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we qualified for Obama's mortgage plan!
We've been working on it for a few weeks, and now it's official-- Countrywide is sending us the paperwork via FedEx! It's because our house is now worth less than what we owe (market values fell). We wanted to refinance months ago but couldn't because even though we have outstanding credit, we weren't 3+ months behind on the mortgage (how assbackwards is that?). But now it's going through, and we'll be saving a few hundred dollars a month. 
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Re: we qualified for Obama's mortgage plan!
That is GREAT NEWS!!! Congrats! What a huge sigh of relief that must be for you guys.
My friend is in the same situation-- couldn't refi, but was told they didn't qualify for the new plan b/c all thier payments were current. Maybe I'll tell her to check it out again.
Contact your mortgage company-- that's what we did. There are conditions, like no late payments, home value to loan balance, and the mortgage must be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
diggin, I don't know that.
Check here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/18/help-for-homeowners/
https://blog.cleveland.com/business/2009/02/questions_and_answers_about_ob.html
Yes, it has to be your primary residence.
Congratulations!! That's great. Unfortunately, we had to do something before Obama's plan, so we stopped paying. Otherwise, the bank wouldn't have taken us seriously. Luckily for us, we filled out the paperwork & Indymac modified our loan terms, but with the same principal balance. As in they didn't take anything off despite the value.
Our townhouse is currently 300K underwater
But I'm just relieved we're able to keep our house!
Heather, were you working with a specific person at CW? I just called the main number on their website. That's who we have our mortgage through now. We were told we qualify and they said they would send the paperwork but it has been longer than they said and now I'm getting worried. I want my refi!
Any help is appreciated.
femme, that sucks! Sign of the times.
Shakespeare, yes, I think we dealt with someone specfically each time. My husband will know for sure. I'll ask him later and send you a PM.
Also, for those of you saying you haven't gotten the information yet, this is the sequence of events for us:
In early March, I sent an extra escrow payment but forgot to designate it for escrow. I asked DH to call Countrywide to specify it. While on the phone, the guy mentioned this plan to DH, said that everyone (and the govt) was still ironing out details, and that they would call us in 2 weeks.
Exactly 2 weeks later (2 weeks ago), they called back. DH spent time on the phone reviewing information with them and that's when we found out we met all the requirements. Once again, they said they would call back in 2 weeks.
They called back today (exactly 2 weeks later) with this interest rate and these figures and say they are FedExing the package which I think also includes a closing date.
There was a 400$ application fee which DH paid today over the phone, but it's worth it to me because that's what we'll save every month.
I'm alarmed to hear some of you not getting your paperwork, but just based on what you've written here, it sounds like my situation has been more concrete than yours, with figures, etc.....? Perhaps they are going through a list? It did take 2 weeks each step, but they said it would.
This is pretty much how it went down for us as well. The first initial call I made I was told that we qualify and would be called back within 2 weeks to confirm details of the refi. Two weeks later we were called back and the details were ironed out. We were told we would get the paperwork 2.5 weeks later. We are still waiting for the paperwork. Maybe they are just backed up?
Heather - I'm also through Countrywide and wasn't aware that this was available for me. We've always been current on our mortgage. I don't know how flipped we are on our mortgage because we put a decent amount down. I know that we'd probably lose money if we sold, but it wouldn't be against the value of the house, it would just be the downpayment money we spent. Does that make sense? Anywho, do you think we would qualify or do you have to be flipped a certain percentage?
Also, my co-worker was saying that the new rate is adjustable in 5 years. Did they tell you this or is she mis-informed?
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congratulations!!!
The whole point of this reform is to phase out most or all ARMs. With that being said, if you start out at a really low rate like 3%, I believe it will gradually make its way back up.
I know we're at 3% right now for the next 6 years, then it goes up to 4% and basically makes its way back up to 6% until year 15. Then the balloon is due, but HOPEFULLY we'll be able to refi at that point or pay it off.
I'm a little confused. I read on the site that Heather posted that the rate is fixed and there are no balloon payments:
The objective of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan is to provide borrowers with a safe loan program with a fixed, affordable payment. All loans refinanced under the plan will have a 30 or 15 year term with a fixed interest rate. The rate will be based on market rates in effect at the time of the refinance and any associated points and fees quoted by the lender. Interest rates may vary across lenders and over time as market rates adjust. The refinanced loans will have no prepayment penalties or balloon notes.
So, with your loan it will adjust over time and you will have a balloon note at the end? Is this the same refi that Heather did?
My Etsy Store PIGGY'S PLACE
BTW, be VERY careful about WHO you deal with. There are a lot of people looking to scam desperate homeowners right now.
I was on the verge of hiring someone to have an attorney duke it out for me & MAYBE they were legit, I don't know. What I do know is we dealt directly with the bank and ended up getting BETTER terms than what this guy was quoting me.
Ahh, thanks for the clarification. I'm definitely going to look into this. I honestly didn't think we qualified b/c we've never been late on a payment and our mortgage wasn't through Fannie Mae.
My Etsy Store PIGGY'S PLACE
No, we dealt directly with the bank before Obama's plan came into play.
They lowered our interest temporarily and it will adjust to the rate (6%) we signed on over a period of 13 years. DH originally signed for 5 year ARM at 6% starting rate. No principal was being paid. We were basically relying on the market to continue in the direction it was going in so we could refi into a fixed rate. With our new terms, we are paying principal and interest. The balloon will be approx. half of our principal.
I told DH this was the last time we would be using his exwife's husband as a broker
My name isn't on anything BTW... Thank God!
Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac back most mortgages... chances are yours is backed by one or the other. Thus you would qualify.
The Obama plan is specifically for people who are NOT behind. Our mortgage wasn't originally with either of the FM's, but they sell the paper to each other. I didn't know either that our Countrywide mortgage was backed by Freddie Mac.
We wanted to look into it, but our mortgage company turned their phone lines off
I think we disqualified because we:
a. Make too much surplus each month
b. Have a mortgage that isn't 31% of our gross monthly income
c. Don't have a FreddieMae/Mac loan
Our ARM is going to start adjusting next year, and I KNOW we won't be able to make the payments. We can't refinance because our house is over 100k under what we originally financed for.
I think we're screwed
Glad you got help though!
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Jolly, try making an inquiry through their website. And try looking up alternate phone numbers for your bank... DON'T GIVE UP!
I did finally get a hold of someone after a 1 hour phone wait.
1. We are too far underwater for the refinance. They'll only do the Obama refinance for 105% of the home's value, and we're too far in now for any help.
2. We have just a tad too much gross monthly income for a modification.
So in short, we're going to have to fault on the loan next year until they pay attention to us, screwing our credit, and finally getting their attention.
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What assholes. I looked up the bank (you had told me the name in a PM) & they are part of Lehman Bros. That explains it all.
I'm sorry! My DH's credit is jacked up now too as a result of this fiasco, but it's not forever. Is the house in both names?
Oh & they should NOT be going by your gross monthly income. You should request hardship papers & fill them out. It's tedious, a total PITA, but this gives the bank an idea of where your money is going each month, and how much money you REALLY have.
DH's income & my income are over 6 figures combined, but once we filled out the paperwork, it showed the bank that we are in the red each month with what was the status quo.
It's in the bank's best interest for you to stay in your home. Keep fighting them. Fill out the hardship papers.
This is how it went down for us....
Had a property tax increase that bumped up our payments $200./mo. Called to refi since we got a notice in the mail that rates were lower.
They said, oh, no, you'd "do better" to file for a modification. This was back in December....before the Obama plan when the bank refused to accept payments during the modification period because they'd disregard the "hardship" element and it would be nullified. Oh, but don't worry, we won't foreclose and we won't harm your credit.
Fast forward to March....referred to foreclosure attorney....credit ruined.
Their website touts the Obama Plan, yet they refused to put us into it because our "investor" wasn't participating. Yep, sorry....we're not REALLY your lender. Surprise! We sold your loan. To who? Aw, geez, we can't tell you that.
Call weekly for updates....
Get lied to repeatedly.
Find out loan is with another big bank that IS participating in the plan.
Get lied to some more.
You'll have an answer in 7 days.
7 days later....nope.
Get told we don't qualify for the Obama plan because we're not FM back loan.....tried to explain to the woman that there is another component to it and we DO qualify. Nope, she says...only for FM loans.
Have to go through Consumer Counseling because our BEST option is to file Ch 13 and drag their ass into court where the judge will slap them around and force the modification.
The State Banking Commission is investigating,
The OCC is investigating.
They'll be fined....and pay the fines with my tax dollars. Meanwhile, I have to shell out money to hire an attorney to deal with this, ruined my credit, developing pre-e and don't need this damn stress.
It was the BIGGEST mistake of my life trusting this bank.
So, be careful. It doesn't always have a happy ending where people save money.
I know they shouldn't, but even the government websites say "gross monthly income" which is ridiculous, because half of that ends up gone once taxes, health insurance, and 401k are ripped out of it. Thankfully, we're not in the red, so perhaps this really is not for us and we should just stick it out. We both have our jobs so far. If one of us loses our job, then yes we will be in the red and definitely qualify. Right now we do not.
I wish we could get out of our ARM, but we made that poor decision and now we have to stick with it. We're luckier than most, so we should be thankful that we can make our mortgage payments for now and worry about it later when we are experiencing big hardships. I just hate that being responsible about it means I don't deserve any help. It's not my fault property values are half of what they were last year in my area
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JollyGreenGoat, are they taking all of it into account, or just P&I? My P&I is only about 25%, but my new taxes bump it up to over 40% and they're supposed to take taxes and insurance into account (and any association dues you might have to pay).
I hear you though.....my experience has been a nightmare. We called when we knew the new taxes and the new payment would be an issue - back in December. At this point, they're still "working on it" (though we've passed the "affordability" part of it and, from what I'm told, they're supposed to stop foreclosure proceedings once you pass that stage, but they're not).
It sucks. Part of me wants to just tell them to take the effing house and have fun taking a $150,000 loss on it, but the other part of me is so MAD I want to drag them into court and fight it out.
We qualify.....our "servicer" particpates....our "investor" participates....yet, they're refusing us and lying to us (this is why the government agencies are getting involved....apparently, they're not allowed to just randomly say no if you qualify....that's great....when I'm homeless, I'll cuddle up to their fines).
I told DH I think there's oil on the property because they REALLY seem to want my house!!!
I'm taking into account the full amount of money I dole out to my two mortgage companies (we have an 80/20, only the 80% adjusts starting in a year). We pay about $2600. That's 27%, so we fall just short of the magical "31%"
It's ok. There are people who are in far worse situations who need it more than us. In a year, the tables may turn and we'll worry about it then.
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