Home Affordability -` Did Anyone Have Luck With It? - Page 2

[Fuamami]

Originally Posted by AnnaNova

c
checked with my husband, no we dont have pmi...
my husband called the home affordability program yesterday and relayed the situation to them, they told us to just keep calling them every few weeks and bug them about the progress... (insert a deep sigh here)... were are not in the situation where we'd have to foreclose the house, but thats where about 80 percent of our income is going... we had some unplanned major expenses this year and my husband had to cash out his 401k when he switched jobs, otherwise we wouldnt have made it... so i dont think anyone will let us refinance the house at this point...

Don't give up! Everything I've read seems to indicate that persistence pays off. I think what really helped us is not paying our mortgage, to be perfectly honest. When we were current we were pretty low on their priority list.

[AnnaNova]

Originally Posted by Fuamami

Don't give up! Everything I've read seems to indicate that persistence pays off. I think what really helped us is not paying our mortgage, to be perfectly honest. When we were current we were pretty low on their priority list.

ohhh thats scary... i mean not paying our mortgage... i guess we'll just keep calling for now, and in 30 days (well, less than that now) we'll see where we stand

[MamaEli]

Yes, we did. But, that is what my husband does for a living--working with banks, short sale departments, etc. Our mortgage went from $1600 to $1100! If he hadn't known the ropes inside out, it probably would not have happened. Hubby

[Porcelain Interior]

I don't know that not paying your mortgage will move things along any swifter. Being one of the people that did get accepted into the program- we never defaulted or paid or mortgage late.

Be careful!

[Fuamami]

Originally Posted by Porcelain Interior

I don't know that not paying your mortgage will move things along any swifter. Being one of the people that did get accepted into the program- we never defaulted or paid or mortgage late.

Be careful!

Well, it definitely depends on your situation.

In ours, we didn't stop paying to get them to work with us, we stopped because we were realistically only going to be able to make about one or two more full payments, and we didn't want to throw more good money after bad, you know? Why make two more payments if you're going to lose the house anyway? Why postpone the inevitable?

But it was what made the difference, according to the person I talked to at my bank. It was what got us transferred out of the department that we were originally applying in and into the imminent default department, where they made the decision.

[heatherweh]

[QUOTE=mnnice;14856089]

Originally Posted by heatherweh

Nope. Our home value has fallen 150% or something, so we literally have lost our life savings which we had used as a downpayment plus are totally upside down on our mortgage. If we sold our house now I guess we'd have to pay someone to take it, with what money I don't know. The plan for refinancing only helps people whose home value has fallen 10% or less (or was it 5%? in any case, some very small amount).

I'm not trying to be snarky, but I am confused? Your house is currently worth less than zero?

lol- no I was just being random in the moment; I don't actually know what the percentage would look like. We bought our home at 360k, put down 120K on it so have a mortgage of 240K and our home is currently valued at about 180K, mostly due to all the foreclosures and short sales in our neighborhood, which btw was a new one and the builder just sort of abandoned it- so lots of unsold lots and unfinished roads, etc.

[Porcelain Interior]

Originally Posted by Fuamami

Well, it definitely depends on your situation.

In ours, we didn't stop paying to get them to work with us, we stopped because we were realistically only going to be able to make about one or two more full payments, and we didn't want to throw more good money after bad, you know? Why make two more payments if you're going to lose the house anyway? Why postpone the inevitable?

But it was what made the difference, according to the person I talked to at my bank. It was what got us transferred out of the department that we were originally applying in and into the imminent default department, where they made the decision.

I hear ya. I just don't know if that would be a smart strategy move in general for people, because if you can't make a mortgage payment (as far as what my paperwork said) then you would be referred out to a different program. My paperwork stated that the home loan modifications under the Obama home loan program were strictly for people stuck in loans with an adjustable rate that would be at risk of default once the ARM reset. In our paperwork it also stated that if we were behind or not making our mortgage payments that we would not qualify due to inability to pay. Hence the 3 months of trial payments- if you miss one or are late you can't get the mod, and in our situation our payment was lowered a mere $50, but it was the ARM that would have been the killer- we weren't specifically looking for a lower payment. (Though we were definitely crossing our fingers.)

[AnnaNova]

Originally Posted by Porcelain Interior

I hear ya. I just don't know if that would be a smart strategy move in general for people, because if you can't make a mortgage payment (as far as what my paperwork said) then you would be referred out to a different program. My paperwork stated that the home loan modifications under the Obama home loan program were strictly for people stuck in loans with an adjustable rate that would be at risk of default once the ARM reset. In our paperwork it also stated that if we were behind or not making our mortgage payments that we would not qualify due to inability to pay. Hence the 3 months of trial payments- if you miss one or are late you can't get the mod, and in our situation our payment was lowered a mere $50, but it was the ARM that would have been the killer- we weren't specifically looking for a lower payment. (Though we were definitely crossing our fingers.)

thats strange because when we calledthe program hotline and relayed our situation to them, they said we should qualify. noone ever mentioned anything about it being only for mortgages with adjustable rate, because ours is fixed. even if hotline people didnt catch that, im sure our mortgage company would have, but they did send us paperwork to fill out.

[Porcelain Interior]

Originally Posted by AnnaNova

thats strange because when we calledthe program hotline and relayed our situation to them, they said we should qualify. noone ever mentioned anything about it being only for mortgages with adjustable rate, because ours is fixed. even if hotline people didnt catch that, im sure our mortgage company would have, but they did send us paperwork to fill out.

I shouldn't have said only ARM, I can't remember exactly how they phrased it- something like "The program is designed to keep people in their homes who can afford to pay the mortgage, but face an imminant crisis in the future in their ability to pay." Obama himself repeatedly said "Stuck in ARM loans" when talking about this new program.

Something like that, so if you have an ARM there's your crisis, job loss- or you're barely making it things like that.

Honestly it seems no one is getting a straight answer. There was a website that the government put up, but the info on the "programs" was very sketchy.

The president himself in several motivational speeches (I guess to make us feel better) reiterated how he wanted to help the thousands of people stuck with ARM loans. So I know that was a major goal when they developed the program because ARMs are the biggest risk of default.

The more I'm seeing here, and hearing elsewhere the more angry it all makes me.

Seems no one can get a STRAIGHT answer.

[Kontessa]

I can't add anything to this thread that is helpful but could not read of all the hardships and not post.

I think you are all brave and wonderful people trying to do the best you can. I am newly 30 and scared to buy a house ever but at least now I know that putting 20% down is a must, not an option. I learn so much from you all and I am so grateful. I wish you all the best.

[mnnice]

[QUOTE=heatherweh;14874817]

Originally Posted by mnnice

lol- no I was just being random in the moment; I don't actually know what the percentage would look like. We bought our home at 360k, put down 120K on it so have a mortgage of 240K and our home is currently valued at about 180K, mostly due to all the foreclosures and short sales in our neighborhood, which btw was a new one and the builder just sort of abandoned it- so lots of unsold lots and unfinished roads, etc.

So your house has really declined about 50% in value and you would be $50,000-$60,000 underwater is you tried to sell. I agree that's pretty bad and you totally have me sympathy. Thanks for the clarification.

[Micealc]

Originally Posted by amyamanda

I heard that the banks will benefit more from a different deal with the gov't where they will get more money if people default on their loans (than if they help them through this home affordable process.) So the banks are financially motivated to let people default. I do not know if this applies to all banks or only the big banks. Sad.

We were in that 2% and got our modification done early in the program, but we have a Freddie Mac loan serviced by a local bank, and the local folks were not overwhelmed with requests when we applied. However, their process was still shaky and screwed up with mistakes and misinformation (as frustrating on their end as on ours). I feel very lucky that we got it.

This was the case with our government modification. We were in the trial period, had made two of the three trial payments, then were told that our modification was denied. After pressing the person on the phone a little, she finally told me the reason we were denied was because it would be cheaper for them to foreclose then to modify our loan. At least she was honest.

[RosemaryS-F]

Originally Posted by MamaEli

Yes, we did. But, that is what my husband does for a living--working with banks, short sale departments, etc. Our mortgage went from $1600 to $1100! If he hadn't known the ropes inside out, it probably would not have happened. Hubby

Does your hubby help other people?