Q: After being directly involved in mortgage loan modifications for 2 years it is easy to see why these lenders are in such bad shape. The right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing. I just had a WAMU?CHASE client who's loan had been submitted for modification for months have his house sell at auction & be approved for a trial mod the very same day. Robert Robert

Submitted by Robert Pierson from Phoenix

A: Yeah, if I had recorded or filmed every conversation with a servicer and put together all the bizarre things they have said and done while I was on the line with a borrower, I am sure I could win an Emmy or some drama award. You've said it well, the right hand knows not what the left is doing. It's like Ground Hog Day to the 10th power.

Answered 10/09/09 13:40:16 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: I have a "very unique" experience I would like to share with you, involving BofA/Countrywide. Finally these lenders have/and are, being exposed for fraudulent, malicious foreclosure proceedings. Please contact me, my story will be very, very interesting to share with you. I have formatted my experience with CW and BofA, date for date, phone by phone call, and you won't believe what they attempted to do. It took me almost 5 months and hours of research, loss of 20lbs due to stress, to finally get justice from Bank of America. I was determined not to get screwed by them. After speaking to the CEO's office, and threatening to expose this illegal situation to the news media, did I raise an eyebrow by a corporate manager. In less than 5 minutes(remember I have pursuing this relentlessly since May 18th and 20lbs lighter), I finally got the attention I deserved. You folks hit it right on the money. The lender realized I was one of the fortunate ones that still had equity in my home. They did everything in their power to foreclose on me, (maybe they thought they could take my equity), and the story I have, should be made public. Please contact me if you want to view the information I have collected. These national lenders think they can walk all over people, but they didn't realize that I'm a bull, and they need to get the horns now. I won't pursue action until I have a written statement from the bank stating my situation has been resolved. This is my home, and that's #1 now. But watch out Bank of America, we aren't done yet. I look forward to your reply.

Submitted by Geoff from Salem,OR

A: contact me at khall@mcclatchydc.com and we can arrange to talk

Answered 10/09/09 13:38:28 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: What happened to government for the people? It seems more detatched from us every year, except at election time. I'm 70 now and it gets worse all the time. Thanks for your time..Ron

Submitted by Ron Blask from Lancaster, Wi.

A: Funny how come election time it's all about apple pie, the flag and the little guy...

Answered 10/09/09 13:37:26 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: American Servicing Company which holds our mortgage has used everyone of the practices you reported on to take our home. It took us a year and a half to find who owned our mortgage{ Wells Fargo) They say they modified our mortgage after my son-in-law lost his job but strong armed us into paying 4,200.00 to miss two months of payments. Their behavior has been criminal at best. Now we are trying to complete a short sale which they are playing the same games. Where is the government regulations on any of this? ps There was no interest rate reduction and they tacked 20,0000. on to our loan Escrow and homeowners insurance (3,000.) yrly premium that is still there even though we have our own policy.

Submitted by Lois Doughty from Swanzey NH

A: Sad to say your story is not uncommon. There has been a lot of bad faith on behalf of servicers, whose interests are allied with the investors and not the borrowers, and no one in our out of government is properly equipped to monitor let alone enforce what is going on in the marketplace.

Answered 10/09/09 13:36:17 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: Wouldn't it be smarter to just pay down or pay off these bad loans for the tax payers instead of giving money to banks.Wouldn't that take care of the toxic mortgages and help consumer spending at the same time,because poeple would have money to spend .After all it's our money in the first place.

Submitted by Rodney Hughes from Tell City, IN

A: It would have been, and some Democrats like Barney Frank if my memory serves right explored this idea in 2006 or 2007 but the outcry was it would reward bad borrowers. Backers of this idea warned failing to do so would drag everyone down together and voila guess what happened. In retrospect, some sort of nationalization of mortgages could have prevented the meltdown from becoming as deep as it was but of course the story is more complex than that since investors, not banks, now own mortgages that are pooled into bonds etc.

Answered 10/09/09 13:34:16 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: My son 's property and home are in foreclosure and has been according to what he tells me for the last six months. He has been refused a loan modification and told to bring his arrears up to date which he cannot do. However he does make his payments to them on time each month since he was informed of the imminent forclosure. Does'nt the fact that they are accepting his payments without notice of any sort of a continuing forelosure change the scene somwehat.?! Isn't he entitled to a new hearing on the subject.!? Thanks for quick answer

Submitted by kenneth smith from bristol va

A: Should he get a rehearing, yes, is he entitled to, no. not unless he was considered for the Obama plan etc , which sounds like he wasnt. more likely than not, the servicer is applying his mortgage payments to pay off "late fees" and lawyer fees etc. If he is employed and has regular income, most servicers will at least go through the motions of considering him for an Obama modification. Serviers are changing the rules week by week, so he should keep calling, keep trying to have the servicer keep his account open and the property off the auction block. he should find out the law firm that is handling the auction and check with them regularly to see whether they have been put on hold by the servicer or are proceeding to auction.

Answered 10/09/09 13:31:57 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: My husband and I refinanced in April, 2009 because the interest rate fell. This was when Obama passed the bill that kept homeowners from having to have a house appraisal done in order to get the refinance. We were reamed by the bank near $7,000 to refinance for stupid costs. There was no justification for doing that to us. Sure, the monthly payment for the loan alone dropped by $200. Woo hoo. Big deal. However, the total monthly payment increased by $100. We have to pay an impound/escrow account so the bank can pay our taxes and insurance for us. They said that was the only way that we could refinance. So, I'm supposed to depend on some screw-off at the bank to make sure both are paid when before the refi I paid both myself. What gives? I would like to know if I have the legal right, given that this would be successful for me, to sue the bank, get my $7,000 back and get the impound business thrown off the mortgage leaving ME and not them paying for the insurance and tax??? I'd like an answer for this one. I am not the only refier that has been screwed.

Submitted by Sharon Goldern from Marysville, CA

A: Indeed you are not alone, and you've described one of the numerous ways in which banks have been subsidized through the back door. The government was not willing to buy the toxic assets, and recapitalizing the banks proved politically unpopular, so steps like these have been taken to help banks bolster there balance sheets. It's the little guy subsidizing the big guy.

Answered 10/09/09 13:29:06 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: Do you have a list for the public on the Mortgage co, that the fed says have spotty records.

Submitted by A.L. Trottier from Key west, Fl.

A: Chris Adams, the author of last week's story responded: The federal government doesn't really have a list of good and/or bad firms. We did our own research of federal and state records to find examples of firms that had run into problems with either federal regulators (at the Federal Trade Commission) or with state attorneys general. But there is no one official list. We highlighted some examples we found in our stories last week: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/washington/story/76418.html http://www.mcclatchydc.com/politics/story/76420.html

Answered 10/09/09 13:26:51 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: re: mortgage companies with spotty records. My note is being serviced by Ocwen. They apparently have a bad reputation by the comments I find on the internet. Is Ocwen trying to get stimulus money from the government?

Submitted by tim burns from orting, wa

A: Chris Adams, who wrote the story involving Ocwen responded: Ocwen is participating in the Treasury Department's modification program, as are most of the country's major mortgage servicers. Based on current projections for how many loans it might modify, Ocwen could get $200 million or more in modification incentive payments from the Treasury program.

Answered 10/09/09 13:00:24 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: I have turned my paper work in for home modification, it was received by my mortgage company July3rd,2009. I still haven't heard from them they said it would take up to three month's to get the first call. I feel because I am not late or I haven't missed a payment they are not looking at me as a threat to the bank. I have drained my savings and borrowed to make ends meet. Work is slow it is now looking tougher to make my full payment. I was trying to avoid all that I still have good credit but I am so fustrated! If I don't get help soon I will fall into the homeowner night mare.

Submitted by sue kottke from carson city NV

A: call them, don't wait on them, pressure them, write letters, send faxes, get to the supervisors when you dont get help. you cant wait on them to do the right thing, they wont. you have to be aggressive, proactive and patient. it is a dehumanizing, deflating experience but you can outlast them. it's going to take work and perseverence however.

Answered 10/09/09 12:51:59 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: My mortgage with TB&W was transferrde to Bank of America they now tell me my payment will go from $1065 to $1384 a month due to TB&W not tranferring my escrow and I was not paying pmi. How can they do that?

Submitted by Danny Arnold from Smiths Station,Alabama

A: Hmmm, that sounds odd. Are they suggesting that TB&W was collecting escrow but not putting it to proper use? I'd ask BofA to consider amortizing what you owe, asumming it is going up because some sum had not been paid. in other words, spread it out over the balance of the loan. sounds strange, need more info before I could comment any further.

Answered 10/09/09 12:50:25 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: I have recently been turned down for a modification from Fannie Mae, where can I get legal help fighting this?

Submitted by Eric from Bluffton SC

A: I believe they have an ombudsman, that's where I would start. Fannie and Freddie should allow your loan to be modified, assuming it was securitized by them, even if you owe up to 25 percent more than the home is valued at today.

Answered 10/09/09 12:48:28 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: if i could have got $4500 ,which is exactly what i am behind ,in my property taxes ,because of a major illness and loss of income ,my home would not be on the verge of foreclosure. is the cash for clunkers more important than a home. maybe they can tear my home down so i can get a new one

Submitted by michael pugliese from little falls, new york

A: I dont think its going to help you much to compare one with the other, you can say why not spend that $4500 to hire a teacher, fireman etc. it was one of many efforts to stimulate the economy. it boosted car sales, stimulated production etc, but at the end of the day, when it was over, that economic activity subsided. there are no magic bullets. we are in a for a long slog back.

Answered 10/09/09 12:46:40 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: Despite of billion of dollars losses in mortgage lending, scams and fraudulent activities are still ranting and wide spreading. I start a movement called ENOUGH IS ENOUGH to stop them by providing education and training to homeowners on lending laws and requirements. Would your company support my cause by spreading the news to the public?

Submitted by Anh Hau from Newport Beach, CA

A: Well, I'll put this up on our Q and A. Every journey begins with a first step.

Answered 10/09/09 12:45:05 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: The money these mortgage companies are requesting from the goverment should only be given to these mortgage company on the contingency of how many modification loans they do for their current home owners and they must be lower than what they had before. Plus all these so call mortgage modification company that are to help the home owner in there negotiation with these loans should be held accountable for their lack of helping. They should be given a time line on these modification. Meaning that if it takes a new home loan can be writen with in a month why does it take six month to a year to remodification of a current loan. If it takes that long and it is the mortgage company fault as to why the home owner are months behide on their mortgage payments there for the mortgage company should waver those late or lack of mortgage payments. It should NOT be add to the amount of the loan. After all the home owner has been trying to get the mortgage company to modify the loan. Or maybe even exdending the life of the loan to a 40 to 50 year loan for that lower payment. Is there anything the goverment can do to control these companies for the sake of the home owners?

Submitted by Rosemarie St Amand from Lake Placid, FL

A: there are indeed a number of contingencies, first being that the mortgage is affordable, equal to 31 percent of borrowers income. a number of disclosures and thresholds included for servicers before they ever get paid. Mods are more difficult than new loans, in part because new loans are securitized, that is pooled with others, and packaged into mortgage bonds by Fannie and Freddie. This has made it easier for new homeowners, but mods depend on lenders, investors and borrowers aligning their interests and often these are not anywhere near in alignment.

Answered 10/09/09 12:44:21 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh