Carla G. - Miami, FL

5 Comments

I bought a property that I could afford.  I paid $310K and the apartment was appraised $325K only 2.5 years ago. We received a 30 year fixed rate, Conventional loan, 6.125%. We gave as down payment over 50% in cash at the closing table, thinking that to invest in a home was the safest investment of all. That was the American Dream, and I was ready to live it. In contrast, now I have lost all the equity, all my savings, all my hopes, everything. What kind of dream is that one? Who do we turn for help? Predators are eating our economy, and all I am is just a number in the statistics of  homeownership about to face foreclosure. But I’m not a number. I’m a human being and I was doing everything right, from paying every on time, to having a perfect score that now I know is totally useless when requesting help.

Short sales and foreclosure properties around me are selling in between $100K and $125K. I owe over 150K. I’m current but last month I paid over 30 days late and now I’m ready to stop paying because I’m simply not given any options. My loan was negotiated with American Brokers Conduit. A couple of months after the closing, that company was charged with deceiptful practices so it shut down so our loan was bought by Countrywide, meaning it is now serviced by BAC Home Loans and owned by Fannie Mae. Since May 2009, I've tried to ask my servicer and the loan owner: to be considered for the HAMP program, to be evaluated using the standard NPV test, and if so needed, to be applied the Standard Modification Waterfall until my mortgage payment ratio is reduced as close as possible to 31 percent.  And if all that doesn’t work, then we are supposed to be considered for principal reductions.  At least, that’s what the guidelines indicate.

According to the news, the banks are claiming people are not submitting paperwork. All what I can say is that this is a BIG lie. In my personal case, to say that I don’t qualify, is a lie. I’ve sent all my paperwork since day one.  Only last fall the bank acknowledged my documentation, and it only happened because I sent a complaint thru the KPHO news website and an e-mail to OOP. I also have called, faxed, sent via Fed-Ex my documents, and made numerous phone calls to BAC requesting a Loan Modification. I’ve always received little or no response. In October 2009 Heidi McNaughton, from the Office of the Chairman, and who supposedly is a Customer Advocate, called to say the OOP office had received my information sent via e-mail to the person in charge of BAC Loans, Barbara Desoer. Ms. McNaughton truly deceived me. She sounded as if she really cared to help me, but the end result is that my file never made it to any negotiator. I was given a phone number to contact a department to follow up my case that just didn’t exist. After that, I called and e-mailed her back numerous times but she never responded again. From that point, I kept hearing the most wonderful reasons from BAC customer representative for not calling me back with the name of my negotiator.

I decided to send again at least half another round of e-mails to OOP and top executives complaining about the runaround before hearing from BAC again. I received a call from Marcy Camou telling me that Christy McGowen was the negotiator assigned to my case and she would contact me in 48 hours. Almost simultaneously with that call, Ms. McGowen calls to challenge all my information and treating me as if I was lying with my hardship. I loved the prompt response but I did not like her accusations. She first tried to convince me to do a Refinance instead of a Modification, for which I answered that I was surprised of her comments since my property was underwater.

As a loan negotiator, she knew I would not qualify. Not a very good start with a negotiator who was supposed to help me. She then said after a minute or so  that my numbers didn’t look good and that she didn’t feel I would get approved. She also questioned my HOA fees. I told her that these are quite normal in condos in front of the ocean around South Florida. She warned me that the odds were against me because I was current, which meant that the investors were not willingly going to work with me, adding that they were going  to question my high credit card balances and credit card payments, which in fact has little to do with HAMP.

This is what I understand. In my personal case, in order to qualify, if it's only the Principal, Interest and Escrow, I'm below the 31% bracket but the guidelines are clear and I need to include the HOA fees, which puts me immediately above the 31% bracket. BAC says they don’t want to help me because my HOAs are too high. BAC’s negotiator claims they are not obliged to apply the HOA fees but only at their discretion (???) and they are not willing to help me if I cannot lower HOA fees (???) and that I must I stop paying credit cards and also the loan. This confuses me. There is nothing in the guidelines that determines what a decent charge for HOA fees is or what is not. My HOAs fees are what they are, and I have the documents to proof that. About the credit cards, one is with Bank of America and not even they are willing to help. And about the loan, what if I don’t get approved? No answers to that so far.

Although I meet all the criteria of being in hardship, which qualifies me to apply for a HAMP, I was told by Bank of America’s Home Retention Department through the so assigned negotiator that because of my circumstances I am not a priority (???), and so I would be rejected for a HAMP. I asked if rejected, if I could get a response in writing with a detailed explanation, to which she said the bank is not obliged to provide. Since this conversation,  I never heard from the negotiator again and I assume I was denied because I have not being offered anything. I also have no proof that the servicer performed the NPV test or of its results. The Fannie Mae Guidelines say that even if I didn't qualify for a HAMP, the servicer needs to work some other type of assistance or relief, but so far I have received just runarounds.

When I read the published Fannie Mae guidelines, I see that all the reasons BAC has given me to not provide a modification are false. After getting nowhere, I decided to Join NACA. I submitted my documentation to them and started the whole process again, in hope to gain some leverage and convince BAC that I do qualify. Somehow I feel kind of it doesn’t matter what any guidelines may say, I hopelessly must be devoted to proof that I’m not guilty although everything indicates that I have already been prosecuted and this is all part of my life sentence.

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