Q: Hi, I want to know what type of mortgage loans qualify for modifications? Our mortgage company has told us that only customers who had Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae loans qualify, they have informed us that since we have a FHA loan we are only eligible to file for a partial claim which would only allow us to apply our past due pymts to end of our loan.

Submitted by Vicky from Moreno Valley, Ca

A: That doesnt sound right. The Fannie and Freddie refinancing is open to you it sounds like and there is not a penalty for being behind, that was the whole purpose to reach out to people at risk of losing their home. Go to FHA website, or the Making Home Affordable website etc and dig into the details

Answered 11/09/09 13:27:56 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: Great article -- however. You didn't spell out what homeowners could do. My son, who bought a townhouse in Sterling, VA in August of 2007, contaced his lender about a modification in February. He has a no interest loan and struggles with payments. He has not even gotten a response. Is it because he is not behind in his payments?

Submitted by Barbara Callinan from Greenwood, SC

A: Probably so, although I wouldn't advise falling behind because more often than not the lender doesn't live up to the promise of modifying a loan. I'd work tirelessly to try to find somewhere somehow to refinace, and of course ask the lender to see if you qualify for the Obama plan. Most lenders/servicers have an online application process.

Answered 11/09/09 13:26:28 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: I have trieddealing with my mortgage company but they say they cant help me. I was laughed at the last time i called them to try to get my mortgage rate (8.95%) reduced. My payments were on time for 11 months at the time. I just needed help and requested a reduction inmy interest rate. Where and how do i begin to get my mortgage company (Wells Fargo) to lower my interest rate? Thanks in advance, Terri L Kean

Submitted by Terri Kean from Milford Center Ohio

A: Wells Fargo is supposedly one of the "good guys" working with the administration, ask them to provide a detailed account as to why you don't qualify. They must tell you, and as part of the Obama program they are also supposed to provide the government with a code that describes the reason you were refused. Remind them of that.

Answered 11/09/09 13:25:00 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: green tree as forclosed on my house. i tried to get my loan modifty. but they would not work we me. is there anything i can still do to keep my home?a judgement of dauflt was granted in court.

Submitted by vicki from mangiarelli

A: I'd try to find a local attorney who might be willing to take your case. Try to find a housing advocacy group locally and ask if they know of someone doing pro bono work. Beware of lawyers asking for upfront money, there are a lot of scammers out there. Guessing you have an uphill battle ahead. Find the websites that talk about "produce the note"... many lenders/servicers are unable to produce the actual note the bank holds on your home, and without that you may be able to stick a wheel in the spokes. Some readers have said personal bankruptcy filings can delay foreclosure too, not giving you advice on what to do, just giving you some angles to research as you plot your next move.

Answered 11/09/09 13:23:38 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: I just finished reading the article "Firms are getting billions, but homeowners still in trouble". We are also victims of Ocwen mortgage company. Our home was foreclosed on after numerous attempts to get a loan modification. We sent numerous copies of paperwork to them and everytime we did we got modifications for other people faxed to us. I saw other peoples information as well as modification packages, when I called them and tried to explain this was happening no one cared. When we inquired about our modification we were told they never received paperwork. We then would send again and still nothing. It has now been foreclosed on and we have had it up for sale through this whole process. We have 11 offers on the house and no one will return a call or send a short sale packet to submit an offer on the house. We have been promised it would be sent or faxed neither have been done We have also requested the packet on the automated system still nothing. We have talked to numerous people some have told us we have never talked to them( they imply we are lying) . Our realestate agent as well as ourselves have tried. Can you give me some direction?

Submitted by Carol Lipinski from Eden Prairie, Mn

A: Sadly yours is a frequent story, promises not kept, doing everything they ask and then the goal posts move. Best I can say is keep on them, some servicers have an appeal department or an executive resolution team etc, try to get to those folks higher up in hopes of getting a straight answer.

Answered 11/09/09 13:21:03 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: With regards to the housing mess, I have a house that's appraised less than what I owe. Is there some help for me to get a better loan? If after I get a better loan, could I sell the house for the appraised value, and buy a house at todays prices with no downpayment? Because after I sell the house at the appraised value, and take care of the fees from the Real Estate Broker, I will have NO DOWN PAYMENT!. So could you give me a phone number of the lending agent and/or email address? Thank You for your time.

Submitted by Brian Ramkerrysingh from Port St Lucie, Florida

A: You can shop around for refinancing but that is likely an uphill battle, your best hope is trying to qualify for an FHA loan or something backed by Fannie and Freddie, but that is difficult. Have you approached your lender about options? I presume your mortgage is pooled together with others into a mortgage bond held by investors, and that makes it hard to get into a Fannie or Freddie refinance. Play for time and get answers from your lender as to why they wont refinaince and why they dont think you qualify for help

Answered 11/09/09 13:19:32 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: I read your article about Firms getting millions in aid. In this article you mentioned the mortgage company Ocwen. Ocwen holds my mortgage and has caused me more problems than I can count. To save my house, I took out a forbarence plan. When I made my final payment on 7/3/2009, I should have been caught up. Instead 10 days later I get a call from Ocwen saying I didnt make my July payment. I said it was my last forbarence payment and they told me yes but I was supposed to make my first regular payment also. This meant I needed to make 2 full payments in July. I received no notification of this, if fact in June I talked to a rep there and was told once my July plan payment was made, my next regular payment would be due Aug 1st. I am on disablity and I do not have the resources to come up with an extra $500 in a moments notice. In the plan agreement I signed it states that each payment includes your regular monthly payment. If they notified me of this a few months earlier I could have saved up for it. Now I am paying $20 late fees each month plus they send me certified letters and charge me the $6 postage. I have some impounds and instead of informing me of what they were going to do, they tacked an additional $113 onto my monthly payment with no notification. I am one of the people with a house that the mortgage is less than 50% of the value so I have alot of equity. I feel like those people in your article that Ocwen is trying to force out so they can profit from my loss. I talk to Ocwen reps at least 2-3 times a week. It is not like they dont have contact with me. Do you know of a certain person that I could contact to help me fix this? I cant get past the customer service reps and most of them cant even speak clear english. I will be caught up come tax refund time but by then I would have paid in over $500 in late fees and others fees.

Submitted by Scott Schneider from St. Joseph, Mo

A: There is no outside source to handle this for you, unfortunately you have to keep plugging away at these guys and look to see if you can join a class action suit while you are at it. It is a horrible, dehumanizing process but you can win if you are persistent. Document your calls, even record them if possible, get the name of the agent you worked with on each call and stay on top of them.

Answered 11/09/09 13:17:19 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: There's a lot of "talk" about keeping people out of foreclosure, but nothing about helping those like me and mine who, got taken by crooked mortgage companies, etc, at the beginning of this mess, and have alreadly lost our homes, ruined our once good credit rating in trying to save our homes. NO bank, credit union, etc., will help by taking a chance on us by approving a business nor personal loan to get re-starded. There are many of us who have become "the forgotten Americans." Not even the current President, who we hoped would help make a change, cares, since his speeches are about saving those not yet lost. My question is, what about us?

Submitted by Geneva Dean from Santa Clarita, CA

A: Good question, and your email is a reminder that lots of people were preyed upon by unscrupulous lenders and mortgage brokers, not everyone took out a liar loan. I have worked with numerous borrowers who were duped. I do believe this administration has made an effort to address the housing problem, whether it is enough is another question, but the administration has put out potential fixes for just about every imaginable reason why a lender wouldnt work with a borrower. At the end of the day, however, it is not mandatory and lenders hold the final call as to whether they will help or not.

Answered 11/09/09 13:15:30 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: My wife and I have a mortgage through one of the companies listed in the article. Select Portfolio Servicing. We have contacted them twice concerninng the 3 year arm we have and have been told twice we dont qualify for a loan modification. Please help, where do we go from here? Thanks, Mitch

Submitted by Mitch Whaley from Rock Hill,SC

A: Did they give you a reason why, if not they are bound by law to tell you why. Get back to me when they give you a stated reason why they rejected you and I can give you a better sense of the next step.

Answered 11/09/09 13:13:05 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: how do u find out if your mortgage co. is getting tarp $. so far mine WILL NOT tell me / or mottify my loan & now it is in foreclouser. 21st mortgage corp. knoxville , tenn.

Submitted by nick puppo from springhill fl.

A: 21st Mortgage Corp. was purchased by a company called Clayton Homes, which provided financing for homebuilders best I can tell. Both companies now belong to Berkshire Hathaway, controled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the so-called oracle of Omaha. You might want to write a letter to his folks and get a sense if the corporate parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, is aware of the problems homeowners like you have faced with 21st Mortgage. There was no TARP money that went to these companies, best I can tell.

Answered 11/09/09 13:11:58 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: qcwen foreclose on my home made it impossible for me to save gave no assistance. I read in your article that they had been sued for their loan assistant practices is there any agency i can complain to or file a complaint?

Submitted by manny from fayetteville,ar

A: I think your first stop is your state consumer advocacy group or consumer watchdog agency of government. Also search the Internet for class action suits, perhaps there is a joint complaint to the Federal Trade Commission. And ask your local congressmen whether they support the Consumer Financial Protection Agency that would try to prevent these kinds of abuses in the future. If they don't ask them why not?

Answered 11/09/09 13:05:39 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: need help to get back to paying my mortgage I want to start over and put the deliquent payment in the years ahead any help in getting the mortgage company to agree, Do not need foreclosure. I lost my business and my job. delaware

Submitted by jen ferguson from dover delaware

A: First step is reaching out to your lender and seeing if you qualify for any of the government programs. Some lenders can help you for short periods while you look for work. A lot depends on the individual lender or loan servicer.

Answered 11/09/09 13:04:08 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: 12% of 3 million = the number of MHA's served = 360,000 and $20 billion/360,000 = $55,555. Question: Why is this allowed? Why did they not just give the money to me and all the other endangered mortgage holders, perhaps even in the form of a check directly to the mortgage company? All the arrears would be paid, and the principle significantly reduced, and all the money would still have gone to the same people! My MHA Mod consists merely of resumed monthly payments equal to the last amount I paid before this financial disaster thrust me into foreclosure. I now receive a monthly bill as usual, with the same interest rate, and all the arrears showing as a past due amount. What was done to justify 55,555 spent? Someone entered some information on a keyboard to resume regular monthly billing, for which I would happily have paid a reasonable fee. Who got the 55,555 and why? Of course, the whole thing is ridiculous when one considers the following: 5 years ago I got a mortgage for $109,000. I paid just under $1000 per month for 60 months. That's 60,000. My current principle amount remains just under 108,000! How is this allowed? What is the justification for these outlandish fees? It is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that these mortgage companies are criminals. Absolutely clear. So why is this allowed? Thank you for considering my question.

Submitted by Zef from Ocean Shores, WA

A: Thanks for your question, publishing it for all to see

Answered 11/09/09 13:03:09 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: who would you contact if your mortgage company won't give you any answers or return your phone calls after you have submitted for a loan modifcation?

Submitted by Frank Grainer from Clarkston, MI

A: Who is the lender? that will help me answer your question

Answered 11/09/09 13:02:36 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: Hello Q: Loan Modification We tried so hard to get our loan modification but they always deny it. We also give all the information they asked but they still deny. Later, they(IndyMac bank) made us a prepayment plan to see if we can handle the modified payment. At the end of the prepayment plan there is a balloon payment of $13,000 and there is no way we can come up with that amount. If we don't pay the balloon amount they will foreclose my house. My loan is a negative amortization and now again IndyMac wants us to resubmit another modification packet. So, my question is should we submit another modification packet or what else should we do? Thanks - P. Salamanca

Submitted by Priscilla Salamanca from Santa Clara, CA

A: This isnt financial advice, but it seems that at least another mod package keeps you in your house for a longer period. Ask them why they dont think you qualify for the Obama plan. It was designed for folks in your situation. Try to get answers, document them, keep a log of calls, responses, get the name of each agent you talk to and think of this as if you are in court, because someday you might and you want to document your good faith efforts and the run around you are getting from the servicer.

Answered 11/09/09 13:02:06 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh