“Making Home Affordable Program” Archive
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I called Bank of America about yesterday’s Fed-Ex package. I half expected them to say, ‘Nope. That’s a scam. We would never voluntarily help homeowners!’ but instead, the customer service rep described the letterhead, the contents, and said, ‘if that’s what you’re staring at, that’s from us.’
I thanked him for his time and started to fill out the mile high stack of paperwork. I made a mistake, tried to use a white out pen, and it exploded all over my hands, my clothes, and my desk.
Despite rushing to the sink to clean my hands, my fingers stuck together in the white goopy mess. I wasn’t able to disconnect my middle fingers until my husband came home from school and used some industrial strength glue remover to wash the mess.
If this is a sign of things to come, it’s going to be a very long weekend of paperwork.
I received a Fed-Ex package in the mail today from Bank of America and was SHOCKED to discover what it said…
Thank you for your request on 10/15/2009 to discuss home loan assistance under the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program. During our earlier discussions about options for home loan assistance, we told you that you were not eligible for the HAMP modification program. However, upon further review of your account, you may be eligible for the HAMP modification program.
Excuse me?
I fought with you for two years (I originally applied in 2008) and NOW you Fed-Ex me an application with a Fed-Ex return envelope saying, ‘Oops, we goofed?’
Sounds like someone got audited.
I will be calling Bank of America tonight to get to the bottom of this.
After six months, nearly 30 phone calls, and countless hours on the phone…
We were rejected for the Making Home Affordable Program through Bank of America.
Our application was ‘lost’ and we were asked to reapply. We applied with the exact same numbers we used 6 months ago but this time, we were denied. The program requires homeowners to spend 37% or more of their gross income on their mortgage to qualify and does not include the second mortgage in calculating the percentage. The monthly payment for our first mortgage is 36% of our gross income. I was disappointed with how close we were until the Bank of America representative (a supervisor) told me that even if we were at 37%, we would have been turned down anyway. She said that Bank of America isn’t likely to approve homeowners for the Making Home Affordable Program unless they are closer to 40-45%.
I asked her if we could refinance and she immediately said no. Not because we are upside-down on our home, but because refinancing requires homeowners to spend less than 33% of their gross income on BOTH mortgages combined.
I have a feeling there are a lot of homeowners stuck in this percentage window.
I’m disappointed to be stuck with a high interest mortgage, but we’re fortunate to be able to ‘afford’ our payment and we aren’t at risk of losing our home. We’re going to hold on, take responsibility for our poor decisions, and move forward.
As I’ve said before, I am in the process of applying for the Making Home Affordable program. I am not looking to reduce my principle balance – I’m trying to get my high interest rates reduced to within 1-2% of the market range.
In October of last year, I was approved for the Making Home Affordable program through Bank of America. I was told I would receive the paperwork in 45 business days or less. Surprise. Surprise. It’s been over 60 business days and I have yet to see any paperwork from my lender (except the multiple pre-approvals for Home Equity Lines of Credit they send each month).
I called last week to check the status and was told to call back the next day. They continued to tell me to call back for 3 days. Late last week, I was told I was no longer qualified for the Making Home Affordable Program. After months of delays, this was disheartening news.
I called again last night to discuss my refinancing options and was told I was still being considered for the Making Home Affordable program and was told to call back in two weeks.
Based on the current progress, I should have this resolved by the time I pay off my home in 30 years.
I learned a lot about the Making Home Affordable/Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in my 2 hour call with Bank of America.
1 – If you are hoping for a huge change… this is not the answer. Not all changes are permanent and/or large. Some adjustments may last as little as 3 months.
2 – Loan modifications are not quick. If you can’t wait the standard 9 weeks for the review of your file and another 5-9 weeks for paperwork processing, you don’t have enough time and you may want to move forward with other options like a short sale or foreclosure.
3 – Give an accurate listing of all your expenses. Don’t exaggerate but don’t minimize either. Have a good understanding of exactly how much you are paying. Keep this information available for when you call the bank.
4 – You will be rejected if you have recently made large purchases or if your credit score is low. You shouldn’t be making large purchases anyway so I can’t say as if I blame the banks for this stipulation.
5 – If you have a second mortgage with another lender, they will likely require you to get approved for the Making Home Affordable Program on your first loan before they will consider a change to your second mortgage. If you are accepted for the program on your first loan, it’s easy to submit the same paperwork for your second mortgage.
6 – This should not be your only option. It’s worth a try, but don’t fool yourself into thinking this will solve your problems.
7 – If your home is not a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage, this program does not apply to you… BUT some lenders are still willing to modify other types of loans.
8 – This is a voluntary program. No one HAS to help you. Sure it’s good business sense to lessen foreclosures on the banks part, but if you are a problem child, don’t expect any help. Banks don’t want to keep you as a customer anyway. Be kind, courteous, and polite even if you are frustrated.
According to the bank’s calculations, my husband and I qualify. We are now in the first 9 week waiting period while they review our files. We have stellar credit scores and we haven’t made large purchases in a long time. We are good candidates for an interest rate reduction from the over 7% it is currently, down to the market rates of 5-6%.
Do I really think it will really happen?
No. But it’s worth a try.
I am throwing the white flag…
and applying for the Making Home Affordable program.
Yesterday, I left work early and made THE call. My call started at 5:07 p.m. and ended at 5:57 p.m.
I called the Making Home Affordable number on my Bank of America mortgage website and waited 17 minutes on hold. Someone answered and transferred my call since my mortgage used to be a Countrywide mortgage and they had a separate division.
I’m fairly certain they routed my call around the world because really, what else can explain the 24 minute hold time and the gentleman who sounded like had lunch in Bangladesh. He asked for my name, account number, checked my account, thanked me for paying on time, and told me I would be transferred yet again to a representative. 9 minutes later, a message said, ‘Our office is now closed. Please call back another time.’
I would give you advice on dealing with the Making Home Affordable program but since I didn’t talk to anyone, I will tell you this… you need more than an hour.
Dear Bank of America… I had far better things to do than spend 50 minutes of my life listening to Kenny G. and the recorded reminder that someone will be with me shortly. Obviously you and I have VERY different definitions of ‘shortly’ AND, I had to drink three glasses of Chianti just to keep my ears from bleeding.
Ugh. Kenny G.
I’ll let you know how it goes… if I ever get through.
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