Mortgage readjustment issues

[Tater]

So after 15 years of never even being late on a mortgage payment, the economy finally got me.

I’m in recruiting on commission only so you can where the loss of income comes from.

Me and my wife haven’t missed a payment yet, but we know next month there’s not a chance we will be able to pay.

This led me to contact Well Fargo to ask about a loan modification.



After spending two and a half hours with them the last two evenings, they only option they offered was the government H.A.M.P. program.

I researched it and it seems like a joke. Basically just a rolling late payment that screws up your credit and they can drop you from this at any time after 90 days. From what I’ve read, over half of the people have been dropped already.



Has anyone here been in a similar situation that could offer any advice?

We are upside down on the house so that limits some of the options.

 

[Ymono37]

So after 15 years of never even being late on a mortgage payment, the economy finally got me.

I’m in recruiting on commission only so you can where the loss of income comes from.

Me and my wife haven’t missed a payment yet, but we know next month there’s not a chance we will be able to pay.

This led me to contact Well Fargo to ask about a loan modification.



After spending two and a half hours with them the last two evenings, they only option they offered was the government H.A.M.P. program.

I researched it and it seems like a joke. Basically just a rolling late payment that screws up your credit and they can drop you from this at any time after 90 days. From what I’ve read, over half of the people have been dropped already.



Has anyone here been in a similar situation that could offer any advice?

We are upside down on the house so that limits some of the options.

Talk to BeastKeeper or Jako... they may have some tips.

 

[Kerfuffle]

So after 15 years of never even being late on a mortgage payment, the economy finally got me.

I’m in recruiting on commission only so you can where the loss of income comes from.

Me and my wife haven’t missed a payment yet, but we know next month there’s not a chance we will be able to pay.

This led me to contact Well Fargo to ask about a loan modification.



After spending two and a half hours with them the last two evenings, they only option they offered was the government H.A.M.P. program.

I researched it and it seems like a joke. Basically just a rolling late payment that screws up your credit and they can drop you from this at any time after 90 days. From what I’ve read, over half of the people have been dropped already.



Has anyone here been in a similar situation that could offer any advice?

We are upside down on the house so that limits some of the options.

I have a couple rental properties and have dealt with pre-foreclosures and short sales a bit. Since you're upside down on the house the property would not be attractive to a foreclosure investor (no equity) to buy however it's an ideal candidate for a short sale. But no bank will allow a short sale as long as you are current on payments. Unfortunately you have to be several months in arrears in order for them to consider that. Not looking to sell but rather just modify the mortgage? Same principle holds true - they won't be motivated to work with you until you start having some missed payments. Do you expect your situation to turn around soon? Can/does the wife work? You can also make hardship withdrawals from your IRA tax-free. 401k withdrawal as well.

 

[Tater]

I have a couple rental properties and have dealt with pre-foreclosures and short sales a bit. Since you're upside down on the house the property would not be attractive to a foreclosure investor (no equity) to buy however it's an ideal candidate for a short sale. But no bank will allow a short sale as long as you are current on payments. Unfortunately you have to be several months in arrears in order for them to consider that. Not looking to sell but rather just modify the mortgage? Same principle holds true - they won't be motivated to work with you until you start having some missed payments. Do you expect your situation to turn around soon? Can/does the wife work? You can also make hardship withdrawals from your IRA tax-free. 401k withdrawal as well.

Thanks for replying. Unfortunately your right about the bank not helping out much until you become late on payments.

It really gets to me because if feel keeping my credit in excellent shape has been the only thing I’ve done right in life.

I doubt selling would even be an option in this market but I’d love to get out of the place.



Me and my wife both work full time with a 45 minute commute each way. She did just land a part-time job on weekends but that might only be seasonal. We both have been looking for part-time jobs for months but with the hours we work already and the commute, there’s not to much flex in our hour of availability.

Making a withdrawal from my pension is something I hadn’t thought of yet but I definitely will. Thanks for that idea.

After running through all of our bills vs. income with the bank, we are about $300-400 short a month.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

With Marcy going on 3 months unemployed, we had to sit down and budget everything.

With my income and her small unemployment check, we have around 100 dollars each month to play with after expenses. We kept one luxury-- cable/internet, which runs 150/month. I'm seriously considering axing that for the new year and keeping the internet so I can watch games online. It sucks, but we just got the reassessment costs in the mail, and our house payment went up $90. So, more or less that eliminates our 100 dollar "fudge" money.



I'm not sure if you can sit down and eliminate some costs that you may not need. Even going from name brand foods to generics will save money over time-- and we've been very careful with our heating bill. I'm also using the Civic over the Infinity gas guzzler for my commute to save on petrol. Every little bit counts right now. I'm also selling about 80% of my games (because I'm a bad fan

)



The best thing to do is create a spreadsheet and see if there are funds you can redirect.

 

[Kerfuffle]

Thanks for replying. Unfortunately your right about the bank not helping out much until you become late on payments.

It really gets to me because if feel keeping my credit in excellent shape has been the only thing I’ve done right in life.

I doubt selling would even be an option in this market but I’d love to get out of the place.



Me and my wife both work full time with a 45 minute commute each way. She did just land a part-time job on weekends but that might only be seasonal. We both have been looking for part-time jobs for months but with the hours we work already and the commute, there’s not to much flex in our hour of availability.

Making a withdrawal from my pension is something I hadn’t thought of yet but I definitely will. Thanks for that idea.

After running through all of our bills vs. income with the bank, we are about $300-400 short a month.

I've seen it before with banks not willing to play ball even when people are asking for help, don't want a handout, and just want to make things more manageable with the monthly payment. The banks do this because some people would then game the system - in other words, someone who can make the payments and has no problem decides they want to have the terms adjusted favorably for themselves. So until the bank sees missed payments they will ignore it.



Also, the withdrawal would be from an IRA or 401K, not your pension. Dont' just do a straight withdrawal - you need to contact customer service that runs it and ask what the procedure is for a hardship withdrawal - this will save you on the penalties and taxes.

 

[Kerfuffle]

With Marcy going on 3 months unemployed, we had to sit down and budget everything.

With my income and her small unemployment check, we have around 100 dollars each month to play with after expenses. We kept one luxury-- cable/internet, which runs 150/month. I'm seriously considering axing that for the new year and keeping the internet so I can watch games online. It sucks, but we just got the reassessment costs in the mail, and our house payment went up $90. So, more or less that eliminates our 100 dollar "fudge" money.



I'm not sure if you can sit down and eliminate some costs that you may not need. Even going from name brand foods to generics will save money over time-- and we've been very careful with our heating bill. I'm also using the Civic over the Infinity gas guzzler for my commute to save on petrol. Every little bit counts right now. I'm also selling about 80% of my games (because I'm a bad fan

)



The best thing to do is create a spreadsheet and see if there are funds you can redirect.

I was gonna suggest selling your season tickets but I see you already did that. I also suggest that if you are keeping 20% of the games you keep the games that are worth the least on the secondary market. I know that's not ideal, but you have to sell the prime games because of the money they bring in. I would sell all Detroit matchups, the Philly game in January, and Pitt game in February. You will get top dollar for those and that will give you a little more spending money. The games worth the least would be Columbus, Nashville, and Edmonton. All 3 of those are dogs in my business and we make the least amount on them. Good luck to you!

 

[Tater]

With Marcy going on 3 months unemployed, we had to sit down and budget everything.

With my income and her small unemployment check, we have around 100 dollars each month to play with after expenses. We kept one luxury-- cable/internet, which runs 150/month. I'm seriously considering axing that for the new year and keeping the internet so I can watch games online. It sucks, but we just got the reassessment costs in the mail, and our house payment went up $90. So, more or less that eliminates our 100 dollar "fudge" money.



I'm not sure if you can sit down and eliminate some costs that you may not need. Even going from name brand foods to generics will save money over time-- and we've been very careful with our heating bill. I'm also using the Civic over the Infinity gas guzzler for my commute to save on petrol. Every little bit counts right now. I'm also selling about 80% of my games (because I'm a bad fan

)



The best thing to do is create a spreadsheet and see if there are funds you can redirect.

Thanks Paul. We have been cutting back for over a year now and there's not really anything else to cut. We really never go out anywhere anymore, just work and come home.

We've been married for 2 and a half years now. A couple months after we got married, she was layed off from United and was off for several months. She found a new job but makes 25% less. The economy the last two year totally crushed my income as a recruiter.

I haven't taken a vacation day in almost 3 years now and I am starting to feel braindead (no comments out of you AssHavok)

 

[TSD]

With Marcy going on 3 months unemployed, we had to sit down and budget everything.

With my income and her small unemployment check, we have around 100 dollars each month to play with after expenses. We kept one luxury-- cable/internet, which runs 150/month. I'm seriously considering axing that for the new year and keeping the internet so I can watch games online. It sucks, but we just got the reassessment costs in the mail, and our house payment went up $90. So, more or less that eliminates our 100 dollar "fudge" money.



I'm not sure if you can sit down and eliminate some costs that you may not need. Even going from name brand foods to generics will save money over time-- and we've been very careful with our heating bill. I'm also using the Civic over the Infinity gas guzzler for my commute to save on petrol. Every little bit counts right now. I'm also selling about 80% of my games (because I'm a bad fan

)



The best thing to do is create a spreadsheet and see if there are funds you can redirect.

Almost makes you want to go out and shoot up a post office, when you realize how much of your money goes toward taxes+stuff you literally cant do with out, and seems fucking ludicrous that the only monthly luxury you spend money on is fucking internet and cable (not saying you specifically, its the only mothly luxury i spend money on too). literally, I have enough money left over to put a bit in the bank, and go tot he bar on the weekend.





and Tater, this has got to be a tough situation to go through after just 2 and a half years of marriage. Do you have any family that can help you out? Don't want to rag on your career, but personally i would never ever take a job that operated soley on commision, that is too much of an unknown quantity for me bad economy or not.

 

[Tater]

Almost makes you want to go out and shoot up a post office, when you realize how much of your money goes toward taxes+stuff you literally cant do with out, and seems fucking ludicrous that the only monthly luxury you spend money on is fucking internet and cable (not saying you specifically, its the only mothly luxury i spend money on too). literally, I have enough money left over to put a bit in the bank, and go tot he bar on the weekend.

This totally applies to me too. I need the internet for working after-hours from home though and our cable has already been dropped to the most basic package.

It does make you want to shoot up a Post Office though, just not the one in your own town or you might miss receiving a bill.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Almost makes you want to go out and shoot up a post office, when you realize how much of your money goes toward taxes+stuff you literally cant do with out, and seems fucking ludicrous that the only monthly luxury you spend money on is fucking internet and cable (not saying you specifically, its the only mothly luxury i spend money on too). literally, I have enough money left over to put a bit in the bank, and go tot he bar on the weekend.

Once Marcy finds work, the ship will right itself.

We have been very conservative with our funds, so it will take a very long time for us to really hurt.

My biggest fear is Marcy being unemployed for a year-- maybe 2.

Once my school loans for grad school kick in after I graduate-- that's what could sink us. The plus side, there's work for me. The down side, Marcy has a degree, and held no job even close in relation to her field. I had to marry an artist... sigh.





The reality is the housing market, and how much it crashed after 2009 and when the Obama money was cut off. That was the "bailout" her and I needed, and we've put the funds to work in our favor. I honestly think everyone in a home needs that money-- even if they have owned for many years (my small soapbox rant).

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

This totally applies to me too. I need the internet for working after-hours from home though and our cable has already been dropped to the most basic package.

It does make you want to shoot up a Post Office though, just not the one in your own town or you might miss receiving a bill.

Too cliche.

I'd rather wield a katana in a busy mall, and cut down the innocent while screaming "nine eleven!"

Why nine eleven? No reason. It would keep people guessing for years.

 

[supraman]

Too cliche.

I'd rather wield a katana in a busy mall, and cut down the innocent while screaming "nine eleven!"

Why nine eleven? No reason. It would keep people guessing for years.

Bah if doing that then scream out 8 23 or something.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Bah if doing that then scream out 8 23 or something.

I was just going to roll my 100 sided die twice.

 

[supraman]

I was just going to roll my 100 sided die twice.

Ah okay. Could roll 2 d10s oh yeah I'ma nerd.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Ah okay. Could roll 2 d10s oh yeah I'ma nerd.

I had a buddy make a d6 with two faces of 1,2,3 so I could have a d3.

 

[TSD]

Once Marcy finds work, the ship will right itself.

We have been very conservative with our funds, so it will take a very long time for us to really hurt.

My biggest fear is Marcy being unemployed for a year-- maybe 2.

Once my school loans for grad school kick in after I graduate-- that's what could sink us. The plus side, there's work for me. The down side, Marcy has a degree, and held no job even close in relation to her field. I had to marry an artist... sigh.





The reality is the housing market, and how much it crashed after 2009 and when the Obama money was cut off. That was the "bailout" her and I needed, and we've put the funds to work in our favor. I honestly think everyone in a home needs that money-- even if they have owned for many years (my small soapbox rant).

Ive got that beat a buddy of mine and his wife are BOTH Art graduates. My buddy works as a concept artist for a video game company, his wife is unemployed (shes a painter) ive never actually seen ads for a steady job in being a "painter" unless its the kind thats in a union and goes to sherwin williams for paint. Her work doesn't sell either, it doesn't surprise me, as she isnt very good (I still am a hobby artist, despite giving it up as a profession because my parents convinced me there was no money in art so i switched degrees) .



Are your college loans federal or private? Those federal loans you can pretty much put off forever with no penalty due to hardship. My ex- was always putting hers off for some BS reason and they are like whatever.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Ive got that beat a buddy of mine and his wife are BOTH Art graduates. My buddy works as a concept artist for a video game company, his wife is unemployed (shes a painter) ive never actually seen ads for a steady job in being a "painter" unless its the kind thats in a union and goes to sherwin williams for paint. Her work doesn't sell either, it doesn't surprise me, as she isnt very good (I still am a hobby artist, despite giving it up as a profession because my parents convinced me there was no money in art so i switched degrees) .



Are your college loans federal or private? Those federal loans you can pretty much put off forever with no penalty due to hardship. My ex- was always putting hers off for some BS reason and they are like whatever.

They're all federal.

The issue currently is that the loans for her are in her mom's name, and she has a good job with the city.

It's really up to Marcy to handle her business in that regard.

I have my undergrad loans at 3.1%. So, I'm cool there.

 

[jakobeast]

Tater, I feel ya. Mind you, I am no expert on this situation, so take what I say with a grain of salt.



You may just have to take the hit. You won't be able to sell right now even if you wanted to. Mortgage companies will not help unless you are looking for a hand out or are way behind. Even then, they won't really help. You're credit will take a hit and it will be gut wrenching.



Beastkeeper and I are underwater by about 30k or so. That's not terrible compared to some, but it still sucks, as we are throwing good money after bad. I would suggest contest you property taxes. That may help in the long run. It won't help now, but in the future it may lower your mortgage payment overall.



I never understood the government programs out there. All they did was delay the inevitable. If someone was laid off, and can't get another job because no one is hiring and the economy is in the throne, how is modifying their loan gonna help? They could modify it till the cows come home, if that person isn't earning money, they can't afford to pay it anyhow.



How do you like that ray of sunshine?





































It'll get better. Someday. Just keep your head up.

 

[PatrickShart]

Theres a guy I work with here that used a company called NACA - NACA.com . It didnt cost him a thing, and they went and "fought the battle" for him, and got his payments reduced. You HAVE TO skip payments though to get heard. To be honest, I dont know too much about it, so you may want to research it yourself. I know, just from talking to him...he did all the letter writing, phone calls, etc to Wells Fargo and they did nothing but give the old run around. Apparently, this company has TONS of clients. He had to go to some 4 hour seminar, but in the long run - they contacted the bank for him, and all of a sudden, a packet from WFargo shows up at his door with him to sign with a loan modification.



Again, please look into it yourself, I just know it worked for him and he speaks highly of them.



Good luck, man. And...as hard as letting the credit go, dont fret. I've had a good friend in CA that did it. Same deal...great credit, even comes from a family with good money/responsible. Couldnt sell the place, needed to move for work, was in an 80/20 and the bank wouldnt listen to him until he missed a payment....even the lawyer he hired told him that.