Please put your thought or comment here. Thanks!

–Richard

People do not want to pay, they're convinced that their lender's free offer is part of the "Obama" plan.

A lot of folks are waiting to see what happens but many are paying 40% of 50% of their original payment during this "trial period."

warmly

–Richard

I am not doing loan mods for a living, but I bought your loan mod magic and I must say I would be very interested in hearing from someone other that the woman you had on a few times (Barbara). I'm at a stand still because I do not know what to submit as my DTI. I am self employed and my lender (Wells Fargo) wants me to give them my monthly expenses on the phone first before they determine if I qualify for a mod. I do not know what to give them???? any help with this would be awesome!

Thanks for your input here. I think Barbara is extremely good, actually, and greatly admire her work.

warmly

–Richard

wamt to know about your program if i have a clien that needs a loan mod
how can i quilify them do i use you for that ans what are your fees for exactly what you do thanks brett

not interested because in order to be succesfull one mus aliegin ond self with a laywer or a law firm. no thanks

no thanks. in order to be succesfull, one must alegn oneself with a lawyer or a law firm. no thanks

Thank you for your comment!

warmly

–Richard

I have been doing loan mods for the past year and half, we now use the NPV test to determine if the clients will be able to get the trial period plan and alot of them do get the same payment on their permanent mod as their trial period plan. The only time it changes is when their income and assets dont match what was verbally disclosed then the lender adjusts accordingly, you probably already knew that. I would be happy to share what I have learned and any useful programs with your circle.

It sounds like you have a lot of useful information that others might find helpful. I would love to talk to you.

warmly

–Richard

I am already past my 90 day probation period, in fact when I make my payment of sept 1st, it will be my 4th probation payment . . . I have not been told anything from the bank or loan mod company. I have no idea if or when i will have a deal . . . of course I worry that the bank will pull the old "bait and switch" scam. It is nice to have been making a lower payment for nearly 4 months, but it is very uncomfortable not knowing the status of my loan mod. If ultimately i do not get the loan mod, then I will regret not trying to refinance, but on the other hand why refinance when it would very likely be a much worse deal than the supposed loan mod. very frustrating

It is very frustrating. Thanks for sharing your situation. It is so common, ugh!

warmly

–Richard

I have not participated in anything like what I am doing currently by responding to this email. I am very curious on the laon modification process and in fact have been particpating in negotiations with Bank of America on a modification. To say I am disgusted is a very mild statement. So I am wondering if by me responding to you can this help? I am not sure what you do, or can do, or what exactly is your line of work or expertise? I do not mean anything I say to come across as argumentative or harsh but if i were to get into some of the facts which I would like to discuss are you a person whom can be trusted? I hope you understand what I am trying to say. I will check email later on to see if I get a response for this wayward questioning.

Thanks for your comment. If you want to outline your situation more clearly, we could comment on it.

warmly

–Richard

To add doing a loan mod involves much more than just calling the lender and have a conversation, you have to be aware of all the angles that affect the decision of the person who reviews the case such as tax and insurance being correct, any escrow shortages accounted for and sometimes credit payments that someone else is paying can all count against the person applying. Details are what makes them go through and by no means are they smooth sailing, not for the faint of heart!

I ve been unemployed for awhile. Behind 8 months wit BOA and 3 months on a rental with Aurora. Aurora foreclosed wants to know if I want a short sale? Makes no sense to me whatsoever. BOA btw, has been surprizingly understanding and just wants something when I can. Starting a job next week I cant's pay for a laon mod, just hope they co-operate

My friend and I own houses right down the street from each other. He is with CountryWide (BofA) and has completed his 3 trial payments and when he called the bank they said to continue making the same payment and wait for the package. His fourth payment was received by B of A yesterday. No packet as of date. I am with SunTrust Mortgage and they have hired a 3rd party to handle their mod's. They contacted me with a 2, (yes TWO)

Two mods? Two what?

warmly

–Richard

i am very interested. i received a form letter asking me if i was interested in modifying my mortgage payment (from the lender) which was shocking since i've never been late, and i wonder if its true. sara

Call your lender and ask. There are a lot of bogus letters being sent out by advertising scam artists.

warmly

–Richard

My friend and I own houses right down the street from each other. He is with CountryWide (BofA) and has completed his 3 trial payments and when he called the bank they said to continue making the same payment and wait for the package. His fourth payment was received by B of A yesterday. No packet as of date. I am with SunTrust Mortgage and they have hired a 3rd party to handle their mod's. They contacted me with an approved 2, (yes TWO) month forbearance payment of $1300 when my original mortgage payment was $3100. Since the agreement I have now lost my job, they have not asked about the situation nor have I communicated it with them. I will be able to make my second payment on October 1, when the forbearance expires. They said at that time they will re-evaluate everything. Both houses are in Las Vegas and both have lost a value of about $220,000 since the purchase date in Sept 07. Interesting to see what may come of both. Any ideas?

I have been over my head for 8 months now on my home payments, but I am afraid I can not meet what the bank will need on income. I have been watch your site to see if maybe you say something to help any way Best

Thanks, Ray. There are legit ways to boost up income in many cases.

warmly

–Richard

I would be interested in knowing…
1. Who qualifies for load modifications and what are lenders looking for to qualify people.
2. How the process works and what to expect lenders to request and do.
First step, can't make payments.
Second step, call loan hardship department.
Third step, submit income statement to lender.
etc.
3. What is the worst case scenario (and the probability of that happening) + a testimonial
4. What is the best case scenario (and the probability of that happening) + a testimonial
5. What is the typical scenario (and the probability of that happening) + a testimonial

Personally: I have a 3-plex and a renter moved out. I'm wondering if I could move into it and do a loan mod. What kind of information do they require to prove that you're living at that address. Basically, I couldn't afford living there when rates went up to 7% in 2007 so I moved my family to South Korea where we were provided work and housing. Long story. I'm just trying to make it all work.

We just came off bankrupucy because our lender would not work with us when my husband lost his job.We had to file chapter 13 to keep our house,they wer tring to forclose on us.What can we do now.Our payments are 901. a month and our interest rate is 9.0

Sorry about the 5:23pm post. It was incomplete.

In addition to my 5:27pm post, both houses had a notice of default filed and my friends house that is making his 4th trial payment also has had a notice of sale filed. The bank just continues to postpone the date of sale as payments come in from him.

I am wondering on my house if a forbearance can be extended and/or turn into a loan mod with trial payments. Vegas has been hit hard and I have about 10 friends trying loan mod's with not one, as of yet, finalized.

Please no more here! The banks are not doing them-period. Despite, what people think. I worked for one and am intimately familiar-your focus must be on short sales=Enough

Wow! Not doing them at all? I know some are doing some of them. I do agree that short sales are a great focus for many folks who are deeply underwater.

warmly

–Richard

New information on Nevada State Law now has alot of people even more confused. Any home that has a notice of default filed after July 1, 2009 now has the right to pay $200 to a state appointed mediator. This is SUPPOSE to force the lender to the table and/or conference call where as the mediator will represent the consumer and try to work out amicable terms. The lender is required to pay an additional $200 for the mediation process as well. I talked to my realtor friend here in vegas and he is even confused on what side the mediator may be on. The bank or the consumer? I waived my right to this since I already agreed to forbearance even though my notice of default was filed July 29th. What new laws will be next? This one is only specific to Nevada.

Hi - quick question about the credit card debt issue as a part of applying for a loan modification. Do they use it against you as making your DTI ratio too high to even pay a reduced amount or just be a good candidate for loan mod? Or can it be used as a way to illustrate some temporary financial hardship use of credit cards? We always had rock solid credit before job problems in late 2008.

Thanks

I think it would be a good idea to have a webinar on this topic. I have been doing loan mods for the past 8 months and have been fortunate to be successful on each mod however that does mean I will have the same turnout on each one from here on out. I have noticed though that lenders are doing forebearence agreements now and some are allowing for the payments to stay the same.

Please keep us informed of webinars planned around this topic

Yes Richard,

Making home affordable packages are also completed by myself and four of my clients. The 90 days not knowing is very hard. They request more information, upon getting it they ask for more. Trust is running low. I'm in the Sacramento area. Unemployment is 12% plus and more than than 10% of all the loans in this area are now 60 days or more delinquent. I've heard some say it is 19%. Media reports from the San Francisco Bay area indicate that 10% there are 60 days or more delinquent also.

My home and rental homes lost all equity last year and are now well underwater, I had 35% equity in them in 2005. My apartments went negative cash flow in 2006 and are now underwater and in foreclosure. I am on the brink of chapter 7 or 11. I hope to keep my home completing a 40 year 2% obama workout, that could offset being underwater $ 200,000 owing $500,000 on a $300,000 house. This deal could work because it has net income of $1,000 from a cottage and an RV space that I rent out. I hope to keep one income property also, where my parents live as the caretakers. I currently have 20 well documented workout packages pending plus two short sales, all through Prudential NorCal Realty, these are all for myself, my past clients, other agents, and their past clients, and all was begun in April 09. I can deliver a great deal to someone or I can partner with an investorm to profit from my senior independant living apartments, which I've owned and managed for 8 years, time is running short to sell, workout, or lose this property now listed on loopnet.com - just go to loopnet.com and search multifamily, Sacramento, Cal., 28 apartments, $1,575,000 - I have several good ideas to profit from that situation. The loan balance is $1,269,000 @ 4.08 % 24 years remaining - with Chase - it was one of many WAMU multifamily loans they absorbed. I got behind in 08 and 09 from turnovers as twice as many people moved in and out. Also, in 05 through 07 the interest rates driven by Bernake as he raised rates 50% over 18 months - loan went from 5% to 7.5% and payments increased 50%… I was unable to fill the gap, got behind, tried to workout the loan, they were very aggressive, Filed NOD June 18th - an exparte motion took all July income and transferred operation to a reciever July 17 - receiver is losing tenants and putting the bank in jeopardy.

SY mike mikejaeger@live.com

I need to know the secrets of Loan Modifications. I am scared that I could lose my home or that my lender will only play games and then my loan mod will not go through. I want to know what I might be getting myself into. Any information would be helpful. I think that there is so much to know about.

Yes, I think more accurate information on load mods would be very helpful for those in real esate investing/wholesaling. I know it would benefit us in working with clients in that position.

I have 5 Loans that need a loan mod. and wanting to see about pricing and if there is a free attorney reveiw before making a decision to move forward. Can you call me and give me your thoughts! I know this months there has been in laws and not sure which direction to go for my clients!

I have a modification loan with EMC which I don't know how long it will last. I am scared that one day , they might tell me that my modification plan is over. I am upside down in my home and they have told me that I don't even qualify to refinance if I wasn't upside down. I was hoping that Obama's Plan would work found out that it is not backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. I don't know what to do. I have been trying to get a short refinance but to no avail it is not happening. They told me that EMC and my second lien holder must accept it and neither mortgage company wants to say yes. I am so afraid that I will lose this home if they shall stop my modification.

It's so unfair not to mention terrible business practice. We have some good information on short refis actually. I hope we can get information that will help you.

warmly

–Richard

Richard, I think it is great you are trying to empower people through education. I deal with this everyday and there is alot of mis-information out there. We underwrite the risk for borrowers and the investors or guarantor on mortgage notes. Dealing with the servicing companies is quite frankly the wrong approach.

We by-pass the servicing companies because they have no interest in helping cure the notes. Why? Because they make way more money letting a note default and go to foreclosure. I'd be happy to share documentation of this from multiple sources.

The biggest challenge for borrowers is getting correct information on what truly happends behind the scenes. To say that a servicing company has incentive to cure notes is simply a lie or coming from an entity that doesn't know the truth.

In the past two days I have had three cases where the bank had supposedly put borrowers on a trial mod program, in one case it was the HAMP trial period. The borrower had paid two of the three months and was unable to get answers from the servicing co. they contacted me and I looked at the paper work. In short, they had been duped by the bank, the truth was the bank gave them all the paperwork for a trial period but did not sign the Freddie paperwork and send the agreement back to the borrower.

if the servicing company doesn't send a signed copy chances are the borrower isn't officially participating and the servicing company is absorbing those payments and reporting the borrower late to the credit bureaus.

Plus, after the third payment they are demanding full arrearages. This is becoming a common practice. I have seen this happen with internal programs too… one client lost 20K to this scam.

But, it starts at the top (the bailout scam) and funnels down…It is a battle and the losers are the investors and the borrowers.

The servicing companies have a lot of protection and they are making a ton of money.

Soon the small regional banks will be gone and the big guyswill have billions given to them from the federal government. i can't begin to explain the levels in this blog but I think it is important so folks know what they are up against. Here's one tip, if you get a HAMP trial period agreement from your servicing company make sure they send you a signed copy with the lenders signature on it before you send a payment. Read the agreement, unless the lender signs it and sends you a copy. Good luck Tim

Tim, THANK YOU, these are really valuable thoughts

warmly

–Richard

Sorry messed up a little - meant to say unless you get your lender to sign the paperwork and give you a copy by the language on the agreement you are not accepted on the plan. HAMP agreement has to be signed by you and the lender to be valid otherwise if you send a payment the lender will take it

Hii need help I have a 15 year mortgage with BOA no mortgage payment has been made for a year now. Process of modifyibg via NACA the loan bal is 790 so we do not qualify for obama relief program I need help I want to keep my home pls advuce we live in NJ. We are still waiting to hear from the bank ref modification I do not know what is going on but NACA say we will here from BOA its been over 4 month now nothibg but judgement notice please advice thanks

I would suggest contacting the lender yourself.

This is a good idea if you have an intermediary because you never know what that intermediary is or isn't doing. I have heard extremely mixed experiences with NACA, very bad and some good. Either way, call the lender yourself so you can check up on things for yourself. Please.

warmly

–Richard

Richard, I have been listening to your programs all these months. And, I am, over- hearing that Barbara all the time. We need a more dynamic person to teach the art of doing these loan mods.Nothing is ever really clear after you and Barbara finish your conversations.I have given this a lot of thought and I think that it should be- Mortgage Restructurings. Apparently, the restructure is more of a reality than this Loan Mod deal.They can lower the interest down to 2 per cent and restructure the entire loan. The payments are only 31 per cent of your income.I think that a lot of people are brain dead with the Mod business.Not trying to be negative-but helpful. I would like to talk to Tim.Tim sounds as if he really knows whats happening.

Thanks for the suggestions and ideas. Much appreciated. I'm not sure what is ever clear about this business but I get your point.

warmly

–Richard

Every single person that has posted their story are correct. I too, I become suspicious of Chase/Wamu. They are the most deceiving bank I have ever dealt with. Early on, I discovered their game of bait and switch. I have talked to upper management, and they are all in it. They just want to take people's money and then turn around and say: "sorry, you don't qualify for a loan modification". But the real questions is: if I don't qualify for loan modification, how come you qualify me for a loan that you knew I did not qualify to begin with.

Great points!

warmly

–Richard

I work for a company that does forensic auditing to get a loan mods based on violations in the law and paperwork, not on hardships. We have been VERY successful as we also do not go to the loan mod or risk management dept but straight to legal, because they are the only ones that have the authority to actually stop a suit, a foreclosure, or to change the terms and conditions of the note. Our changes are ALWAYS a fixed rate and permanent, and with all fees and penalties usually waved, not partially waved for 3-12 months with adj rates that go up over time. Your info is good in many respects but lacking in others. You need to smack these people hard. I got more, but I hate typing!!!!

Thanks! I'd love to hear more.

warmly

–Richard

This should explain a lot…..

Lenders avoid redoing loans, Fed concludes
Study cites lack of profit in aiding the distressed
By Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff | July 7, 2009

Mortgage lenders don’t try to rework most home loans held by borrowers facing foreclosure because it would probably mean losing money, a study released yesterday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston concludes.

The Boston Fed’s findings suggest the Obama administration’s major effort to solve the foreclosure crisis by giving the lending industry $75 billion to rewrite delinquent loans to more affordable levels is not likely to work.

One of the study’s coauthors, Boston Fed senior economist Paul S. Willen, said the government would be better off giving the money directly to struggling borrowers to help them with their payments, rather than to lenders that are averse to working out the troubled loans.

“Loan modification is not profitable for lenders,’’ Willen said. “If it were profitable, they would go out and hire staff.’’

US Representative Barney Frank, head of the House Financial Services Committee, said the study results may provide answers about why so few struggling homeowners have been able to get help.

Frank, a Newton Democrat, said he is holding a hearing Thursday on his proposal to provide government loans to homeowners who have lost their jobs and can’t qualify for loan modifications and other help because they don’t have income.

“The problem is worse than we thought,’’ Frank said. “The failure to do these modifications means the whole situation stays bad longer.’’

The Fed’s study found that only 3 percent of seriously delinquent borrowers - those more than 60 days behind - had their loans modified to lower monthly payments; about 5.5 percent received loan modifications that did not result in lower payments.

Does a 2 month forbearance agreement mean you are "screwed" when it expires IF your financial situation has declined? The house has lost $220,000 in value since purchase date in 9/07. Purchase price was $383,000. I just received notice today that they need a financial update along with a new hardship letter. They do not even know yet that my financial situation has declined, specifically to job loss; where as initially the hardship was income reduction. Any advice/comments?

With a partner, I have three houses in San Francisco, all still with their heads above water, barely. We decided to go with the hand we were dealt by the Fed and try to get loan mods. These are currently underway, sort of, at three different banks or servicers. AHMSI, a servicer, has been fairly nice to us on two of the houses, but taking a long time moving things along–they asked for my 6 mo. P & L three times and I eventually had to update it due to the time lag. So here we wait, just a month from the 'foreclosure' date, or the date they can set the actual date i guess.

I feel we have to be constantly 'nice' to the people on the phone (many times, some backroom in India) and beginning to feel the comments about attorneys and doing forensic audits to apply much more pressure, may be the better path. AHMSI finally told us that one of the two houses qualified for their 'affordabliity, Obama-esque plan and that they 'had sent to us 27 pages of new forms to fill out' which have still not arrived, three weeks later.

Sooo, it's back to the phones on Monday, to cajole and harangue them to send us the —- forms, etc.

The process IS very SLOW.

The outcome is still hanging in the balance. We may proceed to sell one or more properties, or hire attorneys to do forensic audits then do lawsuits vs continue on the slow road to who-knows-where. . .Good luck to all of you out there! I would like Ron Paul & Co. to eliminate the institution of the Fed ASAP, as one big further step in this entire process of reviving our moribund economy.

Can't agree more. It's insane. But don't give up, just keep up the phone calls!

warmly

–Richard

I receive about 3 calls a day from individuals or firms who want to do a loan mod on four different properties I own. They want to charge me from $1000 to $2400 per property.

My problem is that I am just scraping by with heavy repair expenses on these properties and legal fees for a lawsuit that I am involved with. I can't afford $1000 right now.

I am not sure what these people can do for me that I can't do myself. It would really help if I could get a 6.75% loan for $180,000 adjusted down and an adjustable rate mortgage for $210,000 adjusted down and modified to a fixed rate loan.

I would like to get whatever program that you offer. Several months ago, I saw you offer it for something like $100. I could afford that. I would hope that it would help me understand what I am up against regardless of wether I try to do these mod myself or hire someone to do them for me. I think I prefer to try to do them myself as there appears to be a lot of scams out there at this time on these programs.

Bob Miles

I think it would be great. I'm on a forbearance plan right now with Chase but I never got the paperwork in the mail like they said I would. I called them about a month ago and the only thing they said was that I was approved for something and that I should get the paperwork in the mail. I haven't paid anything yet towards the forbearance plan. However, just last Friday, I received a call from Chase asking me why I haven't paid anything towards my forbearance. I said I haven't received anything from them and didn't even get any details towards the payment. She said based on what's on the system, my payment was supposed to start on July 1st. Problem was I called them in June and was told that I was approved for "something" but didn't give me any details on when it would start or how the program works. All they said was that I should get something in the mail.

To date, I have paid one payment towards the forbearance plan and still awaiting for the results of the loan mod. Since I'm planning to take this into a side business, I would appreciate learning more details from the call.

Loan Mod is very easy and simple. You have to know to if yourr property is owned by fannie or freddy then you will be eligible for Obama plan wichis 31% of your gross income. You have to be carefull of the the # of expenses that you declare that how lot of people are getting disqualify. I have been very successfull in helping a lot of people to do it by them selves. if your property is owned by a private investor just put your house in short sale because they will not offer you a deal that will worth keeping the property. everybody need to understand that loan Mod is not a loan reduction and lawyers can do anything for you that you are not able to do by yourself. Lenders prefer talking to the people directely than any 3rd party. I think a seminar is a good idea, That is exactely what I am doing showing people what they need to do and say in, I just do it person to person not in a big scale.

Seems like you've caught on to how to do this really well. Thank you for helping people this way. I hope to hear from you as to what you are doing that is working!

warmly

–Richard

I have a friend that works for B of A forclosure dept. in Chandler AZ that says they are "over" helping people. They now just want to take back the homes ASAP to get them off of their books. Richard if you want more input, feel free to email me. I have been through a forclosure, I would love to discuss the details.

Yes, Definietyly i would like to learn more. I am currently doing Loan Mods myself. Extra inforamtion will be useful Thanks Leticia Hernandez

Hello,

My mortgage is thru American Home Mortgage Servicing, and they are pressuring me to pay on what I am behind, but I lost my job a couple months ago and they will not work with me on modifying my loan. I can make my payments on time, but all I ask is for them to help me with adding the two months that I am behind to my principal balance, which I will be ok with making my payments on time. What can I do about this? They say investor does not allow a modification. Please help

Maria Castillo

I would like to see what you have that may provide additional information, as there are a lot of lenders doing this 3 month trial, however it has been my experience if the homeowners makes their payment as agreed the temporary agreement has always been made permanent.

 I hope so. I am curious as to how many mods you have this experience with. Thank you!

warmly

–Richard

Have you done a refiance in the last 3 years? Save your cash and get ready to fight. There are a lot of no cost things you can do to help yourself in preparation of kicking the lender in the head with a lawsuit where the lender has to answer you questions not the othewr way around. DO NOT be giving out information to a lender that can be used against you if you have refinance in the last three years.

Get over your self pity, millions of people didn't put themselves in this situation voluntarily, faulty financial statements, inflated property values,greedy lenders, brokers and appraisers did!

Short Sell if you property home is under water and you have not done a refinance within the last three years. Bankruptcy and lawsuits do not bother Chase, Citigroup, AIG, Car Dealers and hundreds of others and using these techniques should not bother you either.

Collect your evidence yourself for free and sue the SOB's

People need all the information they can get about working with these deceitful banks. Our income has been reduced by 60% over the past 1.5 years. We have never been late with a payment to date. We began applying for assistance from the bank in July of 2008. We had a 90 day forbearance that did not require any payments and we were then put into a temporary modification program that reduced our payment by 8%. It was a help and we continue to make all our payments but we cannot afford food and gas to do so. WaMu/Chase reported us to the reporting agency as late during forbearance. We were not able to learn what temporary payment included and how our money was being used. We felt that they were using a loan mod as a carrot on a stick to get money from us while they led us by the hand right into foreclosure. We hired an attorney, she sent letters to them requesting disclosure and they still will not respond. They have since paid our delinquent property taxes and are paying the insurance.

The attorney and the negotiator go back and forth about who is going to record their conversations and everything is at a standstill. We are the original owners, put our sweat equity and all our life’s savings into the home. We worked with a building company that built the shell and we did all the grunt work and finished it.

We acted as our own GC and were taken by the builder because the under estimated the priced make a sale and when the bids came in higher they refused draw requests putting us into a situation to use money from all other sources to keep construction moving and a high interest situation at the end.

The house has electrical problems, retaining wall problems and much more on the ToDo List.

The mortgage is $500,000 and the home, with its problems, is worth $325,000 or less and it is over sized and over priced for the neighborhood.

The realtor does not think we could short sale the house with the outstanding issues.

Should our attorney be showing the comps and the ToDo List to the bank? Or keep our mouth shut? Is the bank more likely to work with us and keep us in the home if they know that they will have a problem selling it? KAT

KAT, I haven't seen a house that can't be short sold. I think your Realtor is wrong. It's all a matter of price. Find another Realtor is my suggestion, or do a 9 Day House Sale if you have the time and the ability in that direction. Just show the documentation of what has to be fixed and estimates for it to prospective buyers. They will see you have done your homework. If the value is $150K, so be it. Show all this to the lender in compelling detail with 100 photos and estimates and they WILL most likely approve the short sale.

warmly

–Richard

My investor, thru my servicer National City, a TARP purchased bank by the grace of God PNC, called and offered me a "modification" that is $600 more per month than what the original mortgage amount was. Of course, I had to have more income to qualify which is a catch 22 in this economy.

The home has lost almost 30% and while I have lived here ten years, I was previously making a wonderful income in the old economy.

Life has changed a great deal. I now work two jobs just to make 40% of what I previously earned. I'm near retirement so no one really wants to hire an old codger.

And intellectually, I'm inclined to just let them have the keys rather than fight the fight. Real estate taxes are outrageous and based on the old economic valuation. Of course, all legal fees etc would be tacked on to the end of the mortgage. No valuation reduction.

Everyone in the house is working which is something new since all wanted to continue living here, but it really just seems silly as this depression is only 50% through and we'd be throwing good money on a depreciating asset and wind up further underwater if I signed the stupid "modification".

The home still needs much work and good luck selling it in this market. If priced below 200k then it might sell but my investor would then be forced to realize a huge loss. I don't feel sorry for them. Just as in my case, this is the new reality, the new adjustment. It's called mark to market and if it makes the bank/investor insolvent so be it. They did it to me. Karma's a bitch.

Kim, your note is just so right on. How many millions of others would benefit from your cold hard logic? Why work to be a slave to a house if you are so underwater and further victimized by the outrageous local taxes? I'm not sure we can know if this depression is 50% through or not. It could go on for many years. We can't know that.

Your note should be read by thousands who are in this position and hopefully they will think long and hard about what they really want.

warmly

–Richard

I had previously aligned myself with two companies that claimed to be law firms and the law firms allowed them to represent that the people doing the modifications were their employees when in fact they were just hiring anyone off the street. I have lost a lot of money in earned commission by these people being inept and either not being able to accomplish anything for the home owner or just plain incompetence and in one case we lost about $25,000 in earned commission when the credit card company seized the money do to complaints and then the company changed its name and it is unlikely that I will never see any of this money (At least thats' their story). This company should get a trophy from the rip-off report for the amount of complaints they have gotten. I am soured on the whole industry. I feel very bad about the people that have put their faith in these companies based on representations made to them that were nothing but lies and cover-ups. and completely unethical.

I completely agree. I can't tell you how many people I have spoken to who have told me similar stories. That is why I am VERY reluctant to endorse or refer anyone. I have only done it with a few people. I also say that if you have someone else work for you, that you verify they are really doing something. Call the lenders yourself now and then. You can't afford to delegate everything without checking up. As they say, trust but verify (and be careful about who you trust.)

warmly

–Richard

If you could modify loans, you would be beating clients off with sticks. You would be much too busy to send these emails. Come on!

I never had an original idea in my life. All I do is collect information from the best people I can find, the real experts, and use it myself but more importantly make it available to you.

warmly

–Richard

Hi Richard, I have been thinking about doing Loan Mods however it seems to me Banks are not really cooperating with the Property Owner many times its months before they get it answer and its not a reliable response. Since every bank is different what would you recommend to be successful in this Mod Process? Thank You Sir

There is still a lot of room in the loan mod business. If it was easy, then there would be no need for someone to help! I recommend getting educated and continually talking to people who are successfully doing a lot of mods, and doing what they are doing! Hopefully I can make that simpler for you by bringing those folks in and having them spill the beans to my subscribers such as you.

warmly

–Richard

Richard.. I too, have my loan thru Wells Fargo…this has been going on for 9 months.. had a mediation last week..was a joke..nothing resolved…
I was there and a mediator. and a phone…two reps from W. Fargo on the phone.. they want more details info on my P & L…??? I amd self employed, like Kristen who wrote in a stement above me… Anyway.. they said they will get back with me with in 45 days ,, another review..???
Someone else, is offering me a Forensic Audit.,, do you think this is a good ideal at this stage, or should I wait for wells Fargo to get back with me, before or id I start this?.. Or, Richard have you heard of this , Forensic Audit, they are Th Truth in Lending LLC??? Please help me.. thank u…kk

Hello Richard In my area the homes have droped to as low as 25% of the High. People still do not want to short sale. Of coarse it is very emotional. The short sale would keep the deficency from being as large as a forclosure. Also many clients still make the same base pay but without the overtime they were getting it is hard to keep up yet the banks have said that they would not do a loan MOD if they were not late. It seems like the system is full of empty promises. I have worked short sales that have taken 11 months to be approved as the bank is very slow. This slow process just makes things worse. The banks have systems in place to lend in a month but cant us them to do short sales? Keep up the good work. You are a voice that we need in this economy.

Thank you Bernie. It really is all due to my subscribers and what people like you contribute. Much appreciated. I can't believe 25% OF the highs, not that I don't believe you, just find today's situation so outrageous that I can't find the words.

warmly

–Richard

I'd like to hear from someone who does forensic audits. It does seem like the only way to get leverage must be through the threat of being able to use the legal system. Can you do a series that explains the forensic audit process and make it as thorough as you have the loan mod series?

Thanks!

Hi Richard,

Here's my situation. I acquired my property through subject 2 and placed into a land trust back in Oct 2004. The property was used as an investment initially for the first 3.5 years. Fail behind once and was able to get the lender to work with us. Since then, my husband and I have downsized and moved into the property. It took us a month to move in after having to move my last tenant out. My husband and I were both working at the time. Since then, I have lost my job and my husband work has been cut back drastically. We also discovered shortly after moving into the property that we had a major water issue…We received a bill for over $300 for the water…this was extremely high. This is when we had discovered we had issues with the main water line due to the type of material the builder used (polybutylene); which has also been used throughout the entire house.
My husband has slowly been trying to repair the polybutlyene with PVC piping. We are living in a construction zone: We have no kitchen and no living and dining room because the ceilings are exposed, etc.

In the meantime, the previous owner is trying to sue me and claiming mortgage fraud. There has never been any intent to dupe the previous owner in any kind of way; despite the fact I was never told about the "polybutylene".
We are approximately 10mos behind on the mortgage due to the lack of income. My husband works when there is work for the tradeshows; and collects unemployment in the interim between jobs. I had income coming in but not significant enough to pay the mortgage.

I don't want to lose our home…I'm not sure what kind of help there is for us. I've been hearing all this stuff about forensic analysis/loan mods. My prayer is that we can get the mortgage payment lowered based on the income that is currently coming in; and of course property values has dropped drastically. One of the units in our subdivision went into foreclosure and was sold for $19,000 through HUD.

Can you offer any suggestions?
Thank you for all of your assistance.

Just some advice to the author/owner of this comment section and site. It would be very valuable to put the date of the post along with the time shown due to the fact that information is changing daily, and something posted one day, could very well no longer be meaning or the answer in the future.

As for my own situatuon, as of August 20, 2009, my wife and I are still current on our mortgages, and still both employed. We began 2009 with reduced earnings/hours on both our jobs. We have too much credit card debt (a separate problem, but very closely mingled with the mortgage/home situation), and during the spring/summer of 2009, 5 of our credit cards had their interest and minimum payments nearly tripled in some cases, making them totally unaffordable, to which we have stopped paying on since June/July, 2009. This probably has ruined some chances for certain situations with our mortgage issue. We have 2 mortgages. First is a 5/25 mortgage: interest only fixed for 5 years at 7.75%, variable at year 6 on. 2nd mortgage is a 15 year fixed, ballon payment of balance at year 16. Our house is underwater as well, but the value has risen about 7% this year, after losing about 35% since 2008. Remember, we are current, have lost enough income this year, and face possible increase in 2012 to unaffordable payments with variable interest kicks in & have delinquent credit cards this year. I talked to our mortgage company, IndyMac for what can be done to help our situtation before it gets worse, and they pretty much said nothing now, call back in 4 or 5 weeks, as some new plan is in the works that may help us. This fits exactly what I have been reading in the news media for people like myself and others about the mod situation. Most are not getting them, as it is more profitable to the lenders to foreclose and sell at a loss, because it allows the bank to get a NEW mortgage on their books that is profitable than the delinquent loan eing adjusted, even with foreclosure costs as well. My advice at this moment is to keep watching the media/news, lots of information is coming out, much of it harsh reality for home owners getting screwwed, banks winning out and controling government becasue right now, the government is not acting in favor of the consumer/home owners.

It is very clear to me that all of us need a lot of help! All of the above comments show me that not too many people know how to nail anything! Maybe you should take a good hard look at your classes and restructure them….

After looking at all of our comments, I only see a few dynamos! Some of those are the people that should be teaching our class.Money is very tight now and you should take that into consideration when you start figuring out what you want to charge us.My advice would be to show us a couple of classes before the hard core marketing begins!!!!!!

We need real help.

Patty Taylor

I am a realtor I am very interested in doing loam mod.But I started helping 2 past clients than came to me for a help.I did not charge for my help because I am not prepare yet.I want to be able to do loan mod as business,know how to do the short sale the quiquest posible,learn about the tricks that are beeing use in the mortgage forensic audit,also the secrets on how to settle with credit cards debts,what is your best package programs that include all these courses that will teach me how to do it for other people,I want to buy it.
Coming back on the loan mod I am not sure what is going on ,but helping my 2 clients one is with BANK OF AMERICA HOME LOAMS we faxed the documents that they requested we did twice and they did not receive them, by the way an outside company is handle the mod program, I am not sure if bofa owns it or not,But we have the receipts for it,also we overnighted 2 trial patments to Bank of America using a certified checks from a local banks and they never receive them, we have the trucking number that they did.After I spoke to them we will send the payments using western union a way that they suggested.My other client had a mortgage with EMC that now Chase owns it.We fedex the loam package and they said they never receive it we was the copy that they did, they suggest to fax it.What is going on.

Yes, just worked on one and Owner just made the last of the 90 Day Trial Period Payments. They are still waiting to see what happens. Payment is 50% less than normal payment and We still can't figure out how that would work.

-Patrick

I am actually doing loan mod's / short refi’s, payoffs.. Although We have just began, I am seeing it is very difficult especially with some banks not even willing to negotiate and then others we have short payoffs in place and with the investors already in place to buy and then rent back to the owners. I am always open to advice please call me office @602-277-0520. I am in phoenix.

I believe that these banks are very much like cockroaches, they scurry about looking for a place to hide when the spotlight is turned on them. That is what I had to do. I filed two complaints with the FTC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, contacted my state and local district representative, both of my U.S Senators and did enough digging to find out who my investor was. I have stopped dealing with the incompetent boobs at the bank and am now talking only to my investor. After 10 months of fighting thru the maze of bureacracy at the bank who is servicing the mortgage , I have told the middleman to take a hike since they cannot seem to locate their brain from the other extreme of their body. Since contacting my investor directly, I am finally making some headway on principle reduction, interest rate reduction, elimination of all late fees, and dealing with the true value of my home as opposed to the "fantasy" world of what it used to be.

What you have to do is be able to look at negotiating this with your bank as an all or nothing proposition. If you lose, you lose…but not without pulling out all the stops. If all else fails, you can tie this up for months by using a TILA attorney to perform a forensic audit. This is particularly effective if your loan has been sold or purchased by your new mortgage servicer. The fact is that you NEVER signed any agreement with them. If the loan is sold or purchased by them, you were denied the opportunity to work out or negotiate a modification with the lender who you agreed to do business with on the original loan.

There are many more details than what I have mentioned, but I was providing the 50000 ft overview. You can win, but you have to be willing to walk this thing out without any fear and also be willing to fight with your back against the wall. In the end…it is only a house.

Hi Richard:

I can say for a fact that modifications have made the news every day some where. However, it is clear that the mortgage servicers are falling behind due to all the requests being submitted. Conducting phone interviews, submitting preparations for forbearance plans, partial claim plans, budget plans, custom budget control plans, repayment plans, re-instatement plans, pre-mod plans, traditional mod plans, electronic mod plans, hardcore mod plans, short sales or quick sales as well as the current administration mod plans one could say that there still a short coming of man/woman power working quickly on these programs within the operations overall.

Due to the fact the servicers are claiming the cost can run from $25,000 to $50,000 each time they foreclose but, if they are being comforted in kickbacks, incentives to just go ahead and foreclose then write off the remaining loan balances then why would they be more agressive in reaching homeowners for resolve? The pre-mod programs has several faults associated with it that most borrowers are not told upfront.

1) If the borrower's income changes at all while on the plan this can result in immediate termination. Most seek upfront funds.

2) If the borrower's submitts a payment late then this can be grounds for termination.

3) If the borrower's expenses change while on the plan then this can result in early termination.

4) If the borrower's income verbally changes after borrowers has already submitted documentation showing otherwise can truly lead to termination.

It is clear to all of us that have been working this industry for twenty years or so that many changes have been taking place, but the one thing that hasn't change is that the mortgage servicers are still out to collect as much as possible upfront from the borrowers. If someone truly needs direction in how to win submitting their case to their mortgage servicer then I would highly recommend that they read this workout book. LOSS MITIGATION WORKOUT BOOK by Mr. Watkins. It gives a step by step approach that can land a borrower in a winning position. The book can also be purchased at major outlets like Barns & Noble, Target, Borders and others.

Thank you for your time and your valuable input.

The Watkins Team

i think it's all bs right now can't trust anybody gov,banks.everybody needs to get honest and forget the creed!!!!!!

There is not one simple answer, some people can do it on their own. I would reccommend a do-it-yourself training guide to help. Others may need the help of a professional. I offer clients all options. I am also offering credit restoration services to help them get back on track. I use a wholesale loan processing service to do my actual negotiations. I believe that consumers will have better luck by getting training or hiring a pro.

we are currently in the obama plan 4 months after filing out the required paper work we were told it will be 7 months in total before completed!

Mike Jaeger Sacramento California
Update On My Distressed Apartments

Richard, I have a response from a reader on this comment page. I recieved an email from a reader after my first posting, on this comment page. He has some interest in my Sactramento distressed apartments. I will follow up with him and post more later about my progress.

Thanks for reading our posts and sending an email to me.

Good vibes for and from your readers are a good thing.

SY Mike

jz,
I would like to know more about how to sue the lenders. Who are you working with?
Thanks,
Kristen

I am attorney licensed in multiple states examining doing loan mods and restrucutrings for people or associating with some reputable groups or forensic companies. I also have a real estate brokers license but looking to take this over the top rather than fighting the ccommercial backslide occuringcommercial backslide ab. I believe this would be an extremely beneficial series and look forward to continued discussion regarding this and short sales. Best.

I had a very hard time getting my loan modification but in the end it went thru!!! its not exactly what i had in mind but it was better than foreclosure ! here is how i acccomplished my loan modificaion 1st i had to submit a ton of paper work including our monthly expenses and last years tax return 2nd i had to submit a letter of hardship third and this was the hardest part i had to call almost every day to see if they had recieved these documents in hindsight i should have sent the documents by certified mail 3rd I recoreded the name and extention of every one i spoke with and what they said verbatim which was usually their still processing your request 4th i finally reported the mortgage company to the better buissness burea for all the run around they were giving me this eventually got me thru to a loan modification team 5th i still had to call everyday and record who i spoke with and what he staus was after 4months from my first phone call to my last i recieved a letter of acceptance which put me into an arms loan modification they lowered my interst rate 4 points for the first year of the loan then it goes back up the second yr 2 points and back up to what i was originally paying when i 1st applied the third year like i daid it wasnt exactly what i hoped for but it is keeping my husband and my four children in our home for now they did apply my missed payments to the pricipal of the loan which is making us start from scratch on what we had payed down before our finacial situation had put us inthe position of forclosure but they did say that after 12months of on time payments we could refinance considering we would no longer be in delinquient status . I hope my experience has helped explain what may lie ahead if your trying to get a loan modification on your own . Godbless and be persistent it soes pay to some degree

Thank you for your story and I hope it inspires others.

warmly

–Richard

We want to know how to reach a good TILA Attorney. We have had it! It is Taylor Bean-their investor Sparta. Taylor Bean worked out a Forebearance for me but it was the same payment as my mortgage-then I got my commissions reduced drastically-We need help NOW. Who knows about NACA?They do loan mods, restructure,refinance(no closing,no nothing fees, 4 per cent or so.www.naca.com They charge nothing-non profit.You must attend a meeting first.They do everything but JUMBOS.Does anyone have any feedback on them?  Patty Taylor

Hello,
Could you send me your telephone number or email. Thank you,

I bought the course and have been working on a handful of loan mods, each with a different bank. Not a SINGLE one has been completed in over 5 months now, and we're not even close to finishing. The banks are playing all kinds of games. And I believe the HAMP program is a total SHAM! It's just another delay tactic. Most of my cients just want their interest rate lowered, some are only a month behind, and STILL the lenders want to defer them to the HAMP program. Some clients say they don't want to be involved in it becuase they don't trust the "Obama plans", and just want to work directly with the lender, but they are given no choice. And I noticed another thing … a PATTERN that keeps repeating too. As SOON as we submit a client's Loan Mod package, the lender decides to file a foreclosure almost immediately thereafter (if they're late on payment s, of course). It seems they're covering their backs. And they also keep trying to avoid working with us as a loan workout company. They pretend they didn't get the authorization paperwork, we fax it, again and again and again. They also do that with the loan mod paperwork. Then if they admit they received it, they say it's not complete. Then if they get everything (after we fax it 10 times) they say "oh every page has to have the loan number on it". So we do that and fax it again and wait another 2-3 weeks. It's CRAZY!! What is going on with these banks that took the Taxpayers money in the form of Govt. Bailouts and then REFUSE to BAIL OUT THE AMERICAN homeowner's and taxpayers that need help becuase they lost their jobs through no fault of theirs?!?! It's a total nightmare, and does not seem to be getting any better. Someone needs to take the helm and expose these lenders and their corrupt servicers, who have NO intention of ever modifiying the loans, but seem to prefer to foreclose. Why is that? I just don't get it. How do we get around this nonsense and blatant corruption? Why isn't anyone calling them out on the floor? The banks seem to be working very hard at developing back-room strategies to throw us off (the loan modifers) and to delay the process as much as possible to discourage people from even TRYING. They seem to relish in making the process SO DISTASTEFUL that you just give up, roll over, and lose your home to foreclosure. Why is the media not talking more about this heinous process called "Loan Modification"? Its an absolute nightmare, for sure. I know, becuase I am a victim myself. And honestly, doing these loan mods for others is NOT as easy as we are led to believe. It's VERY HARD, very time consuming, and the thing that I am MOST AFRAID of is that after all this work that my clients and I have done to get these things done that the lender has asked, that it still might not happen in the end. And I would feel really horrible about taking their money, if I don't succeed in getting them a suitable workout, if at all. But I have worked very hard and long to help these loan mods get done, and I deserve to be compensated for my time and effort, but I want to truly succeed for their sake. What to do??

I hope we can get you some answers. I feel for you. But I also think it will work out. You sound very dedicated and persistent. I have seen people succeed in this business time and again with that combination.

warmly

–Richard

Richard, I retired from banking and recently started doing loan modifications for some clients of mine. Even though I am familiar with the process, I have only been doing them selectively, since it is very time consuming. However, I have been getting a lot of referrals from friends and clients and I am looking to buy a loan modification software that will help me speed up the process.
Can you recommend a good system with a reasonable price?

Something like "emodifymyloan.com" (they have a special for $97). They seem to have a good product, but it is one of those do it yourself one time deal. Please advise. Thanks,

Mario

Richard, It's time for all of us trying to do the right thing and save our homes (only to be getting screwed by the banks) to unite. There is strength in numbers. Please suggest a way for all of us to complain to our government. If all of us send our complaints and experiences to the same leaders they will be so bombarded they will have to get more involved and police these un-co-operative banks. Thank you. Sharon

To Chris @ 12:46 pm:
I like your approach. Please go into more detail about who actually helped you uncover your investor. how you reached them and what did you have to say or supply. Complaining to the FTC seems to be a dead end. It's been over a year with the bank for us and we need real specific result based information, please, please, please.

1.We do not have a Freddie or Fannie loan. Does that mean that our bank owns the home or is it an investor??
2. How did you contact the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency?
3. We have paid an attorney who sent a letter requesting information from the bank - they have ignored it and she is doing nothing about it. How can I find a TILA attorney to do a forensic audit and what does it cost?

Thank you.

I went to see a loan mod counselor because work has slowed and when work was good we still had problems paying our mortgage. We were told that I made too much $ to qualify and had also never been late or missed a payment. I believe we were right at the 31% ratio. We were very hopefull after hearing of Obama's plan for folks who were struggling but not late. Because of the economic downturn we cannot take advantage of lowere rates and refinance because our home value has dropped. This situation sucks and hardly seems fair.

i AM INTERESTED IN OTHERS DOING THE WORK

I'd like to get in touch with you regarding forensic audit for some of my clients. Please contact me at your earliest convenience. Thank you

I don’t know what other attorneys charge for a review of Mort. Docs. The Pay Option Arms we have reviewed took an average of 5 hours. My billable time is $150.00 per/hr. $750.00 for a literature review. This does nothing to challenge your lender.
I have accomplished one successful law suit based on TILA violations. Once the case was filed, we ended up over 100 billable hours.
A 13 million dollars home was worth spending $20,000.00 to save it, but even then you need a good judge, and other functions that are out of our control. Most people are mislead on just what an attorney is able to do, and the real cost of a “Forensic Loan Audit”.
If you are approached by someone claiming to be affiliated with an attorney:
1. Ask for the name, and telephone number
2. Verify that the attorney is a state bar member, in good standing
3. Call the attorney, and ask there hourly fee schedule.
4. Ask if they are licensed to practice law in your state.
5. Ask how much they charge to take your case to court.

• We strongly advise low to moderately priced real property owners to:
1. Make sure you have what is termed a “Toxic Asset”.
a. ARM, written within the last 4 years
b. Pay Option Arm “particularly, world savings, Wachovia, and wells”
2. Send registered letters with loan docs detailing your issue; to:
a. FBI fraud division
b. FTC consumer fraud division
c. Attorneys General of your state
d. The US Treasury
*if you are going to involve federally elected representatives; forget your political affiliation. It only maters that your contact has your interest.
e.g., My congressman is Bill Posey. You would not want this person representing you in the current White House.

Lots of people in trouble, desperately trying to keep a roof over their heads that they cannot afford, giving the good fight, mostly losing the battle. I have serveral comments that I hope will provide insight and be helpful.

The first thing you need to understand is that banks do what is in THEIR financial best interest, not yours. They have no goal, obligation or program avaIto help you save your home

Five months after hiring an attorney for Loan Mod Services began witholding the mortgage payments. Currently late 2 mont and ready for the third soon.

Question: What can the client/mortgagor expect in writing that is a response from the Lender and/or Investor Group? Our attorney says that he's at their mercy. If so, then why have we provided "last 2 months bank statements" twice now, as well as a full PL from the client's business. What does the mortgagor first receive in the way of feedback??

I noticed one comment about EMC and would like to relate a WARNING! Knowing that I do loan mods a friend referred a friend who had been working on a "loan mod" by herself with EMC. She was paying her monthly payments by wire and being assured that her loan mod team was "taking care of everything". Then a few weeks ago a man stopped by to tell her that she should be planning on moving soon (we have a redemption period in Colorado) because he had just bought her home at the foreclosure sale.
I called a real estate lawyer and she called a real estate lawyer and the answer was the same: she had been dealing with the foreclosure department of EMC which is TOTALLY SEPARATE from the foreclosure department and which, apparently is under no obligation to tell the client that they must also be in contact with the foreclosure department. So, while this woman was faithfully paying money to keep her "loan mod" in process and being told by the loan mod department that all was well, the EMC foreclosure department was foreclosing on her mortgage.

This will be exacerbated in Colorado because the Colorado Realtor Association has determined that only mortgage brokers (and a few lawyers) can do short sales and loan mods and the State of Colorado has coined a warning, "If you have to pay, walk away." — your banks will work with you on your loan modifications. AND, perceived violators of the law and regulations are being vigorously prosecuted.

Richard,

Charlie and I want to know EVERYTHING! But, one very important question is-what do you do when you made the loan with Taylor Bean but Wells Fargo owns it. I called Wells Fargo and they told me that I had to deal with TB. TB told me to call Wells Fargo.Lots of people have this problem. This is the first that I know of Wells Fargo in regards to my loan. I have a fixed 30 year.

I would like to know how to get the TILA ball rolling. I have a date October 7th.

I know about naca for a while.This is a non profit organization .They offer low interest rate,no downpayment,no closing cost related to mortgage.You have to be very patient, first they need to qualify the borrower and that can take for ever.If you are lucky they anwser your calls in the same day.They are very slow processors I believe is because they try to handle so much and they do not have enough people for it.the conselors are the processors also.We had a house inspection about 2 weeks ago and the department that review the house inspection report took 11 days to anwser.As a realtor I review with my clients the inspetion report and we decide what are we going to reply to the inspection ,but with NACA they are the ones that make the decision what to reply for it.I will say that working with NACA you will need double the time that you normally need with other lenders.

I am a Broker working 24/7 with short sales and foreclosures. I have many horror stories and a few successes. Of all of the comments read here, I am most interested in hearing from Shaun who does forensic auditing. He is correct, we all need to learn how to beat these criminals at their own game, there is no rhyme nor reason in the many different scenarios currently being played out in the Banks vs. the People game. The government so far has played right into the hands of the crooks who started the entire scam with credit default swaps. We clearly need a specific, logical process of self help in dealing with the situation, no one is going to do it for us. One thing is for sure…TRUST NO ONE at the banks/loan servicing departments. Their illogical, greed-driven processes serve no one but their own bottom line and no one is watching while the entire country goes down in flames. Don't watch TV or listen to anyone, we are less than half the way through this debacle. Wait 'til we get the next wave of foreclosures coming in October. Doesn't the government get it? Some "change".

WOW Richard, I fell it , those question that needs answers, and help, I am been trough the same situation, One of my chalenges that I have is to get educated to be able to help every single person who ask for my help, ( At least try my best ) even that my english is not very good, I have to read , study 4-5 times, when a normal person takes takes 1-2 times with perfect english. I am proud to said I been helping people that been scamed or lenders deny their loan mod. Richard I been doing loan mods part time, but I am ready to star doing loan mods full time, I am proud to told you that every single loan mod, that they ask me for help I ready help them, ( I pre qualfied them first) Some takes more then a year, But I am patient, some lenders deny the loan mod I -3 times, But every time they said NO, I fell the adrenaline trough my body, when I look those worry, scary faces , looking asking for my help, When I know that they can be able to help them. ( I go back and study every single loan mods webinar ) Richard it is to sad to see that people most of times they dont know where to go o who to trust . Richard some people dont pay me, at soon the got the loan mod on the mail , they dont want to answer the phone because their lenders told them that they dont have to paid no body for a loan mod. when they ready been deny the loan mod before. ( I will be very careful )

Thank you so much for all your help Richard.I Good bless you for give me the oportunity to keep helping people in need.
Sincerely.
Sissy. sorry about my english but I am still learning.

I just had a lawyer do a forensic audit on my loans for my rentals. He found a lot of errors that would allow me to hopefully file for a refund for fees and give me some ground for having the loan modified. He charges $695 to review both 1st and 2nd; $495 just for a first.

For those thinking of getting a forensic audit, make sure the person or company you're hiring are qualified to do them - meaning they are either lawyers or CPA's trained or how to do the audit. They would write the letter that you would enclose with your loan mod package and also the letter of request to the lender to provide the loan documents.

Richard, I have some experience with loan mods, helping clients who did pay an attorney represented firm/processing company to work on their behalf via our referral. Most with successful results here in IL, which is one of the toughest states when it comes to foreclosure rescue and distressed property consulting. We're one of the good guys always staying on the forefront of new legislation, keeping up with information, I've been subscribing to your emails since Oct. last year and did buy your MR Formula too. We always answer every one of our clients calls, sharing whatever updates we can provide, we keep detailed notes on each file and track every correspondence. As the months of this year have gone by though and especially since March when the "Home Affordability" stuff started to come out I've noticed a change for the worse with the servicing depts. of these banks. They all seem confused, inexperienced and disorganized which has both intentionally and unintentionally caused the "stalling" that you referred to. I'm really starting to question how valid the loan mod process has become, I recently had a client who tried to do a mod with WAMU/Chase on their own and was told after 7 months that even though they sent in piles of paperwork an underwriter had never looked at their file and it's been sitting in the imaging dept. the whole time…….what and how is that helping? That client has now gone late since they could hold on no longer. The reason I'm writing this is I've recently heard radio ads here locally for Loan Litigators.com, a firm that used to do mods but got fed up and is now soley working on FORECLOSURE DEFENSE and DEBT SETTLEMENT with the help of a network of attorneys. I talked to them briefly and I want to dig down and learn the truth about this process of FC defense and if it can really work. Thank you, Patrick Chicago, IL

Thanks. I might check them out. Much appreciated.

warmly

–Richard

So many people are being foreclosed on, doing short sales or have defaults on their credit reports. They will all be unable to buy homes for many years or to contribute to the economy. We are in our late 50s. We did everything we were supposed to and worked hard all our lives. If we loose our home we will never own a home again. Where do all of the people in this situation go from here? Is renting and leasing the only option?

What has been done to all of us by the banks is nothing less than war on our homeland. Someone in Washington must see this happening. Our rights are being violated by the banks when they do not comply with laws to provide information etc. Lawers are at their mercy. Our government is meant to protect us and they are not. We are fearful of being among the nations homeless population. Fear is driving us to look for help from other sources and we are being taken advantage of by them again and again. Somehow we need to organize the same way people did in the sixties during the Vietnam War. Could someone such as Emily might revise and post a generic letter regarding a forensic audit from an attorney as an example? Why keep it a secret? Many people have no resources left and need an understanding of how to approach the banks on their own.

Question. We have a tiny unfinished summer rental that we could not sell. It would require a lot of work to qualify as a year round shelter. What happens when fixtures are removed from a foreclosed home? Does anyone know if there would still be an opportunity of a short sale?

I am interested in your short sale flip program and funding if you have it.

Hi Mr desesperate. I been help a lot people in your situation, I never have to used a forensic audit, But If have to doit I will. What is your problem ?. Are you try to do a modification ? Do they deny ?. Did you call your lender ? what is your situation ? . Let me help you,
Sincerely Sissy.

Hi Richard, Just want to let you know that I got a nice surprise in the mail today from BofA. They've offered to modify my loan to 2.875% interest for 5 years, 10 year interest only payment, no negative amortization. Needless to say, I was shocked and pleasantly surprised. This is for a rental property and I haven't submitted the papers yet to apply for the modification. I stopped paying in May because I was hospitalized and lost my renter in that property. My situation has since been rectified and am actually just waiting for the forensic loan audit to be completed so I can include it in my loan mod application. I don't have to pay anything out-of-pocket for the deal. I really don't know what kind of program it is but this is not one of those trial mod deals.

Keep us posted, hope this works out for you. Income property mods can be tricky.

warmly

–Richard

Hi Mr. Desperate,

Each situation is different in forensic loan audits. The biggest thing that they look for are TILA violations and excessive fees charged. Initial findings on mine showed that I may be eligible for refund of fees of about $890. I only did the audit for my rentals as those are historically more difficult to negotiate though if you read my earlier post, I got something in the mail today prior to me submitting the papers.

Forensic loan audits aren't really a secret but the letters to the lenders should really come from an attorney as they know the exact language to use. It just gives someone a stronger case for modification if there are major violations in the loan.

Please feel free to email me directly if you have more questions and I'll help you as much as I could. Best regards and good luck!

i AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE TERMS, BUT I RECEIVED THE PACKAGE AND I AM INTERESTING IN THE SUBJECT TO DEALS, HOW DO I STRUCTURE THE DEALS, I HAVE LOCATED A HOUSE IN 'MLS' LISTED, IT IS WHERE I AM INTERESTED IN LIVING.

WHAT IS MY FIRST STEP?

I have heard from my processing company, even though a lot of files are being approved for the Making Home Affordable Program, there are still many that are being approved for traditional modifications. If clients are hesitant to sign up for your services because they figure the government's program is free and everyone qualifies, you should show them that there are still several lenders offering "traditional" modifications. These traditional modifications still require a very careful attention to detail when submitting to the lender, as well as consistent follow-up and endless patience. I believe it’s very important to work with a successful processing company to close files.

Great point. There is no magic here.

warmly

–Richard

I have been trying to work out a loan mod with Aurora to retain my home, to no avail. they are concurrently foreclosing and still reviewing my modification app.
Very frustrated and afraid that they will auction my home next week, while still haven't finished their part of the deal!! (BPO not done) HOPENOW intervention, and still they will sell my house before completing the workout. What can I do?

Hi Richard I have been doing loan mods since March 2009. What will really help me, is to have information on what the different lenders accept as far as their debt to income ratios or net cashflow amounts requirements are concern before they will qualify someone. I am not referring to the Home Affordable Refinance Program's 31% dti, but rather their in-house programs for someone that does not qualify for the Obama programs. Can you please comment on where I can find that. thanks Henk

Thanks, Henk, I will keep this in mind. I think you are right!

warmly

–Richard

Hi Richard
Can you look at my above mentioned question again and comment if possible. I think you misunderstood my question as your answer does not make sense. My question was whether you know where I can find the information on what the lenders accept as far as debt to income and cashflow are concerned before they approve a shortsale. I know that some lenders will not do a mod if the dti is not below 50% while others will consider a mod as long as there is positive cashflow.
I would really like to know your answer on this.
thanks
Henk

I am interested in doing a forensic audit, I am coming to the end of a forbearance and would like to work out something with my bank that is agreeable to me, but my credit score is low because of recent mortgage history.

Hello, my husband and I are in the last stage of modifying our loan for the MHA. I happen to look into my account for status update and they basically told me that we were approved and we should be waiting for our docs to arrive via Fedex. But my concern is that I was reading that they will be requiring an upfront fund before finalizing out process. My concern is that if we are obviously applying for this MHA workout, it obviously means we do not have money to pay an upfront fund. Now we are scared that the upfront fund will be too high and we are not going to be able to afford it. Can we negotiate for this fund to be applied to our modified loan?
thank you

Richard,
We are in our late 50's, filed chapter 7 in 2005. We're in Florida. My husband drives a truck for a company here in town, short runs, regional. His income has dropped in the last several years more and more. He can't get find another company to hire him..he has a felony from 25 years ago that used to be- he never hid it, (and never would even try to) he explained his bad decision, people still hired him, no problem, but it's a big problem these days. He keeps getting told, "No felonies, not ever!" We have had to make our house payments on the 16th of the month ever since we did the bankruptcy in 2005. Everybody wants their money on the 1st…We have not been able to make any payments since then. Our mortgagor won't take partial payments. To begin with we might have been able to make partial payments. We only owe about 55,000 on our home, been in it 10 years. It's a 30 year mortgage. It's about worth $117,000 I think. We filed all the paperwork in July. They asked for more in August. Now we have just been waiting. My husband calls them and they say no word yet. I have had a house cleaning business. At one time I had about 150 a week from it. Now I have NO clients. Some moved, others just coudn't afford it any more. As they dropped off, I couldn't find replacements. My husband's income has dropped since we filed and are waiting…they just keep telling us we are in the waiting list, all the info has been scanned in. We are about $1000 less income now monthy now than when we filed in July. Winter's coming, and with it sky high electric bills..We don't have money for an attorney. We have no savings. We have no retirement. My husband used to bring home 800 a week average. A good week was $1000 to 1200 bring home. It's been dwindling over the last several years. Now, this last month his total bring home pay was $2050. That was in a 5 payday month. Our house payment was around $750. Now we have to pay $5000 with late fees per our latest bill that just came. Now, property tax will be coming due in Nov, and there is nothing going into escrow to pay that…Every week I am trying to scrape together what we need to get our prescriptions, our food, and make sure the money that will come out automatically…term life insurance and auto insurance will be there. No car payments…vehicles are 99 and 94. Other than that we have phone and monitored security (this neighborhood has gone down) And, then, after that all goes thru there's enough for groceries and gasoline….and that's it! I don't think we have any way to do anything at this point because there is nothing left over for putting back…when they finally tell us we have to get out we will have that week's paycheck….already spent in my checkbook just waiting for the payments to go out. What options are there? What's the course cost? Is there anyone we should go to talk to? Is there any hope? My husband says he has given up. He said he just plods along not even lifting his head. I keep thinking of that movie that was titled "They shoot horses, don't they?!" We're just defeated…waiting to drop.

I have been working on a loan mod for 3 years now, with an attorney, we totally qualify, then yesterday we were told we were approved, now today we are told, our invester does not cooperate in our options arms loan, my attorney said there is nothing else we can do, they want 3000 a month for our new payment:(, we pay 1,8oo now, there is no way we can afford this, but my attorney said, this is our only choice, being the invester doesnt cooperate in government loans and we are in an option arms loan? is there any thing we can do?