Mortgage Forum

Mike

I have been following this site for sometime-might I add- I am borderline obsessed. I check it daily three times a day :) I have watched and learned so much from everyone and have used the information to obtain my own loan modification with Chase Home Finance. Cliff Note version of our story: We bought our home in the country in May of 2005 after selling our previous home of 12 years. Through our relator we worked with a broker and secured a loan, that turned out to not quite be what we expected. We like many were told that we could look to refinance in two years to a fixed - we were in a 2/28 ARM with increases based on the 6 mo Libor. Our starting interest rate was 8.0 set to increase in July of 2008 to 11.2. It was set to cap out at 15.6. We now know that we most definitely could have qualified for better loan terms based on our DTI and FICO's but as many did- we trusted. We are not late on our mortgage and have paid it on time for the two years we have been in our new home. I knew based on my research that this was going to be an increase we would not be able to weather-I had lost my teaching job of 8 years due to staff cuts and this loss was significant to our family. My husband has been working overtime like crazy (50+ hours/week) to try to make up the difference. I have secured another teaching position, but the pay is significantly less, scarcely more than unemployment would pay. On February 6th, I used the numbers for the loss mit. dept at Chase found on this site and placed a call-explained the hardship and concern for future adjustments to Dawna. She told us exactly what to submit-last years W-2's , 2005-2006-tax returns, last two pay stubs, bank statements, monthly budget,and hardship letter. I also included copies of my reduction in staff notification from my previous employer as well as my contract with my new employer-to show the full loss of income I was experiencing. I also included an article form a local newspaper that was letting taxpayers know that property taxes in our county would be increasing this Spring. In our monthly budget we had a surplus of $138.00. We faxed all of this on February 8th and confirmed it was received on the 10th. Told to call back in two weeks. Well, following the advice found here, this was not the case-we called every other day. I must say that we have never encountered misinformation, nor have we had trouble connecting with anyone. The wait time has been doable and we learned not to use an extension-talk to whomever picks up first and let them connect you to whomever you need. We actually never spoke to our negotiator. We were kept up to date where our mod was and what to expect next. I do think that we entered into the modification efforts of lenders late in the game and this allowed for us to have an easier time requesting and obtaining a modification. In our view Chase has their act together. I did send out a QWR via certified mail on March 3rd(a little over a week ago)-this went to Chase locations in Ohio, Arizona, and California; also to our Title company and broker. Do I think it helped-yes. We put in our QWR that we never received an appraisal or any of the original paperwork with our incomes when we secured the loan. We were rightfully curious to see what our broker did to place us in this loan to begin with. We received a call last night (3/11) and were told that our mod has been approved and to call back on Friday for the tracking number on the paperwork. We have been approved for a fixed rate at 6.8% for the life of the loan. :D The entire process has taken us just over a month. I will be anxiously waiting to see the modification papers - and breathe a little easier when I see it in writing. I will let you all know when it is official ;) Our modification story is not as interesting and eventful as some of the others I have read, but I wanted to share it- to continue to add hope for others that are just starting the process or working their way through it- It can be done!