Clare
“Dear Steve,
My husband and I are separated, he is giving me 2100 a month to pay his car, ins, and credit card debt, I net 4330 a month and my house payment is 2850 plus association dues of 98. I have two car payments (his and mine) 942, and min. credit card pymts of 777. I want to keep my house which i owe 367k and is now only worth 310k, I made a partial pymt of 2000 for July, and have been pleading with B of A for a modification. They told me there is nothing they can do. I have a Freddie Mac loan originally with Countrywide, the house is solely in my name and I was approved on a NINA loan.
How can I get a loan modification with B of A without them refusing me every time, they have all my documents i sent them when I first requested one. They tell me my debt ratio is too high, even though I am receiving 2100 a month to pay for the debt portion.
Clare”
Dear Clare,
There is no leverage you have over the lender if they refuse to modify the mortgage. Bankruptcy judges wanted permission to modify mortgages, just like yours, to provide relief but the strong banking lobbyists on Capitol Hill blocked that from making it through Congress.
And even though Countrywide agreed to modify these loans to avoid criminal prosecution, they don’t appear to be living up to that court ordered settlement.
Last October, Countrywide Financial, the now defunct subprime mortgage giant that merged with Bank of America a year ago, promised $1 billion in mortgage relief to its legions of struggling Florida customers.
The loan modifications were part of a $8.4 billion settlement reached with Florida and 10 other states that allowed Countrywide to avoid prosecution for allegedly using deceptive sales and marketing practices to sell borrowers risky, high-cost mortgages.
But now — eight months after Countrywide launched a court-approved program that was supposed to aggressively modify mortgages — borrowers trapped in the problem loans say the company is not living up to the terms of settlement. Source
I think your best bet to find some relief would be to contact a HUD approved housing counselor and ask what they can do and what programs might exist to help. I really can’t suggest that you contact one of the many loan modification companies that advertise, they’ve proven themselves to be scams, time and time again.
You are not alone. I'm here to help. There is no need to suffer in silence. We can get through this. Tomorrow can be better than today. Don't give up.
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Get a lawyer! We did and hope to have the modification we are owed soon! I have gone round and round with B of A (who are crooks) they will never give us the modification we are legaly owed!!!!! Get a lawyer!!!
We tried the lawyer, first. Then I tried to work with B of A myself both were a total LOSS. We lost a whole house payment to pay a lawyer to do nothing. and B of A tells me, Bank of New York will not motify your loan so there is nothing we can do for you. I called B OF N Y , The lady gave me her name and said you call B of A ,the information they gave you is wrong. they need to modify your loan. We have been at this for a year now. Â
Unfortunately, Bank of America is horrible at this process. If you want some free advice on what to do next, ask our resident modification expert here.
G.
Your situation is very common with BONY as the investor. They have been refusing modifications for years now, even when the borrower is perfectly qualified based on BOA’s guidelines.
Unfortunately, I don’t know of any way to get around this. If BONY refuses your modification, then there’s nothing that I know of, that anybody can do to change their mind.
You would think that BOA would know this and not waste your time by collecting all the docs and running you through the entire mod review process, but they don’t. It’s crazy and it’s a giant waste of everyone’s time.
I’m sorry, I wish that I had better news, but BONY is TOUGH to deal with as the investor.
Sign these petitions to get the government to force the banks to modify loans in accordance with Making Home Affordable Program.
http://www.petition2congress.com/2/2564/
http://www.petitiononline.com/loansafe/petition.html
Does the modification have anything to do do with my poor credit? I have collections and judgements against me. Will that hurt me as well as changing jobs every six months form truck driver to prep cook back to truck driving. I can’t seem to stay in one place for at least a year or two. Am I a lost case
Clare,
My suggestion is to make that mortgage payment and HOA dues first and foremost, since you need a place to live. Plus late fees/interest for late/missed payments can skyrocket your housing costs.
Next, contact all of the CC companies and start working with them to get that cost under control, and consider downsizing your car(s). If nobody will work with you, decide which bills you must skip to make ends meet.
Be sure to talk with your husband and tell him what’s going on before skipping his payments, but let him know your home is at risk and something has to give. The CC companies may work with you. As Jeff Jackson said, seek a reputable debt counselor and/or BR attorney.
Good luck.
Clare,
Interesting tidbit out, Bank of America is only modifying 4 percent of modification requests. You are not alone.
Steve
Clare,
Not sure if this helps. My understanding of the current lending practices is that your mortgage should be not more than 30% of you income. Using you Net figures, you current mortgage and HOA fees put you at 46%. Sounds like you would be a candidate for a modification, but his obviously is not the case. One thing you have to keep in mind is that you current loan may not have been a bad loan. You may already have a fair interest rate. What I have seen is that the lenders are not going to modify the loan just because you asked for it. If your current loan interest rate is near the interest rate available today, you probably will not get a modification.
Taking another look, you indicate that your minimum credit card payment is 777 per month. I am assuming that your balance on the credit cards is rather large. This issue is probably more critical because it is greatly affecting your debt ratio. Your debt ratio affects your attractiveness for extending credit.
If you just want a loan modification, you probably will not be successful. You probably will not be able to refinance either, due to your debt ratio and the fact that you are somewhat upside down on your mortgage.
If you are struggling to make ends meet, which it sounds like you are if you are only making the minimum payment on your credit card debt, then you need to take some action. If this is the case, consider consulting with a local bankruptcy attorney. He/she should be able to review your situation with you and at least give you some options.
Best of Luck
Jeff Jackson