Showing posts with label HAMP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HAMP. Show all posts

Monday, September 10, 2012

Health Insurance--A Necessary Evil?

Well, I believe I mentioned last week about how much our health insurance went up. This, of course happened at the same time as several other trials (can stuff just stop breaking? Nah! That'd mean you wouldn't need to buy new stuff and companies can't have that hurting their bottom lines!).

Anyway, I'll admit we seriously considered just going without health insurance period. I know some people are paying more than we are, but our share (with my hubby's employer paying half) is a little over $606 a month. The prescription benefits are crappy, our individual deductible is $1,000, the family deductible is $3,000 and honestly we just try not to use it unless it's for preventative because co-pays have gone up to $30 for a regular doctor and $50 for specialists. Our daughter's dislocated elbow that took 3 seconds to fix in the ER cost us $250. Yeah....not pretty.

We did try to qualify for UPP, but they've made it so difficult. Even though we met all the main criteria, we didn't qualify simply because we've already had the employer's insurance, so even if it was a new enrollment period and they had moved to a new plan (at a much higher rate) they said we'd have to not be on the employer's insurance before new enrollment starts and apply again during the next enrollment, period. Of all the stupid stipulations I've heard! Seriously?

But when it came down to it, we just couldn't make the jump to no insurance. Still, we can't afford to keep our current insurance. So we did some research down different avenues and ultimately decided to go out on our own with a high deductible plan with a Health Savings Account. We found a good agent who's helped us figure out the pros and cons of each plan and guided us in the right direction.

Our kids will be going on CHIP (something we'd never have even considered before the economy tanked). It'll take 90 days before they can go on it after our insurance is cancelled, which does make us a little nervous. We prefer the IHC facilities though and they have a financial assistance program for those who need it, so if an emergency occurs, we'll have to take advantage of that.

I haven't heard good things about State dental insurance, so we'll be getting our own plan for that too, for the whole family. Overall, this route is going to save us almost $400/month. That's nothing to sneeze at, for sure. We'll be able to find a use for that money easily!

I'll be honest that it's a little embarrassing to share some of these hardships with everyone here. There's always the chance that we'll be judged and found lacking. Oh well. I can't let my pride stop me from helping others out there who might need this information for their own families. We never asked for these things to happen. Five years ago we were living well and doing fine financially. Things changed--for a lot of people. We just have to make the best of it and survive how we can, I guess.

I am thankful though that my husband has been able to keep his job, even if his hours have significantly decreased. I know that there are those who have flat-out lost their jobs and their homes. We've managed, through the grace of God, to retain both. It's a miracle that with Bank of America's track record at the time of only 3% of people applying for the the government loan modifications receiving them, that we got a successful modification (not that I didn't fight tooth and nail for it~ Hah!).

So this will be a new experience for us. We prayed a lot before deciding on this course and I feel like we're making the right decision. Time will tell where it will go.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Another Avenue for Revenue


After much research today, I've discovered another way to make money writing. If you like to share your experiences and wouldn't mind making money doing it, check out HubPages. You can also make money by referring others. It's a pretty straight forward process to write articles and then link your adsense, amazon or other affiliate programs to your page; therefore generating revenue for your pocket.


Here's the link to my first Hubpage:
How to Modify Your Mortgage

Another great thing about this is that I get the word out on how to be successful in modifying your mortgage. Two birds, one stone (not that I'm into killing birds, now that I think about it. Whoever came up with that saying anyway? Hah!).

Saturday, September 11, 2010

If You're "HAMP-Y" and You Know It, Clap Your Hands!!!

We finally did it! We got our modification. It took nearly a year and a half since we first applied, but it's a done deal. We got the signed papers back from the bank last week and the new statement came in the mail with our lowered payment.

A Bank of America service agent told me that they've also put in the order to fix our credit, so that it will show that we've been current (this should be a big boost to our credit scores, which took a big hit when they wrongly reported us as delinquent during our year-long "trial" period).

It's been a long drawn out process, but I'm so happy that we saw it through to the end. I'm sleeping much better at night now. I know my prayers have been heard and I'm so thankful for how this has turned out.

I'd like to caution any of you out there who are trying to modify your mortgages, to watch out for the scammers out there. I know of people in our neighborhood, as well as family members of friends, who have gone to and paid outside sources to help them save their homes, only to watch their homes go into foreclosure when they've been told by the company they hired that everything was fine. Please make sure you check with the Better Business Bureau before paying ANYONE to help you.

Help is out there. You can do it on your own, as we did; or there are companies that can help you for free. For more information on this process, you can read about our experiences and all we've found out here.

God Bless!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Not a HAMP Success Yet


We finally found out what the hold-up on getting our final modification under HAMP was. It wasn't our so-called negotiator who let us know what was happening. It was a new gentleman from the Bank of America Office of the CEO and President. My case got transferred several times within that office and also several times from negotiator to negotiator within the Home Retention Dept. It's been a mess and has given me more than one nightmare--I kid you not.

Anyway, this guy actually seems to care. He gave me his direct number, returns my calls promptly and calls regularly with updates and whatnot. I haven't experienced this yet in the last year of our ordeal applying for the Making Home Affordable Plan which was set up by President Obama to help responsible homeowners to keep their homes. It's been a long, bumpy road and it's really refreshing to get some help from someone who isn't evading my questions (along with not returning my calls and passing our case on to the next person so they can ignore it too).

It's taken over six months to get an answer as to why this isn't all finished yet, but he found one for me, because he kept looking and didn't just give up when our negotiator couldn't give him an answer. Apparently, there was a problem with our signatures. They said that it looks like, for whatever reason, my signature, done with the notary that they sent out to our house, looks like it's been X-ed out. They should've received three signed and notarized copies, so you would think at least one of them would be acceptable, but apparently not.

In any case, we have to sign the same documents with another notary (this time we find our own), and then send them back in and get this finished up so they can stop reporting us as delinquent to the credit bureaus and get our new loan set-up and running in the system. As things look now on our account with them, it's a big mess, despite us jumping through every hoop that's been put in front of us and paying every modified payment on time for the full amount (we even pay the higher amount that I was told by one of the many reps I talked to over there, rather than the one on the paperwork, so there could be no excuse to have our modification canceled).

So, with the help of this new agent in the Office of the President, hopefully we can get this done soon and I can rest easy. We'll be praying for that, anyway.

If you, or anyone you know is going through this, don't give up. Keep fighting. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it's just not so easy to see or get to at times.

Please be careful of the scammers out there who are preying upon people like us. The best place to go--as hard as the process may be--to save your home is to your very own mortgage company. Please don't pay attention to the mailings from outside companies who are claiming they can help you. We made the mistake of falling for a scheme like that once years ago and it didn't end well, though we came out smarter and stronger for it.

If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Keep that in mind. Help is available for free so beware of anyone offering to help you for a price. Also, there is support for you out there and one of the most informative sites I've found is Loan Safe.

Don't lose faith and remember that everything happens for a reason. God is there for us when we need Him, so don't ever hesitate to pray for strength or guidance. Best of luck to you all!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Gephardt Round Two?

I wish I could give you all hope and tell you that our modification ordeal is finally over, but alas, that's not the case. Rather than wait around for absentee negotiators to deign to call me back and let me know why, after nearly five months from the date we signed our permanent modification documents, our credit is being slammed by false reports by BOA, our late fees are adding up and their system still shows our old payment and our account in severe arrears, I decided to email Bill Gephardt from Channel 2 news again. It seemed to help last time and I pray that it will again.

I decided to share my letter here with you all:

Dear Mr. Gephardt,

You may not remember me, but we spoke on the phone several months ago about my mortgage company giving me the run-around on applying for the Making Home Affordable Plan mortgage modification, even though according to the government website, our family was very much qualified to do so.

Anyway, perhaps because of you, they finally let us do it, and we were approved for the trial plan not too long after you and I spoke. I wish I could say that was the end of the story, but it’s not. Far from it.

According to the way Obama’s HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Plan, or Making Home Affordable) works, once you’re approved for the trial plan, you make three trial payments on time, and then are set up (assuming you have met all obligations and criteria) for the permanent modification. We made five trial payments. During this time, even though all our payments were made as agreed and very much on time, Bank of America (our mortgage company) reported us late to the credit bureaus—this is also against HAMP guidelines when you’re making your payments as agreed under this government modification. When I caught this, they fixed it the first time.

Five trial payments and many, many phone calls later, we finally signed our permanent modification documents in the middle of December 2009. We were ecstatic. Finally, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. No more having to call them to fix our credit reports. No more getting statements from them in the mail saying we were delinquent, even though we were making our modified payments on time, no more dealing with lost paperwork, inaccurate information, or loan negotiators that weren’t very good at returning phone calls or even answering the simplest of questions. No more wondering how much longer we would make these so-called trial payments, or if we were going to have to suddenly leave our home with our children because of some error or decision made by the mortgage company.

Our permanent modification payments started February 1, 2010. We’ve made every one so far as laid out in the documents. We were told that it should all be put in the system in a matter of weeks. When that didn’t happen, we called and were told it would be about 30 days. At the end of that time we were told 60 days. At the end of that time we were told 90 days from the time we signed. You can see where I’m going with this, right? I continued to call and be put off. I demanded as courteously, but firmly, as I could to have some answers. I’m never given the same answers.

On my last call, I was told that while we’ve been improved on Bank of America’s side of things, our investor, Freddie Mac, has yet to approve us. It’s my understanding that they can’t even offer the permanent modification without investor approval to begin with. I’m so tired of this run-around. I want to feel secure in my own home. I want to know that if I plant my garden, I’ll be here to harvest it. I want to know that when I bring my baby home from the hospital, I’ll be coming to this home.

Our credit is being destroyed by this, too. They’ve started reporting us as delinquent to the credit bureaus again. I called them to fix it again. They sent a letter to me saying they would do so, but have not corrected it after more than a month later. According to their website, we’re over $12,000 delinquent, even though we’ve been making payments all this time. I fear that any day we’ll receive a notice of foreclosure and have no place to go because our credit has taken such a hit.

I’m exhausted from all of this. It’s a full time job on top of all my other things to do. Do you think you could help us get to the bottom of this? We would be forever grateful and in your debt if you would. You can read more about our situation on www.thejugglinghomemaker.com. I’ve outlined our ordeal on my blog for others going through the same thing—and believe me, there are many, many others. Also, if you want to know more about the program we’re under, you can go to www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.

I’m happy to help you help us in any way I can. Thank you so much for your time.


Anyway, I hope none of you give up out there. Stay strong and fight back! Best of luck to you!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Modification Nightmares

I have to wonder how many people Obama's Home Affordable Modification Plan (AKA HASP and Making Home Affordable) is really helping. Thus far the numbers are quite low for the homeowners who have successfully navigated through this long and tedious process.

Over a year ago this plan was introduced and the White House Administration claimed it would help between 3 and 4 million homeowners. Now, over a year since they introduced this plan, only about 170,000 homeowners out of over the million who have tried, succeeded in getting their modifications. It's estimated that about another 90,000 will be dropped from the plan in the next few months. Those are some discouraging numbers.

Some would have you believe that the low success rate is the fault of homeowners for not turning in paperwork, not meeting guidelines or not following through with important steps of the process. After doing this myself for a year, I have to tell you that's a load of malarkey.

In our own process, which we started at the end of March of last year, we have been told we didn't qualify to even apply after being told we did and had already applied; have been told we have to be late on our payments when the government website, Making Home Affordable, clearly states that you can be current; have been subject to lost paperwork multiple times--including the actual Trial Modification package offer--etc. In short, it has been a nightmare.

We've made it farther than many others in our shoes, but it hasn't been easy. Even with being as tenacious as I am when I'm working for something, I've thought about forgetting the whole thing multiple times. Nothing is going the way it's supposed to--the way Bank of America Corporation has told me it would go.

We signed our permanent modification agreement the second week of December, 2009. We were ecstatic. Finally we could see an end to this roller coaster ride. BAC had sent the notary, we signed the docs, then their notary took them and overnighted them back to BAC. It took them several weeks to find those docs in their system (they weren't even labeled) and let me know that they while they had been received on December 17, they weren't yet entered into the system to finalize everything. I was then told that it should be only another week or two until it was entered into the system as our new loan agreement. We were relieved to hear it, though a part of us didn't fully believe that we were just about finished.

Well, turns out, it wasn't that easy. Now, over three months after signing those permanent docs, we're still waiting for it to be updated in the system. We've continued making our payments (every one made on time and as agreed). We've done everything they've asked, the moment they asked it. We've jumped through every hoop--sometimes multiple times. What did we get for it? They reported us as delinquent to the credit bureaus on our mortgage (one thing that the government website says they aren't supposed to do under HAMP). And when I called--multiple times--to have them fix this, they tried to start us all over in the process. Obviously one hand doesn't know what the other is doing in this program.

We've been called several times to set up an appointment with another notary to sign the very documents we already signed over three months ago. It's ridiculous. Every time I tell them we've already done this. Every time they say they don't see it in the system. I tell them I have the proof here at home. It's just so exhausting.

Oh, and they transferred our case to a new negotiator. This new negotiator was supposed to have called us at some point in the last month. Has he? Nope. And believe me, I've tried to get into contact with him.

So, you tell me: whose fault is it that these modifications aren't going through? In my experience it's the mortgage company's fault. Something needs to change with this program. Until then, people are going to continue losing their homes.

I sincerely hope there are others out there having better luck than we are with this whole thing. I also hope that people out there aren't falling prey to all the scammers out there. This program is supposed to be done through your own mortgage company. Please don't pay attention to any of those third-party mailings you get from people claiming they can do this for you. This process is tedious, but it's free. Just be careful out there and don't give up.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Home Affordable Modification Plan

Have you noticed how many name changes this government modification plan has gone through? HASP, Making Home Affordable Plan, HAMP...blah, blah, blah. Maybe they'll do a better job at getting the plan right, than they have at coming up with the right name. Hah! We can hope! :)

Anyway, I thought I'd update you on our case. We finally got our signed documents returned from Bank of America. These are only the ones we signed for the trial modification at the end of July. It took three months for them to sign and return our copy back to us (acknowledging the agreement, I suppose), but I'm told this is a good sign. We went ahead and continued making the lower trial payment for November, since that is what the HOPE Department told me to do. We'll see what happens from here, but I have hope that all will go well in the end. Call me an eternal optimist!

If you need information or support on how to start your own HAMP process, I highly recommend checking out Loan Safe. I got a lot of tips there that certainly helped to escalate things in our case.