All We Have to Do to Modify Our Loan is Get a Major Media Outlet to Do a Story About Us

Do you guys every listen to the Planet Money podcast? Well, it's great. You should! Monday's podcast ("Your Future Mortgage") featured a story about a homeowner who had been attempting to modify his loan through Obama's plan and had no success. Wells Fargo is his loan servicer and hadn't been able to give him any answers even though he was a perfect candidate for the Obama Plan. This sounded just like us. They kept giving him the runaround. For weeks. And weeks. No answers. Just, "Call back." And, "Send us your financials." Just like Countrywide did with us- as I wrote here.

Anyway, Wells Fargo eventually told this guy that he had been denied for a modification. Until, that is, Planet Money aired his story! Monday, the day the Planet Money podcast aired, this guy was suddenly told that his modification had been approved. No explanation as to how it went from being denied to approved.

He is now saving $500 a month and has a 3.75% interest rate down from 6-something%. Today's Planet Money podcast talks about this and how this is seemingly a phenomena. People go through hell trying to get modifications, get nowhere, then a major media outlet airs their story and WHAMMO! Loan Modified!

So, now to get someone's attention. NPR, PRI, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, XYZ, LMNOP?! Help.

"And Three Baby Camels" - Planet Money

Obama's Housing Plan goes into effect today

Well, we have yet to hear back from President Obama or his staff in response to my letter. Can you believe it? Hopefully it won't matter. Today is March 4th and seeing as we still have yet to sell our house or even get one offer (after dropping the price 4 times) we will be calling Countrywide to see if we, indeed, qualify for the plan.

Here's a little information courtesy of cnnmoney.com:

Obama foreclosure fix open for business
Federal officials release details of $75 billion loan modification and refinancing programs. Borrowers can start contacting loan servicers.
By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: March 4, 2009: 11:08 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program is open for business.
The multipronged fix calls for companies to help as many 4 million struggling borrowers by modifying loans so monthly housing payments are no more than 31% of monthly gross income. Separately, homeowners who haven't missed a payment can refinance into lower-cost loans even if they have little or no equity. This is expected to help up to 5 million homeowners.
The $75 billion loan modification plan will provide incentives to borrowers and loan servicers and investors to spur mortgage modifications. The government will also subsidize interest rate reductions to get borrowers to affordable monthly payments.
"This plan will help make home ownership more affordable for nine million American families and in doing so, help to stop the damaging impact that declining home prices have on all Americans," said Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan.
Borrowers can now contact their servicers to see whether they are eligible for assistance. Federal officials will promote the program at homeownership events nationwide.
The administration Wednesday released additional eligibility criteria and program guidelines.
The loan modification plan focuses on people who are behind in their payments or are at risk of default.
Federal officials clarified the definition of "at risk" as those: suffering serious hardships, declines in income or increase in expenses; facing an interest rate hike; having high mortgage debt compared to income; owing more than their house is worth, or demonstrating other reasons for being close to default.
To participate in the loan modification plan, borrowers must:
have obtained their mortgage before Jan. 1, 2009;
have a primary mortgage of less than $729,500;
live in the property;
fully document their income by providing tax returns and pay stubs;
sign a statement of financial hardship; and
go for counseling if their total household debt - including auto loans, credit cards and alimony - totals more than 55% of their income.
The modification program will be in effect until the end of 2012, but loans can only be adjusted once.
Officials also unveiled more details on how servicers will modify the loans. First, they must reduce interest rates so that borrowers' total house payments are not more than 38% of their monthly income. The government will then subsidize servicers dollar-for-dollar to lower that ratio to 31% - but the interest rate can't go below 2%.
The new interest rate would then remain in place for five years, after which it will increase by 1 percentage point a year until it reaches either the original rate or the prevailing mortgage rate at the time of the modification, whichever is lower.
If rate reductions aren't enough to get payments to 31% of income, a lender can extend the term up to 40 years, or shift part of the principal to the end of the loan at no interest. Servicers also have the option of reducing the loan's balance.
Servicers will receive $1,000 for each loan modified, as well as additional annual bonuses if borrowers keep up with payments. Investors will receive one-time $1,500 incentive payments for restructuring qualifying loans that are not yet delinquent. Finally, borrowers who keep up with their new payments will receive up to $1,000 a year in principal reduction, for up to five years.
The program also includes a new provision to eliminate borrowers' second mortgages. Investors in those mortgages, who at times have blocked modifications because they don't benefit from the adjustments, will receive incentives to eliminate those claims. Servicers that get second-mortgage holders to participate will receive an additional $250.
First Published: March 4, 2009: 9:22 AM ET

Dear President Obama...

Last week President Obama announced his new Housing Plan. A plan! Could it help us?! I immediately read everything I could find about the plan and contacted our lender to express our interest in determining whether or not we are candidates. Countrywide said that they didn't have any information and wouldn't have any until March 4th. They said that they couldn't 'stall' the foreclosure until then because it might turn out that we're not candidates for said plan. So I was very nice and just expressed interest and our commitment to doing whatever we can to either keep the house or get a short sale together. I reiterated everything I always do each time I speak to the bank... state what happened, that we were never late with payments before Bob got laid off, that we've been in communication since the beginning, that we want to stay in our house, that we've requested their assistance in a mortgage workout and were turned down, that the house has been on the market for six months, that we're responsible people and want to be responsible for our debt and that the last thing we want is to lose the house to foreclosure.

After I hung up, Bob and I decided that we would contact the White House and on Monday morning (because why not?) and we would call the Corporate Offices of Countrywide to learn more about their position on the Housing Plan and state our commitment for the record.

When I sat down at my computer today to read the updates on www.whitehouse.gov, I didn't expect to send an 'off the cuff' letter to our President, but I did. Here's what I sent:


Dear President Obama:

I am writing you as a homeowner who is at risk of losing her dream home in Los Angeles, CA and I have questions about your housing plan. My husband and I bought this house two and a half years ago. We put 20% down and immediately started to build our dream home. We renovated our kitchen and yard to create a place where we could start to have children. This is where we planned to raise them.

On July 10, 2008 my husband lost his job and we lost our family income. Almost all of our savings went into the house and we were immediately in dire straights. We put our house on the market exactly 28 days after he lost his job as we quickly realized we didn't have enough to keep up with our mortgage. We both scrambled to find jobs. I am a playwright and hadn't brought in any money in five years. We both found new employment in October. By then we had sold off all of our stock, we sold some furniture, borrowed money from family and were denied any assistance from the bank. Our first mortgage is through Countrywide and our second is through National City. We requested assistance through a mortgage workout plan with Countrywide but were denied as our loan was not subprime and was not on an arm but a 30-year-fixed. While pursuing all angles to find a way to keep the house, we also went above and beyond to market it. From creating a blog about the house to submitting pictures to design websites. We drew interest, but no offers.

When we received our "Letter of Intent to Accelerate" from the bank we were too far under water to pay the required lump sum to clear our debt- back payments and late fees. We are presently 'in foreclosure' with Countrywide without a sale date. We are in the process of pursuing a Short Sale as we have had no offers on the house after reducing the price to the original sale price. If your plan can help us to stay in our dream home, we would be so relieved. The day it was announced, I called Countrywide and was told that they couldn't stall our foreclosure because they didn't have enough information. I am writing to beg assistance. We live our lives on a foundation of integrity and are committed to restoring our financial integrity. We are both now employed, albeit bringing in 60% less than before. My husband is very happy in his new job and sees a bright future for himself with a lot of room to grow. I am working two jobs right now to do my part and continuing to write in whatever time I can find. We don't see ourselves as victims. We are committed to being responsible. We don't want to sell the house as a short sale, but without assistance it seems to be the only way. Before this happened, we were never late with a mortgage payment. We shared our home with our friends. It became a place of gathering. That's what we wanted. And since we have fallen on hard times, our friends, neighbors and family have rallied around us. No one wants to see us go. We're in a lovely neighborhood in Los Angeles that saw nothing but growth for many years. We don't want to bring down home values in our neighborhood as a result of a short sale or a foreclosure. We have been in communication with the banks from the very beginning. We are committed to finding a way to stay here and be responsible for our debt. We just cannot do it without help. It seems to me, from everything I have read about the plan, that we are the perfect candidates. How do we express this to our lender? How do we encourage them to work with us? We are afraid that the bank will set a sale date on our house any minute. If your plan can't help us, who can it help?

I not only voted for you, Mr. President, but I also drove to Nevada and went door to door in Las Vegas canvassing on your behalf. Before my husband lost his job, we donated to your campaign. Not a lot, but something. We are so happy and proud that you are our President. And we believe in you. We hope that you can help us through this challenging time and together we can start the turn around this country needs. Sometimes it is very hard to stay positive, but just knowing that you are trying to find a way to help people like us, makes a difference.

Thank you for your time. Thank you for your stand for this great nation.
I look forward to a response (from someone.)
Thank you.