Subscribe to RSSMaking Homes Affordable Program: First Hand Experience
Several months ago I encouraged you all to go out and see if you qualify for the “Making Home Affordable” program http://www.financialstability.gov/. I took the time to read through the website and walk through the steps to see if our mortgage would qualify. I checked with Fanni Mae and Freddie Mac and both indicated that they did NOT hold our loan. My next step was to look at a traditional loan since interest rates are so good right now so I call my mortgage company, Wells Fargo and the first thing their automated message said was that our loan WAS held by Fannie Mae.
Point 1: Double check with your mortgage company to see if you qualify.
Point 2: If you don’t qualify you may qualify for a “stream line loan” through your mortgage company which means you won’t have to pay the typical refinancing fees.
I immediately called my local Wells Fargo mortgage representative, Victor. Victor gave me excellent information and he explained to me some of the options Wells Fargo could do for us. He also gave me two numbers to call to get the process started. 1-877-937-9357 1-800-678-7986
Point 3: If you know you qualify start the process ASAP since it will take several months to get your mortgage modified. We faxed our information in April and we won’t have an answer till July (best case).
When you call make sure you tell them you want to apply for the “making home affordable program”. They will ask several questions like: are you current on your payments? If you are not current you won’t qualify. Are you planning on staying in your home? Again, they want to make sure you are serious about keeping your house and making your payments.
Once they get your information they will need you to fax in these things:
Hardship letter *signed, last 4-digits of SS#, Loan number and dated by the loan holders
last 2 pay stubs *all working loan holders
expenses and debts *signed, last 4-digits of SS#, Loan number and dated by the loan holders
**They gave me two fax numbers so I faxed to both.**
ATTENTION - Loss Mitigation for Wells Fargo 800-678-7986
Fax 866-590-8910
Fax 866-359-7363
Call to confirm 800-416-1472
Loan #
Point 4: Please note there are more than one fax number and phone numbers. I kept them all and used them all. Once you fax in your information call to confirm they received the fax.
Point 5: Call once every 1-2 weeks to verify your paper work is being reviewed and if they need additional information.
Hardship Letter Example
Name
Address
last 4-digits of SS#
Loan number
Phone number
To Whom this may concern,
Over the last year we have experienced several difficulties and significant life events that have impacted us financially. To date we are current on all of our bills and have made significant cuts and used a large portion of our savings in order to keep current on all debts and to maintain our credit rating. Below is the chronological order of the last 12 months that have created a financial hardship for our family.
April 2008 - medical leave because of a complication with pregnancy
July 2008 - Hospital stay
July 2008 - taken via ambulance to the hospital for an emergency c-section. Baby was born 2 months premature and spent 22 days in the NICU. Baby also required monthly doctors visits that included special shots because of her prematurity.
September - Home depreciated drastically
October 2008 - (18 month old son) was taken to the emergency room.
November 2008 - Loss of job
November 2008 - out patient surgery
December 2008 - out patient surgery.
January 2009 - company wide 5% pay decrease and announced they would be laying off 5000 employees
January 2009 - admitted to the hospital for 7 days for an infection which included surgery.
*From April 2008 - April 2009 we had medical bills exceeding $100,000.
Monthly Expense Examples
Food
Utilities (power, water, gas)
mortgage and taxes
Home owners association
Phone
insurance (home and car)
cable
medical, vision, dental insurance
Gas (transportation) -
Medical bills
Misc. (clothing, toiletries, gifts, etc.)
Child care
Sewer & Garbage
Point 6: You need to be your own advocate. No one else is going to make sure you and your family is taken care of. You can lower your mortgage payment and You don’t have to lose your home. Be tenacious, get your paper work in order, fax it in, and call often.
I will be updating our progress through this process and of course sharing with you. There isn’t a single family that hasn’t been affected by the economy so whatever your situation is, there is help so take advantage. Please email me if I can help you in any way or you have questions regarding my experience with getting our mortgage retooled. angela@momsfirststop.com
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One Person has left comments on this post
May 22, 2009 - 06:05:15I discovered your homepage by coincidence.
Very interesting posts and well written.
I will put your site on my blogroll.