Freddie Mac must be stepping up its efforts at helping
people who might be facing foreclosure. I got two phones
calls this morning from two separate counseling agencies
on behalf of Wells Fargo who holds the primary mortgage
on one of the houses that I am losing in foreclosure.
Oddly enough, the two calls were within one hour of each
other. I have not called the second place back. The
first call is calling me back in an hour to complete our
interview. Even though my efforts at avoiding
foreclosure are pretty much exhausted, I figure I'll see
if Wells Fargo has come up with any new ideas since we
last spoke a couple of months ago.
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The call started out very nice (and has remained very
nice thus far). The big thing is that the caller is
collecting information in order for them to then talk
with the mortgage holder, Wells Fargo, to see if any
concessions can be made. In doing this, the counseling
agency also collects information about monthly expenses
and obligations - car payments, child support, alimony,
income, insurance expenses, medical bills, utilities,
etc. All of this seems completely legitimate as the
counselor would need this information as they discuss my
situation with the mortgage holder.
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The counselor and I discussed various options for
keeping the house: catching up with the mortgage
payments, deferring pass due payments (tacking them onto
the principal), extending the payback period (from
thirty years to more). We also discussed options for
letting the house go other than foreclosure: a short
sale, a deed-in-lieu. All of these options already have
been considered by me and Wells Fargo. Absolutely
nothing new came of this part of the counseling call.
The counselor did ask if I had any ideas about how I
might keep the house. I suggested that the only way I
will be able to keep the house is if Wells Fargo buys
out the line of equity debt from National City and
reduces the principal of the loan. Unfortunately, the
counselor was unable to follow through on this option.
Apparently, the counseling agency only has so many
viable options which they can pass along as
"suggestions" to the mortgage company. Reducing the
principal amount is not one of them (that is as of
05/06/08, so do not let this posting discourage you from
posing this situation to any counselor that contacts you
as things might change).
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One last thing that the counselor suggested was a
forbearance. A forbearance is when the mortgage holder
agrees to not request payment over a certain number of
months while the borrower either tries to improve their
financial situation and resume payments or sell the
property or some other solution. The mortgage holder
also agrees to not report this as a negative situation
to the credit bureaus during this time. This reflects
better on your credit scores than missed payments.
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Forbearance might be a very viable option for some
people. If you are interested in this situation,
carefully consider what you hope to accomplish during
the forbearance period. Consider how likely it is that
you will accomplish what you need to accomplish during
this forbearance period. Also, consider the cost during
this forbearance period. For me, I am maintaining
utilities while this property is still in my name and
trying to sell it. After review of the real estate
market in my area, I do not think the property will sell
anytime soon so a forbearance will just extend the
number of months during which I have to keep paying
utilities and maintain the property such as landscaping.
In my situation, a forbearance is not worth the cost as
I do not expect to be able to sell the property at all
this summer - not even in a short sale.
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I
took the contact information for the counselor in case
my situation changes and thanked her for her call. Who
knows, maybe the situation will change in the next month
or so; and I will have a reason to contact her for her
counseling services. Maybe. We will see.
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I, and everybody else reading these posts, are
interested to hear from anyone who has started or even
considered mortgage counseling. Have you had any luck?
Has it saved your house from foreclosure? Did it not
help at all? If it helped you, what did it take to help
you? Share with us as there are millions of people
looking for answers. Click comments below to post your
experience. Thanks. FREE Foreclosure Consultation
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