Client names were changed to protect the innocent. Lender name changed only in the third tale. The range of responses is what is most impressive.

  • Gary stopped me to tell that he was approached by his lender, Impac. He’d never been late on a payment. They called numerous times, he said, anticipating that his loan was upside down and offering to cut his loan interest rate. At first he thought the calls were a scam and didn’t respond. When he did talk to Impac he was surprised.

    After writing a hardship letter stating that his income was down by 20%, they adjusted his loan payment from 6% to a rate of 3.75% which they’ll hold for 5 years. They charged him $2000. Smart move, Impac.

  • Nadine approached her lender, Wachovia, for a modification when she fell four months behind in her payments. “Our loan modifications take from 7 to 9 business days,” they said. Then they told her what to write in her hardship letter and were true to their word. In just under 2 weeks her mortgage payment was cut by 1/3 and the missed payments were forgiven.

  • Martin is the more normal, not happy story. He approached his lender, I’ll call them Lender X, when his income slipped and he fell behind on his payments. They directed him to a website for a list of required information – bank statements, tax returns, hardship letter, etc. Then they unleashed their collection department, calling him at home and at work several times a day. “Your application was rejected as incomplete. You’ll have to resubmit,” he was told a month later when he quizzed one of the debt collection dogs. “We have changed our requirements, adding another form to the mix.” Martin resubmitted.

    The collection calls continued. “The modification can take up to six months. Can you make a payment today?” Ring, ring, ring, on and on. Then another rejection. Another resubmission. The third submission was scanned into their computer system (takes 7 to 10 days to scan, he was told). Two more months have passed and still nothing beyond the rumor that a negotiator has been assigned his loan and that he will either hear from the negotiator within 72 hours or, according to another Lender X wizard a week later, in 6 to 8 weeks. Bonus dollars for Lender X? God, I hope not!

    Posted by:Tom Verkozen