Posted on 06/23/2010 11:14:21 PM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tameka Russell is one of the countless homeowners who celebrated last March when her monthly mortgage was drastically reduced. Now, she said she feels misled and fears losing her home entirely.
"I put my head in my hands and I just started crying," Russell told NewsChannel 5 Wednesday afternoon, referring to the news that her lender, Wells Fargo, had agreed to restructure her home loan, at least on a three-month, trial basis, to a more affordable rate. "(The lending representative) handed me a box of Kleenexes..."
The 30 year-old mother of four and accountant for the State of Tennessee, found herself on the brink of tears once again. On Wednesday, Russell opened a letter from Wells Fargo informing her of an overdue balance: $1,756.83, that must be paid in full by July 13, or risk her home going into foreclosure.
"I'm like, 'How can you foreclose on my house and I did what you told me to do?'" Russell thought aloud, reacting to the form letter.
Russell insisted that a Wells Fargo representative, who was present at NACA's "Save the Dream Tour" in Nashville in March, told her that she'd been approved to lower her monthly mortgage payments from $1,347 to $977.45.
Russell admitted it was only a 90-day guarantee, while Wells Fargo reviewed her case. But Russell claimed the attendant that fateful day went so far as to say the new rate had been locked in the remaining 30 years of her home loan.
Suffice it to say, Russell found this reneged offer as disconcerting. She was quick to point out that, not only does her monthly mortgage revert to its initial figure, but she now has to pay the outstanding $1,756.83 bill coupled with an upcoming July 1 mortgage payment of $1,347.
"I get a call saying, 'Well you've been denied for the program,'" Russell said.
The TSU graduate, with an unemployed husband, spent much of her day at home trying to fix the situation; or at least get answers.
The self proclaimed hard worker, who bought her first house at the age of 26, said she does see potential help in NACA, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. The nonprofit group, that made Nashville's Gaylord Opryland area a productive stop this past spring, prides itself on fighting for the little guy: the group that brings homeowner, face to face, with lender to restructure monthly mortgage payments down to more affordable rates.
"She definitely has gotten a pullback ... that NACA can," said Teen Holmes, a NACA mortgage consultant with the Nashville office.
Holmes told NewsChannel 5 she's eager to get her hands on Tameka Russell's file and get her immediate help or at least try to.
Russell felt blindsided by the news, and somewhat betrayed by her lending company.
"I've heard so much from Wells Fargo that I don't know what to believe anymore," she said.
NewsChannel 5 was unsuccessful in its attempts to reach Wells Fargo for comment.
An accountant? 'Nuff said.
*snip*— 30 year-old mother of four and accountant for the State of Tennessee
*snip*— her monthly mortgage payments from $1,347 to $977.45.
*snip*— the new rate had been locked in the remaining 30 years of her home loan.
*snip*— TSU graduate, with an unemployed husband, spent much of her day at home trying to fix the situation
***********************************************
WTH?! The woman is an accountant and she believes payments get lowered almost 400.00 a month— she thinks this is going to go for 30 years?!!
What, she thought they reduced her loan?
THEN, she stays home to make the calls and take care of it when she has an unemployed husband sitting at home.
That woman is daft...dreamworld!
No pity from me.
Not saying she’s bright... But she did get screwed like all the rest of us. The dem government bungling the economy cheated many out of half the value of their homes while giving the stimulus money to the lenders.
Tameka
My guess is that she had a higher interest rate, and that Wells reduced the rate, reducing the payment.
Well yes. A loan modification is typically permanent. It is when the bank changes the terms of the loan. Which is perfectly legal. A mortgage is a contract between the homeowner and the bank. And it can be changed if both parties agree.
Why would a bank do it? It depends on the sitaution. If someone is laid off but now has a new stable job but lost $400 a month in income, the bank may be willing to do a loan modification. They may wipe off interest or write off negative equity to lower the payments to something the homeowner can afford. It may be in the bank’s best interest to do this because if a house is very far underwater, they could end up out hundreds of thousands of dollars if the homeowner walks away.
The stimulus money was supposed to go to the banks to help remodify some of these really bad loans. The problem is, the banks took the money and kept it. And they really havnt done much modifying nor are they making very many new loans. The banks are sitting on the cash. And that’s one reason the stimulus has failed miserably.
Sure the homeowners that took out these loans share blame for this housing crisis. But the banks and the government are just as much to blame for it.
Warren Buffett is the major holder of Wells Fargo.. I wouldn’t go near that bank for anything..
According to the video report, this was the second modification that had been made to the loan.
One of Tameka’s many mistakes was taking financial advice from a person in a yellow tee shirt at a traveling carny at Opryland.
Many mortgage modifications do permanently reduce payments, and they certainly should when the value of the home has significantly declined due to market conditions which are expected to be long-term. The lender’s only collateral is the home, and a rational lender would prefer to keep the existing home”owner” in the home paying on a reduced mortgage amount, than to have to go through foreclosure, get no payments at all for many months, and end up selling the home into a lousy market. If the lender will end up making more money by permanently reducing the interest rate and/or principal amount of the mortgage, than by foreclosing, then it obviously makes sense to do this.
Wells Fargo did modify my loan. I went from 10 years remaining to 17, and from a payment of 1400 to 800; the first 5 years they dropped the rate to 2%, then it heads up as high as 5%. I had a 5 5/8 rate fixed for 15 yrs when I got the note. The RV industry which I was with for 15 years has gone bust and most retail sales jobs are in the tank right now. Happy to get the mod!
I do have sympathy for her.
They told her she got into a program, raised her hopes, then told her she was denied and she has what? a month to come up with an amount greater than her usual payment - plus her normal payment to boot.
I’ve been the victim of unscrupulous banking too many times myself. Banks when dealing with customers are often schizophrenic - every person you run into tells you something different.
I’ve been done really dirty by a couple of them.
The 30 year-old mother of four and accountant for the State of Tennessee
###
A typical bureaucrat.
I’ll bet she has a sister named Chlamydia.
LLS
NACA are the people, along with ACORN, who engaged in the sonofabitchery brought about by the Community Reinvestment Act of 1997 and the changes implemented by the Clinton Administration.
The NACA contributed to the misery these "victims" feel, and is one of the parties responsible for this mess we are in.
no mater what the monthly nut is she a 100000000’s others just cant cut it and shouldnt be in the housing market
“An accountant? ‘Nuff said.”
An accountant for the State of Tennessee...that is enough said. How in the heck could a professional accountant not understand the terms of this program...she knows that it is what the written contract says that matters. But, government worker, expects something for nothing. Heck, there whole career is about making money and benefits in return for as little as possible.
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