[quote=Crown56]In 2009 we were advised by legal counsel to seek a loan modification due to sinking property values. We had an ARM and became underwater on the house. Soon after my garage burned down…I’m just now tearing up a $20000 check written to me and BOA. We were referred to a home modification specialist by our attorney who promptly took over all communications with BOA, filed cease and desist papers and began collecting ‘good will’ payments monthly. Three years later BOA never saw one of those payments, there is an ongoing criminal investigation and I am being foreclosed upon…oh well, I make a good living, can afford the house, love the house and was so convinced by this attorney certified mortgage whore that we actually took $25000 from the insurance to cover contents losses from the fire and put on an addition to the house, new cabinets, granite, paint etc…I thought this would increase my equity in the home.
BOA would rather foreclose then allow me to get current and pay my mortgage…[/quote]
Crown, I have several questions for you, if you don’t mind my asking:
1) Did you seek legal counsel for a mod because you were only underwater or already behind in your payments?
2) Were your ARM payments due to reset or your mtg set to recast when you sought legal counsel on a mod? Did you pay interest only on your mtg for the initial term?
3) Why didn’t you just approach your lender for a mod – without legal counsel? (In 2009, many lenders, including the Big Banks, were allowing modifications of mortgages they held which were due to reset to a much higher payment.)
4) If you had a fire loss, why didn’t you deposit your $20K insurance proceeds?
5) During the months/year you were being “serviced” by the crooked mortgage “Modification Specialist” you were referred to by your attorney, did you ever ONCE ask them for proof that any mtg payment at all was being made out of your “good will” payments to them?
6) Why didn’t you fire your mortgage “Modification Specialist” and take them to small claims court for your lost “goodwill payments” they hypothecated for themselves
7) Have you ever checked to make sure your “attorney” was a member of the State Bar? If he was, have you filed a complaint on him. (If it was his firm that hypothecated your “goodwill payments,” this is one of the main causes in CA of disbarment.)
8) Since you apparently rec’d $25K from your fire ins co at some point, why didn’t you offer all or part of it plus the $25K you are putting down on your “land contract” purchase” to “cure” your default with your mtg co on the house you love? Why didn’t you hire a “reputable” atty or try to negotiate yourself with your lender a refinance of your loan into a fixed rate product, cure the default (or make a deal to cure it under your old loan terms) and keep the property you loved. (I’m sure you know now that “kitchen cabinets” were a very stupid way to spend your ins proceeds when you were deeply in default and in danger of losing your home.)
9) Was the property you gave up located in CA? Did you realize that “cease and desist orders” will not prevent a non-judicial foreclosure from happening in CA? (In 2009, this tactic might have only served to delay the process a month or two. The law has evolved somewhat since then and I can’t imagine any attorney who values their credibility trying this now.)
State law entitled BOA to timely begin foreclosure proceedings on you after you were 90 days late with your mortgage. The fact that they didn’t shows they were overwhelmed with defaults, incompetent or both. I know during that time they had departments set up to work with borrowers like yourself whose loans were resetting.
It sounds from your original post like you were gullible and believed “attorneys” and “mod sharks” (now out of biz) were going to magically make the terms of the note you signed with your lender disappear. You must know that ONLY YOUR LENDER can do that! The sad part is that you gave/sent them money that you should have used to cure the default.
10) Regarding your sellers, what compelled them to give you a land contract? If they own the property free and clear and are carrying your purchase money note themselves, why don’t they just give you a grant deed and you execute a trust deed with an assignment of rents in their favor, like everyone else does? Did you ask them for a grant deed after they countered you with a land contract?
11) Do you realize that with a “land contract,” that you are not actually taking title to the property until your loan with them is paid off? You are giving them $25K and payments every month on a 15-year amortization term. These are no doubt large payments. You are giving them your $$ and won’t even take title to this property! This is only benefiting your seller. Granted, $25K is probably not enough downpayment to buy an SFR any other way. But you are not “buying” it in the true sense of the word. The deal you are proposing to do here is akin to “lease with an option to buy.” Your “option” will not be exercised until your note is refinanced by you and/or paid off.
I can see your “sellers” wanting your $25K up front and a great monthly income from you, as well as a trust deed from you that they can foreclose on, if necessary. It is a win/win situation FOR THEM but not for you.
Given your stated good income and initial good FICO score, Crown, I just see all of this as completely preventable. At the point YOU decided to stop making payments, you could have instead worked with your lender to get rid of your likely “exploding” ARM and thereby saved your good credit.
I am not an attorney but this is the way I see your situation. I first became a RE licensee nearly 30 years ago and am a certified civil litigation paralegal with over 28 years experience.
SK or any Pigg attorney, please chime in if you have any other insight.
