So one of my rules about writing for this blog is that I don’t write about details within my personal life. Well, to explain why I haven’t posted I need to break this cardinal rule.
My world has been in a bit of flat spin these past few days. To understand why I need to back track a bit. As many of you know, in February I was laid off of work. Since that time I have taken my licensing exams and started my own (not yet profitable) firm, all while making due on unemployment. Because my finances were drastically reduced I applied with my Mortgage Servicer, Bank of America, for hardship assistance back in March. After one case of lost paperwork and a second submission i finally was told in May that I was ineligible for a loan modification because my loan is privately held. I thought that would be the end of my situation, i wouldn’t be able to adjust my mortgage but I would find some way to make ends meet. A few weeks later I received a call from the bank telling us that if while we couldn’t be serviced with the original plan, if we entered a 3 month forebearance which would effictively make us 2 months behind on our payments, we would be eligible and likely candidates for a modification through the other option of the Making Home Affordable program. Part of this agreement was that we would not have any late fees nor any negative impact on our credit scores, and any arrears would be rolled into the modified mortgage. By the start of Junes we had signed the paperwork and started down the primrose path under the assumption that they still had all of our paperwork and that in three months we would find out about our modification. Three months later our forbearance expired and after a few weeks of non-communication and being told to wait for contact from the analyst we were told that we needed to resubmit our paperwork and data. We were told that once they received our paperwork within 4 weeks we would receive a fedex package with our loan modification documents.
Here is where a detour occurs in the story. About 2 weeks after our contact with the bank I came down with a weird mystery illness. I started having daily cyclical fevers, lack of appetite and intense malaise. After a week and a half of trying to let it run its course I went to the Doctor. After another week and a half of waiting for my blood work results they came back showing that I had mono and possibly Lyme Disease, which was at least better than their initial suspicions of Lupus. Not 3 days after finding out why I was so tired and weirdly sick we got a call (not paperwork as promised) from the bank. They called to tell us that our modification was denied, because as a person who was unemployed my contribution to the household income was not enough in relation to our debts. I had two options, I could increase my income (I would gladly do that if it was possible) or decrease my debts (which again is not possible given my situation). The call was escalated to the call center Manager and I was told by him that I as someone who was unemployed I should never have been told that I could qualify under the Making Home Affordable plan (even though their website’s eligibility calculator suggests that it is intended for those with a decreased income due to job loss). In addition, we were also informed that we needed to pay the amount due on the account within 8 days (5 business days) otherwise they would start reporting us as delinquent to the credit agencies and start foreclosure proceedings, even though we still have not received anything in writing stating that our request has been denied.
At this point I had had it, so I insisted on speaking to his manager and was given a voicemail. I calmly but forcefully expressed my frustration and displeasure at their practices, suggested that their customer service was reprehensible, and insisted that if this was not resolved I would seek legal counsel and ask my friends and associates to change banks. This was on Friday, as of tonight I have not heard back from the supposed manager. Meanwhile, I have contacted HUD to get some assistance and clarification on this program and started the process of short selling my house so I don’t have to go to foreclosure.
As you can see, I’ve been a bit distracted and have not had a spare moment to focus on this blog. I apologize. I have a few posts that have been percolating and will be posting them in the coming days/week. I appreciate your patience.