700 less than our normal payment, was able to skip our January 2010 payment and have a new payment that is $700 less than the old payment. Now we all know that BOA is not going to lose any money on this, so here is what they did.

My original loan was a 30 year fixed at 6.25%. Had about 27 years left on it.

New loan: 31 years. Fixed at 2% for five years, then increases by 1% per year until it hits a cap of 4.75%

Works for us and gives us a lot of breathing room now.

Just don't give up, you have to become a nuisance before they will help you. AND DOCUMENT EVERYTHING YOU ARE TOLD, WHO YOU SPEAK TO, THEIR PHONE NUMBER AND THE DATE AND DO YOUR FOLLOW-UP. BE A GIANT PAIN IN THE A$$ AND YOU WILL GET RESULTS IF YOU QUALIFY.

Good luck.

After going through the application process for the MHA program with BOA for 100 days, I was officially denied.
I had met all critiria, according to the fourth person I spoke with there but since I have Mortgage Insurance there was no way they would do a loan modification because the Insurer woiuld be responsible for the foreclosure costs! This program has NOTHING to do with helping the homeowner it is just another safety net BS bailout for the banks.

I was accepted in the the trail of Obama plan. After I completed the program and made all the payments, GMAC denied my application to modify the loan. Then they called to threatened foreclosure if I don't pay up. Worst yet, they threatened to send maintenance workers to change my locks of my home. I just gave up and moved out.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2381656/why_obamas_home_affordability_program.html?cat=3

Great article above..shows how HAMP is now being used to NOT modify loans for US homeowners..guess the lenders attorneys found their loopholes

I too am one of the 15 million out of work and faced with the fear of losing my home. I've always made payments on time, and have perfect credit. I read all the rules, fit all the guidelines. Jumped through 100 hoops with Chase and kept sending paperwork for 7 months. Income, taxes, everything. Find out today that because I have 3 months of mortgage in my savings...I was denied! What the heck? So, I can afford 3 payments and then what....apply again from the homeless shelter? Oh wait....I won't have a home loan then, will I? This is a stupid, ridiculous program, and appears to be only for totally irresponsible. Not for responsible.
Thanks a lot

Let me first state that we are in a fix rate....and only loaned money for what we thought we could afford. So far so good.

Lost 5% of income and had a bad month in March. We have been trying to catch up on since. We totally missed the June payment and finally made it on July 20th. What happened just before was we went to pay on line and found the access was removed. Shortly after we received a fed ex package from BoA for a home affordability program with a statement that if we did not pay in full by Aug 17th we would be in foreclosure. So we called the bank and they said that we should take the program as it would help us out since we are now defaulted. But, the fine print (or the regular sized print embedded in the blah blah blah of the contract) said that if, for any reason, we did not comply with this temporary program then the bank could proceed with foreclosure processes with out having to notify us (RED FLAG!!) and after reading it I realized that it would add, basically, 6 months to the term of the load (amortized it would be alot of extra). This all sounded like a big land grab to me.

The problem was that we did not actually need help, we just needed to catch up a little......... So, a couple of partial payments each week in August should have caught us up, right?.... well... the bank kept putting our partials into a holding account with the claim that the payment would not be applied until a full payment was accumulated.....WRONG.

Last Friday I finally caught up the loan and told the guy from BoA that we did not need the assistance and I wanted the online bill pay back....he said it would take a few days, but should be back soon. Called today (a week later) and was told that my monthly would be half of what it should be and would I like to make the payment (like I was on the program I repeatedly denied in the first place). I got furious and told the lady I did not want the program...I'm paid in full...I want the online info to reflect that...and I want online bill pay back! She apologized and began to fix the issue. She said the online stuff will take a day or two to reflect the updates (finance transfer and what not) and I should see it correct at the beginning of next week...so we shall see. What I really wonder though...what happened to my interest during the time the money ($3000+) was in the hold account....did it just keep accumulating???? Also....did the bank make interest on MY money as it sat in the holding account??

BoA = SCAM!

Phase 2 is only for folks with borrower paid PMI, not lender paid PMI. WHY CAN'T ANYONE HELP ME????? I just want to refi into a fixed rate.

I too work on commission, but in my dealings with BOA I do not see ANY motivation. I began this process December 2008. I submitted and resubmitted and resubmitted; called and called; over 12 work orders, AND NOT ONE PHONE CALL OR LETTER OR RESPONSE OF ANY KIND!! I finally lost it. I called my lawyer, my legislator, and the CFO's office of BOA. Finally at the beginning of AUGUST, I finally get a response, but I had to sick everyone I could on you people. Then a guy named AJ working my loan pre-qual'd me for the MHA plan, he told me I could not be foreclosed on, he told me I would see a DRASTIC REDUCTION IN MY LOAN - as much as 50%! My mortgage is 1210/month. The MHA plan I got today offered a payment reduction to..... wait for it... 1181.10. WOW THIRY BUCKS! SO MUCH MORE FREAKING AFFORDABLE!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????? Just take the frigging keys. And tell AJ that when my kids no longer have a home we are moving in with him. He gave us false information, false hope. You people need to know what you are talking about or find another job. I cannot believe the ridiculous crap I have gone through to get a 30 dollar reduction on my loan. THANK YOU OBAMA, THANK YOU FANNIE MAE, THANK YOU BOA AND AJ. My prayers have been answered - not. Won't get my vote again. go back to Hawai. I hope that all the greedy B@$trds who issued these loans are enjoying their trips to the islands, vacations, ovens that actually work, windows that don't leak, heating bills they can actually pay and the lovely 70 degrees their house must be in the winter. The housing market crashed, I lost my job, and now I lose everything.The American Dream, people. Alive and well. And Mr Hartigan you insufferable toad, richer than god but whined over hving to pay 75 bucks for a pool pass so I had to pay half of my pathetic commission just to get the other half on your lovely vacation to Vermont I hope you rot. And the next time you swear at me or one of your emplyees over the phone I will take it upon myself to make your life miserable. Must be nice to have made your fortune on the backs of the little people. Piss off.

We are trying to get assistance as my pay is reduced and my loan is more than 31% then my income. Sounds like I qualify, right? WRONG!! BOA says I have to net more per month than my expenses. I told them if I was in that position, I wouldn't need assistance. Since this didn't make since, I called a HUD counselor what specific gov't regulation denotes this. The HUD rep said the gov't doesn't regulate the program and it is left up to the lender. The counselor confirmed I do not qulaify, then the counselor noted that they are a free service partially funded by BOA!
This program is complete propaganda. It sounds good until you try it. If the gov't lied about this program, imagine what the health care system will be like if it passes!

I filed a complaint with the OCC www.occ.treas.gov , and am sending letters to:

Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner

The White House
President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

The Obama making home affordable is a joke. My husband and I have been call CW/BofA every month for a lower interest rate. Every loan office has a different story. We were told we do not quality under Phase 1 due to PMI. We have been waiting for Phase 2 for months that will adress customers with PMI. We am starting to think Phase 2 is just a joke. I think the Obama administration did not work with the Fannie Mae on the program, the just throw the program out there. Maybe there is not a Phase @

When will Phase 2 be ready? I have PMI and qualify for it but have to wait.

I would not recommend going into foreclosure based on the assumption that "the banks will lend when the economy is better". I'm not sure where you're getting your information but credit scores and reports rule everything. Bad credit equals higher auto insurance rates, higher interest rates if you can even qualify for a loand or credit card and most employers now run credit checks as well. So if you think not paying your mortgage is a good thing, you are wrong.

From what I've been reading and experiencing, the guidlines of 95%-105% of loan to value ratio was set by the government, not by the banks. I think both the government AND the banks could have done a much better job with this program, it has so many flaws and recent numbers show that less than 1% of homeowners have actually gotten assistance with this program.

For those of us who are still current on our mortgages and were just looking for lower interest rates, those times could be over as I've seen the interest rates climbing, and have yet to hear back about this apparent phase 2 of the program.

I personally will not be satisfied ruining my credit so I can get "help" that may never come. I will do my best to keep everything current.

The only other option that may work, if you owe substantially more than your home is worth and there is no way to get out from under, you could look into a short sale. I haven't read up a lot on it, only that is apparently doesn't show up as a foreclosure and the banks won't come after you for the balance. You walk away, lose everything you may have put into it, but at least you can start over.

Also, people who think that Bank of America does not want to help people refinance so the bank can keep the borrower in a higher rate do not understand how mortgages work. Every MHA and conforming loan that BofA originates is sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. All BofA does is service the loan. The majority of every mortgage payment that Bank of America receives goes to Fannie Mae and Freddie mac, BofA keeps a servicing fee. So, the interest rate the borrower pays does not affect Bank of America at all.

we are in the same boat as most of you. We even attended the Hud Counseling to help us process our packet to send to B or A. We have been going through this nightmare since Nov/08. Every month we call B of A and they all deny that we qualify for Making Home Affordable Plan. The Hud counselors said they do this in purpose cherry picking people that would qualify. Obama did not regulate the Bank to follow the plan and now they can do whatever they want. What Obama should have done is to Nationalize all the banks just like the car company so the goverment take control which will force them to offer the plan to everyone who is upside down in their loans and who are in the hardship situation. Obamas plan had good intention but it does not work at all!

I laughed outloud by the comment "pulling dates out of their butt". HAHAHA that's pretty much what they're doing. Either hoping the homeowner will give up, or wasting time until the rates go up. I'm tired of trying to get a lower interest rate and getting the run around. I'm not trying to get out of paying mortgage, I just want to take advantage of lower rates but can't due to house values. I HATE this crap! It's just not right!

Yup, experienced the same as all of you. CountryWide to BofA..."Phase 2 will be coming real soon! Call back" Just called back today. My loan officer stated that it's pushed back to July 8th now! Are they just pulling dates out of their butt?

same boat as so many others....we are "phase 2" and out of luck

I agree also with the abuse that BOA is giving their customers with the PMI story. My daughter qualifies for HASP, but can't continue because BOA says that she will be processed in phase 2. This is ridiculous but who can we complain to?

Don't bother dealing with BofA. I had a CW loan, 406k, conforming in CA, all on 1 loan (no second), owned by Freddie Mac, no CC/auto/student debt, wife and I are fully employed making good money at the same jobs for over 5 years, 100% LTV, never missed a payment on anything in our lives, high 700's credit scores, and PMI. We qualify right??? Wrong! They said they couldn't do it because of my PMI. The famous "wait for phase 2" of the program. I'm beginning to think "phase 2" in BofA's terms means "when the rate goes higher than you already have or when your equity drops more than the 105% LTV mark making you ineligible." They are a bunch of snakes. While I love all of Clark's info, his estimate of this program helping 4 in 10 homeowners with the Refi part of this program is completely inaccurate. More like 4 in 100,000. But if I was a banker, I guess I wouldn't really be looking to help people pay me less if they were already standing by their word to pay me more. The Govt needs to stop giving the banks money!! Let these bastards collapse and give money to the ones helping the taxpayers and responsible, paying, homeowners.

Disgusting.

I have a CW/Bofa loan I have been calling to utilize the Obama plan since May. Everytime I’ve called they say call back in two weeks we haven't got the guidelines yet. Now I get told that I don’t qualify for a refinance under the plan because I don’t have enough equity. I have never missed a payment and I have adjustable rate mortgage also it is a fannie mae mortgage. My income has been reduced drastically. I asked about the modification plan, I’ve called probably over 50 times. They tell me I don’t qualify for the modification plan because I haven’t missed a payment. Then the directed me to the making home affordability website which says that this plan if also for people who are current on their mortgage. I didn’t take out a mortgage I could not afford I was making excellent money and very conservative. The Obama plan sucks, I am so frustrated!

I have been calling Bank of America religiously every week to try to get on this making home affordable plan. I have submitted emails with no response. When I call, they say I don't qualify for the first phase becasue we have PMI...and of course they have "no clue" when phase two (for those with pmi) will become available. Although they are friendly, they are no help whatsoever. We have good credit, have never missed a payment, and have a fannie mae loan. So we should have no problems right? Pfff, this whole thing is either really complicated for the banks or a total PR scam. They keep dangling these really low rates in front of our noses but when it comes to delivering I see nothing.

I tried to start a Refi under HASP, then received notice over a week later that B of A is not processing HASP loans for Countrywide customers--in spite of the government's website saying I can approach any Fannie Mae lender I wish.

So I humored them and called Countrywide, and Countrywide quoted a home value $30,000 less than the value B of A gave me two weeks ago (which was already low). I had friends who are real estate agents pull comps, and I pulled them myself, and found our home value to far exceed what we needed to have to meet the HASP qualifications.

Moral of the story--don't approach your existing lender for a refi under this program. If you're paying a high interest rate and you are never late on your payment, your existing lender has no incentive to offer you a better rate. Lowballing you on your home value is a very effective way they can get away with it.

Bank of America/Countrywide is going to lose my business. Hope they choke on the subprime mortgages and TARP money, they don't need my business. I found another lender, and hope the readers of this site consider shopping for all options.

This whole making a home affordable plan stinks. We totally qualify, have excellent credit, etc. Yet, to get the rate Wells quotes online for conventional loans, we have to pay over $6600 in closing costs!!! How the holy moly does that help anyone? The gov needs to put a ceiling on these closing costs. I called one day and got a rate of $4400 and 4.875..called 3 days later and got $6600 and 4.75. I asked why the closing cost went up over $2,000 and they said they flucutate. WHAT? So, even when the rate is really low, they will just raise their closing costs to make up for it...at least it appears that's what they are doing!

I called my mortgage company about a week ago because thats when they said they would have the information. After being on hold for a half hour, the person I finally spoke with said that I needed to be transferred to a different department and was immediately put on hold again for at least another 10 minutes. I finally got to the right department and explained what I know to her.

I told her that I know I wasn't eligible for one program because I did not loose my job and my financial situation had not changed. She asked me questions about the value of my house and I told her what it was. She said that I was not eligible for any of obama's programs because while my loan to value was still at about 96%, I was not upside down in my house. That angered me there. She then told me that I was eligible for a regular refinance.

She then told me that I was eligible for a rate of about 5% but would have a monthly PMI payment of between $200-$300. That really did it for me. I dont have any PMI on my current 7.0% fixed 30yr mortgage that I have been paying on for about 2 and a half years. So why would I go to a mortgage with a ridiculous PMI payment.

Her excuse was that the PMI companys are just not on board yet with all these programs and were raising their rates. She said that they expect the companys to come on board in a few months.

These programs so far just seem to be rewarding the banks for bad behavior and people who took out loans that they new they could not afford. Seems like the people like me that are just trying to save some money just keep getting screwed. They want you to continue paying at your much higher interest rate so that they can make more money on you.

I am going to walk in to one of my mortgage companys branches. I would suggest anyone else to do the same. Trying to get anything done over the phone just seems to be a waist of time and lots of wrong information.

One problem: The banks have poorly trained staff handling the requests. I spent a week getting sent to the modify group when I just needed the refinance group, and when I explained my request, one rep actually said to me in a really awful tone "Maam, property values everywhere have dropped. We're not able to provide any option", and then I had to recite to her what the two options were and she still didn't understand the two sides of the program - modification vs. refinancing. They wanted me, with a 780 and no debt besides my house, to get credit counseling. ?!? It was like talking to aliens. I could have called and said Bleep Blop Bloop and would have gotten the same scripted response. ANYWAY, back to the refi info to share with you all,

I have a Fannie Mae backed mortgage 5/1 ARM that I wanted to go ahead and lock in for 30 years; we've decided to stay put, want a lower and long term interest rate. Problem: Couple of homes in neighborhood foreclosed; appraisals/values took a nosedive. According to the gov't website, I should have qualified-- 1) no late payments, 2) backed by Fannie Mae, 3) value dropped making conventional refinance not possible - can't make appraisal. What you need to know is that if you have a piggy back loan (2nd mort/home equity loan to avoid PMI) you're out of luck. I was told that I could refinance my primary mortgage with the program, but that the HEL (with affiliate/partner bank) had to be agree to subordinate (Got that) but the kicker was the 80% LTV required. Just not possible! Despite my paying down for 2 years and making extra payments, the drop in value wiped out the equity. Despite fitting in with the less than 105% LTV, my bank won't do refinance unless it appraises signficantly higher than when I bought it two years ago. (LOL! They don't want reliable paying customers?!)
Of note, I asked if I was behind on my payments and wasnt able to pay what would they do. They said they would modify it. Just like that, no problem. Drop the rate, reduce the principal, all that. I was floored!! I said SO I said you mean I have a 780, steady job (knock on wood) pay my bills on time, and by no fault of my own my property value dived and there is nothing you can do to lock me in for 30 years of reliable, steady payments???? They said NO, you'll either need to put significant dollars down or ride the adjustable when it comes.
Well, looks like I am shopping for a new bank. If anyone knows a bank that wants a new, paying, 20 year +++++ credit history customer, let me know!
Good luck everyone...

After 2 full years of PMI payments on my loan I was told by Countrywide that even though I have a good payment history they cannot cancel the PMI because I am not at 80% LTV (loan to value)but if you look at currect home prices I owe more than my house is worth!

Any suggestions PLEASE!

I am struggling to pay my mortgage but because of the PMI on my loan I dont qualify for the goverment modification program. Countrywide does not care about their customers.

Could someone please explain why Banks (BB&T) take your info & and tell you that you do qualify and they will call you back but you never hear from them. Wouldn't it be just as good to tell you that at this time we can not refinance you instead of putting you on hold for 3-4 weeks? To me this is terrible customer service-if I bounced a check it would take them no time to get in touch with me. By the way I have been with this Bank for 24 yrs. Never had a problem until now.

Please note that banks are not doing any loan modification even if you qualify. Gov web site has no link to report any complain.

We worked with two different non-profits (second one just to get a second opinion) counselor to help negotiate with our lender and got a 1% interest rate for 5 years. Go for the non-profit counseling services - very helpful for navigating paperwork. Our experience was good with both Clear Point Financial solutions and with American financial soltuions.

Looks like Clark is right and early with his prediction. I saw a rate of 3.75% for a 15-year VA loan offered yesterday as I shopped for rates for my $216K mortgage. Now, the question is how to scrounge up the cash to cover the upfront costs?

I was recently approved for a Modification back in Nov of 08. I was in an adj rate which my mortgage company placed in a fixed rate which was great, but my situation now, the rate is still at 7%. I had fallen behind with my taxes because they were not escrowed in the original loan, so when Modification went through my taxes where added on top of the monthly mortgage payment to be paid back each month for 24 months so therefore Im right back were I started from, my monthly payments are the same. Would I still qualify under this program for another modification so soon?

I confirmed that my loan fits but Wells Fargo isn't ready, and is not sure when they will be ready.

I called my mortgage company to refinance. I got a good rate, but the kicker is the $750 application fee the require which I don't have the money for.

I got a letter from an unknown company that pre-approved us for the loan mod program. The letter had my mortgage dollar amount owed.

I am not qualified for either the loan mod or fha refi program. (I checked). A phone # 18663522285 was listed. I suspect this is a bait and hook con... The small print states "this program is not state or government affiliated.