A homeowner in Orlando is confused, and with good reason. He says he not only made his mortgage payments on time to Wells Fargo, but that he sometimes paid early and sometimes paid more than he was supposed to. And yet, the bank decided to foreclose on his home. [More]
California Lawmakers Move Forward With Homeowner Bill of Rights
By June 28, 2012
California is one of the many states hit in the gut by the collapse of the housing market, with at least a million homes already lost to foreclosure and about half as many struggling homeowners simultaneously trying to stave off foreclosure while jumping through hoop after hoop in the hopes of getting a mortgage modification. Yesterday, pending legislation that could help these homeowners came one step closer to being a reality. [More]
Group Alleges 'Good Morning Vietnam' DJ Misled Troubled Homeowners
By April 27, 2012
Though he bears little resemblance to the record-slinging, Nixon-impersonating prankster played by Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam, former Air Force radio DJ Adrian Cronauer is still closely associated with the 1987 comedy. Now, Cronauer is making a different sort of headline after the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has filed a pair of complaints against the law firm that bears his name. [More]
Former Goldman Sachs Staffer: Company's Mortgage Mod Process Was "Total Disaster"
By April 11, 2012
In 2009, tens of thousands of homeowners with mortgages serviced by Goldman Sachs subsidiary Litton Loan Servicing entered into trial loan modifications. But fewer than 12% of those same people ever received permanent adjustments to their mortgages, not because they didn’t qualify, but because Litton’s system for handling paperwork was a horrendous mess. [More]
Feds To Stop Punishing Chase, Bank of America For Sucking At Mortgage Modifications
By March 2, 2012
Since the Treasury Dept. began releasing quarterly report cards on big banks’ efforts to improve their mortgage modification processes, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have consistently received subpar marks, leading the feds to withhold a total of $171 million in incentives. That money is now set to be released to BofA and Chase — but not necessarily because they suck any less at mortgage mods. [More]
Bank Nightmare Continues For Woman Whose Late Brother's Debt Left Her Facing Foreclosure
By December 28, 2011
Some of you may remember the story from October of the New Jersey woman whose brother squandered more than $200,000 in loans tied to the home they inherited on numerous internet scams, and who was left facing foreclosure when the same brother passed away. After the media got involved, the bank said that after years of denying her a modification, it finally wanted to grant her one — but you wouldn’t be able to tell by their actions in the weeks since. [More]
Bank Of America & Chase Continue To Be Penalized For Sucking At Loan Modifications
By December 7, 2011
For the third quarter in a row, the Treasury Dept. has released its report card detailing how the country’s largest mortgage servicers are doing with processing loan modifications. And for the third consecutive quarter, both Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase will not receive incentive payments from the Treasury because the banks are doing such a craptastic job at complying. [More]
6 Warning Signs Of A Mortgage Modification Scam
By December 5, 2011
Getting a mortgage is difficult enough. Having that mortgage modified because your house has dropped in value can be a Minotaur’s maze full of unscrupulous types looking to cash in on your uncertainty about the often complicated process. [More]
Judge Rips Into U.S. Bank For Taking Bailout Money But Denying Mortgage Modifications
By November 16, 2011
A judge in Georgia is quickly becoming an internet folk hero after he publicly slammed U.S. Bank for taking billions in government bailout money and all the while refusing mortgage modifications for homeowners in need of help. [More]
More Towns To Withdraw Millions From Chase Over Mortgage Mod Practices
By September 13, 2011
We know the story. Chase and other banks got billions in bailouts that they were encouraged, but not required, to use to help people modify their mortgages. Instead they sat on it and smiled like cheshire cats. Now a movement has sprung up to punish Chase for its intransigence by withdrawing money from their accounts. On the individual account level, that’s not much. But in New York state, entire towns are getting in on the act. [More]
Class Action Suit Against BofA For Deceptive Loan Mods Goes National
By May 26, 2011
Olly, olly, oxen, free. A class action lawsuit against Bank of America claiming they were less than above board with their loan modification practices has been certified for national participation. [More]
FTC Wants To Ban Mortgage Mod Services From Charging Up-Front Fees
By December 30, 2010
To combat mortgage relief fraud, the FTC would like to make a new rule that would ban mortgage modification services from charging up-front fees. “Homeowners facing foreclosure or struggling to make mortgage payments shouldn’t have to contend with fraudulent ‘companies’ that don’t provide what they promise,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. “The proposed rule would outlaw up-front fees so companies can’t take the money and run.” Indeed, there are some shady operators in this area and consumers need to beware. [More]
265,000 Homeowners Stuck In "3 Month" Trial Loan Period For 6+ Months
By May 21, 2010
Newly released data shows 265,000 homeowners are trapped in loan mod limbo, stuck in “3 month” trial loan periods for over 6 months, reports ProPublica. [More]
Banks Gone Amok, Unlawfully Foreclosing
By May 5, 2010
“Darnit, where was that mortgage modification paper? I knew I put it somewhere. Oh well, let’s just foreclose on these people’s house. STAMP! Whoo, that was tough. Time to treat myself to a Diet Coke.” That’s an imaginative reenactment at what’s going on inside the mortgage departments of the biggest banks in America: total disorganization, the right hand not knowing what the left is doing, a bureaucratic and document-strewn nightmare that can swallow up people’s homes right from under them. [More]
Chase Sued For Telling People To Stop Paying Mortgage, Then Foreclosing
By April 7, 2010
We hear stories all the time about people who are having trouble paying their mortgage, call the bank for help, and are then told there’s nothing the bank can do unless they stop paying their mortgage. Well, one couple is suing Chase after they followed that advice, and then got foreclosed on. [More]
Data Shows Horrifying Bank Of America Refinance Story Actually Typical
By March 18, 2010
The Chicago Reporter is a publication that reports on race and poverty in Chicago. This issue’s cover story is about mortgage modifications and the struggles that homeowners face when trying to access the Obama Administration’s refinance program. Apparently, banks are so incompetent that it can be almost impossible to actually modify your mortgage.
The article tells the story of a small business owner who thought he would always be able to pay his mortgage, but whose work dried up with the economy, and his wife, who was laid off from her full-time job. The husband was injured on the job, and the medical bills piled up. [More]
Reach Chase Executive Offices For Mortgage Modifications
By March 15, 2010
Here is a fun-pack of executive escalation contact info you can use if you’re trying to get Chase to modify your mortgage. With the bureaucracy and indifference staring you down, you’ll need every vector you can get your hands on. [More]
5 Reasons Not To Go For A Mortgage Modification
By January 6, 2010
A Wise Bread story gives five reasons a government-backed Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)
may not be a bright move. [More]
