Catherine Drake - CA

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We bought our first home in 2004 due to circumstances beyond my control. Having grown up and raising my family on my parents property in a separate house I became aware my step brother was a child molester who tried to victimize my two daughters. When my dad past away my mother started allowing him to come around again. My Mother and I got into it and when she said I don't know why your making such a big deal out of it your girls are too old for him. I packed my family to rent a room for six months to save money to buy our first home.

I will never forget the incredible feeling the day we got the keys with the bottom line message I gave my family. At the same time I took a job reading electric meters. Our purchase price was an easy 100k less than we were told we qualified for. Being my husband is a Union worker I based buying our home on my steady income. Little did I know soon after my husband would be out of work with major knee surgery for 18 months. I did not call my lender asking for help. I worked six days a week in every weather condition you can imagine, being attacked and bitten by dogs and injuries from stepping in holes, barbed wire grass so high you could not see the tripping hazard. I get very offended when I am referred to has a dead beat by the media. We were NEVER late or missed a payment!!!

When my loan adjusted in 2006 I was put in contact with Tim Hill at National City Bank who at the time was a sister company to First Franklin. My hardship and trouble began from taking this broker's word he had my families best interest at heart. Since we had left over medical bills from my husbands surgery the insurance did not cover on our credit report he told me to take equity out, pay off the medical bills to get our score up a few points and he had a fixed affordable loan waiting for us in less than six months. We only took out enough to pay off the medical bills although we had over 100k in equity.

Tim kept reassuring me when I shared my fear of this new much higher payment I had no worries since at the time my husband was working, but I always tried to plan for worse case scenario. I was on the phone with Tim asking every question so by the time the drive by notary showed up to my dining room table this loan was an ends to a means. I was sure by signing where all those plastic tabs were not important for the real loan waiting for us shortly. Call me stupid for trusting a professional that made me feel like his new best friend and had my family home his top priority.

My loan went from 340k to 378k when I asked why so much? I was told Tim had to do a lot of extra work to get the new loan up and ready to go so I was getting two loans for the price of one. I kept my end of this, but when I called Home Loan Services to get out of this loan I was told sorry Merrill Lynch bought us out and they are not honoring that. Now I am stuck in a loan and payment to keep making on time which we did the property taxes are left unpaid. When the market started to crash I am calling begging for help to get out of this loan oh and a prepayment penalty. Zero help.

According to their figures we either made too much or not enough to qualify. The economy is crashing leaving my husband out of work for months on end at one point ten months straight collecting unemployment. I call again to be told apply for our hardship program. That resulted in no help until the hardship is over. Never did get that reply. My loan was due to adjust in November of 2008. In June I am calling in freak out mode scared of the adjustment. Home Loan Services has a perfect solution THEY told me to make happen. They do them all the time. We need to get approved for a short refinance submit it and that fixed loan will be ours. Got a new lender, approved, faxed, re faxed, updated, sat on hold stressed out so badly my work day started with tears in the shower after another sleepless night waiting for the approval. Not to mention poor Marie Capola at Affinity Financial who spent all those months right along with my family for nothing as well.

By the beginning of November I was told I was one week away from having this done to stop worrying about the adjustment never in all of that time was I or Marie given a clue a denial could and would happen. You would think with the countless calls made all the different people I spoke with even just one would have given me or my new lender a heads up.

So there I was the first week of November keeping my phone by my side heart racing every time it rang. The blessed call from Jim Graham a real live negotiator on the other end. My hope of getting finalized when Jim told me the investor denied it all had me dropping to my knees at work crying out from someplace I didn't know existed to throwing up until there was nothing left I had to hang up the phone because all that hope I had broke something deep inside me. I had been talked into this loan. I had failed my family.

My husband unemployment benefit was running out at the same time. No amount of Saturday work would bring in enough to make the adjusted payment. I can't begin to describe in words when the 15th of November came and went with our missing our first mortgage payment. I was put in touch with Karen Kolweck who was Jim Graham's supervisor begging her to do something anything to stop this. In looking over my file the only modification she may be able to offer was 75% of my bring home pay. My faith and trust after all this was destroyed like one person told me my file had been.

There was no way I could afford their modification I had given up into a deep dark depression. Then a letter comes from Jim Graham the reason for denial is borrower has ability to pay. I was so angry to read that. My new lender knew as well as I did there was no way. In fact Marie tried to comfort me that at the very least we more than qualified for a loan modification since she knew as well has I did we could not afford the adjustment. When I called to ask WHY that was sent to me I was told by a woman named Laura to quote her she said look Mrs. Drake you need to face the fact you can't afford your home,it is time to downsize and put your house up for a short sale. I call Jim Graham trying to understand why the short re fiance was denied when now I am being told to short sale my home? His reply was the investor refuses to take a loss???

He really started pushing me to short sale. There were so many twisting of words I told him to take my home and shove it I am done being treated like this. I spent weekends for months in my pj's not bothering to shower just sitting in front of my computer writing every person in California that represented me. HUD, Washington and anyone with a complaint form including Home Loan Services. Gary Stockey replied from HLS who's title is customer advocate. After a brief conversation with him he sends me a letter stating sorry he can't help but if my circumstances change to contact him.

Then comes loan safe and a lot of education to try and find my own answers for the runaround lies and goal of HLS wanting to foreclose. It was amazing to me for all those months of effort waiting on HLS they timed the foreclosure and auction of my home perfectly. I wondered after I got my NOD seeing Deutsche Bank was the trustee for the pool of investors was it because my loan was sliced and diced sold on Wall Street was that the real reason HLS's goal with foreclosure and setting me up by all those lies and stall tactics to really if you look at this they NEVER did anything to try and keep my family in my home.

Was it because the investors are in bed with AIG so they make more money on foreclosures and buy it back at auction double and possibly triple dipping, but the only way to do that is put hard working folks in loans set up to fail? Was this a scam I have no control over or rights to keep trying? Am I really just a stupid loser who works hard wants to keep my home, but because I trusted and believed the broker I allowed this to happen? I grew up to taking people at their word and when it comes to a person's home how can anyone sleep at night to be a part of this?

I found a local Attorney to write them to try to get this resolved. When I called to ask why they haven't they said we never got a letter. I gave all the contact information and requested they call her. They never did. That attempt went completely ignored. Then my adjusted loan of 9% adjusted down. Three days before the auction I filed a Chapter 13. I wrote Dan Frahm the CEO of BofA an e-mail to support my friends on loan safe. I knew Merrill Lynch who bought out First Franklin was later bought out by BofA. When I cried out to Merrill Lynch they were too busy redecorating to be bothered. Dan Frahm replied asking if I was a BofA customer. I replied back I really wasn't sure at this point. I guess in a way I am since he contacted Home Loan Services on my behalf. Oh my gosh the tears and how much that truly touched me is beyond words, but someone heard me.

HLS requested I reapply for a loan modification. I wrote Dan asking why would they do that unless the guidelines perhaps have been changed by the investor? Gave him an outline of my past experience trying to explain I did not want to go back to that dark place ever again. To me unless changes have been made it is too scary to go there again that I needed a foreclosure Attorney to get them honest and be straight with me. I get a letter shortly after from an Ashley Hanna telling me the investor did not deny me, they do in fact have the power to modify, the short refi was denied and a modification was offered, but since I could not afford it they recommend I put my home up for a short sale?????

To me that read has yet another example of double talk so I wrote Dan again. Next Gary Stockey gets back into it telling me how much he would like to get this resolved. I said I will work with you, but I have one request do not lie to me!! Since he chooses his words with may, possibly and hopefully he never commits. I explained my finances have not really changed since last year so in looking at my file they should be able to get an idea if anything can be done. Next I get a call from a loan modification B/K specialist named Christopher George requesting updated financial's. When I asked since they haven't changed all that much did he see if they can work with me.

Christopher claimed those financial's are sitting in storage not available to him. Funny when I called loss mitigation to chat with Ashley about her letter who by the way does not take outside calls the customer service rep took note my financial's have not been update would I like to do that? I write Dan Frahm again thanking him for his effort, but my only request was not to be lied to and the way I see it it only took two conversations to realize it is game on again. Gary calls me to say I was confused, but send in those financial's. My gut was telling me not to send them. I was so angry by the time I finished the list on their request form, but I did it anyway. In the mean time they need permission from the B/K court or my B/K Attorney to work with me. Hey at least this time they admitted got my financial's via fax and e-mail.

Gary had let me know previously there would be more requests for other documents than what was on the list. So I write Gary asking for answers from our recent conversations and what additional documents. Sadly it did not come has a shock he replied that he can no longer communicate with me until the B/K Attorney approves it. He sure had no problem prior to my sending in update financial's. With broker fees, late payments, fees HLS added to my loan I am now owing up over 400k on a house worth 225k. All I have asked for is a fixed rate loan we could afford. That goal is all I have ever tried to achieve.

Make no mistake foreclosure has been the goal of this company from the beginning of this loan to now. No matter what their web site says the letter from Governor Schwarzeneffer they signed saying they would streamline these predatory loans before they adjust to keep Californians in their homes when it is all said and done now years later I can honestly say so far in my battle to keep my home not let the last five years of my hard work be a wasted to this day Home Loan Services has done NOTHING, but give poor excuses for it.

On November 20, 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger announced an agreement with several loan servicers to streamline the loan modification process for variable-rate borrowers. The agreement consists of three basic principles pursuant to which mortgage lenders will:

1. Reach out proactively to borrowers well before their loans reset;

2. Streamline the processes by which they determine whether borrowers may reasonably be expected to be able to make the reset payment; and

3. For people who are in their homes and making timely payments now at the starter rate, but who cannot make the reset payment, keep them at that starter rate for a sustainable period of time.

The lenders below publicly agreed to these principals and have since been working with the Governor's task force on non-traditional mortgages to reach out to their loan holders to educate them of their options:

1. Carrington Mortgage Services

2. Countrywide Home Loans

3. HSBC Mortgage Services

4. GMAC Mortgage, LLC

5. Home Loan Services, Inc.

6. Homeq Servicing

7. Litton Loan Servicing

8. OCWEN Loan Servicing, LLC

9. Option One Mortgage

10. Wilshire Credit

While this agreement will not help every homeowner, it serves everyone facing foreclosure by striving to streamline basic loan modifications to free up staff at loan servicers to spend more time with other borrowers who need one-on-one attention to work out solutions in more complicated situations. Governor Schwarzenegger is the first Governor to spur servicers to publicly commit to principles that will help preserve homeownership for tens of thousands of home owners at risk of default due to hybrid ARM sub-prime mortgages resetting to higher interest rates.

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