Mortgage Forum

Mike

Hi everyone, I am so excited to have found this website. I too have been fighting with Countrywide to get a loan modification approved. I currently have a 2/28 ARM at 5.6% which adjusted in February to 7.1%. My payment went from 1660 to 2105. After hearing about the HOPE organization in November, I decided to be proactive knowing that I would have a hard time making the new payment and refinancing with negative equity wasn't an option. I called the Home Retention Team and was asked to submit the standard financial information. I gathered it all and submitted on the same day, November 21st. This is when the fun really began. After calling each week to get a status, I was finally told that Esperanza Buenstronstro had been assigned to my account on December 5th. I called two to three times a week trying to get updates. Most of the time, like many of you, I was disconnected, rerouted, harassed for calling too much, and just plain given the runaround. I left requests to have my loan negotiator call me and was told to give her 72 hours to respond. Of course, I never heard from anyone at Countrywide so I kept calling. On February 21st, I was told that there was a glitch in the process and the updates to my account that were supposed to have been entered were not and thus the standard scripted response of "no knew information" was provided by customer service. Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel, my loan was being submitted for management review and I should have a response within 3 to 5 business days. I slept a little easier that night. Subsequent calls resulted in nothing more than wasted time, spent energy and a lot of frustration (I can't count how many times I have entered my loan number, last four digits of social, stated my name, etc.). On March 3rd, I called Countrywide again, starting the week off right, and actually spoke with my loan negotiator. I think my head just rolled off, because I had finally spoken with the woman who was toying with my happiness. The bad news, my loan had not been submitted for management approval. It was still on her desk. She promised to submit it that day and stated that I should get a response back within 7 to 10 business days. After questioning why I should believe anything she had to say, since I had been deceived so many times before, I hung up feeling a little more victorious. It is now March 26th and my loan is still awaiting management approval. I begin to wonder if they really do want me to default on my loan before they will offer to help, but the rational side of me knows that's probably not the case. Luckily, I found this website and took the advice of others and started sending out my QWR to anyone and everyone at Countrywide. I hope that someone calls or emails soon. This process has taken its toll on myself and my family, but I refuse to give up until I absolutely have to. I have already put in sixteen weeks, I can endure a few more. My pocketbook may tell a different story, but for now I am keeping my head a little above water. Thanks to everyone who has posted their story and given me hope and great information.