Loan Deals: News

People seeking loan modifications beware — most of the companies that offer them are not licensed, and some are set up just to steal cash.

Over a six-month investigation, 5 Investigates found dozens of people victimized by scam loan modification companies.

Fernando Sanchez was one of the victims. He was barely making ends meet when he heard about an opportunity to reduce his mortgage, from $2,300 per month to $900 per month.

“They told me to go to this meeting to see what it was about … and these people allegedly have an attorney and a translator,” he said.

Sanchez paid $1,000 to sit in a garage in a residential neighborhood set up with tables and chairs for the meeting. The attorney charged $6,000 for the loan modification.

To read the full article go here to kpho’s website.

Mortgage

27 existing centers have served 60,000 families already

NEW YORK - Chase today announced that it is opening 24 more Chase Homeownership Centers in the next four months to provide face-to-face help to thousands more homeowners who are struggling with their mortgage payments. That will bring the total to 51 Chase Homeownership Centers in 14 states and Washington D.C.

“Our first 27 centers have proven to very effective in reaching families who are facing financial hardship and have fallen behind on their mortgages. So, we are adding more locations to help more homeowners with their loans, including working with them to complete and assemble all the documents we need to provide permanent payment relief” said Charlie Scharf, head of Retail Financial Services at Chase, the consumer business of JPMorgan Chase.

Chase is the only major mortgage servicer that has opened a large network of face-to-face centers to help struggling homeowners understand their options and help pull together paperwork for loan modifications. Borrowers can schedule appointments or simply walk in six days a week. In 11 months, Chase Homeownership Centers have served more than 60,000 borrowers.

Using languages including Spanish and Vietnamese, center staffers also reach out to homeowners through hundreds of community foreclosure-prevention fairs and through non-profit counselors. In addition, Chase has mailed 538,000 letters to struggling borrowers living near a center.

Responding to the needs of homeowners who have been hit hard by the housing and economic downturns, Chase will have centers in six new markets:

* Cleveland, 1500 West 3rd St.
* Dallas, 12750 Merit Dr.
* Houston, 11550 Fuqua St.
* Boca Raton, Fla.
* Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
* Seattle, Wash.

In addition, Chase will open 18 Chase Homeownership Centers to supplement existing centers. A total of seven new Chase Homeownership Centers will be in California, bringing the total number of Chase centers in California to 16; the six additional Florida centers will make the total 11.

In 2009, Chase approved more than 568,000 new trial modifications under the U.S. Making Home Affordable Program, its own modification program and Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, VA and FHA programs.

For information, borrowers struggling with Chase, WaMu or EMC-serviced loans can go to www.chase.com/myhome or call (866) 550-5705.

Chase services about 10.3 million loans, including about 8 million loans for investors.

About Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), which operates more than 5,100 branches and 15,000 ATMs nationally under the Chase brand. Chase has 146 million credit cards issued and serves consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs and mortgage offices as well as through relationships with auto dealerships and schools and universities. More information about Chase is available at www.chase.com.

Loan Modification, Mortgage

President Obama’s new Making Home Affordable Plan makes getting a Wells Fargo loan modification easier for many struggling homeowners.  The federal government loan program offers financial incentives to lenders like Wells Fargo, to offer loan modifications to their borrowers.  In fact, Wells Fargo has recently increased their home retention staff to meet the demands of an increased need for loan modifications. A loan modification results in lower monthly payments, making it easier for homeowners suffering a financial hardship to meet their monthly payments and save their homes from foreclosure.

What if you have already applied or been turned down for a Wells Fargo loan modification?  Even if you have previously applied, you can still apply under the federal Making Home Affordable Plan.  You just need to become familiar with the eligibility requirements and make sure to fill out a complete and accurate loan application package.

A Wells Fargo loan modification may involve a reduction in the interest rate you are paying on your loan, having your loan term extended for up to 40 years, or having part of your principal balance deferred.  These loan modification options may be available to you and result in a new loan payment that is 31% of your monthly gross income.    Under the Obama Making Home Affordable Plan, you do not need to negotiate a loan modification agreement.  Everyone is given the same options, as long as you qualify.  However, you still do need to submit an accurate and complete loan modification application.

There are also representatives available to help you through the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD).  The counselors will help explain the program but do not help you with completing your Wells Fargo loan modification application.  So you will still need to take the time to become familiar with Wells Fargo’s loan modification application requirements and the loan modification process in general to ensure that your application is filled out properly to give yourself the best chance of having Wells Fargo approve your loan modification request.

If you are interested in applying for a Wells Fargo loan modification, you will need to be prepared to write an effective hardship letter, stating clearly and concisely what your financial hardship is that is making it difficult to make your current monthly mortgage payments.  You will also need to be able to provide proof of your income and expenses as well as fill out all the forms in the Wells Fargo loan modification application in an accurate and complete manner.  Taking time to learn about the loan modification process and submitting an accurate, complete and persuasive loan modification application will greatly increase your chances of your Wells Fargo loan modification being approved.

Loan Modification, Mortgage

I am not a large fan of Loan Modification companies. Being a resident of Orange County, California, having worked for many mortgage companies, and loan modification companies and seeing firsthand what is happening and , pardon my language , but knowing what pieces of shit actually run these places makes me sick to my stomach.

But what about the places the pieces of shit actually help?

There are countless stories about Obama’s plan failing, and in case you have been living under a rock then let me update you. Obama’s plan has failed miserably. Recently second-most powerful Democrat in the Senate called the Obama administration’s mortgage modification program a “waste of time”. Others are voicing their opinion at the banks for their un-willingness to help, and last but not least the FTC is going after the “pieces of shit companies” that actually might be helping these borrowers?

With banks like Bank of America only modifying up-to 7% of the loans eligible for the government’s Making Home Affordable Program, what makes the FTC and attorneys think that these loan modification companies are actually scams?

Let me play devils advocate here. Once again I am not a fan of Loan Modification companies, in fact, I probably hate them more then the FTC and the government… but let’s for one second pretend that they are actually trying to help home owners.

Recently the California Attorney General released information on “Operation Loan Lies”, a task force that took down some suspected loan modification scam companies. One of the companies according to the press release found here opened some 2960 loan modification files but only completed 311 of them. Wait… what? That’s over 10%. What about BofA’s 7% closing ratio?

The press releases like the one above and others go on to say companies “fraudulently charge upfront fees” to d loan modifications and fail to complete the work.

What if, the problem here isn’t necessary the loan modification companies, but the banks?

The FTC is actively going after loan modification companies who they claim are really scams, but fact remains is most of these home owners that are being helped would probably be losing their homes if it weren’t for these scammers.

Another company in California, Castle Home Loans, is also accused of failing to modify loans. However the press release and article show that they in fact have helped customers with their loan modification, just not enough to stay under the radar apparently.

I think one large point that nobody seems to remember is a lot of the home owners that are having this problem in the first place should have never gotten a home to begin with, through fraudulent means or other. Option Arm’s SISA 95% LTV. Really?

Anyway, fact remains is shit is hitting the fan, I just think that people NEED help and the FTC and DOJ should be selective about who it closes down. A company that has modified 10% of their loans has an active pipeline, and people who are working on files somehow seem like one of the good guys.  Unlike the BofA’s out there who are refusing to help even with guaranteed  funds from the government.

Loan Modification, Mortgage, Scams

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has announced that it is releasing a free toolkit of information that will help borrowers, community stakeholders and the banking industry avoid unnecessary foreclosures and stop foreclosure “rescue” scams that promise false hope to consumers at risk of losing their homes. The tool kit includes critical information to help borrowers know who to contact and what documents they need to have available to apply for a loan modification that could save their home from foreclosure. This toolkit also describes the warning signs of potential foreclosure “rescue” scams and how consumers, community stakeholders, and bankers can report scammers and prevent fraud.

Raising consumers’ awareness of foreclosure “rescue” scams will give borrowers more confidence in knowing they are working with legitimate counselors and servicers to obtain a loan modification that could help them avoid foreclosure.

The FDIC’s foreclosure prevention toolkit includes:

? Is Foreclosure Knocking at Your Door? brochure, which encourages consumers facing financing difficulties to contact their servicer, apply for a loan modification, and talk to a counselor.
? Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams brochure, which provides information on common scams, tips for detecting fraudulent deals, and resources for reporting criminal activity.
? Spring 2009 edition of FDIC Consumer News, which features advice for consumers on avoiding foreclosure rescue and loan modification schemes.
? Your Own Home module of the FDIC’s Money Smart curriculum, which offers tips and advice on avoiding foreclosure with a loan modification, preventing foreclosure “rescue” scams and providing legitimate sources of foreclosure prevention assistance.

For more information please visit: http://www.fdic.gov/foreclosureprevention

Loan Modification, Mortgage

WASHINGTON – Today, the Obama Administration released its first monthly Servicer Performance Report detailing the progress to date of the Making Home Affordable (MHA) loan modification program.  The purpose of the report is to document the number of struggling homeowners already helped under the program, provide information on servicer performance and expand transparency around the initiative.

On February 18, the Obama Administration announced its comprehensive plan to stabilize the U.S. housing market.  Two weeks later on March 4, the Administration published detailed program guidelines and authorized servicers to begin modifications immediately.  MHA provides $75 billion for sustainable mortgage modifications through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). 

MHA has made rapid progress in a few short months.  Servicers covering more than 85 percent of loans in the country are already modifying loans under the program. More than 400,000 modification offers have been extended and more than 230,000 trial modifications have begun.  This pace of modifications puts the program on track to offer assistance to up to 3 to 4 million homeowners over the next three years, our target on February 18.  

Today’s report discloses performance on a servicer-by-servicer basis in order to increase transparency for participating institutions.  The data show that servicer performance has been uneven.  The Administration has asked servicers to ramp up implementation to a cumulative 500,000 trial modifications started by November 1, 2009. This would more than double in three months the number of trial modifications started in the first five months of the program.   

The Administration is taking additional steps to improve performance.  On July 9, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan wrote the CEOs of participating servicers calling upon them to redouble their efforts to increase staffing, improve borrower response times and streamline the application process.  Senior Administration officials discussed the importance of these steps in a face-to-face meeting with servicer executives on July 28.  The Administration will develop more exacting metrics to measure the quality of borrower experience, such as average borrower wait time for inbound inquiries, completeness and accuracy of information provided applicants, and response time for completed applications.  As an additional protection for borrowers, the Administration has asked the program compliance agent, Freddie Mac, to develop a “second look” process to audit MHA modification applications that have been declined on an ongoing basis.

To view the full report in pdf click here

Loan Modification, Mortgage

“There’s the good and the bad out there,” Firoved said about modification companies. “If you’re going to use a third-party service for a loan modification, go to the state authorities and check to make sure there are no complaints. Move forward cautiously.”

Pool said several companies don’t heed the state Real Estate Department’s desist and refrain orders.

“A lot of these companies are just crooks,” he said.

The department issued 328 desist and refrain orders and accusations from October to July - 240 of them in the Los Angeles-Orange County- Inland Empire region.

They order unlicensed shops to shut down their loan modification or foreclosure rescue business and force dubious companies to stop collecting upfront fees.

“The list grows weekly,” Pool said.

Mortgage

TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — When Newschannel 36 first aired a story on the North Carolina Attorney General’s office’s investigation of two loan modification companies, Richard Green had just written his checks to one of them.

Green says 21st Century Legal Services contacted him, and offered a 30-year fixed rate loan at 4 percent. “My payment is $665, they said it would be $305, and I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s what I need right now,” Green told Newschannel 36.

His wife has had several back surgeries and is out of work. The Greens were one month behind on their mortgage when they got the call.

Green wrote four checks for nearly $500 each. According to paperwork he showed Newschannel 36, that money was for a $750 processing fee and 4 payments of the $306.66 for July thru September. That is the same amount he was told could be his modified mortgage. He says he was told to stop paying his mortgage while 21st Century Legal Services worked its magic.

read the full article here

Mortgage