Comments on: Refinancing: Much tougher than it used to be

By: Patricia, Hephzibah,GA

Patricia, Hephzibah,GA — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:36:09 +0000

President Obama your stimulus package is a good idea, but all mortage brokers are not cooperating. I called my mortage holder, CU Members Mortgage, PO Box 2988, Fort Worth, Tx 76113, 800-937-6002. They told me that they did not have to participate in your program and for me to get some help I need to default on my loan and then I may qualify for one of their programs but there is no assurance that I will qualify. I explained that I am disabled and have been since 1997 with a host of chronic illness and am concerned about becoming homeless. I have high health care cost and trying to keep a roof over my head while receiving disability checks. They feel because I am paying my mortgage I do not need help, but what they do not know or seem to care there are other bills and house care needs that are not being taken care of because I choose to pay the house not. With me being in terrible health my biggest fear is being on the streets with no medicine its like a death warrant is put on my head. I have a FHA loan, I called them they also state I must be in default for help. Why would the federal govt want us to fall before they can pick us up. They say call your lender when you see yourself in trouble and about to fall ie loose your home because your payments along with everything else is going up and you can not keep up and there response is to default and possibly loose your home. People like me are falling thru the system yet we are trying to help ourselves. I need help.

By: Brian Bamberger, Ronkonkoma New York

Brian Bamberger, Ronkonkoma New York — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:32:59 +0000

I can help anyone out who is suffering from financial hardship or who just can’t get help from there lender! I have many many masterful techniques that most people don’t know about. I have saved many many homes for people that were told there only option is bankruptcy! Which should be only your last resort! Bankruptcy should not be done without at least talking to a housing/mortgage expert NOT A LAWYER!!!! Lawyers do not and I repeat know everything on home financing as they claim to know! I have over my years proven several known lawyers wrong and now some of these people even work for me. If you need help just let me know and I will have a private FREE no cost consultation with you. Thanks Brian

By: Teresa, Jacksonville, FL

Teresa, Jacksonville, FL — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:25:19 +0000

I am trying to get a Fhlmc Relief Refinance with Provident Funding since Fhlmc made it a rule that you have to use your same servicer. Provident’s customer service has not been fully educated on this and i keep getting the run-around. Now they are stating they are not offering this. Is anyone else having the same issue?

By: Larry, Pittsburgh PA

Larry, Pittsburgh PA — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:03:51 +0000

I’ve been told that the conforming loan limits may be raised. Is this true? Anyone know when this may happen for Pennsylvania?

By: b in somerset kentucky

b in somerset kentucky — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:46:11 +0000

i was preapproved for a refinance loan we were combining our mortgage and equity line of credit and cashing out a little money also. this came back at47% of appraisal in an area that has not been inflated in recent years and sales are not bad KY. then when almost through loan proceeds freddie has denied at last minute and says that their is not enough comps with acreage, we have 50 acres and most comps have only a few acres. there hasn’t been any acreage with house sell withing 20 something miles of me. know i am being told that i have to pay for 360$ appraisal and possibly 700+$ non delivery fees to freddie. what to do

By: Dan Orlich Matteson, Illinois

Dan Orlich Matteson, Illinois — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:08:52 +0000

We are unable to get our mortgage servicerto work with us on anything! You see I am on Social Security Disability and my wife works part time we always make our mortgage payment every month. But are interest rate changes in three months and just want to refi or do somethingto lower our payment alittle Do not know where to turn. Also just recently found out that the owner/creditor and Deed holder of our loan is located onLondon England by Barclays Bank PLc. Is it legal for a foreign country to own/hold be the creditor of our mortgage here in the United States. I think that is wrong

By: Gary Cannady, Clinton, Ohio

Gary Cannady, Clinton, Ohio — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:42:42 +0000

Yes, I have tried to refinance my home and it is impossible to do if you are not working. You used to be able to get a none job verification loan but for some reason these loans are no longer available. From what I understand, the reason for some of the bailout money was to help people from losing their homes. Chances are that if you are going to lose your home then you are probably not working. If you are not working then you are being denied the chance to refinance. Refinancing at a lower interest rate will lower your payments and maybe give you a little hope that you can keep your home. This is not going to happen because once again you will be denied because of your being unemployed. So my question to you is, how is this money from the bailout going to help the ones of us that really need it? Is there something that I am doing wrong? Am I not asking the right people for help or is this bailout money for the select few? At this time the refinance rates in my area are 4.75% and with this rate I would save $150 a month. This might not sound like much but it sure would help. I guess my point to this whole thing is why can’t the people that need the help the most, and most of these people are unemployed, get the help they need from the government bailout money? If anyone can tell me where I can go or who I can call to get refinanced please let me know. It is no wonder that the people of this great country have lost faith in the way their government operates!

By: Nichols, Centennial,CO

Nichols, Centennial,CO — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:45:34 +0000

Ok, so we were in an ARM which had worked out well when interest rates were declining but when they turned our lock came off and the interest rate climbed to 8.6%. Since our credit score was very high, we only owe 1/2 what the home is valued for (even at the current reduced value) and we had a fairly large investment portfolio, we decided to cash out some of these investments and pay down debt. This was done in early February. At the same time it was decided we would look for a lender for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. We tried our current lender but they were not interested in talking with us. We went to a local credit union who seemed interested in gaining our business. The information was gathered and provided for the loan and we were okayed on that date (late February). We indicated we would like to close on or about March 19th before our increased loan payment was due to our current lender, “No problem” came the reply. March 19th came and went. We had on several occasions tried to telephone the credit union to insure things were moving along, but their phones must have been out of order because we never got a return call. However we did get an E-mail which translated to “We thought you understood that we had to wait 60 days before closing.” Where did that come from? We had “locked” with them at 6.125%. “There is no way of getting a lower rate unless you pay us additional monies to get it” we were told (E-mail) and “There is no way of closing earlier than the 60 days.” In the mean time we received a letter from our current lender stating they had received a request for a pay-off and why didn’t we contact them for either a modified loan or a refinance? Of course we had but decided to give it one more try. After a telephone conversation verifying the information they already had on file for us — “How ’bout a 30 year fixed 5.5% loan which we can close in 30 days?” As a point, this date is still one month before the credit unions “lock” date is up. The decision was made to go with our present lender with the .625% lower interest and a 30 day closer closing date. After this decision was made I called the credit union to cancel or application. The party with whom I spoke, though curt and rude, agreed to the cancellation.
Then, not 30 minutes later, a telephone call from the credit union representative (phones must be fixed now) “Why don’t we close on that loan of yours March 25th?” I just love the way rules change during the game. Ain’t it fun!

By: Tynker Belle, Roseville, Michigan

Tynker Belle, Roseville, Michigan — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:30:01 +0000

I don’t get it. The banks are crying they are broke. BUT…the bank ends up with the money the buyer puts down, the monthly payments, and their house back. The price of the house may have dropped, but with the closing costs, downpayment and the monthly payments and their house back, how could they be broke?

By: Los Angeles CA

Los Angeles CA — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 05:41:04 +0000

We should fight back oil and gas prices with a boycott ,stop buying gas a certain brand for a complete month or until this brand in particular lower its gas prices forcing the other brands to lower prices as well

By: jill albert, jupiter, fl

jill albert, jupiter, fl — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:49:03 +0000

i am a mortgage broker and realtor in florida. banks are not modifying mortgage balances down and with short sales they are not taking much less than the current mortgage balance. they seem to want to hold on to these thousands of unpaid mortgages. why?

By: Allan KIester Belding Mi.

Allan KIester Belding Mi. — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:46:18 +0000

Tryed several times to refinance my mortgage with countrywide, when my credit was still good. I got nowere.Then theres my credit card thru Bank of america, they cept. checking my credit and messing with my score and rasing my minnimum payment, which was never late. Bank of america pushed me to bankrupcy. The best part of this mess is Bank of america bought country wide mortg. They both can eat it.

By: Kim, Los Angeles, CA

Kim, Los Angeles, CA — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:51:33 +0000

I agree with some of you that I feel penalized (as a good borrower) by all the idiots who took bad loans and caused lending requirements to become so strict. Granted, SOME people were taken advantage of, but the majority wanted something for nothing and were simply greedy.

I’m angry because for my recent loan, in order to cover RESERVES, mind you, I had to take a loan from my 401K, stick it in my bank account and show the lender that it was there. They were unwilling to accept my 401K statement and plan rules showing I can have the money in my pocket in 3 days. That’s just going WAY overboard. I argued the Freddie Mac guidelines with the lender over and over, then just threw up my hands.

So I was penalized by having to sell funds/stock in my 401K to take this loan (which I got in 3 days–gee, how hard was that?) just to show the lender I have cash in the bank, and then I’ll just put right back.

I’m a good borrower, I have three other mortgages/investment properties, high FICO, and net assets, but because of other people’s greed and ignorance, I had to do backflips to get a simple loan.

By: Ray in Michigan

Ray in Michigan — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:57:02 +0000

We own a $735,000 home in Prince William County.My husband and I have scores of 805 and 725, we have over a half million in inestments and savings as well as $130,000 combined gross income for 2007 and we are debt free except for our mortgage.

We have a Payment Option Loan with a negative amortization so we wanted to get into a more level loan with a lower overall interest rate. -ANGRY IN VIRGINIA.

Angry in VA,

Sounds like you took the option ARM to be able to afford the 735,000 dollar house. With a combined income of $130,000 you are definitively living well above your means. Myself and my wife have a combined income of $110,000/yr and we live in a $215,000 house.

By: Ray in Michigan

Ray in Michigan — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:50:46 +0000

I was lied into an ARM mortgage in 2005 probably because the ARM I was in was an option ARM which pays the person selling the loan a higher commission. I was told there was no prepayment penalty and the rate was to be fixed for 3 years. Well 2 years into the loan the rate spiked as high as 8.85%. Luckily I became financial smart a few years ago and started saving money. I just refinanced into a 6.5% FHA Secure 30 yr fixed. And of course there was a prepayment penalty of 1% the loan value which I was told there was no prepayment penalty at closing. I specifically asked this to! It cost me $6992.50 out of pocket to refinance. What I learned about this experience is read the papers at closing! Don’t take their word for it! If I couldn’t refinance and if my current lender, American Home Mortgage (bankrupt) wouldn’t help then I would have walked. I have no credit card, no car payments and the only thing having excellent credit got me in the past was a mountain of debt which took me 3.5 years to pay off!

By: Sam, Santa Cruz, CA

Sam, Santa Cruz, CA — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:55:17 +0000

Forgot to add that I’ve been paying down the principal on our mortgage by $300 extra per month for several years now. When I ran this prepayment on the calculator at my mortgage company’s website just now, it showed me saving almost $100k over the life of the loan. Paying down the principal is the way to go rather than refinancing, in many, many cases. If you can afford to do it, of course, and if you are staying in the home for a long time. There’s usually something you can do away with in daily spending, and even $100 a month helps more than you might think.

By: Chris, Jacksonville FL

Chris, Jacksonville FL — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:51:54 +0000

To Angry in Virgina:

Your new name should be “Stupid in VA”. You had no debt, high scores, strong income, 500k in assets, and you took an option arm??? What were you thinking?? Let me guess…you could make an unbelievably low payment and even though it didn’t cover the interest due each month, you still made the minimum payment. Every month, the difference rolled back onto the principle balance and you owed more and more. The story gets even better…your neighbor’s have succumbed to their bad decisions and now all the foreclosures are affecting the value of all homes in your market. No, the improvements matter very little. The PRICE your home could be sold for quickly is all that matters to a bank. The pendulum is swinging in the other direction. It is actually doing what is better known as “correcting”. Your home value went up 70% since 1997 in an unprecedented climb so our economy could continue to survive on it’s fever of consumption. The equity ATM is running dry and yet you feel it is the lender’s responsibility to give you enough money to cover 100 percent of your value. Ask yourself if you would lend yourself money and be on the hook for 100% of the value of the collateral asset in an area every month the collateral is worth less and less?? People should not buy 734,000 homes with no significant assets. It is tough and the reality truly is this: Your deed shows your name because you pay the taxes, but look down the page to where it lists the lienholders. They are the true owners until you get that paper that says…PAID IN FULL.
Sorry, you are not really stupid…just duped like alot of us who thought our homes were ATMs. Stay tuned…we only just begun. Americans have spent more than they saved for the last 20 years and exported the manufacturing base to Asia. Our biggest source of jobs here…health care. Shouldn’t red flags being going up? Try to find something built in America. Greed and corruption permeate all facets of business and Government. I love my country but it’s leaders are letting us down. Their answer to a hopeless economy grinding to a halt because spending Americans cannot pay for their excesses anymore? Here is 300 bucks per person of your money we took from your paycheck…go buy some Chinese stuff and keep us rolling…how sad and material we have become.

By: Sam, Santa Cruz, CA

Sam, Santa Cruz, CA — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:47:07 +0000

How do these folks get 815 and 805 credit scores? We have nearly half a million in annual income, pay off our credit cards every month, have two-thirds equity in our home, where we have lived for a very long time, and we have a combined score of 690. That’s pretty bad. I don’t get it. Maybe because we the pay cards off? I noticed that charges I challenged on two credit cards were noted on my credit report. Anyone know if that affects the score? What are we doing wrong here?

By: Simi Valley, CA.

Simi Valley, CA. — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:17:43 +0000

Refinancing is NOT tough….we always knew credit (FICO score) was the most important issue. Property values, that’s the tough part for California people. But that shouldn’t be a surprise either. This cycle is typical. It’ll come around again. Be patient. Keep your credit perfect and stop spending on your credit cards.

A realist.

By: Mortgage Guy, VA

Mortgage Guy, VA — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:02:54 +0000

Angry in Virginia, Help is on the way, with the stimulas plan coming out it should raise the conforming loan limits to $625,000 in our area, not sure how much you owe, put the max financing allowed on conforming would 95% minus 5% for declining market and if you do not owe more then $625,000 you should be able to refi. If you owe $625,000 your loan to value would be around 86% well below what is required and still get great conforming rates.Hope that will help a little.