Posted on 10/13/2009 11:00:45 PM PDT by zlala
My friend has received notice he is eligible for TARP money through Wells Fargo where he has his home loan. They qualify for 30%-50% reduction. He lost his job, his wife lost her job and they both found new jobs but each at a lesser salary.
Their question that I have no idea how to answer is:
On their TARP notice it stated their mortgage is more than double what their mortgage actually is. Their house value at the time of the mortgage was 450,000 and the TARP shows the mortgage is $935,000. I couldn't off-hand explain except to say it may be after 30 years with the interest this would be the loan amount.
I suggested they pay a visit to their banker. There is a toll free number to call on the TARP info, but they don't want to even call it until they have some idea what they may be dealing with.
Guess that is the vigorish for the TARP project.
Believe me...I thought about that also. Somehow it has an ACORN feel to it.
Stay away from loan modifiers.
You can get free advice and consultation for your refinance, loan modification and foreclosure needs through several government agencies:
Making Home Affordable — http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/
Hope NOW — http://www.hopenow.com/
FHA — http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page?_pageid=73,1827467&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
California Department of Real Estate - http://dre.ca.gov/cons_adv_fees_alert.html
California Department of Real Estate Advance Fee Agreement — http://dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv_fees_list.html
Just a thought.
I may have no idea what I’m talking about here, but it seems that such practices would certainly help the bank balance sheet when it comes to hiding potential losses.
If the mortgage is under water, which it probably is. Drawing up such an agreement would probably keep them from recognizing any losses on their books. The $450,00 house would then show up as a $900,000 asset.
I agree with the caution. So many scams out there concerning refinancing. Many people wind up worse than before after trying the TARP angle.
I get these things in the mail too, and don’t really trust them. Even the best intentions of government programs frequently turn out disastrous. A program purported to help you could drive you into foreclosure.
I don’t trust the government or the mortgage companies.
That’s what I think too. It’s called obamanomics.
I have a mortgage with Wells Fargo, but I don’t qualify to steal your tax dollars because I didn’t take out a 105% home equity mortgage, so my house never ended up being worth less than what I had borrowed.
It is very unfortunate when the law is at odds with what is morally and ethically the right thing to do. But it is immoral for a person who in good faith signed an agreeement to borrow money, and was given the money, to now take tax dollars from other people so they don’t have to pay back the money.
On the other hand, it appears that, if Obama gets his way, about 85% of us will be getting tax dollars back for something or another, so it would be foolish to be the last person to get their own tax money back. In a world where EVERYBODY gets money from the government, the only question is how quickly you can get YOUR money before it runs out.
My first thought (left over from the long-ago days when I did a lot of mortgage closings) is that the modification is reducing their current payments, but adding the fees and interest to the total mortgage - thus doubling the mortgage????
I share the caution expressed by others in this thread. They should speak to the bank first. If they are serious about modification, they would do well to at least consult with a reputable real property attorney. Wa-a-a-ay too many funky things in the mortgage industry in the last five years.
I want some money back for my 401k losses.
Home value loss...stock market loss. Where’s my money...my retirement.
I hate this.
This notice sounds like an advertisement from a company throwing a respectable name, Wells Fargo, around.
Yes, I suggested that also. I told them to take it to the bank with them.
For later interest.........
Huh?
Sorry...poorly worded. What the TARP information shows is that their mortgage is $935,000 rather than the $450,000 their bank papers show. More than double than what they owe now.
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