Man fights to keep home from foreclosure

[n7hn]

I have spent the last 14 months working with my lender, everything that JohnnyFreddie explained as far as crazy amounts of paperwork submissions and hours and hours on the phone with a new person each time having to start over is true. I did not get the same positive result. Ive been told "You arent worth helping, your home has just lost too much value. Plus this isnt about helping you , its about whats best for us"

[[edit) my point being, no one worry, money just isnt being dealt out to the masses, relax, breathe ....

[ridgeabilly]

Interesting how all the bootstrap folks on this thread apologize for the illegal robo signing by the predatory lending bailed out banks and mortgage companies, but come down hard on the mortgage holders who have fallen on hard times. They'll be the first ones in line with their hands out after Daddy sells the store.

[xphillipjrx]

The ultimate goal is to get homeowners to resume on-time payments. Banks are willing to help people who can demonstrate that assistance will get them back on track.

You can call the bank at any time during your loan and request to skip payments. There is usually a limit such as max 2 per 12 months and no more than six over the life of the loan. The bank will take those payments and move them to the end of the term.

Another option they have is a temporary reduction of your payment. Your principal and interest payment can be reduced by 33% for up to six months or by 66% for up to three months.

You can tell the bank that you're broke from Christmas or that you crashed your car or that you had a death in the family. As long as you're on time when you make the request they will usually say yes. These two scenarios are for people with demonstrated income who can show that a short term lower or skipped payment will give them some wiggle room.

You are expected to have 2-3 months of your payment as savings. Many assistance measures take two months to become effective. The key to getting assistance is calling ahead of when you're out of money. They are less likely to work with you if you call when you're 30 days late with no chance of making the next payment.

The last step is loan modification. You need to prove to the bank that you are not making the same income that you made when you got the loan. The only solution is a reduction in payment for the rest of your loan. The above poster was spot on. The bank will do all the intrusive stuff she mentioned and they will likely lose a key document along the way. It can take almost a year for them to approve the modification and THEN you have to make three on-time trial payments at the lower amount or your modification will get bounced.

In plain language you need to say, "I need the bank's assistance so I can continue to make my payments on time". If you call like, "I lost my income, I don't have savings and I have no idea when I can make the next payment...but I need you to work with me" then you're out of luck. My wife and I did the reduced payment, the skipped payments and Oct-Dec was our three month trial for the loan mod. Our servicer is Citibank. We are now paying $200 less than before and it helps a lot. $200 buys a good amount of gas and groceries.

On the other hand I know a lady who was injured on the job and fell behind because her Workman's Comp was not enough to make the house payment. She fell behind 60-90 days and then caught up again when she returned to work. Then she got laid off a couple of months after that. She called for assistance a second time, but with no income the bank suggested deed in lieu of foreclosure.