Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Why Are Loan Modifications Taking So Long?

As pressure increases on servicers to pick up the pace of loan modifications, many are wondering: What’s the problem?

NeighborWorks America, in its report to Congress on the National Foreclosure Mitigation Program, reported that more homeowners are being reached through counseling, but that servicers are taking as long as 45-60 days to do their part.

CNNMoney.com recently took a look at five reasons why the loan modification process is so slow. Michael van Zalingen, director of homeownership services for Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, a NeighborWorks member organization, weighed in on many servicers’ insistence on using a fax machine.

"It seems your stuff goes into a black hole," Zalingen told CNN. "It's archaic. Given all the problems we've had with lost faxes, it seems unreasonable to use a fax system."

See what else is on CNNMoney.com’s list of the “5 dumb reasons you can't get mortgage help.”

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It took me exactly 30 days just to submit a modification package to Citimortgage. I've been given at least 5 different fax numbers. Most of them busy when trying to fax. Some of their reps say I need to wait 3 days for the fax to appear in their system, some say a week, someone told me they appear every Friday. After 3 weeks someone finally admitted they've been having problems receiving faxes and have been given 2 brand new fax numbers. All this after we've tried submitting through their online system which has a glitch everytime you try to submit. I've even tried overnighting the package which I have confirmation of them receiving it through the tracking number but they never acknowedged receiving it every time I call. Two reps have told me so far that this particular investor is not modifying loans and that I'm wasting my time. The rest have told me something different. I just recently been assigned a negotiator to the file. I'm not the homeowner nor a counselor but a real estate agent who provides free assistance to homeowners who are confused. By the way this particular homeowner was already scammed with $1,000 by a modification company.

REALTOR
Covina, CA

Anonymous said...

We originally request a short pay due to the 200K loss in value of our property. We already obtained a new loan for the newly appraised amount.
The only way Wells Fargo would consider any type of Short Pay, Short Sale, or Modification was to enter into a forbearance agreement. To that point we had never been late on either the first or second mortgage. We started the process in April and have meet each and every term of the agreement to only get a letter saying the loan is now in default. The bank says the loan is currently in review for modification, and we also got letters stating that fact. But what is to prevent them from foreclosure and worse they are reporting the loans as late even though it was understood that the original terms were on hold during this forbearance process. I too get different answers each and every time I contact the bank. But they have us back into a corner and we are at their mercy...
At this point we may have to weigh ALL of our options...how sad.

Anonymous said...

Bookmarked this. Sometimes non-standard due to you looking for sharing. Positively worth my time.

Vincent said...

I sent a modification request to CHASE in September of last year. I phoned October 2nd. I was told they received it on Sep. 22nd. I was also told it would take 4-6 weeks until it was assigned, then 30-45 business days to process it.
That should put results anywhere from December 1 to January 5. It is now March 2 and I still have not heard from them. I have made numerous phone calls, faxed more recent statements and a new tax release, and today I was told the file had been marked for "expedited service" on February 2, but that it would now take up to 60 days for a manager to actually look at it.

NeighborWorks America said...

Have you tried using a housing counselor to work on your behalf? You can go to http://www.nw.org/network/Utilities/NWOLookup.asp to find a NeighborWorks organization near you that offers counseling services. If you are facing foreclosure, please call the HOPE Hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE or visit www.hopenow.com. In addition, you can search through the online database at www.findaforeclosurecounselor.org to find a HUD-approved foreclosure counseling agency near you. These people are trained to deal with servicers and can probably get your case to the right people. You don't have to go it alone. I hope this helps.