Chasing Help With My Chase Loan Modification

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

December 11, 2009, 11:00 am: I called Congressman Frank LoBiondo’s Mays Landing, NJ offices and spoke with Joan about my situation. Could the Congressman help? Joan suggested I write a letter and gave me some numbers for credit counseling and related assistance. Two of the numbers led right back to the HAMP site so I called the Consumer Credit and Budget Counseling in Marmora, NJ and left a voice mail. A Mr. Izzy C. would call me back.

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Taking Care of Business

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

Chase is in business and I’m a businessperson. I remembered years ago when a business I worked for ran into financial trouble. Our cash flow wouldn’t cover the bills and we feared our creditors would shut us down. For days, weeks and months I made phone call after phone call to each vendor we owed and told them we acknowledged the debt, we did not dispute the debt and we intended to pay the debt, but we needed to work out a payment plan. It was a humbling experience but we worked through it, paying small amounts each week until all of the debts were cleared. Many of those vendors stuck with us for years to follow. Surely Chase would stand by me if I could just work out a payment plan. I needed to talk with someone at Chase.

December 10, 2009, 6:45 pm: I called Chase and spoke with Sheila about pursuing a loan modification. I wanted to work out a payment plan that would both satisfy Chase and allow me to keep my home. Sheila advised that on 6/30/09 I’d been denied a loan modification due to “lack of hardship”. I told Sheila I’d never received a denial letter or any other letter of any kind from Chase/WaMu. I asked if she could fax me a copy of the denial letter and was told she could not do so. I persisted and was transferred to Chris in Loss Mitigation. Chris said a letter was sent on 8/25/09 saying I do not qualify for the Making Homes Affordable program as my “equity exceeds loan guidelines”. I asked Chris for a copy of this letter since I’d never received any letters about anything related to my application for a loan modification, in fact, the only evidence I’d even applied for a modification were my own copies, fax confirmations, postage receipts and phone records.

It could have been a dream sequence although it had really been a nightmare.

I asked Chris if he could fax a copy of the letter. “No”. Could e-mail a copy of the letter, perhaps a pdf? “No”. I offered to send a stamped, self-addressed envelope so he could send a copy at no cost but was again rebuffed. I told him I really needed a copy of the letter – I wanted to show my congressman. I went on to say I was recording the call (meaning I was taking notes) and he said “then I’m going to have to hang up” and he did.

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Making Homes Affordable

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

In December 2009 a senior residential loan officer at a local bank spent an hour with me. He told me right from the get-go his bank was not going to loan me a penny, then he looked at the magazine article and the book and my assets and really listened. He said it would be unethical of him to grant me a loan; I could never pay it. I had to get out from under this and move on. He went on to say he had on his desk four conforming loans for people who were well-qualified and had more assets on hand than the amounts they wished to borrow but even those loans were stuck, sitting with the OCC awaiting approval, and that if he was having a hard time getting these loans approved, my non-conforming loan didn’t have a prayer. He told me my only option was HAMP. He said he’d had to turn down a local policeman who’d been laid off and was collecting unemployment; that man was ultimately able to obtain a loan modification at a 2% interest for a forty-year term. I listened, thanked him for taking the time to speak with me and vowed to myself that if I was ever again in a position to do business with a bank, his small local bank would be first on the list.

I went home to look at the website http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/modification_eligibility.html and saw the $ cap of $729,750. Okay, a reach, but maybe this could work. Yes, I owed more than $729,750.00 but I could drain my retirement savings and bring the loan amount due down to hit that number. I’d be penniless but it was still worth doing if I could get a loan modification. I called my investment adviser and told him to tee up for liquidating my retirement savings and then I called back his sharp mortgage broker friend and laid out my plans. He listened carefully and asked where the $729,750. 00 number was coming from. I told him it was on the makinghomeaffordable.gov web site. He informed me that HAMP qualifying numbers are location-based and vary by county; the Cape May County, NJ maximum $ amount was $487,500.00. I could liquidate my retirement savings and my assets and still not bring the loan balance down enough to hit that number. HAMP was not going to work for me.

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Learning Curve

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

Throughout August, September, October and November I went to large banks and small banks, banks I’d done business with in the past (Wachovia, Citizen’s & Sturdy Savings Bank) as well as banks I’d only driven by (1st Bank of Sea Isle City & 1st Colonial National Bank), meeting with residential loan officers to explore any and every possible way to refinance. Could my parents co-sign? Could a friend? Could I do something with home equity against a house I owned? Maybe a reverse mortgage? I also met with mortgage brokers who promised the moon, only to be shot down or not even called back.

I went to my investment advisor to look at raiding my retirement savings and he directed me to his mortgage guy. This guy helped him out when he was going through a divorce and his wife had destroyed his credit – he was a miracle worker. The guy was sharp and professional but there were no miracles for me. His response:  “Yes, you have equity, yes you have assets, but the banks want to see income, it’s all about income and cash flow. You need to cut your losses and move on; there will be other houses.” 

A friend in Florida told me I had to talk to her mortgage guy, he was the best. He took all my information on November 13, 2009 and called back four days later. He said there was absolutely no one who would touch a loan of this size without a comparable salary; did I have any wealthy relatives or stand to inherit any money soon? His advice: “Stop paying your mortgage, now. Write your senator; write your congressmen, there’s going to be a revolution. Mail in your house keys and walk away.” I patiently explained to him that perhaps he wasn’t hearing me correctly. I was not underwater in the loan. I had equity, enough equity that I’d been denied a loan modification, I had assets; my credit rating was decent (701 Equifax, 706 TransUnion, 732 Experian) and I’d never missed a loan payment or even been late. I could drain my retirement savings and hang on, ride this thing out until things turned around and I got a good job again. His reply: “As long as you pay, they won’t play. Stop paying now. So what if there’s a tax lien. That will get their attention. They only address the squeaky wheel. You are not a problem so they won’t work with you, they won’t talk to you, and they’ll just string you along because you are a performing loan. They will bleed you dry and take every penny you have. They just want their money. Stop making payments now.”

But I couldn’t stop paying the mortgage. I had an obligation. Only bad people didn’t pay. Plus I’d ruin my credit rating and never be able to get a loan again. It should have occurred to me that despite my good credit rating, I couldn’t get a loan now, and besides, what did I need a loan for other than a mortgage? I didn’t finance new cars, boats or anything else. I didn’t buy anything new, and I wasn’t about to start. Credit cards weren’t important – I didn’t carry a balance with American Express and used it only for work; the only other card I had was my debit card. 

I met with more loan officers, mortgage brokers, neighbors and friends of friends. I asked anyone I knew to hook me up with a senior loan officer, bank CEO or board member, any introduction where I could meet face to face and work out a way to re-finance. I talked to a lot of people but I didn’t get a loan.

In all that time, from July to November, no letter from Chase/WaMu regarding a loan modification application, review or denial ever arrived. The only thing that arrived with resolute punctuality was the monthly mortgage statement and payment coupon.

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Looking for a Loan…and a Job

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

I rented the house again, took in paying guests when I could, kicked into high gear on freelance work, scrambled to do more yard sales and flea markets and tried to create new employment opportunities when there were none to be had. There were some promising senior-level job leads and even a few phone interviews but each ended prematurely. “The position has been put on hold.” “They’ve decided to go with an incumbent.” “A board member is going to take on the role.” “They met someone outside the recruiting process and fell in love with them.” I could see that executive recruiters weren’t making much money either. A friend ran a spreadsheet calculating my savings and my income to the penny and I saw very clearly that February 2010 would be the last Chase loan mortgage payment I could make in full – my savings would be depleted. I had to figure out how to make this all work.

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Game Over

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

Phoned Chase/WaMu on July 3, 2009 at 9:30 am and spoke with Chris. After verifying all of my contact information Chris advised me that my loan modification request was reviewed two days ago and I did not qualify due to the amount of equity I have in the house. I do not meet the interior department guidelines. A letter of denial has been sent and I may certainly re-apply if “my situation changes” or maybe, he said, I ought to consider selling as they are open to a short sale. He then terminated the call.

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Chasing WaMu

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

WaMu becomes Chase!

Phoned Chase/WaMu June 5, 2009 at 9:55 am and spoke with Hank who had fond memories of vacationing on the seven-mile island of Avalon, NJ. Hank confirmed my re-submission fax was received on 6/3/09 and that the loan modification clock starts anew. Hank advised there was nothing for me to do but “be patient and pay my mortgage”. The government had changed all the programs in March and the programs change daily; his department had only been established on May 1, 2009. Hank assured me they are working on it and said it was okay to call back and check in every week.

Phoned Chase/WaMu on June 12, 2009 at 9:35 am and endured a recorded collection message informing me this was an attempt to collect a debt. Note: I had never been late nor had I missed a payment. After the message played I was put on hold for ten minutes when Kim B. picked up. Kim’s sole purpose appeared to be to transfer me and introduce me to someone who could answer my questions. I then spoke with Adam who noted I’d called before. Adam confirmed receipt of my 6/3/09 fax and advised that all paperwork was in hand, WaMu had a “complete” package. Adam said I should have an “update” by end of month; it’s taking 20-25 days for an “update”. I pressed him on what an update meant and he said deny, modify, etc.

Phoned Chase/WaMu on June 23, 2009 at 10:30 am and spoke with Brad who advised that as of 6/15/09 the loan was in the Imminent Default department and I should be calling a different number. Per Brad the loan had been assigned to Brad U. – I could see this conversation was going nowhere and asked to speak to someone in Imminent Default. I was transferred to Troy who told me the files had been “sent to Guardian to microfiche” and that should take a week. They are taking pictures of documents and basically my loan is still in the review process. There was nothing he could tell me and nothing I could do. Brad was in Loss Mitigation, now I was talking to Imminent Default and they do not share names. Troy terminated the call by hanging up on me.

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Maybe, Maybe Not

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

Phoned WaMu May 8, 2009 at 12:55 pm and spoke with Amber. Now that they have received the “missing” information, as of 4/15/09 they have 28 business days to assign to a negotiator as the package is now “complete”.  It will go to a different negotiator and within the 28 days I will be contacted.  

WaMu is Becoming Chase!

As it was the one-year anniversary of my salary reduction it seemed time to approach the owners and ask for a salary adjustment. Given that I was still doing 100% of the work at 50% of my salary, I was confident they would see how well the business was doing and make some positive salary adjustment in recognition. In acknowledgment that times were still tough, even though our sales were robust, I offered to take on additional work as part of a salary increase and posed several options. All ideas were rebuffed and no salary increase was granted.

Phoned WaMu/Chase on May 20, 2009 at 8:45 am and spoke with Julie. She indicated my loan was assigned to modification officer Brandon U. on 5/13/09 and it would take 77 days from then. Per Julie, no file was opened until 3/31/09 and anything related to my 2/24/09 submission and all prior communications were null and void. Stanley S-D. may have been an “opener”. I will receive a form letter telling me they are looking at the loan and considering my request for a modification.

May 20, 2009 at 3:35 pm I received a call on my landline, not the cell phone number I had provided to WaMu/Chase as my sole contact telephone number. It was Rich Naylor calling to tell me Brandon U. is a processor. Rich Naylor was in charge of doing the review and my loan was no longer in Loss Mitigation, it was now in the Imminent Default department. The package was considered incomplete as of 5/13/09 and would not be looked at until all updated and additional material was provided.

Rich directed me to the web site and told me to download the forms and submit all of the requested information. This site had no cheerful exclamation points – just a Borrower’s Assistance Form with a lengthy checklist.  Rich also requested:

– Updated/current utility bills showing proof of residency

– 2 pay stubs or 30 days worth of pay documents

– 2008 income tax returns

– Documentation of all assets

– Recent bank statements

– Profit & Loss Statement

– Monthly Budget

All were to be faxed to the Imminent Default department and should be mailed as well. Upon receipt of all documents, the loan would go to review and then be assigned to an underwriter, after which it would take 30-40 days.

Basically, after three months of paper shuffling WaMu, now Chase wanted a complete resubmission of my loan modification request.   

May 23, 2009 was spent assembling, copying and faxing the requested documents, now totaling 53 pages. With the exception of my 2008 tax returns (I’d already submitted 2006 & 2007), most of the documents were updates on the same documents I’d submitted 2/24/09 and 3/13/09.

May 26, 2009 I mailed the same documents to WaMu Imminent Default. No upbeat Home Ownership Preservation moniker at this address.

May 29, 2009 I confirmed the packet had been delivered at 8:51 am via Certified Mail.

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April Fools

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

Phoned WaMu April 3, 2009 at 11:20 am and spoke with Amber. Per Amber, on 3/31/09 a loss mitigation file was set up and the negotiator (a Stanley S-D.) had been assigned and he’d left a note in the account requesting that I provide copies of my last two years of income tax returns and verification of the freelance income I was reporting. She said a letter had been sent to me requesting this information.

Verification was going to be a problem on the freelance earnings. It was just that, freelance, with no guarantees and no real “boss”. No paycheck either – the money was wired to my checking account and WaMu could see that, but they wanted to know why and where it was coming from. After some wrangling I managed to get a letter from my “employer” stating that I did freelance work for them but it wasn’t easy.

Phoned WaMu April 6, 2009 at 9:00 am and spoke with Kimberly and told her I had spoken with Amber on 4/3/09 and I had still not received a letter telling me where to send the requested documents. Kimberly insisted a letter had been sent and gave me a fax number to submit my documents.

Faxed WaMu April 7, 2009 at 10:00 am and submitted the requested documents.

Phoned WaMu April 8, 2009 at 8:14 am and spoke with Kyle. I wanted to follow-up on receipt of the fax but per Kyle, they “are swamped” and I must allow WaMu 7-14 business days to receive a fax; I could try calling back on 4/14/09.

Phoned WaMu April 13, 2009 at 8:49 am and spoke with Kathy. I asked her to verify that a letter had been sent to me and to confirm receipt of the fax. Kathy alleged a letter had been sent via USPS and “the file is still open which means they must have the fax.” She advised it was now taking 79 days from when the negotiator gets it to completion. I asked to speak to the modification officer and was advised she could no longer transfer calls. I then reviewed with Kathy the entire timeline starting with WaMu’s confirmed receipt of the 2/24/09 packet and said I never got a letter acknowledging anything was happening; no one had ever gotten back to me about anything and the only way I knew additional documents were required was by repeated phone calls. I asked if I might get something in writing indicating they were working on my case. She indicated that the file went to the negotiator on 3/31/09 and confirmed my cell phone number as the correct way to reach me. It was not a friendly or productive call.

Phoned WaMu April 17, 2009 at 3:36 pm and spoke with Paula. Per Paula, they forwarded the faxed info to the negotiators on 4/15/09 and it should take 68 days. Per Paula, the negotiator is still Stanley S-D. I should call back every week or two to check on the status.

Phoned WaMu April 23, 2009 at 9:15 am and spoke with Kathy who said there was “nothing new to report at this time.” The negotiator is working on it and the time frame is now 69 days from 3/31/09.

Phoned WaMu April 30, 2009 at 1:40 pm and spoke with Kim who asked if I was just checking in on my loan modification today. Per Kim, the timeline does not start until the file is sent to a negotiator and that it would take 76 days from 3/31/09. I asked if there was anything I could do or if there had been any change since 4/15/09 and Kim said it is frustrating and she understands but there was “nothing I could do at this point.”

April is over and I am the fool.

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Time Marches On

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Cooler By A Mile

Phoned WaMu on March 6, 2009 at 9:00 am and spoke with Juan C. Per Juan, “WaMu is hiring and training people. They are getting about 150 requests a day. As of today’s date it has not yet been assigned.”  Juan estimated it would be reviewed by Friday 3/13/09 and suggested I call back then.

Phoned WaMu on March 13, 2009 at 9:20 am and spoke with Margie. Per Margie, it’s “going to be a 97-day turnaround from when the negotiator gets it” and it “should have been assigned.” Margie confirmed that nothing appeared to be missing and could not understand why it hadn’t been assigned; she then gave me a priority number to fax in my 34-page packet, even though it had been received already. When I asked her what a reasonable time frame was to follow-up, she said they would contact me within 48 hours and reconfirmed my cell phone number.

Faxed WaMu on March 13, 2009 the 34-page packet.

48 hours elapsed with no calls from WaMu.

Phoned WaMu on March 13, 2009 at 8:50 am and spoke with Kathy. The paperwork had been received on March 16, 2009 and forwarded to an “opener”. It goes to an opener first and is then assigned to a negotiator; that can take up to seven days (3/26/09). I pressed Kathy on what happened to my original submission, the one I mailed in, because we were losing time and each day counted; she said she would open up a Work Order for the original submission and indicated that once the Work Order was opened, they would contact me within 48 hours. Kathy said the whole process should take 30 to 60 days and that they were averaging 66 days.

48 hours elapsed with no calls from WaMu.

Phoned WaMu March 20, 2009 at 10:00 am and spoke with Kristen. Per Kristen, “on March 16, 2009, the packet was forwarded to C. H.” (an opener) for research and to be assigned. “Escalation is looking into what happened to the 2/24/09 submission.” I will either get a phone call or a letter in the mail regarding more info needed or that they are working on it. Kristen suggested calling in 3/31/09 to follow-up.

March ended with no calls from WaMu.

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