Chronicle of a typical Chase loan mod saga
This family has been trying for over two years to get some help on their mortgage, due to legitimate hardships – a job loss and medical issues. They started with WaMu, which did not go well, and continued the process with Chase, which also did not go well.
When they called in May 2009 to check on their application, they were told their case had been closed when Washington Mutual was bought by JPMorgan Chase and that they would have to apply again.
In the meantime, they received notice in August that their home was in foreclosure proceedings.
They applied again and were asked to submit additional information. When they received a call on Sept. 17, 2009, telling them that their modification had been approved, the couple thought their troubles had come to an end. They were given the terms over the phone.
“I cried that day,” Marianne Sevy said. “I told (the Chase representative) I loved him.”
The representative told her that the papers would be delivered and that they should put a signed note on their door so it could be dropped off if no one was home.
The papers never came.
They said each time they called Chase over the next nine months, they ended up speaking to a different person, none of whom could tell them why.
Joe Baldi, a housing counselor at the Frederick Community Action Agency who is working with the couple on a last-ditch effort to avoid foreclosure, said their situation is not uncommon.
“This is a classic problem we have,” Baldi said. “It’s like some sort of horrible game that just goes on and on. Once a loan starts unraveling, it just goes berserk.”
Collection calls began in June, asking them how they were going to handle the foreclosure. When they told the representative that they had an approved modification, she informed them that none was on record.
An underwriter had sat on the agreement and it expired, Marianne Sevy said she later found out.
“I was floored, and the woman was extremely rude and obnoxious,” she said. “She had me so upset I was screaming on the phone.”
Do our Senators and Representatives in Congress know about stories like these, which are more common than not with people applying for loan modifications? Sure, the loan modification success numbers are pitiful, but it is the process that is truly pathetic and needs addressing.
Loan modification | admin August 8, 2010
