Showing posts with label mortgage assistance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mortgage assistance. Show all posts

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!).

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.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Making Home Affordable Update

So I decided to call the HOPE department today, to see if they could enlighten me on what we can expect now that we've made our last trial payment on the Making Home Affordable 90 day trial modification. I had attempted to reach my loan negotiator, but wasn't so lucky in succeeding in that endeavor. I know they're swamped, so I'm not going to take that personally--yet;)

Anyway, they had no new information for me. They don't know when they'll have anything to tell me. I was assured our application doesn't have any negative notes and that they have all they need from me at this time. I'm trying to be reassured by this, but we all know I've heard that before. If you're new to our story, you can catch up here.

I was also told that I should continue making the lowered trial payment until I hear something back from them. That is a relief, since there was no way I was going to be able to make our regular monthly mortgage payment on November 1, anyway. Something that wasn't helped with my pricey lesson yesterday. Haha!

Here's the letter I emailed to my negotiator today:

I left a voice mail yesterday, but haven't heard back yet, so I thought I'd try email. We've now made our third trial modification payment for Making Home Affordable. That payment was made toward the end of September, and was due October 1. Since this time, all of our payments have come out of the suspense account and were applied to the mortgage interest, principle and late fees. None of it has gone to our escrow account and now it is extremely short of what is needed to pay our taxes next month.

Also, I still haven't received any kind of package, notice or info on what is going to happen with our loan now. Every time I check the website the information changes and the date gets pushed back. As of today, there's no date listed at all. Does this mean I continue to make the trial payments until I hear something, even if we're outside of the 90 days? One person on the HOPE team told me to do just that.

It's nearly the end of October and I have to say that I'd thought I'd know something by now. We've made all payments as agreed, we've sent all required documentation multiple times and have done everything required of us. Can you tell me what we can expect now and what is happening with our account?

What happens if, at the end of all this, for whatever reason we get denied? Do we suddenly have to come up with thousands of dollars for the difference between the trial payment and what our actual mortgage payments are, including late fees? That really would be a nightmare for us.

We are responsible, upright people and are willing to do what it takes to keep our home. We do not want a free ride, we just want a chance. We didn't ask for our income to be cut, as I'm sure you understand. We want to meet our obligations and are doing everything on our end to try to make that happen. This program can make that possible for us. We just aren't sure if we're being jerked around (pardon the expression, but it's the only way I can explain our fears) and we'll end up in a worse mess than when we applied for this program for help.

God Bless,
Nellie Butler


Hopefully I hear something back from him soon. In the meantime, I've been going to Loan Safe periodically to see how others there are faring. If you haven't checked that site out yet, you really should. I couldn't have gotten even this far without them. Lots of valuable information there!

Feel free to share any information or stories of your own here, too. Also, if you have any questions, ask away. If I have the answers, I'll let you know. If I don't, I'll try to point you in the right direction:)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Updates and an Apology

Hey, all! I know it's been way too long since I last wrote, but I haven't had much time for writing lately. I'm sorry to leave anyone hanging here and wondering what's been happening with our loan modification. I've been meaning to write for ages, as much has been happening on that end, but everyday life has been getting in the way:)

We were finally approved for the trial modification some time in June. Why didn't I write about it then? Well, because I didn't know about it. I found out about it in mid-july, but was told days before the signed paperwork (which I'd never received) was supposed to be sent back in via Fed-Ex. The only reason I found out was because the mortgage payment I made for July was never applied and I got a notice that it was late. So I called them and asked what what was happening with the payment I'd sent.

First, I was told that I'd made no such payment. Then, at my insistence, and with my bank as proof that an automatic withdrawal had been made on July 13 (not technically late since it was within the grace period), they did some digging and found my payment.

They said, "Oh, it's been put in a suspense account, since you're being set up on the Making Home Affordable Trial Modification." Really?

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, that's what it shows here. The paperwork is due on [such-and-such a date] or the modification will be canceled."

"What paperwork?" I asked.

"The paperwork you were sent on June 26." Hmmmmmm.........Well, this was over two weeks from that date, and it was sent via Fed Ex, so I definitely should've seen it by this time.

That started the beginning of a nightmare. It took until the end of July to get the new paperwork, after they had to first determine to their satisfaction that I hadn't received the first packet (it turns out it was never sent due to a computer glitch). During this time, I was also told conflicting information:

"Yes, this is the Making Home Affordable Plan."

and "No, this is just a special forbearance plan until we can qualify you for the Making Home Affordable Plan."

and "No, you will not be reported as late to the credit bureaus as long as you're making your trial payments."

and "Yes, you will be reported as late because you're not making your full payments."

I managed to stay calm, reach my loan negotiator who eventually cleared everything up (It was the MHA trial modification and we would not be reported as late--though I did have to call them to remind them of that fact when they did reported us late anyway. But they did fix it quickly). Long story short, we have now completed the trial payments. What happens now? Good question.

I was told I should be hearing from someone to come to our house with the final paperwork for us to go over and sign for the real modification deal. So far, nothing yet. I'll let you know what happens when we find out. I'm really hoping it's not going to be another ordeal. It seems to take forever to straighten the people from Bank of America out. It's frustrating, to say the least, and I wonder if anybody there really knows what they're doing. I've sent and re-sent the same documents multiple times, and talked to so many people I've lost count. But I'm not giving up. I'll keep doing whatever it takes. I'm no quitter!

In case you didn't already know, Making Home Affordable is the same thing as HASP, but they've changed the name. Who knows? Maybe they've changed it again! Haha, who can keep up anymore? If you aren't already familiar with what's been happening in our case so far, you can read my previous posts here.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Going Where it Takes Me

I'm sorry for the delay in my posts. Life has been, well, hard lately. My mom is still having a hard time. Her good days are very good, and I have hope that she's finding her footing. Her bad days are devastating and I've found I have to distance myself emotionally from her on those days to be able to function for my own family. Mental illness is no picnic.

My little sister was in the hospital for a few days, too. They found two blood clots on her lungs and are not sure what's causing them. They've put her on a medication to break them up and prevent them from returning. I've been praying for her and hope that she'll make a full recovery.

Hubby has gone back to working on Mondays, for the time being (for the rest of the summer, we hope), but he's not allowed any overtime, and without that, I don't know how we're going to catch up. I have to have faith that things will work out some how.

Countrywide/Bank of America is still stringing me along. The ARM refinance they offered me under the Making Home Affordable Refinance program was offered in ignorance of the fact that if you're already in a fixed loan, you can't be refinanced into an ARM. I had to tell them this information when I went to Freddie Mac's website to get more information on the program. Isn't it crazy that I know more about how these programs work that the mortgage company?

We went ahead and sent them all our information all over again a few weeks ago for the HASP, or Making Home Affordable Modification and were assigned a negotiator. He called me once on June 22, left a message for me to call him back using the Hardship number I already had, but left no extension. When I called back, they basically said there was no way for me to reach him directly, that they would email him and let him know I wanted him to call me again, but that was the best they could do. They also told me that he would probably try to call me again at some future date, and that if he was unable to reach me again, it could cancel our application. So I guess I'm suppose to stay next to the phone and hold my breath. Hah!

I haven't heard from Bill Gephardt since that first embarrassing phone call several weeks ago. LOL. He did tell me there were no guarantees that he could do anything, but that he would see what he could find out on all this. Keep your fingers crossed:)

So life has kept me on my toes. I'm fairly certain that whenever it feels like I'll catch my breath, something is waiting in the wings to come knock it out of me again. Some days I'm just fine with this, and just go with the flow. On those days, I look around me, thank God for the many blessings in my life, smile, and go along with whatever comes my way.

I wish I could say I was always this good. I'd be a better person for it, if I could manage it. But alas, I'm not there yet. On the bad days, I mutter, maybe even let out a curse, and just feel like my world is caving in. On those days I forget the blessings I have and ask God, "can I not be happy? Can't I just take it easy for a little while? Does everything have to go wrong at once?" Actually, that's probably the nice version of what I say on those down days. Haha.

I have to remind myself that without adversity, I can't grow. I'd be content to stay where I am, in my comfort zone, and learn nothing. I heard yesterday something that will stay with me:
The very existence of adversity proves God's love for us.
What? I thought at first. How can that be? Why would He want anything bad to happen to us? But that was the wrong way to look at it.

I can't tell you how many times I've told my children, when they were grumbling about something hard they had to do, that they would be thankful for it someday--because they'll be able to take that experience they've learned from and it will make things easier later. The very same principle applies to us.

Trials make us stronger. So reminding myself of that, maybe I'll have more of those good days, and complain less on the bad ones. It can happen, right? ;)

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

She's a Maniac!

So today I'm going through my daughters' room with them--and it's a wreck to say the least--pulling garbage and dirty laundry out of their toy bins and giving directions on where to put things. I'm also blasting my Pure 80s CD on my 9 year old's CD player to make the task a little less tedious.

I'm bouncing around to the lyrics "She's a maniac, maniac, that's for sure..." whilst attempting to organize the chaos that is their bedroom and I shout an order over the loud music to the girls. They hesitate to follow, as usual, and I yell out over the music, "Just do it!"

I look up at my son, who I realize is holding the phone at me and I yell, "who is it?" He shrugs and passes me the phone. "Turn it down!" I call out over the music and reach for the phone.

"Hello?" I ask, thinking it's probably my hubby on the other end of the line, checking to see how my organization mission is going.

"Is this Nellie?" I hear a man's voice on the other end, but it's definitely not my hubby's.

"Yes, it is." I'm feeling bashful about the music and the hollering that went on before getting passed the phone. Oh well, it's probably just another telemarketer anyway, right?

"This is Bill Gephardt..." Yes, the Bill Gephardt from KUTV New's Get Gephardt.

Yikes! Hahahahahahahaha. What a great first impression, eh? I laughed, fumbled out an apology and told him I was going through my kids' rooms today. He assured me he'd been there himself with his own kids.

Anyway, long story short, he's looking into our situation with Bank of America/Countrywide and we may just get this story on the news. Wish us luck!

For those of you not knowing what this is referencing, read my last post.

Monday, June 1, 2009

You Can Kiss My HASP!!!

Today's title is directed at Countrywide/Bank of America. It's now been over two months since we applied. During that time, as you know, I've called them regularly to check on things, only to be told it's going to take longer. The kicker? They've deleted my application and I have to start all over. I'm beyond upset about this. I decided to take the advice of friends and family and send Bill Gephardt of 2News a letter.

Here it is:

Have you heard of the Making Home Affordable Plan AKA HASP? Well, when my husband's hours got cut, we lost at least $1,000 per month of our income. We started to struggle to make our payments, draining our savings, cutting our bills where we could and clipping coupons. With no end in site to our money situation I called our mortgage company (then Countrywide, but now Bank of America) to talk about what options were available to us in trying to keep our home. It was then they told us about MHA (HASP), and we applied for it over two months ago.

I sent them everything they requested and called regularly to check on the status. One person told me it would take 7-10 days for me to get a workout packet. When I didn't get one, I called back and was told I should hear something within 30 days. When I called back after that, I was told 40 days, then 50 days, then 60 days.

Each time I asked if they had everything they needed. Each time I was assured they did and that my application was still under review. When I called back on the 60 day mark, I was told I needed to start the process all over again. Why? I was told it’s because my information is now two months old and also I didn't qualify on my first application.

Why was this the first time I was hearing this, after two months of phone calls? I asked that and was told they didn't know why no one told me. When I asked what kept me from qualifying now for the application, when I'd been told by several other representatives there that everything looked fine, I was told it’s because I'm current on my mortgage.

I told them that the rules say that I don't have to be behind on my mortgage to qualify, just that I have to show that we are in danger of falling behind and defaulting, which is what we're trying to prevent. They said that was correct, I don't have to be behind to qualify, but I can't be current. What? How is that possible? I asked this, and they said that I'm not considered current if I haven't paid my bill the first day it becomes due, which is the first of each month.

This modification process takes 30-60 days, according to them, so it would be impossible for me to qualify if I don't fall behind. If I play their game, and fall behind on the slim chance that I may qualify, it ruins the only other option they're offering me: A 5/1 ARM refinance at 4.215%. You have to have good credit to qualify for the HASP refinance program.

We aren't thrilled about the ARM idea, as we feel this is what has gotten so many people in this mess in the first place, but we don't want to lose our home either. According to the Making Home Affordable website, we’re perfect candidates for this program. What’s the problem?

We have several friends and neighbors who have called about this program, only to be given the run-around. According to each of these situations and the information we've all been given individually, at least some of us should have been approved for this program. Some have been told they have to be behind to qualify, some are told they have to catch up to qualify. I've yet to meet a single person who has been approved for this program in my online searches. Instead, I'm finding so many others that are being jerked around in the same way we have been. Good and responsible people are losing their homes! There are numerous websites and forums set up because of this.

What kind of program is this that Obama has set up to help responsible homeowners who have been hurt by this bad economy? How is it going to help any of us if they banks won't let us do it? Please help us, Gephardt. A lot of family's homes are at stake.



I'll let you all know if I get anywhere with this route. If I don't, I'll look for another. I'm not going down without one heck of a fight. Wish me luck!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Reach out and Improve Your Outlook

I've got some more resources for those who are facing losing their homes. In addition to HASP, I've found some sites that are filled with useful information and contacts that can help you through this time.

Loan Safe has a lot of useful information for homeowners facing hardship. I found a ton of information in their discussion forums, too. I found some direct phone numbers for Countrywide in the forum they started specifically for Countrywide customers. There you can talk to people just like you and get ideas and advice on what to do next.

I also found NACA, a non-profit advocacy HUD certified counseling agency. They help homeowners to modify their loans and all their services are free.

You can still find the information I've gathered about loan modification and HASP with my articles here. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I will do my best to help, or find someone who can.

On this note, I want to talk more about what is happening as a result of our economy. More and more people are at risk of losing their homes as layoffs and paycuts continue. Families are struggling to make ends meat and many of them are turning to their governments and churches for assistance.

It's definitely a humbling experience and can be difficult for many of us to reach out for help, for fear of having our hands slapped away--or even being ridiculed, criticized and scoffed at. I suppose this fear, or even the reality of the fear, is what makes some people come to the decision of ending their own lives and often the lives of their entire family.

This is becoming more commonplace in the news and it makes my heart sick. I cry for those people because they believed they lost everything and had only one option left to them. I don't know what makes a person come to that conclusion, besides the desperation they feel in their circumstances. I only wish they would reach out to anyone and everyone, instead of setting on the course of ending lives.

I know this is a hard time. I know that so many people are losing everything. But that's just it--they're things. They give us comfort, shelter, entertainment, transportation, convenience...But they aren't even close to being the most important part of life. We're here for a reason. We're here to learn, to love, to grow and to be strengthened. The only way we can do that is by facing adversity.

Some people may feel alone in this. Some might believe they have no one to turn to. I want those people to know that they are not alone. Even a person who believes they have no one, has someone. For those of you who believe in God, remember that He will take care of you. You just have to remember that it's His plan we need to trust in, not our own.

For those of you who don't believe, I wish you did, as it would fill you with a comfort like no other. I don't know how my family would have come as far as we have without His help in our own lives.

There are many people out there (some you may have met, and some you may not have yet) who care what happens to you. They want your happiness and your well-being. They believe you can succeed even after what seems like a succession of failures. Don't give up.

I have a saying on my wall: "There is always something to be thankful for..." Even in these hard times, I believe that. One of the biggest blessings in my life is the gift of my children. I take on the responsibility for them gladly. They are looking to their father and me for guidance. They are watching closely and learning how to overcome the trials they'll face in their own lives. I will not teach them to give up.

Anyway, I'll leave you for now with that. I pray that you will find the strength to get through hard times--and then perhaps help others to do the same.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

HASP Part 3

I've realized that I only detailed half of what Obama's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan offers so far in my articles here. I wrote about the part of the program I was applying for, and completely neglected the other side, which could benefit other homeowners in different situations from ours, but still serious.

HASP isn't just for those who have received a pay cut and are in need of a loan modification. It's also for those who need to refinance out of an ARM or higher interest rate, but their homes have lost value and so they haven't been able to do that. The catch for this part of the program is that you have to be current on your loan and the investors or guarantors in your loan have to be Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. You can call your lender to find out if your loan is eligible or check here. Don't make any assumptions until you make that call.

If you want to read some examples of families who have qualified under each of the HASP parts, you can go here. That link is in the Making Home Affordable government website. If you go to that site, you can find out if you may qualify for either part of HASP, and what your next step should be if you do.

Not all mortgage companies offer HASP, but most of the major ones do. You can go to Hope Now to find out if your company participates. If they don't, Hope Now also offers free counseling help and could help you figure out your next step. This site is entirely free, as is all HASP information and processes. Beware of scams. You can also call Hope Now at 1-888-995-HOPE.

If your loan is FHA, they are doing their own program for financial hardship that is supposed to parallel HASP. Call your lender for details on that.

As for what's happening with our HASP application, it's still up in the air. Countrywide has just started choosing eligible customers and sending out packets to them. I called them this morning (1-800-669-0102) and they said they only started mailing today, and if I qualify, then I should get one in about a week to ten days. Apparently our status isn't in the computer yet, but they didn't seem concerned by this. If, at the end of 10 days, I don't receive a packet, they said to call back and check my status again.

I'm not losing hope or getting discouraged by any of this. If we're meant to stay here, we will. If we're not, then I figure we must have a purpose somewhere else. In the meantime, I will do what I can for my family. That's all anyone can do.

Good luck to you all. If you have any questions, you can more than likely find them in the links I've given you in my HASP articles. If not though, or you just want to talk, feel free to email me.

If you don't qualify for any part of HASP, don't lose hope. You can still call your mortgage company about other financial hardship programs they offer.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

More on HASP

As I told you yesterday, we decided to try to modify our mortgage using the Homeowner Stability and Affordability Program that President Obama set up last month. If we're approved for this, we'll be able to stay in our home, since hubby's work (as a journeyman plumber) is still hurting and his hours are low.

In fact, today his work schedule fell through (they currently have him doing service calls) and they're talking about sending him home. This would be very bad, considering he still isn't allowed to work Mondays, so that would give him just barely over a three day work week. If this happens, we'll have to use another of his already few vacation days (who can afford to take a real vacation anyway, right?) to make up for the shortage on our budget--which I'm constantly working to lower.

So yesterday we applied for HASP. I sent our Mortgage Company (Countrywide Financial) a 42 page fax--the longest fax I've ever sent in my life! Haha! Details of HASP can be found in this post I did yesterday.

I called Countrywide this morning to make sure they had all my paperwork. They did, and complimented me on how thorough I was (I'll gladly take the compliment!). They told me to continue making my mortgage payments as usual (which I planned to do anyway for as long as we're able), and that they will process everything once they know what's going on.

This wasn't really a big surprise to me. HASP is a brand new program, and while many mortgage companies are climbing on board, they are still unsure of all the details. In my mortgage company's case, they said they hope to have everything set and ready to go by April, which starts tomorrow! LOL. Anyway, they said it shouldn't take too long to get things up and running, and in the meantime they have all they need from me.

I'm telling you all this so that you will know that this is more than likely the situation with all the mortgage companies participating in HASP. They're still working out the details, and don't know everything yet, so make sure that you realize that when you call them. The company's participating in this program have said they will hold off on foreclosures for those trying to get approved for HASP.

In yesterday's post I gave you a link for participating mortgage companies, so if you haven't already, check to see if your company is on the list. The list is pretty long, so there's a good chance it is. If it isn't, you aren't out of options. Just call your mortgage company and ask what plans they offer for financial hardship. If you get someone who doesn't seem to know what they are talking about, ask to speak to someone else.

Another good resource is the Making Home Affordable website. It was set up for those looking for more information on HASP, but they offer information to anyone struggling financially.

Don't give up. This is a hard economy for so many of us. With the right tools we can all get through it together. You're not alone.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Loan Modification to Save Your Home

I spent over three hours this morning getting together all the materials I needed to do a loan modification with our mortgage company. We looked into refinancing first, but while our credit is good for the moment, our house has dropped at least $40,000 of its value in the last two years. Because of that we wouldn't meet the required loan-to-value ratio and so we didn't continue down that avenue.

We thought of selling, but we couldn't get what we needed and none of the houses in our area are selling (and there are so many!). So that idea was also quickly scrapped. I decided to find out what exactly our options were, and I'm going to share them here with you.

We were told by several of our friends the nightmare stories of trying to get the mortgage companies to work with you. We were told mixed stories of what your status on the loan had to be (some said you had to have missed a few payments, others said the loan had to be current). I decided to stop taking other people's words and experiences for it and give my mortgage company (Countrywide Financial) a call.

They were surprised, it seemed, to hear from me. "But you're not behind on your payments and your credit is good." Yes, I know this, and I'd like to keep it that way, but with no end in sight to hubby's pay cut, our savings is nearly gone, we're eating mainly out of our food storage and things don't look promising, to say the least. When I told them this, they transferred me to their Financial Hardship Department and I talked to a consultant there.

The woman I talked to was very friendly and helpful. She asked me a few questions about our situation, I answered her, and then she asked if I would be willing to tell them all of our expenses, fax them our recent tax returns, a 4506-T form, checking, savings and 401k statements, credit card and loan statements, and the last two months' pay stubs. I also had to write a Letter of Financial Hardship. I was more than willing to do whatever she asked if it meant we might be able to afford to stay in our home.

I got the 4506-T form off the IRS website. I found out what a financial hardship letter should include. I went to the Making Home Affordable Government website which I was told by the mortgage consultant to look at. On that site you can find out if you may be eligible and if your mortgage company participates in Obama's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Program (HASP) set up in February. So far, it looks like we meet the requirements.

What HASP does is lower your mortgage payment within 31% of your gross monthly income. They can lower your interest rate down to as much as 2%. If that won't do it, then they look at extending the life of your loan to 40 years. If approved, you are put on "probation" for three months. If you make your payment on time for those three months, then you get that lowered rate for five years. If, in that five years, you have made all your payments on time, they will pay $5,000 toward the principal of your loan balance.

After five years, your interest rate will increase one percent each year--but will at no time go higher than what the current rate was at the time you modified (currently around 5%). This would be a great option for us, so we've sent them all the information they've asked for and are now awaiting the approval. They say the whole process takes about a month, so we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams. This whole process is free and can be done by yourself. You do not need to pay anyone for this process and should not be charged for a single part of it. If you wish to know more about this program, go to the FAQ on the website.

If you're struggling to make your mortgage payment, please look into this program. If your bank doesn't offer it to you, ask them to. Don't necessarily take no for an answer. Ask to speak to someone else if you're not getting anywhere. Keep calm, you'll get further if you're clear-headed and non-threatening. Be persistent, the squeaky wheel gets the grease:)

If you have any questions throughout this process feel free to shoot me an email. I'll be happy to help if I can.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

How to Deal in a Bad Economy

If you've experienced a job loss or a paycut, then your head is probably spinning from fear and confusion of what to do next. It doesn't help that you keep hearing all over the media about the unemployment rate going up and the availability of jobs going down.

You also probably have the very real fear of losing your home. How can you pay for your rent or your mortgage when you don't have enough money? What can you do? What are your options? I'm going to try to help you in this area.

First of all, if you don't have a budget, make one. You need to write down all of your monthly obligations and total them out. Then you'll know how much money you need. Also, a budget only works if you follow it, so try to avoid any impulsive expenditures.

Of course, you have to have enough money to make your budget work. If you're having trouble in this area due this bad economy, there are programs out there to help you.

My state has a program called The Utah Department of Workforce Services (here is their website: http://www.jobs.utah.gov/jobseeker/dwsdefault.asp). Through this program you can find out how to see if you qualify for financial assistance, food stamps, health care, or it can even help you look for another job. Check your state government website to find out what programs they have in your state.

Are you low income and having trouble paying your utilities? Winter is a hard time when it comes to paying that gas bill. In my state we have a program called HEAT (http://housing.utah.gov/seal/heat.html). Those who qualify for this program can get help paying for their gas and electric bills. Our program opens in November and goes until it runs out of money. Check with your utility company and they should be able to tell of the programs available in your particular area.

Do you have children in school? See if you qualify for free or reduced lunch. Many schools also offer breakfast to your children. This can really help you lower your food bill. The program is confidential, so no one else will know if you're paying for your kids' food or not.

Call your mortgage company, if you have one. See what options they have available to you. Don't give up if you don't get the answers you're looking for the first time you call. Your answer there is only as good as the person's knowledge who works there. Sometimes, oddly enough, the person you're talking to may not know what your options are, so ask to speak to their supervisor.

Sometimes you can modify your home loan and add what you've fallen behind on to the end of your mortgage. Sometimes they can even lower your interest rate or your payment to make it more affordable to you. They can also help you negotiate a short sale on your home, if that's what you need to do. Check with your mortgage company.

I checked to see what my mortgage company, Countrywide Home Loans, offers. They have their Financial Hardship Program information listed on their website (http://my.countrywide.com/media/FinancialAssistance.html). Your mortgage company's website might be a good place for you to start looking.

Also, you might want to try going to your church. Many churches have programs and funds available to those in need. The church I go to helps many people with food and other necessities. Check to see what's available to you in that avenue. Don't lose faith. We have to go through these hard times to get to the good times. It can be scary, but realize that God is there for you and will take care of you. He may not always take you in the direction you want to go, but trust that He knows better than you.

I hope these tips will help you in your hard time. If you know of any other resources out there that I haven't listed, please let me know.