Posted on 08/05/2009 8:40:10 AM PDT by hsmomx3
PHOENIX -- A Valley couple say their home was put on the auction block even though they successfully modified their loan. So, they contacted 3 On Your Side for help.
I would say eight out of 10 times my reports are based on miscommunication and that seems to be the case here. azfamily.com
Rachel and Jaime Torres thought they were making their new modified payment. But, as it turns out, they forgot to include money for their escrow account, meaning their new "modified" payment wasn't enough.
"I said, 'Oh no! Oh no, my God,' and I broke down in tears," Rachel said.
The couple were frantic when they called 3 On Your Side recently from outside the county courthouse.
"I was told our house was in auction," Rachel said.
The couple claim they didn't even know their home was being auctioned on this day until they got a knock on their door earlier that morning.
"Some person came to the door and said my house was for auction, no paperwork, no nothing," Jaime said.
Rachel and Jaime say that person was actually a potential buyer who wanted to look around before bidding on their home.
So, the couple raced down to the courthouse to see what was going on.
"The auction was a surprise for us," Rachel said. "There was no sign on the door, no notice, nothing."
Rachel and Jaime say they were shocked because they had documents showing Chase, their mortgage company, successfully modified their loan in November and that they had been making the new modified payments.
"Why are they doing this to us when everything they have wanted us to do we've done?" Rachel asked.
The auction was postponed until August, which means they wouldn't be losing their home on this day, but why would it be auctioned off at all?
We contacted Chase, which cleared up the matter.
It turns out Rachel and Jaime thought they were making the new modified payment of nearly $600. But the new payment was actually closer to $800, meaning they weren't paying enough at all and inadvertently fell behind.
In response, Chase agreed to re-modify their loan one more time to make it more affordable, saying, "We are working closely with the customer on a new, more affordable modification that includes principal, interest and escrow for taxes."
That's great news for Rachel, who says she couldn't have worked through it without the help of 3 On Your Side.
"The feeling right now is a sense of relief," she said. "We didn't know what else to do until Channel 3 came to our side."
I really have to hand it to Chase for modifying their mortgage not once but twice. I think that really says a lot about Chase.
One thing it is not "their home" It's the bank's home until the loan is paid off. They're just living in it.
Surprising from the liberal MSM that hates America!!
Actually, the loan has to be assigned to Fredie Mac to qualify for a loan modification, so I guess we own the house.
Ok, I’m lost.
My mortgage company sends a bill every month that (paraphrased) says: “Your mortgage is X, your escrow is Y. Pay us Z (X+Y).”
How on earth were they getting a bill that didn’t include the escrow, and why would Chase let them go that long with short payments? Wouldn’t the sudden tax bills and homeowner’s insurance bill be a red flag that something went bad with the escrow account? (Or am I just too responsible?)
Sort of. In the same sense that we "own" national parks - i.e. we pay for them but have no control over them I'll agree.
Depends...your state may require Escrow or, for those states that do not require monthly Escrow for Insurance and Taxes, the Loan Program may have required it.
There are lots of mortgages out there with only P and I payments.
For reasons of total confusion I swapped the numbers in the tens and hundreds position on a loan payment to Chase once resulting in a short payment of about $90. (I had the correct numbers in the numeric field, but where you write out the amount I screwed it up). Naturally they took the wrong part when they cashed the check. I got multiple letters, calls, had to pay a fee, etc. No way were these people likely to not be aware of the situation.
Wells Fargo is being sued for doing just this. It seems the paperwork says “Full Payment” and other words to that effect, and they are not informing the customer that it is a P&I loan amount only. The article I read also mentioned that CitiMortgage is being investigated for the same thing.
Caveat Emptor! Read, ask lots of questions, and get it in writing before you sign.
They were most likely just paying attention to the total amount due line.
Some people prefer to pay their insurance and taxes on their own rather than include it with their mortgage payments.
Who knows why they did not catch this. I would have.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.