I had some good news yesterday that I just had to share! I successfully made it through the government maze known as the "Making Home Affordable" program and lowered my mortgage payments by a little over $100 monthly. For those of you that are trying, for those that may be discouraged by the lengthy waiting periods with no word at all, or for those who have been told you are not eligible even though you think you should be when you read the information posted on the government site, I would advise you to go back and try, try again. I can tell you that all of these things happened to me along the way. You almost have to consider this a game of "Beat the System" but don’t let it beat you. The key is persistence.
I started the process back in August, 2009, after I first checked the government site to find out if I would be eligible. It appeared I should be eligible since my mortgage payment exceeded 31% of my income by five percentage points. I figured that if I went through the program I would save over $100/month, and at my income level, that’s more than enough to make it worthwhile. So I called my mortgage company as instructed at the government site. The result of my initial call was that I was told I would not be eligible. I argued that the government site tells me otherwise, but the person on the other end of the phone was little more than a bank trained parrot who kept repeating the company line, not eligible, not eligible, not eligible. Well, I believed the government more than the bank (which had a vested interest in saying no), so the next day I called back and this time I had my thoughts a little more collected and had left my frustration behind before I picked up the phone. Instead of telling the switchboard I needed to talk to the Making Home Affordable program, I asked for the mortgage modification dept. I have since come to the conclusion that my first call was misdirected (partly due to my own inexperience with the program) to the part of the program that deals with refinance.
That call affirmed my eligibility for the program and gave me a list of things that I would need to collect, copy and turn in to verify the information needed to process my claim. One of those things was check stubs to show my earnings. I earn a small amount for an apx. 12 hr work week for which I get a monthly check. However, I hadn’t realized that the check came without a check stub. I just got a 1099 at the end of the year, but I had no other way to verify my monthly or weekly income. So I decided I would have to photocopy my checks and wait a few months to apply so that I could give them the two or three months worth of check stubs required. At some point I had a few questions and called back again and was again told that I was not eligible. I’m not sure if this time was because the twit at the bank was just poorly trained or whether I once again was misdirected by the switchboard. But I would not be dissuaded; I called right back and this time reached the right department who reaffirmed my eligibility. They were also able to answer all my questions and I was soon to be on my way. After just one more reiteration of my "not eligible" status was once again refuted, the next call I made was after the holiday season and I was able to tell them I was now ready to apply.
By this time, it seems their competence at handling my calls and dealing with my requests showed what I considered a growth spurt. I was told that now they were able to take my initial application over the phone. I gave them the information asked for and was instructed that I should expect a package to arrive by fed ex. The package would include all the information that I would need to complete the process, including a check list of things that I would need to supply to them to verify my income, the source of the hardship that caused me to apply to begin with (in my case, illness), tax form information, whether you have a Freddie Mac mortgage, and any other information about your life that could have even the most tangential relevance to your application to reduce your mortgage amount. The package included an instruction sheet and a time limit to return the package. The lady told me on the phone that this program is set up not to cost the home owner a dime, and she wasn’t kidding. They even provided a fed-ex envelope that included a pre-addressed peel off shipping label to be attached to make it easier to overnight the package to be return to them on a timely basis.
The package I received was dated January 14, and the package was to be returned by February 13. I received a call from them about a week or so prior to my return date, which I am assuming was meant to remind me about the return deadline. I’m very glad they called, because I might have forgotten about the deadline if they hadn’t called. I got the package in with one day to spare, and expected to hear back soon (somewhere I read they would get in touch within 10 days.) I did hear back, but they asked for some supplemental information regarding whether I might have assets (perhaps a hidden fortune in stocks, bonds, etc.) the value of my 1995 Toyota Corolla with nearly 120K miles on it, etc. Since they are the government, I joke about it, but I would expect no less as a taxpayer concerned that they’re not giving our money away to some scam artist.
I was given a number to fax the information to, which I did, but when I called about a week later, they said their computer does not show that they had received the pages I faxed. So they gave me another number to fax to, and I resent the info as soon as I could get my fax to work out some glitch it had developed. Then yesterday I called back again to find out if they had gotten my info, and after I once again went thru the maze of phone numbers and questions, I finally reached someone who, after I answered just a few more questions, could tell me that I had made it thru the system and my mortgage amount would be less by over $100 with a whole new interest rate almost 2 points lower (from 6.5% to 4.6%). Yay! I will be operating under a trial period for 3 months and then supposedly my mortgage rate will be permanently lower.
As to advice to anyone who is trying to go through the same program and is experiencing a high degree of frustration, just know that frustration is part and parcel of what it takes to go through some of these government programs. As taxpayers, you should not expect it to be easy. I would, however, advise you to take names, record dates of all phone contacts or correspondence, record what you were told, verify everything and try, try again if you think you’ve been misinformed. Don’t give up! Adhere to the letter of the law, but don’t let misguided or misinformed or just plain crooked bank personnel buffalo you into believing you’re not eligible when the government says you are. If necessary, find a way to report abuse by banks that don’t want to give you benefits your government has carved out for you. Adhere to deadlines. Cross your Ts and dot those Is. Then send copies and only copies (never originals!) of everything. While you’re making those copies, make one complete copy for yourself. In the event that things get lost, you don’t want to have to go back thru numerous files to re-gather the information.
My understanding is there may be some additional programs developed more recently. These programs now include Second Mortgage Modification and Foreclosure Alternatives as well as the original Refinancing and Modification programs, so if you need to, check out the government website again. I wish all who have found themselves foundering due to the mortgage mess good luck. Hope you have at least as good a result as I did due to perseverance.