I need advice on what to do with the adjustable rate mortgage that I have?
October 28th, 2008
y asked:
I own a single family home with an adjustable rate mortgage is about to adjust again in September. I want to refinance the house, but with the home values down according to my lender I owe more on the home then the property is worth. I tried to do the loan modification though our lender (Countywide), but since we were not behind in our payment and according to them we make to much money and we can afford to pay the payments, they will not help us. We don’t know what to do now, come September we may not be able to afford the payments. We where trying to be pro-active and do something before the loan adjusted and we lost control. It seems everything that I have read on-line is all about helping people with mortgages that are already behind in payments, in forclosure or repos. There is nothing on-line about helping people that are NOT behind in payment and just want to get out of the bad loan that they are in. My mortgage company does not seem to get this, nor does anybody else. If we walk from the property the leader is stuck with another forclosure, but if they work with us we can stay in the home and make the payment. Win, Win. We just want to get into a fix mortgage and be able to pay down the principle. Advice please.
I own a single family home with an adjustable rate mortgage is about to adjust again in September. I want to refinance the house, but with the home values down according to my lender I owe more on the home then the property is worth. I tried to do the loan modification though our lender (Countywide), but since we were not behind in our payment and according to them we make to much money and we can afford to pay the payments, they will not help us. We don’t know what to do now, come September we may not be able to afford the payments. We where trying to be pro-active and do something before the loan adjusted and we lost control. It seems everything that I have read on-line is all about helping people with mortgages that are already behind in payments, in forclosure or repos. There is nothing on-line about helping people that are NOT behind in payment and just want to get out of the bad loan that they are in. My mortgage company does not seem to get this, nor does anybody else. If we walk from the property the leader is stuck with another forclosure, but if they work with us we can stay in the home and make the payment. Win, Win. We just want to get into a fix mortgage and be able to pay down the principle. Advice please.
Option 1 - Sell the house.
Option 2 - Try a different company for a refinance.
Option 3 - Contact them after the adjustment takes place and try again to get the payment changed.
Option 4 - Walk away, but be prepared for the hit your credit will take.
Option 5 - get a second job and save the income to allow you to put a large enough down payment to do a refinance sometime in the future.
Hope those work for you. The situation sucks, but you are the one that signed on the dotted line of that ARM.
I completely understand why this is frustrating to you, but here’s the thing. You may know you’re struggling, but your lender doesn’t know that until they don’t get their money from you. There’s no incentive for them to help someone who hasn’t missed a payment.
I know it seems like the nice thing to do, but the problem is the lender can’t make judgments about who’s struggling elsewhere in life to keep up with payments and who is more than capable of making payments and just irritated their home’s value has adjusted downward. It isn’t fair to give out help to people who are just irritated, but capable of paying.
The only way the lender can separate the irritated from the struggling is to only help those who have missed payments (i.e. proven they’re struggling). The downside to doing that is that the lender may not want to help you, and you could lose your home. It’s just that as long as you’re making payments, the lender won’t take your word you’re struggling to make them.
I would check and see if there are any state and local programs. ( you don’t say where you are living ?)
Contact a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. Call
1-800-569-4287 or TDD 1-800-877-8339 for the
housing counseling agency nearest you. These agencies are
valuable resources. They frequently have information on
services and programs offered by Government agencies as
well as private and community organizations that could
help you.
also check out :
also :http://www.freddiemac.com/service/msp/avoid_foreclosure.html
I also think you will find this article interesting :
It is not necessary to have late payments in order to obtain a loan modification. You need to work with a professional that knows how to work the system. Trying to do this on your own is like representing yourself instead of hiring a lawyer for a court case. A loan modification company understands the in’s and out’s of how these things work and will give you the best chance of obtaining a modification.
If you choose to do this on your own, or for anyone else’s knowledge, there is a non-profit organization that is helping homeowners with loan modification. They will most likely only be able to help you if you are behind on your payments.
There is another company that will connect you with the best loan modification company for your situation. You can use their website to get some assistance. There is always a fee to use a professional loan modification company.
From 1 September the rescue program for the borrower like you will take effect- you should try to refinance then.
contact dshevlin 516-506-4755. i listened to thomas j, and met with dave. i live in ny. ama has offices in 50 states. my situation is similiar to yours. very similiar. (check out my question) ama is geared to assist people like you and i. more people need to know about them.
i started my process today and left their office with a weight lifted off my shoulders.