Posted on: 27th Jun, 2011 11:10 am
My husband and I have been going through a loan modifiacation for about 10 months now. My husband had dissolved his business, gotten employment and we still don't qualify. Things were iffy between us and I had asked if I can quality by myself. I was told I needed to file a Quit Claim to exclude my husband's income, I did. Now they are telling me I need to file for a Legal Separation for them to consider my income only. I am not ready for that step and feel that they are forcing the issue. Is this standard procedure?? It's been one hoop after another and the back-mortgage payments are adding up. What options are out there that let me (us) keep the house?
I really wish the lender would be more helpful with you. If you dont qualify without your husbands income, I dont see how removing him would help the situation. 4 Million homeowners were supposed to get help from Obamas plan. Less than 500k have received a Full Permanent Loan Mod. The government just spent another one billion to aid underwater/ struggling homeowners by giving them 35k to help make payments. Its called the EHLP i believe. Also, contact your bank and ask for a short sale or deed in lieu. Foreclosure is the last thing you want. Make a log of your calls and record each one. You must be more organized and dilligent than the bank if you want to get out of this mess. It takes the bank about 1 hour to modify your loan, not 10 months. This should be a red flag. Try contacting NACA also, they do free loan mods on the spot, when they come to your area.
Chris...I don't know who you deal with but "it takes the bank about 1 hour to modify your loan" is an awful big stretch in my eyes. In my experience, it takes an hour to finish off a 30-minute lunch break, and that's being generous if the person in question is a smoker.
There is rampant inefficiency in the modification arena, and there is rampant ignorance in the servicing areas of most lenders. They simply don't know what they're looking for and don't identify properly what they get when it arrives from a borrower.
In this instance, though I agree with your citation of NACA as a useful resource, I think you need to be careful in noting that they "do free loan mods on the spot." That makes it seem like they're the ones authorizing the modification, when in fact they're simply the conduit for the borrower to seek the modification through his or her lender.
I agree wholeheartedly that borrowers ought to reach out to third parties, such as NACA or any of the HUD-authorized counseling agencies for assistance. This whole modification fiasco is far too complicated for the average homeowner (never mind the lenders), and only the warm and welcoming hands of counselors seems to be the method by which a typical homeowner can get any satisfaction.
There is rampant inefficiency in the modification arena, and there is rampant ignorance in the servicing areas of most lenders. They simply don't know what they're looking for and don't identify properly what they get when it arrives from a borrower.
In this instance, though I agree with your citation of NACA as a useful resource, I think you need to be careful in noting that they "do free loan mods on the spot." That makes it seem like they're the ones authorizing the modification, when in fact they're simply the conduit for the borrower to seek the modification through his or her lender.
I agree wholeheartedly that borrowers ought to reach out to third parties, such as NACA or any of the HUD-authorized counseling agencies for assistance. This whole modification fiasco is far too complicated for the average homeowner (never mind the lenders), and only the warm and welcoming hands of counselors seems to be the method by which a typical homeowner can get any satisfaction.
Hi George,
NACA does loan mods on the spot. You have to camp out for a couple days to actually get to see someone. (they come to large cities for a few days. Was just here in LA not too long ago) And yes they do get the bank to modify loans on the spot, withing an hour or so. Trust me I have been in the lender industry for 8 years (not that I know it all) but if I had a committed borrower, and I got all their paperwork and appraisal in, I can get a loan completed in just 2-3 days. (the whole loan, start to finish) Taking an actual application takes about 10 - 30 minutes. Underwriting the file can take up to an hour, longer if complicated file. All that is left is for the borrower to get their appraisal and send in their required documents...Point is, it not a lengthy process, only lengthy when you are waiting for others to get required info back. Some lawyers in my area specialize in the on the spot loan mods, no loan mod and they dont require payment. All I was trying to say, is there is not a back office or actual guidelines for loan mods. If they wanted to modify the loan, they would have. Homeowners get trapped thinking that they have to stop making payments for the lender to listen and they have to be prepared for a 10 month fight. Not fair. I wish Rapunzel the best. Try everything you can. Its worth the fight.
NACA does loan mods on the spot. You have to camp out for a couple days to actually get to see someone. (they come to large cities for a few days. Was just here in LA not too long ago) And yes they do get the bank to modify loans on the spot, withing an hour or so. Trust me I have been in the lender industry for 8 years (not that I know it all) but if I had a committed borrower, and I got all their paperwork and appraisal in, I can get a loan completed in just 2-3 days. (the whole loan, start to finish) Taking an actual application takes about 10 - 30 minutes. Underwriting the file can take up to an hour, longer if complicated file. All that is left is for the borrower to get their appraisal and send in their required documents...Point is, it not a lengthy process, only lengthy when you are waiting for others to get required info back. Some lawyers in my area specialize in the on the spot loan mods, no loan mod and they dont require payment. All I was trying to say, is there is not a back office or actual guidelines for loan mods. If they wanted to modify the loan, they would have. Homeowners get trapped thinking that they have to stop making payments for the lender to listen and they have to be prepared for a 10 month fight. Not fair. I wish Rapunzel the best. Try everything you can. Its worth the fight.
Thanks for the lesson, Chris. I knew NACA was helpful, but I had no notion that they were able to deliver in that fashion. I did QA on some modifications last summer, and the methods by which this particular lender looked at things, it's amazing that ANYONE gets a modification approved. I spoke with a homeowner the other day who had been on a trial modification and met all requirements, then was approved for a full modification. Guess what! The trial payment was substantially lower than the regularly scheduled payment, so she was successful.
The newly modified monthly payment is $80 less than her regular monthly payment - she cannot afford the regular, and $80 is not sufficiently less that she's able to afford the modification, either. So now she's working with one of the foreclosure specialists in the area, and hopes for some good fortune there.
Can we read the word "stupid" in there somewhere? I think we can.
The newly modified monthly payment is $80 less than her regular monthly payment - she cannot afford the regular, and $80 is not sufficiently less that she's able to afford the modification, either. So now she's working with one of the foreclosure specialists in the area, and hopes for some good fortune there.
Can we read the word "stupid" in there somewhere? I think we can.