We are trying to stop the foreclosure... first franklin loan services are not listening

I have been dealing with First Franklin for some time now. We fell behind on payments due to job layoff and cut in pay. They offered a repayment plan to keep us out of foreclosure. We met all the repayment payments. Then they promised to do a loan modification to give us a payment that we could afford. When we got the paper work for that the payments were higher then we were paying and they wanted $2000 in cash and they gave us 2 days to do so. Then we found out that they never stopped the foreclosure. So we still may lose our home and now we can not get a hold of anyone from that bank and have seen a lawyer and found out there are several claims against them.

Are having problems with First Franklin such as I am. I would like to hear from you if so and possibly form a group for a class action suite if possible. Please give me your contact if possible. Or feel free to contact me.

Regards

Frank

Am in a similar situation with First Franklin. Foreclosure has been filed, even though my husband and I have been communicating with their Loss Mitigation Dept. The foreclosure attorney had already filed Motion for Summary Judgment, and we only just received a repayment agreement from First Franklin this week. We are very leery to sign it. We initiated the Loss Mitigation in Jan of this year, and have only just been able to speak to someone who seems remotely familiar with our file. We are concerned that once we sign the repayment plan and comply, that the terms of the mortgage restructure will not be as they say it will, and not only will we end up back in foreclosure, any monies that we pay them will just be lost. Then there is the fact that foreclosure proceedings that remain ongoing. Since First Franklin is just the loan servicer, not the holder of the note, and the Foreclosure attorney represents the holder of the note, we aren't sure what is the right thing to do. There is also an issue as to the original note. We have an 80%, 20% mortgage. In the foreclosure documents, it is stated that the original note for the 20% mortgage has been lost or accidentally destroyed, so they are petitioning for reinstatement of the note. In my research on foreclosure, it states that the original note has to be presented in court, not a copy. How do we know they submitted the original note for the 80% mortgage? This is all very stressful and confusing, so if anyone has any insight, please post.....

Thank you.

~ Evelyn

I stumbled upon this site yesterday, frantically looking for some information that might help me decide what is in our best interest with regards to our foreclosure / repayment / mortgage restructure situation with First Franklin Loan Services.

I was surprised to see so many comments about FF and I have learned a lot from reading the posts. For the most part, it seems most people who post are in similar situations to mine, so in a way there is a lot of commonality. I am, however, dismayed at the number of really nasty posts that I have run across.

I'm just shocked at how many people love to kick other people when they are down and are passing judgment, although they don't know their entire situation.

I don't think that is the purpose of this blog. Believe me, I certainly do not like airing my dirty laundry in public, but there comes a time when you need to be able to reach out, and the last thing we need is to have someone ridicule, judge and persecute us. None of us intentionally ended up like this.

We are all in tough situations, no matter what the causes, and its not really very constructive to tell us how stupid or pathetic we are and even criticize spelling as I read in one post.

If your life is perfect and your credit is too, that's great, good for you. If that's the case, then why are you wasting your time reading this blog?

Please, we need some constructive ideas if there are any, and if not some compassion would be helpful.

Thank you.

~ Evelyn

By the way, Frank, if you ever do file a class action law suit against FF, I'm in. The more information I read and the deeper I delve into my loan documents, I am learning how deceptive my loan representative was when we were working on getting our mortgage. In all honesty, defaulting on our loan may have not been such a bad thing, if we can work out a restructure, but I am very leery about their restructuring program at this point. I couldn't trust them with the initial mortgage, so how can I trust them now?

Thanks.

~ Evelyn

It seems we have all had similar experiences with First Franklin. I was actually told by someone from loss mitigation to "just sell your house." Not exactly the answer I was looking for. If anyone has suggestions on other avenues please let me know. Did anyone refinance with First Franklin and fail to have them tell you it was an ARM? I actually asked during the initial refi stage and still have the notes and original paperwork sent to me, all of which say fixed rate, but somehow at closing that was all changed. My fault for not reading closely I know, but it may be a heads up for someone else.

My husband and I have a loan with FF, we were never behind until his job cut his hours back in August,due to the economy. He works in a warehouse that stock goods, the vendors were about to go bankrupt. We fell behind on our mortgage, kept trying to get in touch with FF for help way before we ended up in the situation we are in now. We tried to refi, we got turned down, we tried to do a modification, they waited a month in a half to tell us we didn't have three consecutive payments. They knew that before I even submitted my mod application. They turned us down for that.We kept paying our regular mortgage, until recently my husband got really behind, not to mention our interest rate is 11.75% payment is 1831.00 they are not trying to do anything to help. Like someone else mentioned they told me to sale my house b/c it seems as if you can't afford it. I was shocked. I can NEVER get a hold of the same person or the person in charge of out second mod request the "negotiator" I don't even know if such a person exist i requested it back on 3/14/08 no answer. I call stay on hold for 4o+ minutes for them to simply tell me no decision has been made yet. I have about six different ext no one ever picks up or ever call back. I have received two foreclosure letters. I don't know what to do or expect because I cant' get any one on the phone EVER.

Hi Tonya:

Make sure when you call FF that you ask for the Loss Mitigation department. They seem to be the only ones who can help, if they indeed do help. We are still trying to decide what our options are at this point, as I am extremely leery about signing the repayment agreement, since it does not give all the answers. We have no guarantee of what takes place after we complete the 90 days of repayment payments. So, its a distressing situation to say the least. I have contacted a couple of attorneys locally and of course for a nice "fee" they would be happy to help, but I would rather keep my money and put it toward the repayment agreement, should we finally to make a leap of faith and go for it. I don't know if anyone follows the finacials, but from what I have read, Merrill Lynch (who purchased FF from National City Bank in 2007) announced on March 5, 2008 that they are closing FF. Home Loan Services will be sold eventually, which was also part of FF.

Our loss mitigation rep says that Home Loan Services is not associated with FF, however, our repayment agreement has FF name and address on it, so I'm not sure what's going on and who we are working with.

We have submitted letters to the foreclosure attorney, FF, Home Loan Services, LaSalle Bank (who filed our foreclosure) just to see if we can get some clarification and to ensure that any repayment agreement and/or loan modification is actually sanctioned by LaSalle. I'd hate to pay up nearly $8000 throughout the 90 days of the repayment agreement only to find out that the bank does not honor it and lose the house anyway.

Should we opt to sell, it will deifinitely have to be a short sale. LaSalle stands to lose a lot of money, since our house has already dropped $128,000 in just one year. We can't refinance because of it.

In our letter to all parties, I requested that should we not be able to come to some agreeable terms, that we be allowed to do a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" and pay the legal fees.

We are rapidly running out of options, so I'm just trying to come up with something that is going to the least amount of damage to us personally.

According to the foreclosure attorney, they can't even get a court date to hear the case until August, so we have a little time, but court dockets change as cases are settled, dropped, etc., so we also have to keep that in mind.

Until then, we are going to work toward saving the house, but I am also prepared to let it go, if we have no other choice.

Ours is a 2 yr fixed adjustable rate. Somehow my husband neglected to tell me the adjustable part when he put this deal together. Had I known, I never would have signed. I took his word for it - dumb on my part. I guess he just wanted to have our own house so bad, that he was willing to take the risk. The terms were different from what he was told as well - it was supposed to be a 50 year mortgage and its a 30 year with a gigantic balloon due in the 30th year that is almost as big as the mortgage itself. Somehow this was not discussed at closing and he said he was never told about the balloon. So we are pushing really hard for some major loan modification, since its our only chance to reduce costs. I found about the loan terms and adjustable rate after the foreclosure action started, when for the first time I not only looked at our closing documents, but actually examined them very closely. Even my husband didn't know the full extent of the loan. Hind sight is 20/20, they say and yes, we should have really read the documents at the closing. It was so tense that rushed that we really just signed.

My husband's grand plan was to refinance in two years and he didn't count on our home losing value so quickly and property taxes tripling, making that part of the dream a nightmare. He also didn't count on our family experiencing a financial melt down within that time stretch. Now here we are.

Good luck to you and please try to speak to someone in loss mitigation, if you haven't already. They have to be able to help you.

~ Evelyn

Update - FF and/or Home Loan Services, has agreed to allow us to reduce our initial repayment payment to $3200 from $3700, so I guess that is progress - now if we could just trust them....

~ Evelyn

Well I see I'm not the only one dealing with these stubborn butt heads. They always say what they can't do. Never what they can do. This company is simply stubborn. Why?

Yes I have also had the same problem when they say one thing and yet done another. Or the person simply is not available. Try again.. Oh were sorry... Let me see what we can do. Told the story. Oh I'm sorry those notes are not on your account. Or another time hey we need just a few days can you help us out. We can make the payment on Monday. Person says oh I'm sorry but if you do that you will be in foreclosure.

These people have no flexibility at all! They could care less. The ignore any opportunity to avoid problems. They can care less if you go into foreclosure. I just don't understand these people.

At this point we are in for closer. So we stopped any payments and it has been our 3rd month coming up on our 4th payment behind. We have only gotten phone calls. Which I have ignored. Recently got the total amount due $16k. Oh they also never leave a message. Often trigger the machine yet never a message. They are simply looking for money.

We have simply given up. Waiting to see what is going to happen. I have been told they have 4 months before they send the real estate agent saying we need to get out. Yet this could take even longer. HUD said we could contact them and ask for money to move out. As long as the place is in good condition. Which it is. Oh for FYI they use a 866 number and often call around 8am no later then early 9am. Then again 6pm area. Sometimes I think they use a unknown or blocked number.

If you guys do a class action against them. You let me know I will be there! Everyone keeps talking about country wide. I think these guys make them look like saints.

If you guys find further info please let me know.
thanx

I am totally surprise to all of us are somewhat in the same situation and FF holds our mortgage. I was heading toward foreclosure - when FF placed me on a repayment. At the time, I just on it - not wanting to lose my home. However, my mortgage payment is much GREATER than it was prior to the repayment plan. I was paying 2650.00 a month. Now I'm paying 3570.00 which does not include my taxes. My total monthly household income is 4350.00 a month. I sought help, and a loan officer from countrywide called me and my husband and asked us to consider a reverse mortgage. We agreed! Started the process, and was approved for only $198,214. My current mortgage balance is $331,220. So, I called FF to ask if they would consider a short sale. They told me first of all, it may take up to 4 to 6 weeks to get approved for a quick sale, and that I may not be qualified for it. In the meantime, I must maintain the 3570.00 monthly payment. Countrywide, of course may not mind waiting the 4 to 6 weeks for FF to approve us for a short sale. My concerns are - if they say no. I'm force to continue to make the high payments, which is causing me to be late with other bills. After paying my mortgage I'm left with less than $900 a month. My taxes are more than 6,000 a year. I don't want to file for bankruptcy, I rather pay my obligation to FF, but if they say no to the quick sale, then I shall proceed for bankruptcy - Which is not something I want to do, but may be force to do. My hands are completely tied. I need room to pay other bills. Any sound advice from anyone?

Thank Ann

That is my fear with the repayment plan. We can't get them to give us a set payment amount. They want 90 days of consecutive payments then they will re-evaluate our income / debt and give us a figure then. What if its off the charts? It already is at over $3200 a month and going to $3800 next may. I don't know if they just try to get something in from the debtor before the whole thing falls apart or what the deal is. Our rep says maybe between $2300 and $2500, but without having that written in stone, we don't know if that is the truth.

We are seeing an attorney on Monday to see exactly what our real options are, as we are running out of time. She handles loan modifications and foreclosures, so hopefully this will be a good thing - or she will just scare me to death with the harsh truth. You may want to speak to an attorney or contact HUD or some other free assistance and get some real help. We have been trying to do it all ourselves and I think we made a mess of it, just because we got scared. Keep your wits and find some help. Good luck. Post a follow up and let us know how things work out.

~ Evelyn

I've got another FF update.

Firs of all, my meeting with the attorney was very enlightening, it just change things. The attorney was very thorough and answered all of our questions and even questions we didn't think to ask, but basically for us its really too late.

Next bit of news is, FF is no more. Merrill Lynch closed that part of the company down, laying off over 600 people. Home Loan Services is now handling the mortgage servicing, so I'm sure if they were short staffed before, now it must be really bad.

It turns out that all this time that we have been going back and forth with FF / Home Loan Services has been a farce as far as a true repayment plan and loan modification. They are working soley as a debt collector on our specific account, mainly to collectr legal fees for the foreclosure. None of the money would have gone toward the mortgage.

To make matters even worse, we were told by a Home Loan Services rep that there would be no guarantee that we would even be offered or qualify for a mortgage modification once the repayment plan was completed.

I was very aprehensive about signing the agreement in the first place, so I am glad we didn't, and we didn't send them any money.

The rep told us that their job is to collect the legal fees and if possible the arrearages. They are not authorized to make modifications to the mortgage, except for what is contained in the repayment agreement, which really does not address modification.

So, basically we are toast. The house is going to foreclose and we are going to have to move. Don't know where yet. We are looking, but not a whole lot of landlords want to rent to people with foreclosures on thier credit reports.

We'll be fine and move on. I just wish I had known all of this early on, so we would not have wasted our time. I sort of caught on to them being in collections when my husband left a message on our reps voicemail - before his message played letting us know he was away from his desk a collections disclaimer message played saying "Loan Services is a debt collection, any information obtained will be used for that purpose". That is the standard collection agency disclaimer. I tried to explain it to my husband, but he didn't get it. I did. I work for a medical billing company and we have an in house collection agency for delinquent accounts, so I know some of the language and knew when I heard that something was not right.

They bill themselves as the Resolution Team of the Loss Mitigation Department, but are really collectors.

I sent a letter to our last rep informing her that we were in receipt of her updated payment arrangement and that as with first one she sent, our attorney advised us to not sign it. That's when they realized we were not going to pay them according to the repayment agreement, so the next call was from her supervisor (I had mentioned in my letter that if she could not help us come to some sort of resolve, that maybe we need to speak to her a supervisor or manager).

I am really very upset. This is so unfair. To string us along, promising loan modification and they had no intention of helping to modify the loan. Its deceptive.

I have been writing letters. I wrote to the governor of my state (Florida), the owner of our mortgage note (LaSalle Bank), the president of Merrill Lynch (who owned FF and owns Home Loan Services, the foreclosure attorney handling the case (a basic foreclosure mill). I plan to file a complaint with the Florida Attorney General, send letters to congress and the sentate and whoever else I need to in order to get someone to pay attention to what is happening to homeowners.

If they would have worked with us early on when we first had trouble, we could have avoided the foreclosure and helped to make the mortgage more affordable.

I will not stop until I get someone's attention. Someone is bound to finally read the letters. There are so many people involved in these mortgages and mortgage companies, so many layers, but eventually I'll reach the right one. May be too late for us when I do, but by God, someone has to take responsibility for how they are conducting business at the borrower's expense.

I certainly do hope that Home Loan Services or Loan Services as it says on their disclaimer, is a licensed collection agency, licensed to work collect in the state of Florida. I looked them up and didn't find their name, but I'm sure they have it registered under some other company, but I will find out. I obtained the entire list of collection agencies licensed in the state of Florida, and no matter how long it takes me, I go through the list and see if there is a connection to any company involved in this mess. If it turns out they are not licensed, I will report them.

Well, I hope everyone else has a better outcome that I do. Its sad, I'm scared and I'm just tired. This is a grueling experience and its not over yet.

Please, whatever you do, make sure you know who it is you are dealing with when trying to work with your lender. Ask questions, and if you hear a collection agency disclaimer when you call, ask for a supervisor and find out what's going on.

I am also going to try to pursue a class action law suit against just about everyone involved in our situation. Predatory lending, deceptive practices, etc. Whatever I can come up with. Not sure how far I will get - Merrill Lynch closed FF down and has plans to sell Home Loan Services, but they can't escape their involvement and their responsibility.

Take care everyone!

~ Evelyn

Hi Evelyn,

I had a feeling that that was the likely out come of the loan modification process when they offered it to me. As I was starting to see a pattern. Unless I could come up with the $12k. There was no way I would ever get them off my back.

My wife and I figured why keep struggling with these people who ignore the federal guidelines to help reduce foreclosure. I figure there has to be some under minded reason why these people simply don't care and often lie or mislead. In order to help cause the foreclosure process.

We now only get collection phone calls. We have yet to see any mail besides the monthly bill from these people.

After some research and talking with some local real Estate agent. We have found some new information about cash for keys. It seems that in order to keep the house from being torn apart that they are offering more money then ever. according to LA Times they have been offering as much as $6000. What often happens is that it takes 4 to 6 months before anything really happens. That's after you start the foreclosure papers. Then after that time a real estate reposesor knocks on your door. You can go ahead and talk with them.

Ok this is where it gets fun. Your negotiating tactics will come into play. They will simply offer you $1000 to move out before eviction. You have to tell them that that is simply not enough money to move with. Tell them that you have to make the security deposit and first month rent. As well as moving costs including transfuring utilities to the new location for your family. Don't get an eviction as that's bad news where ever you try to move.

Also after talking with HUD. They told me that the key to getting a new place would be showing the credit check before the foreclosure hits your credit report. Then you can explain what happened when you are looking for a new place.

Watch out as some companies try and take advantage of people in this situation. They offer houses for rent. Yet they want you to prove they you make 3 times what the rent is. So $1500 being the average house in my area for rent. They want you to earn $4500 a month. I looked straight at the owners of that business and told them if that was the case then I wouldn't be renting. So just watch for those. Look for people who are not part of a real estate or property management company.

Also HUD warned about people showing up trying to quote help but really causing a rip off before the foreclosure happens. So don't fall for that. Including people showing up at your door step all time of the night and day.

So stay strong and set money aside for moving. Expecting the 4 to 6 month time frame.

Please keep us informed on any class act suit or possibility if one.

Thanks for the enlightening information.

We were served with the foreclosure papers on New Year's Day of this year (nice way to kick off the new year!!), so we are already 4 mos into the process.

We only learned the most recent information after they received my letter where I said we weren't signing the agreement and they realized we were not going to pay the repayment amounts. At least this guy was honest about it.

It put it into perspective for me. They are not interested in helping the homeowner. There must be something that they benefit from that the average person can't see that makes foreclosure better for them than saving the loan.

I feel bad that we were lead on for so long. Its taken us nearly 5 months to learn all of this. We have been tearing ourselves up over this with worry and stress.

I wrote to the actual note holder on our mortgage and then I wrote a really nasty letter to the president and CEO of Merrill Lynch, who bought First Franklin and Home Loan Services in early 2007. Doubt if it will help, but it was kind of therapeutic getting it all out on paper.

We are looking at rentals right now. Its really tough. Looking at property after property and not sure what to do. We'd like to just move out and get it over with and put this behind us.

My husband is not healthy enough to face the sheriff at the door serving a 24 hour eviction notice. We need to move on, because this is so all consuming.

Thanks for the info. If someone comes knocking offering us money to move out, we'll be ready for them. I don't see that happening here. In South Florida where we live the sheriff comes to the house and says its time to go. Sometimes they post a 30 day notice and sometimes its just 24. We may have a rental, but we are just trying to buy a little more time to get organized.

Thanks for the reply and good luck to you!

~ Evelyn

I did a quick search and found information and for foreclose cash for keys in Florida. Using those key words in a Internet search.

So even Florida has cash for keys program. I would do some research. Call a real estate agent as they would know best.

I looked up cash for keys, also. It all depends on the lender. As uncooperative as our lender (FF)has been, I don't know if they will offer it, but I guess it would not hurt to try to negotiate it. I just don't want to tip my hand with them. I'd like to have a place to go first and we are still looking for one. I don't want them thinking we are going to cut and run. We will inform them when we plan to leave, but I don't want to do anything to expedite the process at this point.

I saw the evidence of why this would be a good thing for lenders. There is a house across the street from a rental that we looked at yesterday. Its abandoned and in great disrepair just from looking at the outside. Its a foreclosure property, and before leaving the homeowners destroyed the inside, including ripping the cabinets off the kitchen walls and tossing them in the living room and taking a hammer and smashing every piece of ceramic tile in the house and smasged the bathroom facilities. Its just sitting there.

The following is from ForeclosureFish.com

"Cash For Keys"

A "cash for keys" option is something your lender may offer after the foreclosure process is complete. If you have exhausted all of your options and saving your home is no longer possible, your lender may offer you a fee to walk away from the home peacefully. Unless your lender offers this automatically, this is something that will need to be negotiated with them. In general, lenders will offer about 1% of your home's value if you are willing to walk away quickly and peacefully.

Many homeowners report receiving these types of offers throughout the foreclosure process.

Thanks.

~ Evelyn

Do you all go back and read your comments after you write them?
Probably not. I say that, because if you did, you would realize that you are all whining and complaining about a self made situation.
It's very easy for you all to try and place your blame on your mortgage company, but let's look at the facts as to HOW you all fell into these situations.

1. You failed to make your payments. Hence the reason you are in a Foreclosure or headed to a Foreclosure. Granted, sometimes situations change--you lose a job, reach a rough spot, etc. HOWEVER--where there's a will, there's a way. If you wanted to keep your mortgage current and out of foreclosure you COULD.
Get a second or third job. Borrow funds from family or friends. If you cared about the home and keeping current, you wouldn't be where you were--but again, it's easier to fall into this and blame someone else for your lack of responsibility.

2. You didn't know what you were signing. Everything in reference to your mortgage terms is laid out in your contract. I understand there's a lot of information there and it's a fairly large packet, but why are you people willing to sign your name to a large loan for 30 years WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT YOU ARE SIGNING? Again...you're irresponsible.

3. You borrow more than you can afford. What made you think it was a good idea to take out a loan with large monthly payments that you can't afford with all of your other bills? You know what you pay for each month, you know how much you make each month...did you think that would change? Shame on you for not being rational and budgeting your funds.

I could go on, but I feel like I've made myself pretty clear.

You all did this to yourself.

Sometimes you have to step up, be an adult, and realize that the world (and the mortgage company) isn't out to get you.

Quit crying foul and make a move.

You made your bed. Now lie in it.

After Thought---Why are you all paying for internet (a luxury) so you can sit here and blog about your injustices when you can't afford to make a payment on your house (a necessity)??....Just further proof of point

You know I really hate people like you with no heart for what others are going through. We didn't choose this. We simply tried to deal with it.

I used to make the money and then some. Now I don't. I tried to find alternatives.

You try making hundreds of thousands then suddenly you have to deal this making a small income again after that. Try making ends meet and have something to eat.

I really hate arrogant pie holes like you. As they simply open that pie hole with no consideration of what the other person has been through.

Find another place on the Internet to be a pie hole. As we are hard working people who ran into a bit of bad luck.

You think it's easy to do what you said. I have been through everything you listed. Still unable to make things happen. You think we didn't try? Hahaha... You think we over extended hahahaha....

I guess you can foresee the future. Maybe your a rich itch. What ever it is I think you have no heart. Maybe some day you will be given circumstances that are beyond your control. I would love to be a fly on the wall when that day comes. As you would deserve all the karma you dish out.

Thank you Pie Hole for that...thought provoking response filled with nothing more than some name calling and more "woe is me" attitude!
I am hardly rich. And I do have a heart. I just find it ridiculous that everyone here thinks their mortgage company is to blame.
How is it the mortgage company's fault that you are living beyond your means?
Look at it this way--without that mortgage company, you wouldn't have had a house to begin with.
That's what makes me angry...everyone looks at this and immediately wants to place the blame on "the man", when really, you were given on loan a large sum of money to start a life, to buy a home. If you're in foreclosure, it's because YOU DID NOT UPHOLD YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE LOAN!
What, you think the bank should be nice and just let you slide?
THIS IS BUSINESS, FOLKS!
The bank says "yes, we will lend you this money, but you have to pay us back, or we will take back the collateral."
You say "why thank you bank, I'll gladly take your check and pay you back...where do I sign?"
And then you take the check, and stop making payments...YOU KNEW THE CONSEQUENCES OF THESE ACTIONS.
I understand what you are all going through is difficult. I understand that you feel "helpless".
But you also feel entitled to some kind of charity because you "f"d up.
And that isn't right.
You folks don't deserve anything more than what you were given. You couldn't even handle that opportunity.

Life is hard enough without those who sit in judgement. Yes we all fell behind for whatever reason or another. Yes, we all reached out to our lender, as we are supposed to. Some of us were fortunate enough to get some assistance and cooperation. Some of these loans were disasters waiting to happen. Mine certainly was.
I'm not looking for charity. I could just throw my hands up and walk away, all of us could, but we don't, because we want to do the right thing.
Unless you have gone though a financial hardship, whether from illness, lost jobs, whatever the reason, you could not possibly understand and you don't belong here. You live is so wonderful and perfect that you have nothing better to do in your perfect world, with your perfect finances than to check out the foreclosure blogs?? I feel bad for you....
This is a place for people who are faced with a tough situation, maybe one of the toughest ones in their lives, to come together and offer some advise, or a shoulder, ideas, a kind word or just to be allowed to vent. This is not a place for ridicule and just really mean spirited comments.
Its not junior high, okay? We don't need bullies. So, if you have nothing positive to offer or nothing constructive to share here, then just go away. We don't need you.
~ Evelyn

You know, you have no idea what we are dealing with when trying to contact this lender. It can take weeks of daily calls, sometimes several times a day, before you can actually get a person on the phone. Once we are fortunate enough to get through, we are faced with untrained basic customer service reps who we are told are loss mitigation specialists.
I realize that First Franklin has imploded, but its because they over sold the sub-prime loans. At the same time, people who need to speak to someone within their organization are entitled to speak to someone who knows what they are doing or saying.
We were SOOOO misinformed by our loss mitigation specialist, that if she had given us accurate information, we would have completed our repayment plan and had our loan modification already in place, but she gave us misinformation, so we were reluctant to sign the agreement, since we were told that the foreclosure remains in place until the third payment is complete, where we could face the foreclosure order being signed before we completed the repayment plan, so we were faced with the possibility of still losing the house, and the repayment money and would have depleted our finances and not have anything to use for a rental. It was not until I wrote a letter to the president and CEO of Merrill Lynch, the owner of First Franklin and their replacement, Home Loan Services, that I got some useful, truthful information. I was assigned a customer advocate and he proved to be very helpful. He told us that upon receipt of the first repayment payment, the foreclosure action is stopped. We may very well be able to prevent foreclosure, if we had known this from the beginning. Now we are racing the clock in one last effort to prevent the foreclosure.
Problematic accounts or not, foreclosures or not, lenders owe it to their customers to have trained qualified people working their accounts, who give accurate information and if they don't know the answers, then they need transfer you to a supervisor or manager, period.
So, don't come here with your nasty comments making people who already feel bad feel worse.
I would have rather been turned down for the mortgage, to be quite honest. We tried to walk away from the deal multiple times, because they sounded so negative about it, and they kept dragging us back in. One day it could not get through underwriting and when we said we're done, all of a sudden problems and obstacles along the way were no longer problems or obstacles and we got a closing date for the next day. Miraculous. How does this happen?
Bottom line, we got a bad loan - a really bad loan. Now with the market drop, our plan to refinance at a better rate is not going to happen, because our house has lost $130,000 in value and we owe much more than its worth. So we have to shoot for a loan modification. Its our only hope. Or we could just chuck it all and walk away like many are doing.
You don't understand and could not comprehend it, since you apparently are doing well. I hope that works out for ya.
God forbid you end up needing to be visiting a foreclosure blog instead of just looking for a place to spread your nasty comments from your perfect little world.
Thanks for nothing.

~ Evelyn

So you tried to walk away from the loan? You weren't comfortable with what was presented...it looked "negative"?
THEN WHY DID YOU SIGN IT???
Nobody forced a pen in your hand to sign on the dotted line.
Now, let's look at a few more facts that, out of courtesy, I initially didn't want to point out, but since everyone wants me to be the villain, I will
First Franklin is a SubPrime Mortgage Lender. SubPrime. That means that ALL of you, walking into this, were high credit risks. Why were you high credit risks? Cause other companies gave you credit cards or loans for something else and YOU DIDN'T PAY THEM EITHER.
See what I'm trying to point out? Do you see that there may possibly be a pattern developing?
Getting in over your head, screwing yourself over, finding yourself in a less than stellar situaion?
Please don't think my life is perfect and I have no financial issues. Nothing could be further from the truth.
But the difference between me and all of you, is that I take responsibility for my actions, I own up to what I've done to put myself in my situations, and I do what I can to rectify it.
I don't waste time and resource crying to strangers online about how everyone has done me wrong.
The self pity card is pathetic and childish.
You accuse me of being in Jr. High, I accuse you of acting like a kindergartner--throwing a tantrum when things don't go the way you want it to.
And you all want to hate me for judging you. And that's fine.
You say I don't belong here, I don't understand. That's fine too.
But welcome to the world wide web, where anyone can go anywhwere, read anything, and throw their two cents in.
It's a hard world out there, I know that. I understand that. But that does not alleviate you from your contractual and financial obligations.

You are just mean, aren't you? I shutter to think what must have happened that made you so hostile.
What is your problem anyway? Why are you on this site judging, preaching and ridiculing us? Don't you have other things to do????
I don't have to explain myself to you or anyone else. Not everyone with credit problems is a bad person. Life happens. In my case, my husband had open heart surgery in 1999 and was in the hospital for 3 months and rehab for a month and off work for 6 months. Imagine what no income does to your credit.
Like I said, I don't have to explain myself to you. It would just be appreciated if you would keep your nasty comments to yourself. We are all going through a rough time and the hostility is not needed or wanted. You came here all preachy and nasty, what did you expect us to do? You are wasting our time, so please, just let it go.
~ Evelyn

Evelyn,
Firstly, I am sorry to hear about your husband's surgery. My father underwent the same surgery, so I do understand how difficult that is and the fact that he was unable to work.
But how does that relate to no income? Why is it that you were not working to supplement (even partially) the income that was lost during your husbands illness?
We've come full circle--it's easier to find an excuse than face the facts.
That's all you people have are excuse after excuse after excuse--I had a hardship, someone was sick, I lost my job, it was a bad loan!
Okay...are these things beyond your control? ABSOLUTELY. There is no denying that.
But how the hell does that make it the mortgage company's fault? Do you think the mortgage company WANTS to foreclose on you? Do you have any idea how much that costs the company? Do you think the collection department likes having to call you every day to try and get a payment? Do you think the customer service department likes to have to take your call and listen to you whine and complain about the company and how mean they are when really, if you're payments were made, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE AN ISSUE?
It all comes back to the agreement you made.
The bank agreed to lend you money, and you took it, no questions asked, cause you were just so ecstatic that someone would entrust you with that loan. WITHOUT YOUR MORTGAGE COMPANY YOU WOULD NOT HAVE YOUR HOUSE.
And your failure to upkeep your end of the bargain landed you in the hot water you're faced with.
So whose fault is it that you're in foreclosure? Who's fault is that your credit is in the toilet? Who didn't make the payments as they promised to to?
I'm sorry that you think I'm mean, preachy and nasty.
I consider myself a realist.
Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade, and that's what I'm trying to do.
As for having nothing to do but ridicule you--do you have nothing to do but sit here and blog about your injustice and how your feelings are hurt by what I say?
Again, welcome to the world wide web...if you're gonna put your thoughts and complaints into the world, someone is going to respond. I just happen to be that person. If you don't like it, IGNORE ME.
I'm still wondering why you indulge in the luxury of internet when you can't make your mortgage payment....

You know what, have a nice life. I've had enough.

~ Evelyn

reading through these comments, i found that i am in an exact situation and same response from the mitigation department. i am in for class action suit

There are a lot of people in the same or similar situation. None of us have the answers, but I feel a responsibility to share information when I have it. Our First Franklin loss mitigation department is not very responsive currently, partly because they have imploded. They have turned accounts over to their sister company, Home Loan Services and I believe that the large number of defaults and foreclosures have them overwhelmed. That makes getting qualified people on the phone a daunting task at best and you can go for weeks without being able to speak to a human being. I got tired of it and wrote to the president and CEO of Merrill Lynch (the lender's parent company) and that was the first real helpful response I got. I was assigned a customer advocate to investigate the matter, who proved to be extremely helpful and VERY knowledgeable, and really works the follow through / follow up. Thanks to him, we received the repayment agreement that we had requested, that incorporated language regarding a loan modification upon completion. We will be sending the signed document this week and hopefully will be on the way to saving our house.
Its really a good idea to talk to an attorney. We did. I found one who would evaluate our case for us for a small evaluation fee - unlike most who want anywhere from $1500 - $5000 just to evaluate it. She had a lot of good advise and was able to provide a lot of insight. She was the one who urged us to not sign the first repayment agreement, as it did really nothing more than cover attorney fees of the foreclosure, and it did not address the loan modification. She basically told us we would be better off to walk away. She says she doesn't normally advise that, but in our case, where the repayment agreement was not what it needed to be, where we have lost $128,000 value in our home in just the last year, she felt we were in a situation we could not win.
Even so, I continued writing letters and copying everyone involved in our case / account and finally got heard.
So, if you don't get attention from the loss mitigation specialists, who in the case of First Franklin, are apparently not fully trained and can pass on inaccurate information. Ask for a customer advocate, supervisor or manager when you call. I have also noticed that these loss mitigation specialists do not accurately note the account regarding when they talk to you. and the notes may not reflect exactly what was said. Write letters. Investigate your mortgage company and find out who is the president and start writing to them. That's what finally got my voice heard. Follow up phone calls with letters, addressing everything that was discussed, and hopefully they will respond and give you something in writing.
I do believe there should be a class action law suit for these predatory lenders who prayed on people who do have some credit problems or issues - whatever the reason. Its better to be turned down, I think. I had no idea our lender was a sub prime lender. I didn't really know such a thing existed. We were told by our broker, who worked for G.M.A.C Mortgage that we had a conventional lender.
I hope you can get some resolve. I know its not easy to go though. Its torn my family apart.

~ Evelyn

Could someone please let me know how to get in contact about a law suit with this compamy. As we are having the same problems with First Franklin. Can not get anywhere with this company. I am like the others here getting deeper in the contract and found out what a rip off they are. Someone please contact me about this buelabound1@aol.com. I know maybe should not put email here but what ever. Can not be hurt any more than I am already am.
Husband lost job and now has a lower paying one. We are in the same bolt as many others. HELP.....

Hi Evelyn,
I just read your story and I do not think it's too late for you. I am in a similar situation with First Franklin. We are supposed to sign repayment plan documents on Monday. They said it will put off the foreclosure; so we have agreed to it. Just keep fighting...do not let them win.

I am also in the same situation as everyone else. I just don't want to loose my home. I can't get a hold of anyone from FF that can help me. My negotation officer won't even return my phone call I left 1 month ago. I am so disappointed. I thought they would want to help so the property won't go into foreclosure, and they would lose more money. Any advice, I'll take it. Thanks.

Like the comment before your's says, don't let them win. I almost did.

Keep calling them. Call as many times in a day as you can, everyday. Write them letters - send certified. Copy everyone involved, including the foreclosure attorney if you are at that point.

We almost walked away because we felt we had no other options, because we were so misinformed by our loss mitigation specialist. It was not until I wrote to John Thain, president and CEO of Merrill Lynch that they finally started to pay attention, and I wrote to him out of pure desperation. I just figured I'd write to the one person that would be the most irritated by a letter from a borrower, and in my case, it worked. Don't wait for them to call you.

We literally signed a lease on a rental just to have somewhere to go, certain it was basically over.

We got a letter from a customer advocate, who said he would investiate it, and when my husband called him, he was readily available, helpful and really followed through.

Thanks to him, we got a new repayment plan, that incorporates the language we were looking for regarding the loan modification after successful completion and have sent in our first repayment payment.

First Franklin has imploded, that's why you can't reach anyone. Merrill Lynch has closed down that business and their work has been handed over to Home Loan Services, a sister company also owned by Merrill Lynch and I just think they are overwhelmed, between the huge number of defaults and foreclosures and the new workload they have all had to take on, its a lot.

We pushed for a loan modification mainly because we have lost so much value in the past year, there is no way we can refinance to a lower rate and it could be many years before we ever could, if ever. They are saying that the Florida real estate market may never really come back and it may continue to drop, down to what it really should be, and if that's the case, we will lose $200,000 total - we have already lost $128,000, which was verified by FF, as they recently had an appraisal done, so this is our only chance to make an affordable change.

Hang in there. I know its hard to make these calls with jobs and all, but its something that you have to figure out how to squeeze in the time during your work day. Home Loan Services has people working until 9 PM, so if you have to call after work, so be it.

Good luck to you and hang in there. I know its really frustrating.

~ Evelyn

As Evelyn has stated. You MUST call the First Franklin office everyday. The # is 1800-622-5035. They will put you on hold for sometimes what seems to be an eternity. But, I believe these are training tactics mixed in with a company being incredibly short handed. Call everyday, so that the representative you are talking to can document what was said. You should also keep a list of people who you spoke to and what was said. If you do not get any satisfaction write a QWR or Qualified Written request, which is a history of the loan. You can find more details about this on www.loansafe.org Awesome site for people in need. Good luck to all and keep your head up. Do not give up!

I have read thru all the comments and all of these comments are completely incorrect and inaccurate. I work for a mortgage company and the last thing we want to do is foreclose on people, it cost the company 40k for every loan that is foreclosed on, not including all the money that is lost in interest because of non payments. As far a them not wanting to help, this is further from the truth. We are here to help but you also have to understand that if you cant make the pymt on your current income how do you expect to get on a repayment plan with a higher payment and be able to afford that, we will gather your financial information and if we see that you are paying more out than what you make then obviously we know that you are not going to be able to afford the payment and we will tell you to sell your house. I understand the current economy is horrible and no one is to blame for that, so do not blame your mortgage companies. Like the previous comments state you guys signed to these mortgages without reading the documents first, and you say there is not enough time at closing, do you remember the 3 day right to recession they give you after signing the docs to change your mind, therefore you have 3 days to read these documents and if you dont agree with the loan terms then tell them i dont want the loan. You get a loan and loan type based of your credit therefore you qualify for the loan that we are able to give you. The situations you people are facing is not the mortgage companies fault. Evelyn, you have been on here saying they are not willing to help but you said so yourself they were willing to do a repayment plan to keep you out of foreclosure but you decided to not sign it because you knew in reality that you were not able to afford the regular payment and you definitely were not going to be able to afford the repayment plan so how is that your mortgage companies fault they did offer you something you just chose not to take the help that they were able to give you. Also do you think we like to call people and ask for their payment that is the last thing we want to do however this is business and you signed a legal binding document stating that you would make your payments and you defaulted. Just like a car you have to make the payments or they will come and take the car back.
We can only offer you what you are able to qualify for therefore if you cant qualify for any assistance we will tell you to sell your home, it is better than having a foreclosure showing on your credit report isnt it.

You work for a mortgage company. Not this mortgage company exactly. So what you know is your experience with that mortgage company not this one we are talking about. So you know nothing of this company and there bs tactics. This company is worse then country wide. All they were interested in was money and how fast you can get it to them. They made it as difficult as they possibly could. They often said things then they never put the notes down. Then you couldn't reach that person after the fact.

I had one time where they said that it would be ok to make the regular payment. Then so I did just that. Only to get several calls that said I need to pay the extra amount or go into foreclosure. Then when I asked. Oh that's not in my notes. They said I don't know what they promised you but we can't do that. You need to pay by this date or you will be foreclosed on.

I don't understand why they were so hell bent on money. So finally I said screw it as I was on the border line every month and it was becoming a loosing battle. There was no way I could continue to make the extra payment to get caught up. There was no way to get back to the regular payment, at all.

So if they wanted the house so badly. That's exactly what they will get. So now that they pushed so hard for money to cause more problems they have more houses. Where if they didn't push so hard then maybe I could have recovered and kept the house is I was allowed to make regular payments and get caught up later. Or put this problem in the rear of the loan. But know that wasn't an option.

If there was a option to let me recover. Allowing me to help my wife get her papers finished and get a job. Then there might have been a chance.

Yet these people were hell bent on money. So they can have the house and my bad credit report. I tried enough. I am sick and tired of trying. I will fix my credit report over time. I don't need the stress of trying to keep a house that this company seem to bent on taking back.

So later I will have the house I want. As my new found family builds houses for a living. Allowing me to have affordable housing.

This time I will research the mortgage company and see what others say about them. Before I sign any papers.

So I will go back to renting as that is what I can afford. As well allow me to recover and think about what I want to do. Instead of what I'm being forced to do.

I couldn't ever consider paying for this house right now. Maybe in a few months I could consider it. Yet not right now. So if they want the house by all means come get it. If these papers allow them to bully me into giving them money. Allowing them to lie and deceive then please take this house back.

I have tried over a year to hold on. Never have they offered to help besides a repayment plan. Just offering me foreclosure as a alternative.

Why save the house? I mean really. The house is a loss of almost $100k compared to what I signed up for. I couldn't move or anything if it came down to it. As well maybe be stuck upside down forever at this point. What are predictions of the housing market recovery now 2012. Before I could break even.

Well enough for now. What's done is done. Now it's just a matter of time.

Marge:

We appreciate a posting from the other side, so to speak, but as was said in the posting following yours, you do not work for our mortgage company, therefore you do not know what we have been through.

It would be nice if life was always perfect, however it is not. Bad things do happen to good people, occasionally. We get labeled as having “bad credit” and being a “bad credit risk”, even though the reasons behind our “credit problems” might stem from something that was not our fault – illness, lost job, robbery, identity theft, etc. We’re not blaming the bank. Moreover, we are just asking for some help. None of us want to be in a situation like this. We all had good intentions. We all just wanted a place of our own to live in with our families.

When you referenced my posts and my situation, you said something inaccurate. I did not say we could not afford to make the repayment payments, I clearly stated that there was no reference to the loan modification - and I'm not asking for a promise, just a mention that it may be considered or an option - plus, we would like to see more of the money going toward the mortgage and not to the legal fees, as was discussed with them previously. Sure, the initial payment did seem high, but that was not the main reason we did not want to sign the repayment agreement.

We did not receive the hardship paperwork until a few months after it was promised, so we lost quite a bit of time, needlessly. I was promised by our loss mitigation specialist that she would have an answer for me within 15 minutes after I faxed her our application and supporting documents and I never heard from her again. It took us a month to get another live person on the phone, after calling multiple times daily. The next person who worked on our file, said that our file was empty – THERE WAS NOTHING IN IT AT ALL – so where did my tax return, pay stubs, property tax information, homeowners insurance information go??? They have lost more than enough information on us that could be sufficient for an identity theft situation, but we seem to be the only ones concerned about it, so oh well. We still had to REFAX EVERYTHING.

Again, we could not get our loss mitigation specialist on the phone, even after calling multiple times, daily. Eventually we were passed on to someone else, and guess what – I HAD TO REFAX HER EVERYTHING, AGAIN (that makes two sets of our personal information that was LOST) and it was not until after about a month and a half before we received the repayment agreement. When I read the language contained in it, I did not want to sign it, neither did my husband. We at one point hired an attorney to evaluate our foreclosure case documents and she advised us to not sign the repayment agreement, so we did not. Our attorney felt that the fact that the foreclosure remains open and active throughout the entire repayment process, as we had been informed on several occasions by our lender, that it would not be in our best interest to sign it, plus she stated that more money should be going toward the loan.

We requested a new one, asking for some language to be incorporated it just to address the loan modification, and while we were at it, negotiated the initial repayment amount down somewhat, but the language remained the same, and we were again informed that the foreclosure remains open and active throughout the entire repayment process. So again we did not sign it. At that stage of the game, that far into the foreclosure process, the odds were greater that the foreclosure order would be issued prior to our completing the repayment process, so what incentive did we have to sign the agreement?

The whole idea of going through a repayment plan is to establish good faith, and it was good faith that we were looking for on their part as well, to actually provide us with factual information and some help in a timely manner.

My husband contacted the mortgage company as soon as our financial hardship began, and forbearance was the only option offered – raising our monthly payments, that due to a financial hardship we were having difficulty doing. Did not help, as it added and additional $800 month to our payment and we would have had to pay that inflated payment for 6 months, which far exceeded the amount we were behind, which at the time was only one month, which unfortunately was not something we could afford to do, so of course we fell behind again. We were told we had to be in default in order to be considered for a repayment plan or loan modification, which we learned later to be untrue. What happens when you default? You get served with a foreclosure suit, hence our present situation.

We are trying very hard to be reasonable, and we made every attempt to inform our mortgage company of the problem immediately and to request some help, WHEN WE COULD REACH THEM!!!

Not being able to get a human being on the phone dragged this entire situation out way too long. Then of course, there was the misinformation about how our loan was sold (it was not, it is still with Merrill Lynch, always has been), foreclosure does not stop until after the final repayment payment (not true, stops with the first repayment payment), and if we had not been insistent, we would have certainly lost the house. We were to the point, I mean literally, ready to put the key in the door and just walk away. My husband was checking the foreclosure dockets monthly to see when we finally make it on the docket, so of course we started looking for a rental. We actually signed a lease on a rental and scheduled a moving date, because we really thought we had reached the end with no way out in sight. My garage was filled to the ceiling with empty boxes to pack everything up in – we were supposed to move in on July 5th.

Out of absolute pure desperation and total frustration, I wrote a letter to the President and CEO of Merrill Lynch detailing our situation. I tried to think of who I could possibly write to that would be irritated by receiving such a letter, someone I knew could get some action. Finally, miraculously, we were assigned a customer advocate to investigate our case. With his help, and only through his help and stepping in, were we able to get some accurate information and get our questions answered. He was articulate, intelligent, and diligent. He kept his word – if he said he’d call you back in 10 minutes, he called you back in 10 minutes. He was able to dispel the inaccurate information we had been given, and help us and the loss mitigation department to come to an agreement on the repayment plan, that surprisingly contains exactly the language we were looking for. In addition to being able to help us and answer all of our questions, he also informed me that the second and third repayment payment amounts are normally about where they feel the modified payment will be, so he was extremely informative. Had someone done this initially, we could have settled this situation several months ago.

We had no idea when we bought our house that the bottom was going to drop out of the real estate market. Its not our lender’s fault that this happened, but certainly they need to take this into consideration at some point. Our lender had an appraisal done on our house recently, and we have lost about $128,000 in value, so they are aware of it and they are aware that because of it we will not be able to refinance, so I’m sure they are aware there is not a lot of incentive to stay if you look at it that way. And still we were interested in saving it, even so. If ever there was an incentive to walk away, that coupled with our property taxes that have tripled, and we are in a really bad situation from an investment stand point, and yet we still wanted to retain the property.

We have jobs and when you have jobs, you obviously can’t be on the telephone constantly trying to save your house from foreclosure, other wise you will lose your jobs and really not be able to afford your house. We just wanted to be able to reach a human being that had some idea of what they were doing and advise us and help us through a rough situation.

We have finally signed the agreement and sent in our first repayment payment. We’ll see how it goes from here. I hope we can make it work out, but if we can’t, I’m somewhat prepared for that as well, in my mind anyway. My husband is far more emotionally attached to the house, so I really hope we can make it work, for his sake. Since this situation escalated to this level, I have kind of detached myself from it, thinking it may make it easier to let go of if and when that time comes. I’m not terribly optimistic, but after living with this for so long, its hard to be optimistic.

If it turns out to not be a workable situation for us, I will know we have done everything we can within our power to save it. In the mean time, I will try to enjoy living in my home, taking it one day at a time, and maybe not quite have both feet on the ground, just in case.

Yeah, you are right, we should have read the loan documents. We absolutely should have. IT was stressful and chaotic, plus my husband was sent to the bank to get a cashiers check, since they ran short of money needed to close, money we were not expecting to have to come up with, and no one even called us to tell us it was needed, so the closing was to say the very least, tense. Considering that they used our deposit to pay off “revolving debts”, this was not something we felt was necessary for us to do, but we didn’t argue about it. Maybe we should have. Maybe we would not have closed and maybe we would not have ended up in this situation.

We put too much faith in the mortgage broker and the closing attorney, and our realtors. The mortgage company, after evaluating our finances determined that this mortgage payment was within our ability to pay, however, they did not seem to take our other financial obligations into consideration and personal expenses such as food, so the first time there was a financial disaster, we had problems making the payment. Like I said, bad things to happen to good people. It did not need to reach this point, is my point.

It was a health condition that caused a financial disaster for us several years ago and sent our credit into the toilet. We didn’t set out to have bad credit. There was a time in our lives when we could walk into any bank and come out with a loan or credit cards. My husband used to make a phone call, and a new car was delivered to the house. So I know what its like to have good credit and be a good credit risk. All we wanted was a place to live. The house we were renting before we bought this one was owned by a nice person, great landlord, however she was interested in us doing a lease purchase after three years of renting it and wanted an outrageous price for it, so we started looking and set off this whole chain reaction. I would have happily stayed there as a renter, if she had not tried to pressure us and take advantage of us. We had no problems paying the rent there for the entire 3 years we lived there, never late one time. Of course, when we bought our house, the mortgage was nearly twice what our rent was, but we got a much better house than the one we were renting was, and had we gone for her deal, the mortgage would have been considerably more, considering her asking price (which was not negotiable) was much higher than what our current house cost, and it was not even updated inside. So if she had not been hard pressed to sell, we would never have looked, and I would not be posting on this or ant other foreclosure forums.

Our entire banking industry needs to be looked into and retooled if you ask me. The fact that they could put this type of loan product out there for troubled consumers is ludicrous. You take people who have had some financial problems, and what do you do? You charge them HUGE interest rates, and better yet, make them adjust, so that if they could afford the original payment with the HUGE interest rate, make it keep on adjusting until they can’t afford it. So, with that kind of a plan, what makes you think the banks don’t want to take the houses back??

As I have said many times, I would have much rather been turned down by the bank than to be in this situation.

Thank you for your enlightening post, but as it says in the post following yours, you do not work for our lender, so you do not know how they work. We do. Apparently there are many of us out there. So, please do be judgmental or preachy when you post comments to us. We have been through horrific situations in the name of having a place of our own to live. We don’t need to be condemned. We are already in pain, so please don’t kick us when we are down. We need help. We need serious help.

We are not blaming the mortgage industry for our situations, we just need help. While it may seem to some readers that we are blaming the lenders for our problems, if you would please just take the time to read our words and not be so quick to pass judgment, you may gain some insight to what we have all been experiencing.

Thank you.

~ Evelyn

I hope they go bankrupt. We might as well borrow from a guy named "Vinny"......I have a 13% ARM that ballons up to 18%. They will not work with a person, their only option is "Short Sale". I told them I could afford a 9% payment, and they would rather foreclose on it. 9% is pretty good right??? I am bitter after dealing with them for over a year, I never missed a payment, was never late....but I knew I was going to be struggling so called for a modification, but they said, "you've never missed and never been late".......so when I missed my first payment, they said "we can't work with you until you're 60 days late", so when I was 60 days late, and my credit went down tremendously, they said, "your credit is too low to work out alternative financing".......If I lose this house, all they are getting is a shell. It is my house until it forecloses.....my copper, my wiring, my drywall, toilets, sinks, cabinets, trim, water heater, furnace, AC......if anybody needs anything for their home, there is a sale on anything and everything the week before eviction. They want to be difficult and unreasonable, lets all be difficult and unreasonable. As for the guy that posted all the "responsible" and "it's your own fault" comments, YOUR TIME IS COMING!! Peaks and valleys buddy, and you are about to fall off your peak....your wifes gonna leave you, or your company's going to go bankrupt, your kids will despise you.....you just remember when your sitting there losing your house, it was because of the insensitivity you showed toward others.

Well we just got our notice today. They are going to auction our house on july 29th at 11:30am. So I called the title company which is in charge of this. The title company said after the auction if it sells then we will likely get a notice from the new owner saying we have 30 days to move out. So I asked if there would be any move out assistance as we are really struggling right now. We just got nailed for a unexpected large bill leaving us with $175 in the bank. So I said hell with it. I was trying to be nice and keep the house up a little. I turned off the water to the yard. Why pay it if they are not going to even help us. With the up keep of the place. So eye sore here we come.

I really having a bad day. I am thankful that family is helping. As the first thing that crossed my mind was homeless, yikes.

I really understand this move out rage now after everything going through my mind today.

Hope everyone's having a better day then me.

I'm so sorry you have to go through this situation. No one should have to. I wish I could help you. I will pray for you and your family, though.

We were told the same thing when we called to tell them we were having a financial problem. They said you had to be in default, before you can even discuss loan modification. Problem is, when you default, they sue you for foreclosure. Its really stupid how they do it. I mean, you take the time and trouble to notify them of a problem or potential problem thinking they will work with you, but that's not how it goes. Everyone says the bank does not want to foreclose on your house, but they why are they so quick to act on it and not work with the struggling homeowner?

They are finally working with us (as long as we make the repayment payments on time, anyway). Still don't know about the modification yet. I'm not really overly optimistic.

I honestly was ready to walk, but my husband has some kind of psychological connection to the place for some reason, so I guess we will continue to do battle as long as we can. I just hope we can manage it, is all.

As for those idiots who post those nasty comments, they don't belong here. I can't for the life of me figure out why someone with a perfect life would feel the need to peruse the foreclosure blogs - is it for amusement or are they just that sick? Seems to me if I had a perfect life with perfect credit, I would certainly have better things to do than to say vile, hostile things to people who are so obviously hurting.

I know its cliché, but this will pass. When we consulted an attorney a few months ago, she informed us that home foreclosure does not have quite the stigma attached to it as it once did. It used to take 7-10 years for your credit to start to come back, but now its possible for it to start coming back in 3 years.

I know, still sounds like a long time, but its something, anyway.

I'm sure there are better days ahead for you, so please have faith.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

I have been going through the same thing, with a few exceptions. I am waiting on my second foreclosure notice, so I know when to move. That's right, they didn't work with me, or they wouldn't work with me, it is relative now. So, I filed bankruptcy. Now it is a waiting game to get a second foreclosure notice before I know a date to leave. I as all of you did everything in my power to work with them. I even as you tried to work with them before I was even late with my first payment. But, as you know to get help with Modification you have to be 90 days (they told me) behind. So, I submitted my hardship package right away and they sat on it for 90 days just to tell me that I didn't make enough money. Can you believe it? I make more now than I did when I bought the house. I know this was a subprime loan, but that has nothing to do with why I fell behind. Just FYI, I had a pretty decent credit score, but no down payment. I, like many of you thought that I would take the Adjustable rate and then re-fi in two years. Right before the two year mark (a month or two) I had open-heart surgery to replace a bad valve. I would have died had I not done this. No choices, I just took off work and concentrated on my health. I was home two days from the hospital and I was paying bills, including my two mortgages. I had surgery in April, and did not fall behind until September. I worked very hard to stay a float, but to no surprise here I am. It is all the same story as many of you have spoke of. Calls to my home phone everyday. I worked with them up until I had no choice but to bale. They are liars, cheats and it is not a surprise at all that Merrill Lynch is selling them off. They are a hot potato, no brains, and the worst customer service I have ever witnessed in my life. There is no Modification available, it to is a lie. They would rather foreclose than work with you. But know this, a short sell is also not the greatest of Avenues to take. There are great tax consequences that you are not told about. Straight from my lawyers mouth. I am all over the place with this little blurb, but it just gets my blood boiling to talk about them or even think about them. By the way I tried to re-fi with other lenders, but by the time you get to needing to do that your credit is screwed. Not to mention the market went South. I will gladly jump on any band wagon for a class action suit, so keep me informed. "I DO NOT JUDGE, SO PLEASE DO NOT BE MINE"
Heartbroken in Oregon
Dar~

They are lying to us all! There is no more modifications, or repayments...or anything. They are debt collectors, and they are hired by the lenders to recoup as much money or property as they can in a small amount of time...these mortgage servicers have strict guidelines to follow, even quotas to foreclose on certain homes, in certain areas, in certain time frames. They do this so First Franklin can redeem themselves in the eyes of their investors. Don't you understand that they actually make more money from you being in default, the longer in default, the more money they make.National City sold its mortgage wholesaler division...exiting the business of third party subprime loans, back in august of 2006. First Franklin was their mortgage wholesaler. National City did this because FF wasnt making any money, securities fraud lawsuit was looming, stocks were starting to fall. Lets face it, sub prime borrowers are the scape goat. The only way for National City to look good again to investors and everyone else, is to start pushing forward with all those sub prime loans, they knew would be defaulted on, they knew, they knew! heres the catch, they can foreclose after 1 payment, they have the right to, because we signed the damn papers allowing them to do so. They hire foreclosure specialts to handle the sales, and these companies are efficient and make millions every year. I lost my home on July, 16. I was never in default, I paid my payments, yet because they said so, or had paper work to show it, it diddnt matter. I had no idea, until The sales company hired by theur lawyers sent a letter stating a court date to record the sale of my home. I show up to court, stunned the judge, and was slammed for not showing up to any of the previous 9 court dates. He gave me one week to get lawyer. No lawyer would even talk to me and the one that did said I dafaulted, it says so right here! I reasearched found my case filings on local county court website, and they filed foreclosure back in sept of 2007. It's not just the mortgage servicers, or the lenders . This is a huge conspiracy involving, judges who deal with the same lawyers every day, these lawyers keep them in business. The lawyers use the same sales companies, not the local sheriff's department either. Let me just tell you, when I was in court those two times...First Franklin's lawyer had about a 3 foot stack of papers..foreclosures, and she was stating her case, and most of the time the judge diddn't even look at their evidence. Each foreclosure was given about 30 seconds, if that. The lender has mortgage insurance, and usually a guarantee by fannie mae or freddie mac to pay for these loans if they are defaulted on. I have document after document showing my payments, showing them lying...and i never recieved my due process. They naturally assumed, sub-prime borrowers, couldn't be smart enough to figure out the bigger issue here, or thouoght they wouldn't care. Most people have no idea what their rights are, I know I diddnt until I started researching.In some instances, these lenders goo looking for loans already in default...and how do you think they find those? Heard of M.E.R.S? Mortgage electronic registration system? Look on your loan papers or your deed, then google it and go to their website. Every loan, Every Lender,is on this software. Customer information, property info, credit ratings,think about it. What about mortgage brokers? Not all are crooked, but they know the areas they work better than anyone, they sell the lenders your loan in a bundled package, and make lots of money. Do research on the people who created this M.E.R.S software...you might be suprised. Please, they truly are not wanting or willing to help. we were doomed from the start, while people were making millions, and blaming the little guy

I also wanted to add that I did a search using my pin number for my legal property description, and the case number issued by the court and on a pre foreclosure website, there was my home, pics and all. The date that it was posted to this site...was september 22 2007. Also, with this particular website, someone has to pay in order to list property for pre-foreclosure. I also found they were charging my escrow acct for placed hazard ins. twice in 3 months...over 3000.00 . My ins never lapsed, and they started applying my mortgage payments to this escrow account. I signed against having my escrow set up this way, and they never required this as a stipulation for the loan. This is how they were able to show I was deliquent. In Illinois, if you miss court or dont answer to a foreclosure complaint, the judge sees that as your agreement with the plaintiff, and he will automatically award judgement against you. I had no idea of any summons. But going through my case filings there are several instances where there are lost document affidavits that were filed. They never said anything, were still accepting payments every month, and a judgement of foreclosure was awarded to for 129755.00, when my note was 114500.00. That was on 11/28/07....I had no damn idea! Then apparently when it went for sale, It was offered for cash for 129755.00, no one bid on it, then First Franklin bid 137000.00 and bought my home. There was no surplus and no deficeincy, and I will say that with all the empty houses in this neighboorhood, property values are not what they were, and it is not wort that much.

Did you know that if the mortgage servicers (Home Loan Services) meet the foreclosures quotas given to them, they receive compensation...is that considered a bonus? If they don't meet these quotas, the investors receive some sort of compensation, or kickback..what like a discount? What kind of game are these people playing?

That is just crazy. I wish we could expose them for who and what they do.

I am dealing with trying to get a place with my rather screwed credit. Oh yea!

WOW,
Just found this site. Didn't realize there were so many people in the same situation with the same company (First Franklin). We went to an attourney and were told to walk away due to the deceptive practices. When we told her who our mortgage company was she said forget working a deal. One thing we were told by her also and some of you who have a 80/20 mortgage ought to be aware of is the forclosure most likely will be for the 80% part of the loan only and that the company will come after you a few years later to get the other 20% so beware. I hope that made sense. Good luck to all,

Glenn

Dealing with FF is a total joke. The attourney that told you to walk away should be dis-bared. I'm taking FF to court and making them show me the NOTE. I know they don't have it. They will tell the court they lost it. We all know they sell them. Most people don't fight them and let them take their home. Its the LAW that they have to show me the NOTE. If the court lets them slide I will just go to the higher court. Their are a lot of judge's that are in the pockets of the mortgage companys so make sure you put up a good fight. Don't give up. MAKE THEM SHOW YOU THE NOTE!!!

I would like to know more Richard as I would file suit against them rather than give it if I can afford the legal fee's can you tell us more as they are not going to do anything till October

I have a friend doing the paper work for me. I will rep myself in court. All I will be asking the court is for them to show me the NOTE. If they can't (I know they don't have it)I will ask the court to tell them to leave me alone until they can show it. If and when they do come up with it I will take it from there. They will say they lost it or it was stolen. I'll be ready for my day in court.

I just want to wish you the best of luck in your battle.

Please let us know how it goes for you.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

Evelyn.......would you plaease contact me @ norma_OK@yahoo.com. We are dealing with First Franklin.

Thank You.

I too am interested in joining in on any class action. My days are numbered here, mine goes on the auction block August the 14th. My bankruptcy lawyer says they will most likely give me about 30 days to vacate after that. Hard to save money to move when you still have to live. I tried soooooo hard to work with them, I too wrote a letter to Merrill Lynch but have heard nothing back as of yet. I am very sad, this forces many changes in my life that I am not prepared for. I wrote a bit above on what brought me here to this point so I won't hammer it out again, but lets just say I am a bit bitter and very sad. All you know what will hit the fan in regards to this company very soon, you just wait and see. If someone wants to contact me feel free to do so, I can be reached at dardonaho@msn.com
Good luck to all of you and God bless you, try and hold your head high knowing that you did all in your power to make it right. As for me I am looking forward to better days. As far as cash for keys goes, I have been offered nothing and I am down to the final days.
~Not so fine in Oregon~
Dar

Well after the auction date I was contacted by remax. They are offering me cash for keys. I was shocked. As I was told that wuld not be offered to me. So we shall see how much they offer.

My wife and I decided to get a room 4 rent and let the dust settle a bit on everything. We are just putting everything to storage until we get our own place again.

How long did they give you after auction until you have to vacate the property? I know it is different according to State law, but I was just wondering. I hope they offer me cash for keys that would lighten the burden a little bit. Good luck!
Dar

Hey Dar

I was told by the title company that there would be no cash for keys. That I would just be given a 30 day notice. Yet that is what was common. That's what the lady told me when I called the title company soon as they sent me a letter. It was a two page document stating the date of the auction.

After the auction we wondered what happened. A few days later we got a notice that we were tresspassing and blah blah blah. Nothing about 30 days or anything. So I called the guy as he had a card with the notice.

So I call the guy and he was nice enough. He was with remax. He told me that we are being offered cash for keys and told me what they expect when I move out.

Now something to consider. If your already taking a hit with credit and everything else. If you file BK. That will stop the auction. Just filing the papers stops the auction cold. This also means they can't come after you after the dust settles. You get to live there until the paperwork runs it's course. How ever long that process takes. All calls will also stop. Everything about bills simply stops.

This wont mean that you wont still loose the house. Yet it will give you time and clean out your money trouble. Yet it wont stop any tax problems as I understand. Also consider the BK laws are federal not state. They will look at everythying you won and determin what it's worth as if you had a garage sale.

My parents recently did this. They lost there RV, fully restored 1914 model T, car trailer and a 04 Larrent diesel f250 fx4. They kept there house and ever thing in it. As well as one old car. As well a older ski boat.

So consider that if you have enough creditors after you. Yet this might save your house. It takes a few years to recover. Yet many recover fairly quickly.

This process to start the BK will take a few hundred to get filed. A few thousand to finish. Yet time is not a real problem when the paperwork has to be finished.

I have considered this. Yet my problems are a bit larger. Yet if first franklin try comming back to me for there lost profit. I will file it the next day!

So I hope this gives you some options you might not have thought about as well maybe a few things what you can expect.

Oh also if your going to forclose forget the water bill. They care less about the outside. It's the inside that they are concerned with. Mostly trash and fixures and such.

Hey Dis,
I have completed bankruptcy. It did stop foreclosure but only for a very short time. The auction is the 14th of August, my Lawyer says I should have about 30 days from there, but I have begun packing and secured a storage unit. Cash for keys would be nice but the way my luck has gone I sincerly doubt it. Keep me informed about whats happening, I truly care about all your stories here. They are so much like mine, so I know what you have been through! Take care and God bless!
Dar~

Hey Dar,

I got a letter from loan services that they are the ones offering me the cash for keys. The remax person is just there rep for making this happen.

So here is what happened the told me about the auction. Sent me several letters. The auction happens and a few days later I hear from remax guy. Then I got the letter from loan services saying the cash for keys. Today I got a 3 day notice from some law firm. So I called the remax guy. He said the cash for keys offer is the one that matters. The 3 day notice is no big deal because they are covering there butt. So tomorrow I sign papers for that and I get 30 days and $1500. So that will help to move everything.

So I don't doubt it considering. I told the remax guy the first time when we planned to move out and we are good people not looking to damage the place.

So he talked with the people at loan services about the cash for keys. I was a bit surprised they offered the full amount. We were prepared to not get any cash for keys. So we were greatfull there was cash for keys.

So don't count it out yet.

Hey while I am here what are the chances they will try to come after me for the remaining of the house it didn't sell for? I don't think my house sold. As loan services are the ones I am dealing with after the auction date. So that makes me think they were unrealistic about the price they were trying to get for the house. As the title company told me it would be the buyer that would contact me. Another thought about cash for keys...

Yet I am at the point right now that I could possibly file for bk. So I am starting to wonder if this should be considered.

I have read several postings that said First Franklin (Loan Services) actually ended up buying properties that don't sell at auction. That makes no sense to me, because the foreclosure supposedly places the property under thier ownership.

As far as coming back to you for the shortfall, check your state regulations. Some states have a no retaliation law (California, for one). I live in Florida and we don't have a no retaliation law, and they can come after you for the shortfall, but the attorney we consulted said its more likely that they won't, first of all because of the additional legal expenses and also because once you lose your home, you really don't have anything of real worth to go after, but there is no guarantee they won't. The no retaliation law in California is only on the original mortgage. Homeowners who have refinanced and then forclosed, there is no no retaliation law to protect them.

So look up your State statutes on foreclosure and debt collection.

At least they (FF) seem to be acting civil with you and will help to defray some of your moving expenses.

Let us know if they come through with it.

I wish you all the best.

~ Evelyn

Hi Dis,
Yeah they can come after you for the balance of the loan. That is one of the biggest factors in my decision to file bankruptcy. They are only asking for the first amount at the auction as a starting point for bids at the auction, Example: I have two loans with them, a first and a second, $100,000.00 and $25,000.00, they are only after the first amount. So in the real world if I had not claimed bankruptcy, they would have definitely come after me for the $25,000.00 and what ever of the $100,000.00 they did not receive at auction. So, in turn it pushed me into bankruptcy. I am starting with a clean slate. In fact I am moving to Canada in the next two to three weeks, just waiting for the out come of the Auction. $$ would be nice if they were offered as I am broke, but I don't have any faith in these morons at all. They have sucked the life right out of me, complicated my life beyond belief. Take care and keep me posted. Mean while check out this website, and if you decide to go with him tell him Darlynda sent you.
Wishing you luck!
Dar

Hello All, Please count me in on any lawsuit against first franklin. My hubby and I have decided to let our home go into forclosure because it just isn't worth the hassle anymore. We both make/made great money but recentl lost an income. Additionally Victorville, CA is nothing like we had hoped for. We definately can't raise our children here!

We were going to try to tough it out because we love this house but FF doesn't want to negotiate. So we are planning a move. My question to you is how long does the foreclosure process take. We are guessing 3 to 4 months but I can't imagine how I would feel if the sherrif came to my door. Please share any info about this. Thanks.

They give you notice and then a month later they service you papers and tell you when the sale is. Here it can not be sooner than 90 days from the day they service you with the 2nd notice. They also sent a note that we will have to vacate 20 days after the sale. Our lawyer said she wil keep up posted if the house sells as it may not. We have found a place to move to already will be out of here in September but they won't force us out till around the 1st of Nov. Chin up keep the rest of your credit good and write a letter to file with your credit reports explaining what happen- They must include the letter with every inquiry. It is hard to let go but there is hope and you can go on. We call First Franklin everyday and get NO RESPONCE

You have to do what works best for you and your family.

The time frame depends mostly on the amount of foreclosures going through your court system. I live in Florida, and the backlog is so great, that it takes several months before the judge even sees the paperwork. FF filed the initial foreclosure notice on 12/27/07, and when my husband called their forclosure attorney to get an idea of a time frame, she told him that she could not get it on the court docket until after August 2008, and maybe even later than that.

The attorney we consulted said that it could take up to a year, but said that realistically its normally up to 6 months. We have a huge number of pending foreclosures here in South Florida.

Supposedly FF is working with us, for now, but what we had to go through to get here was very difficult. I had basically given up. Just got tired of the battle. We had already been looking for a place to rent. My husband wanted to wait it out, but I didh't want to wake up one Saturday morning with the Sheriff beating the door down. Finally one of the letters I wrote finally made it into the hands of someone who took notice.

One of our local news stations did a story on the foreclosure process and went along with Miami-Dade County sheriff's as they went to evict families after the foreclosure order was processed and it was very upsettig to watch. When no one answered the door, they drilled out the lock and went in and took over the property. They put the homeowners belongings out on the curb in a heap, where not only can they be damaged, but taken as well. They then changed the locks and that was that. They say if there is someone home when they come they will sometimes serve them with a 24 or 48 hour notice to vacate, but it depends on the actual situation. I certainly don't want to be in either of those situations.

I'm not counting on anything, so at least if it turns out that it doesn't work out for us, I won't be shocked.

I have no proof that the foreclosure was actually stopped, just their word, which has not proven to be reliable in the past.

I look at it this way. I'd have to be paying rent if we moved, so if it does have a bad outcome, we really aren't out much money, just basically what we would have spent on rent.

We finally had a house sell in our neighborhood recently. Its the first one to sell in quite a long time, but the sales price was fairly low, so it was not really encouraging to us. I don't know what the inside is like, but it is 250 square feet more than ours and has a 4th bedroom, and it sold for much less than we paid for our house. It was a one owner house, too, and they may not have had a mortgage to pay of or maybe only had a small amount of mortgage to pay off and could afford to let it go for less. Being that it was one owner, who knows if they ever updated it. So there could be several reasons for the lower price. Our home has been losing value for a while. FF had it appraised a couple of month ago and it came in about $100,000 less than what we paid for it. Not much incentive to stay, really. We just didn't really want the hassle of moving again, but if it ends up we have to, then so be it.

I wish you and your family a lot of luck as you move on from here and try to put this all behind you. Hang in there.

~ Evelyn

Hello Evelyn,
I am trying to see if First Franklin will lower the premodification amount for us. We are supposed to pay $2950 for 3 months to show good payment history. That payment is $500 more than our original loan payment. We just cannot manage these payments. I'm asking for help from family members and it's just not realistic. Can you get in touch with me and let me know how you contacted the president of Merrill Lynch. I feel like I need to do the same real soon. Please email me at mail2casten@aol.com thanks so much

Something to consider is that if you have roommates to give a soild 30 day notice if being forclosed on and give your self a few days after if you need a sheriff escort. If getting a cash for keys. Then talk to your bank rep and ask about room mates before signing any papers. This seems to be a common problem.

Hi Evelyn,

I'm in the same situation as all above. I am asking for the same info as Shell. Can you let me know how you contacted someone at Merrill Lynch. At this point I am not in foreclosure but it is coming as they are raising my mortgage $500 so that they can escrow my taxes and ins. When that happens it will be way out of my reach. As of today I have never been 1 day late. So any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Nichelle

Hi Michelle:

I ran out of options and people to contact, so I decided to go to the top. I looked Merrill Lynch up on the internet and decided to write to the guy in charge. Working in a corporate environment, I know how irritated the executive level VP's get when someone manages to reach one of them with a complaint and how quick they are to get some action taken, so I figured I really had nothing to lose. It turned out to be a good move in my case. I wrote John Thain, President and CEO of Merrill Lynch at the address below. I sent the letter certified and also sent copies certified to First Franklin, their foreclosure attorneys, etc.

The address is:

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
4 World Financial Center
250 Vesey Street
New York, NY 10080 USA

We were initially so misinformed by the First Franklin reps. We called them when we first had a financial disaster happen in our family to inform them of our financial situation and they offered no plan of action to help us keep our mortgage in good standing.

We asked for the loss mitigation department to request a loan modification and we were told we had to be in default in order to be considered for loan modification, unfortunately that's also the time that they begin the foreclosure process. The foreclosure paperwork arrived before we could finally reach someone who would talk to us.

We have one more repayment payment left and hopefully will learn soon what they will expect from us for the modified payment, and for how long. If it’s just for a couple of years and then it all reverts back to the original loan terms, I don't know if it’s worth it. We need a permanent solution to this problem, because we have just lost so much property value - $128,000 at a minimum. If we were to try to sell, it would probably not even sell for what they currently say its worth, and that is less than what our first mortgage is for. We still have a second to deal with, so we have no selling options or refinance options. Loan modification is our only hope of keeping our house.

We informed them that we had to have the taxes and insurance included in the mortgage and really pressed them for it, sending copies of our tax bill and insurance bill. They paid our $7,000 + back taxes (thank God) and reinstated our insurance. Now our escrow account is -$12,000, but we needed help desperately. It was First Franklin who removed them from our mortgage initially to help make the payments affordable.

So now we wait to find out if we can afford the modified payment. I did learn that the modified payments are not negotiable, so if its too high, then we will have to decide if we can manage or if we just need to let it go.

Good luck with your situation.

~ Evelyn

What about these foreclosure specialist sho guarantee to get your with First Frankling back in good standing. Has anyone worked with them as . Our payment will go up $700.00 per month but because we are now BOTH working we can afford it thought we are stil upside down in the house about 20K. Anyone tried that because that is our next step Thanks Vickie

Hi Vickie:

Unfortunately, as with everything else, there are many scam companies out there who promise you everything and deliver nothing. You may be better off looking for an attorney who can help with the foreclosure or with loan modifications and negotiations. I'm just really wary of these companies.

I talked to one guy who promised me the moon if I would give him $3,500. If I had $3,500, I'd be better off paying my mortgage. Or if I had an "extra" $3,500, I would not be in a foreclosure situation.

Just be very careful. There is a website - www.loansafe.org - who can recommend legitimate companies that can help. Just keep in mind that there are no guarantees with any of these companies, legitimate or not.

We had consulted a reputable local attorney on this. She was very frank and up front with us and informed us that we waited to long to consult an attorney with respect to representing us for the foreclosure. We missed the 20 day window of time to file an answer to the complaint, and in Florida courts, that pretty much guarantees a final foreclosure order will be processed. She said she could work toward a loan modifications on our behalf with First Franklin, who she does not like in the least, through a retainer, of say $1,500 to start and would ask us for additional funds as would be needed, but she said she could not guarantee results, and that we could probably do basically the same thing on our own. She said that being an attorney, maybe she could get just a little further up the food chain in First Franklin, but that wouldn't guarantee a positive result.

So, we just left it at that and kept working it ourselves. I would suggest that if you are seriously looking for someone to help negotiate or open some doors with First Franklin, check out LoanSafe.org and see if you get a comfort level with their recommended companies who do assist with foreclosures and loan modifications.

Just be cautious. There are a lot of people who just want to scam whatever they can out of you and end up costing you everything you have. They really love to kick you when you're down.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

There is so much miss information on this site. FIRST, you do not have to be in defaul to receive help from the Loss Mitigation Department. The focus of that department is to mitigate or minimize loss to the company. With a loan modification you need to show you can actually afford the monthly payment as well as taxes and any other bills listed on your credit report. If you can not show that then a short sale will be suggested.

No mortgage company wants your home - they did not sell or give you the home but simply lent you money to purchase the home. They want their money back not homes. If it makes sense they will always work with you to keep you in the home.

From the comments posted it is obvious to me many are not working with Loss Mitigation but rather they are working with the collections department - much differnt, I can assure you no one in loss mitigation gets commission on f/closures. THAT would NOT mitigate loss to the company and would be contrary to the departments function.

It is difficult reaching your negotiator because of the volume of people requiring help. Be patient. However, I find the biggest delay comes from incomplete information being submitted and a file lingers in the resolutions department and never gets forwarded to a negotiator. Call and be sure!!

Guidelines for modifications are quite liberal at this time. Frankly, if you can not be approved you simply can not afford the hone you are living in and therefore should sell.

I am not going to say much about the last comment , but....I did act before I was in default, and I did work with the loss mitigation people. Guess what? They did not wish to help me, I did everything that was requested of me. I made more money now than when I purchased the home. I had a life saving operation and needed some help, they said I didn't make enough to modify my loan. That simply was and is not true. Long story short, the parent Company to this Financial Institution is going to loose there butt because of sub prime crap. Bottom line is everyone got here for different reasons, and it doesn't matter at this point why or how. There are too many people here with the same stories just different reasons why.
I am tired and just just fed up with the lies they told me, I will move out of this house in two days knowing in my heart that I did everything in my power to save my home. The files they keep on you and what was said and what was done is only as good as the person that is entering the information. It all sucks, and I won't be made to feel like a liar and thief. They lie, they cheat you and they do come out a head. I am a day late and foreclosure has been completed and there was no help when I needed it, and there are a lot of us out here in the same boat. Good luck to all, I am moving and won't look back or post anymore, it is pretty painful and I have been humiliated enough. Dis if you are out there I hope things worked out for you and your wife.
~Still heart broke in Oregon!
Dar

I was (am) working with the loss mitigation department, however, First Franklin (Home Loan Services / Loan Services) still considers it all a basic collection department.

We notified them of problems prior to being in default and their only solution was to tack on an additional $800 a month for the next 6 months, that we informed them was not going to be doable. We requested a loan modification at that time, however, we were informed that we had to be in default before we could be considered for loan modification.

As far as proving we could afford the payments for the modification, we have done that multiple times, and multiple times they "lost our information" that I faxed to them, multiple times.

Problem with being in default is, that is when they send it to the foreclosure attorney to file the foeclosure suit.

We are not stupid people. We are just people with problems. We are all trying to deal with a bad situation the best way we can. Its extremely difficult to reach anyone and when you do, to reach the same person twice is nearly impossible.

Good luck everyone!

~ Evelyn

My Wife and I are in the same situation with First Franklin Loss Mitigation.

They ignored us for seven months, then told us our income wasn't verifiable after sending in proof of income three times. They lost it all. I have an email from Lisa Donovan from First Franklin where she states "You have no idea how easily paper gets misplaced with the volume we are dealing with in this department." Which is word for word.

We are going to seek legal action and claim chapter 13 to prevent foreclosure. I suggest anyone dealing with this company get a lawyer ASAP.

The Quote above came from:

Lisa Donovan
Home Loan Services, Inc.

Believe me, I know how easily they lose paper, as they have lost ours time after time. Our personal information just floating around somewhere. Amazing.

We consulted an attorney, however it was not within the 20 days to respond with an answer to the complaint, so we have no legal recourse with regards to the foreclosure.

Time will only tell once we make our final repayment payment if they have indeed stopped our foreclosure suit as they say they have.

We can't file bankruptcy under our repayment agreement and application for loan modification, as that will result in a violation of our agreement and we will be disqualifed from being able to modify the loan, which at this point is our only glimmer of hope in retaining our house. We are so upside down due to the falling real estate market (plumeting is more like it) here in South Florida, that we will NEVER be able to refinance it.

If the modification doesn't work out for us, then we will have to come up with another plan of action.

Surely someone will eventually file a class action against them for deceptive loan practices, predatory lending, misrepresentation, fraud or something. There seems to be growing numbers of their customers in some sort of mortgage turmoil. I tried to file a complaint with the State of Florida against them, but being part of the Merrill Lynch organization, they have Federal clout and do not have to follow State guidelines.

Good luck with your legal action and bankruptcy. I hope it all works out for you.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

Hi Lisa,

We've been trying to work with Loss Mitigation since last November. They lost our information three times which was very detailed and personal. Loss Mitigation lost it three times. Took 7 months to get someone to call us back or even answer the phone. If you work for Loss Mitigation at First Franklin, you all are liars, all we get is lies from First Franklin now which is why we are suing.

I have over 70 pages of documentation and a few voice messages and recordings from conversations as well as an email stating First Franklin loses paperwork all the time.

If anyone from First Franklin posts here, you are liars. I have proof:)

Lisa Wrote:

There is so much miss information on this site. FIRST, you do not have to be in defaul to receive help from the Loss Mitigation Department. The focus of that department is to mitigate or minimize loss to the company. With a loan modification you need to show you can actually afford the monthly payment as well as taxes and any other bills listed on your credit report. If you can not show that then a short sale will be suggested.

No mortgage company wants your home - they did not sell or give you the home but simply lent you money to purchase the home. They want their money back not homes. If it makes sense they will always work with you to keep you in the home.

From the comments posted it is obvious to me many are not working with Loss Mitigation but rather they are working with the collections department - much differnt, I can assure you no one in loss mitigation gets commission on f/closures. THAT would NOT mitigate loss to the company and would be contrary to the departments function.

It is difficult reaching your negotiator because of the volume of people requiring help. Be patient. However, I find the biggest delay comes from incomplete information being submitted and a file lingers in the resolutions department and never gets forwarded to a negotiator. Call and be sure!!

Guidelines for modifications are quite liberal at this time. Frankly, if you can not be approved you simply can not afford the hone you are living in and therefore should sell.

Scott,
If you get a class action started, I am all in! After tomorrow I will be Canada bound as my foreclosure is finished. Good luck to you. They only lost my paperwork on the second go round, but when it was all over and everything was said and done I wrote a letter to the CEO of Merrill Lynch. They shot it back down to home loan services, and they are the ones who replied to me. They read straight from my file and said that I was the one that put loss mitigation on hold. What a lie, why would I do this, I tried so hard to get them to work with me. Once again reading straight from your file to see what happened is a joke, I mean it is as good as the person or persons that wrote in it. There a pack of liars, and I lost the battle. Bankrupt, devastated, and no where to go. Everyone is talking about how the housing market will start leveling out. It hasn't even hit bottom yet!
Dar

Hello everyone, I too have been paying First Franklin, still on time at this point. The new Mortgage Relief Law could help some of us with the short sale and save our credit, as specially here in Florida who our homes have decreased in value over 100k, these homes will never be worth what we owe on them ever! But now that Bank of America has puchased Merrill Lynch I am not sure anyone is more heartless than Bank of America.

We give up they wanted us to pay our mortgage and a extra 850.00 per month on a house that is now 50K under what we bought it for less than a year ago. We talked to Merril Lynch and now there are gone too. Can someone tell me more about the short sell or where to find more information as I would give and will give the house back in good condition but can't live on nothing and continue to lose 100K in the first year- I don't espect to be bailed out but reasonable would be good-Thanks

If anyone is having problems with First Franklin Loss Mitigation or Harmon Law, please post a response, or send me an email at compaqx6000@gmail.com with your experience, if you want. I have a Lawyer trying to work with Loss Mitigation and Harmon Law, but Harmon is known for illegal dealings and settlements to keep it out of court.

Anyone interested in making a statement about their dealings with First Franklin or Harmon Law, I would gladly pay for postage and costs to be able to use the information against them, well at least to show they are doing this to more than just my Wife and I.

If anyone calls Harmon Law, please be aware that every call you make to them will add legal fees. Also, Harmon Law is the Auction holders so they have their hands in making money off foreclosures and charging extra fees.

Be careful out there!

Scott

One more thing, if anyone is in Massachusetts dealing with these companies, please contact me and I can put you in touch with my Lawyer who is very experienced in dealing with Harmon Law and First Franklin.

I will give whatever info I can to help others in my situation.

You are so right about Bank Of America being heartless. I'm not encouraged by their latest absorbtion of Merril Lynch, the president of whom walked away with $40M in his pocket in the deal.

We were told by FF we didn't qualify for short sale, due to our 80/20 mortgage and the fact that technically you home has to have been on the market for a year. If you can find a realtor who is familiar with short sale law in your area and with FF, it may be worth looking into for some. Its really all up to FF in the end, if they will accept the offer(s). You can request short sale information from FF. By law they have to provide it to you.

Our repayment plan is falling through, so we'll be moving on at some point. We had to make a decision based on the number of storms that were brewing in the Atlantic, including hurricane Ike and the original potential to hit South Florida and install some hurricane shutters which our house didn't have when we bought it, the storm took another path, and we were left without enough to pay the final repayment payment. I guess we should have just rolled the dice on the storms, but i was mostly concerned for our safety.

I can't see Bank Of America embracing the troubled customers of Merril Lynch/FF, so I don't see anything good and new happening for any of us. Especially in situations like here in South Florida, where values have so dramatically dropped. We have lost $128,000 in value. Who knows if it will ever come back up again.

The new mortgage relief law will help those who meet specific criteria, so it should be investigated by all.

Bank of America also owns bank (LaSalle) that is the trustee of our mortgage. Not sure what that means to me at this point, but it can't be good.

I have been mailed the foreclosure documents and a letter saying they are going to pursue a deficiency judgement. Does anyone else have this sort of thing happen with them with First Franklin.

I tried so hard to contact get questions answered get some negotiation and processes for a short sale. I even got a real estate agent for selling the house with an attorney and another company to help me with the Short sale process. The real estate person eventually stopped answering my calls and returning my e-mails. I don't know what to do with this company there is nobody on the other line to speak to ???

Returning to my original question though has anybody got a deficiency judgement notice ??? If so what are you doing about it ??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Faisal.H.

We are working with a company and a lawyer on the same thing - I am meeting with then tomorrow to discuss the short sell or course it will cost me but a couple of thousand verses 70K is fine with me. I don't want the deficiency judgement and part of the agreement is that they remove the negative informnation from our credit.I was told First Franklin will hunt you down after a year for the balance. We are working to get this resolved I can let you know more after the meeting keep you updayed and give you a contact number if this works.

Vickie Thanks for your response. I definitely do need help in this area anything yourself or anybody can tell me about your experiences would greatly be appreciated.

fharian3@yahoo.com

on 10/15 First Franklin "Sold" our Mortgage to the Mortgagee. This all happening without notice of sale, no answers for our lawyers that attempted to settle with them to repay. They just sold it. No we are being offered $1500 for our keys, if we move out in two weeks. Still, all of this is without eviction notice, notice of sale, or any other contact from First Franklin or their corrupt Lawyers at Harmon.

Not sure where will will be living in the next few weeks, but we are working with lawyers on suits again First Franklin, National City, Merill Lynch, and Harmon Law. If anyone is willing to share their experiences with these companies in a signed and noted document, I will be glad to pay for postage and any other costs.

These companies are being bailed out with billions of dollars, but they are still kicked people out of their homes.

The reason I can't keep my home is that I'm self-employeed, and the NEW owners of First Franklin won't consider my income as verifiable income, therefore they are no going to negotiate terms of the mortgage. Of course, First Franklin had no problem with my income verification when they weren't owned by National City.

Anyway, I will not let this go without them getting sued for everything they caused for my family and I.

I wish everyone here luck with their issues, hopefully someone will get lucky with Gov. help other than the banks!

Scott

I am yet another upset customer of FF. I am so shocked at how similar everyone's stories are!!!! We have an 80/20 ARM Interest-Only loan where and our taxes & insurance are not escrowed!!! Obviously, as 1st time homeowners, we really got talked into a loan we had no business getting. We have not defaulted, but barely have enough money leftover for groceries each payday. FF has the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life. They are heartless bastards. They just send you to Loss Mitigation, want you to pay a fee so they can look at your account and then decide if they want to help you. I havent even messed with it to that point since I figured they would just laugh after taking my money. Please contact me if you have had a similar problem. These people need to be reported or there needs to be a stop to them.

shy07tanner@netzero.com

*Beware*
Short sells have big tax consequences, this is straight from my lawyer's mouth. Just wanted to give a heads up for those that were not aware of this.

ha lets get to gether and do something about this FF there owned by Merril Lynch I know they got some of the bailout money

Hey Evelyn,

I wrote a comment to you back on August 27th. As of Oct 1 my loan has been transferred to Select Portfolio. So I go from one nightmare to another. I had asked for some help from FF back in June, they finally wrote and told me (in Sept) that my mortgage is being transferred. As of today Oct 30 I have never been late on my loan. Now that Select has my mortgage I had to redo all of my paperwork over again only to be told that I am -700 on my income (not sure of their calculations). Well I make more money now than I did when I purchased my house in 2006. So now I can't get a modification, nor can I get a forebearance on 1 payment. So I guess they just want me to go into foreclosure. Do you have any kind of advice? I do not know where to turn to. I am responsible for my grandmother and she lives with me, I cannot lose my house. It would be easier if it was just my husband and I but with my grandmother it will be kind of hard trying to get all 3 of us somewhere to live.

Thanks,
Nichelle

why all of you guys file a class action suite against First Franklin, National City, Merill Lynch and now bank of America for predatory leading and or not been in compliance with new federal law

i sign it ...
any one ????

Hi Mike:)

My Wife and I are meeting with our lawyer monday. Not sure about class action suits, but we are fight them on all the illegal things they've done since we got a mortgage through them.

If anyone is in Massachusetts dealing with First Franklin or Harmon Law, please send me a message or post here. I have a great lawyer that is helping me deal with them. If anyone is having problems with these companies, get a lawyer ASAP. Even if it's just to check over paperwork and protect your rights as much as they can.

First Franklin and Harmon Law are very well know in this area for doing illegal things. Harmon sold our house from under us pretty quickly, they are the lawyer for First Franklin and the auctioneers which is a huge conflict of interest.

I have ALOT of info on these companies so anyone looking for info that I have that could possibly help you, send me a message at compaqx6000@gmail.com.

Thanks and good luck to everyone!

Scott

Hello All,

I just had my property short saled in Fort Lauderdale. I got a first and second mortgage from First Franklin. Originally I had a good faith estimate of $2900 for Mortgage payments. Later after signing the paper work and documents I realized that the payments were actually $3900 per month. This was after the mortgage broker told me that the terms of the payments were the same as we had talked about. As you can imagine I could not handle the payments (even after having $2000 rental income) and after about 15 months when I lost my job I just had no money left to pay them. I got a company that does short sales and am in the process of getting the property short saled. The company did alot of showings of my property and alot of of offers but there was nobody to negotiate a short sale from First Franklins side of things. Finally when they got around to it it is selling for a little more than 50% of what I paid for the property. I was wondering since the price they had to settle for was so low do these guys come after people for a deficiency lien judgements ??? What has been your and other peoples experiences.

I know that I have made a big mistake in dealing with this bank and buying this property. There is nobody on the other end of the phone to take somebody's call when it is necessary........

Anything that you can tell me as to how they have perpertrated fraud and dishonesty would be helpful to all of us to get them to shut up if they make a noise. I feel I have been taken for a ride and probably alot of people on this board. Thanking you kindly.

Frank

Hi Frank,
I live in Oregon, but I did a bit of research for you. Here are a few links to websites that have situations closely related to yours. Good luck, to late for me I have already lost my home...Let me know if I can help you at all.
1. www.city-data.com/forum/florida/272082-foreclosure-florida.html
2. www.activerain.com/blogsview/544013/Foreclosure-Deficiency-Judgment-Compared
The second link, besure to read under short sell negotiation, very important.

You sign something saying you will only short sell it if they forgive the 2nd. Otherwise after speaking to a lawyer and looking at all the options even the lawyer said get out. We lost 150K in less than 2 years Good Luck - We were able to short sale our house though different market on the west coast

so what you are saying is that if we drop the ball, we lose our homes. But when FF drops the ball, we lose our homes?? The government has made billions available to the banks, but none for the homeowner. I hope FF goes bankrupt and has to call its lenders for help and get the runaround like we do!!

FF worker:
FF can go straight to hell. If anything you said is true then why in the hell did all these people get the damn loans in the first place. You are all a bunch of liars. I would see a lawyer, but due to all this hardship that has come about I lost everything, because I had heart surgery. BANKRUPT! Don't pretend to know what any of these people here have gone through until you have walked a mile in our shoes. I moved out of the Country because I had no where to go, but I heard yesterday that my x-house is still vacant, grass growing,pissed neighbors. If I were still there and someone would have worked with me, it would still have a nice groomed lawn and have the neighbors once again complementing the yard. FF screws people, without even so much as a kiss first. Yes I am upset, you would think FF would get a grip before they loose there ass all together. Too late for that. Can you say Ignorant? Bug off this page!!!!!!!!

By the way those numbers she listed, as far as I am concerned are worthless. I tried everyone of them, they just pass the buck to someone else. Hope now, Hope for what? BS, all of it.

I was just giving the #'s out as goverment approved agencies that are supposed to be able to assist. If they cannot help you, that is not at the fault of the mortgage company, whether it be FF, Nat City, Coutrywide, whoever.
Hopefully you all can get some type of help or refi or mod your loans. But you can't take it out on certain individuals. If your income can't support a new pymt or loan, it can't be done. And by the way, I have walked in your shoes, I know exactly what you are going thru. To each his own. I do know it did not make me feel better to b*tch about my mortgage company, when it was not their fault I could't pay my mortgage, it was situations that occured in my life, my personal hardships, and I did sign for the loan, and knew it was my responsibility. I hope someday people will realize this as well. And you all have the right to complain, I have my right to voice my opinion.

Oh, and all these people got all these loans from their brokers, not from FF...we service your loan. And in a lot of cases, people want the house of their dreams, and sign for a loan which they honestly cannot afford, which is sad. So if you're upset with an arm change or increase, remember, you signed for it. So you should have read that and been aware at closing of all the terms of the loan.

FF worker~
I fully understand what type of loan I got. I also understand that nobody expected the market to take a turn at the same time I had my surgery (two year mark) and I would not beable to refinace my home. However, I am not going to sit here and mix apples and oranges with you (FF) about how each and every case is handled. Just a quick insight on mine, I wrote a letter to Merrill Lynch. They in turn sent it back down to home loan services, they responded. There response was that I myself ask them to hold off my modification for the time being. What the hell? Why would I do this? I didn't pure and simple. They dropped the ball. Then wrote something different in my file. That has to be true according to the man that wrote the letter because it was in my file. BS, I had been busting my backside to get them all the paperwork they needed three times. They srewed around with my file/life up until they foreclosed on my home and the remark from the person I spoke with at the very end was "Too Bad". So, I know you think everything is our fault and it coulcn't be further from the truth. I could afford my mortgage and I could afford the modification, they just could not hang on to my damn paperwork long enough to modify it. So, they blamed me.I started trying to fix my issue with the house before I was even late one day. They won't even look at you until you are 90 days in the hole. By this time it is way to late for someone to refi there loan. Gee, maybe it was becasue FF should have never put them in such ludicrous loans to begin with. Can you say subprime???
People, good people have to trust at some point that lending institutions know what the hell they are doing. As far as you voicing your opinion, be my guest I could care less. I know what happened and how I was treated. Maybe you should assume that not everyone on this page is a dumb ass, or on drugs. Gee, ya think that maybe some of this is true. I am sick of all of you. You say I shouldn't take it out on you personally, well I disagree. You are FF and every person I dealt with was just like you and they didn't give a damn. I know there is an empty house sitting somewhere, (that shouldn't be) and it isn't worth 1/2 of what I paid for it. But, FF couldn't work a deal with me, what a bunch of crap. Get a real job and have some real compassion, because frankly you must be packing around some quilt or you would not be in such defense of a Company with such a bad reputation. Read the news, these stories here are nothing to what our own government has to say about you. I have no respect for anyone associated with FF or any of its parent Companies or any of the dumb asses that just picked up the tab on them again. What a laugh you are (ff). There are an awful lot of lawsuits out there against your Company and some of it's sidekicks, there will be many more before it is over. I also read that some private individuals also will be named in some of these suits. Gee, too bad, that really depresses me. Have a good life FFworker, plead your case and protect the asses that employ you to someone else. I could care less about your words, that is all they are is words, oh and lies!! We will all move on and this will just be a bad memory that will eventually fade. To all of the good people on this page I wish you the best of luck I truely do.

packing around some quilt? WTF? And never said anyone was on drugs or assholes either. But hey, if it makes you sleep at night to blame it on me individually even though I don't work in that specific dept and had/have no say in approving mods, etc...fine. You do what you need to. And I do have a better job, I do this part time to keep me occupied and for the money...Oh yeah...and as everyone knows, with gas prices and the 'economy' things are more expensive so I'm working two jobs to make ends meet also. I can say subprime, which is the loan you got, as all ff loans are, because one's credit was not sufficient enough to get an 'a-paper' loan. I have helped many people get back on track and keep their homes, and I know I do my job well, so nothing anyone says about me personally matters, because I know what I do. Contrary to popular belief, it's not a company's goal to forclose on homes. Again, believe what you want.

This too shall pass. And God will only give you as much as you can handle, so everyone here obviously can handle a lot. It will get better, we just have to believe. Of course we're all in or have been in basically the same predicament and it really does suck, but it will only make us better people. Did ya'll read about the lady in Akron, OH that is 90 yrs old and they came for the millionth time to fc on her...so she shot herself twice in the stomache...and lived? (google it or check cnn) Now the mayor forgave all her debt on the prop and she'l living there for free...Now shooting yourself is a little extreme, but it's sad that she resorted to that.

Dar-
Seeing the prev comments and that unfortunately you have already lost your home...why keep coming back to read everyone's blogs? it would be too much for me to keep thinking about losing my house everyday and just drudge up those memories each time. Well I guess maybe to give insight to us who are going thru the same thing...DUH, which makes sense.

You are right I have come back just to try and help, and I am trying to move on. It is a hard thing to get over. I by the way knew I was getting this type of mortgage, but mine was not due to credit it was due to not having a down payment. Thinking I could easily refi in two years. Who knew that I was going to die without heart surgery? I didn't. This happened all at the same time. The market turned south at the very same time also. I am not a bad person and can't leave here with saying a few of the things that were a personal attack on you ffworker. I am sorry if I went off on you as a person, it was not right of me. But I was there and only I know what happened, not you or anybody else. Mmmmmmmiaaaa, this is my last post (unless I just can't help myself). I have helped a few people on here and to me it was worth coming back for those reasons. Good luck~

I wonder how if there are degrees of foreclosure showing up on one's credit? There is a difference between someone ceasing to pay the mortgage, living in the house until physically removed, and or stripping the fixtures... in contrast to never missing a payment and mailing in the keys. Does anyone have info on this? My husband and I bought in April of 2007 and have lost over 20% value. We didn't put anything down and were hoping to refi this April. We just want to cut our losses and save up for a few years while renting.

I believe as far as your credit is concerned no matter what happens, whether you don't make the pymts and it gets foreclosed on, or is you do like a cash for keys type deal, it still does go against your credit as 90day, 120, 1250 180 etc..i think once the cash for keys is completed the reporting will stop.

Thanks Mmmmmmmiaaaaaa,
The investigating I've done indicates there won't be help for the subprime owners. Our loans have been up for sale by Merrill since May, the buck stopped with them, though, there won't be any buyers. They also own companies handling the foreclosure end, so it's cost effective for them to foreclose these bad loans. I believe it doesn't matter how long one holds out, it's inevitable. I'm taking what I've learned from this situation and moving forward.

Yes, I know...Merrill did stop trying to sell...maybe since BofA bought them it will get better, hopefully sooner rather than later.

I Have been reading all the post over the last few months. Has anyone out there filed a law suit against FF. If so what happen

We are going to court again to file a motion against Harmon Law for lying about the agreement the made us sign. All I can say to those in foreclosure, get a lawyer, show up to court everytime, and fight for your rights. If you don't show, they get a default judgment against you.

In court you can request more time to get out, request to pay rent until you leave, and many other options depending on the state you live in.

Do not sign your rights away to sue FF or Harmon Law. They will try to get you to with a cash for keys are any other agreement. All involved are in CYA mode right now.

Just finished reading all the posts regarding First Franklin and found our story in many of yours. Make a long story short, we signed a loan mod with FF, not at what was quoted but a much higher amount.$1750.00 payments and our income is $2200.00 a month It was either foreclosurer sale on 12/02/08 or try to make the payments for the next 6 months after initial payment of $2300.00 to stop sale.FF was adamant that this was the only avenue we had available to us. Don't think we're going to make it. We tried several avenues from filing a police report charging embezzlement(Det said the DA's office didn't want to pursue the case)somewhere between the lease and purchase $40,000.00 disappeared in house payments. to filing compliants with NACA, Dept of Real Estate and Dept of Corporations. All we got was the standard, we're sorry we can't help you, have you tried.... This has been going on for 8 months now and we have searched everywhere for help. On 12/28/08 next payment will be due and we have to face the fact that we will have to leave our home. Lord knows we tried and failed.

if they say dont send anymore money,your going into forecloser,,and you send dont they have to cash you check,,,my husband says to keep paying them what we can,, please respond,,i think its doe sus no good

FF specialized in the high risk, high dividend loans. No one took out a loan with them expecting to pay the loan in full, you expected to refi when your credit improved after paying on the loan for a few years, right?

FF closed earlier this year and the company handling these loans is a collection agency. They will take your money as long as you pay, but virtually all of these bad, high interest loans will be foreclosed upon. Meryll Lynch owns the loans and also owns other companies specializing in foreclosure, making it cost effective for them to do so. They are not approving Short Sales. Any loan modifications are designed to further bleed holders of these bad loans.

We signed the paperwork, hoping to refi after a few years. The market has contracted so much, we are down 30% over 18 months. With no down payment,no equity, no one will refi. It is inevitable!

Our house was foreclosed on and sold back to the bank. Like someone said here, they are hiding these bad loans by making it impossible for people to keep their houses.

Harmon Law and First Franklin are doing illegal things, but fighting them will not help. All you can do is show up to the eviction hearings and hope the judge helps somehow, by giving extra time, etc... , or you can do a cash for keys, pay twice your original mortgage (our's went from $1200 to $2400 after the modification), or just get evicted.

We chose cash for keys and got enough money to find a new place. Our old house will sit there rotting away for a couple of years, or get sold for half what we paid.

You can also choose chapter 13 bankruptcy to stop the foreclosure to give you extra time to work out a repayment plan through the courts.

Good luck to everyone dealing with these crooks!

I can't even get First Franklin to explain to me what they expect me to do or what is expected of them during the foreclosure procedure. They don't care if I move and turn off utilities and let the pipes burst or whatever. I have called them just to try and find out the correct procedure to follow and can not get any answers. This is just the back end of a long year trying to work with every so called program that they have to help the homeowner with restructure of the loan or other options which none are worth pursuing unless you have thousands of $$ up fornt. If we had that we could just catch up the payments. There is not much hope to get help from loss mitigation when they can not answer a simple question. A question like what do you want me to do about utilities in what is now your house......

We are waiting on our foreclosure papers, stopped paying two months ago. The entire process is automated, so we've just received recorded telephone calls each week telling us to pay and giving a website address for people in trouble. We've decided to wait until the foreclosure is finalized to move. Hopefully soon, don't want to leave the house go and make the neighbors angry.

Our foreclosure hearing is tomorrow at 8:45 AM. It has been a very long and stressful year. We tried the repayment plan and failed. My husband was apprehensive about the payments with this BOA takeover, so we didn't send in the last one waiting to hear from FF and violated the repayment agreement, so the foreclosure went back on track. After going into the repayment agreement and then BOA taking over and receiving a letter from FF saying our payment was increasing by nearly $1,000 and no word on what our payment would be after the modification, it's pretty much over. I don't think there will be a strike 3 offered to us.

We did request a loan modification package last month and sent it in, but the letter we got back said that the foreclosure process will continue unless we make our regular payments and the application could take some time to review due to a backlog, and who wants to dump any more money into something we may lose anyway. We are so upside down due to loss of property value. I'd rather save the money for moving.

We re going to the hearing tomorrow, but don't expect anything to go our way. I just want to know when we have to be out.

We are going to tell the judge about the loan modification aplication and hope he gives us a time extension, but who knows if he will listen or be willing to accommodate us. He doesn't have to. We may also ask about renting the place for a period of time till the market comes back so we don't have to move right away, but that may be a complete waste of time. We'll ask for cash for keys, too.

The bank finally located the original mortgage note, I guess, so that won't be a stumbling block for them. We have had a flurry of paperwork coming in from the foreclosure attorney, which included a copy of the original note, which they were unable to locate a year ago and would have worked in our favor.

Who knows. My husband keeps saying he hears all the time the bank doesn't want to take people's houses, that they want to keep the homeowner in them and if that is so, then why not work with them first before filing the foreclosure in the first place? FF does want them back, so ML will come in the back end after the foreclosure and buy it back through one of their subsidiary companies and blow a little smoke over their dirty little loan deals. ML had some relatively clean hands in the biz until they got greedy and wanted in on FF's sub-prime business.

I had never even heard of sub-prime loans before we got our mortgage. Never even knew such a thing existed. We were told it was a conventional loan. We planned on refinancing after 2 years and basically starting all over, then the bottom dropped out of the real estate market, practically before the ink was dry on our closing documents. We will never be able to refinance it because of the lost value.

I'm very tired from all of the stress and kind of look forward to it coming to an end, but do worry about finding someone willing to rent to us deadbeats. That is what the world thinks of us, I guess. Waiting for the other shoe to drop has been pure anguish. Afraid to move, just in case we could work something out with FF. Not knowing from one day to the next how long we would have in the house. I don't even call it home anymore.

I'm not worried about the neighbors. It is what it is and we are not the only ones in the area with this problem.

Thanks Scott. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. I'm just tired of doing battle, I think. It's been too long. I don't want to do the bankruptcy thing. Got enough to deal with without worrying about that.

Our biggest mistake was buying this house in the first place, but back then home prices were still on the rise and we thought we should buy one before they went even higher. Joke was on us, though as we have lost nearly $130,000 in value, and still dropping. So FF is really welcome to it. They have no idea that they are actually better of having families still living in and taking care of these houses.

The house had already been updated before we bought it, and we had some great plans for it. I guess that was wasting our brain cells. It was supposed to be my dream house and has turned out to be nothing but a nightmare.

We can't afford an attorney. We are on our own. We consulted one who basically told us to walk away from it.

All we were able to manage this morning was to get a 90 day sale date instead of a 30 day sale date. This should buy us a little time as we wait and see if we can work out the loan modification or not. The judge did say if it looks promising for the loan modification and it gets down to the 75th day or so and we still have not finalized things, to communicate this to his office so he can extend out the sale date.

Our real only opportunity to talk on our own behalf or offer a defense was the immeditate 20 days after we were served the orignal foreclosure filings.

So basically all that was accomplished todays was the foreclosure order was signed, motion for summary judgement granted, and a 90 day sale date set.

I don't mind walking away, I really don't. It's going to be a real pain trying to find someone willing to rent to us now, but we do have a really great rental reference from our former landlord before we made the biggest mistakes in our lives which was buying this house. But this FF b.s. loan package and the stigma that goes with it really gets me. I feel like it was all a scam from the get go.

I've got to say I was saddened by what took place to day. Had we not gone to court, however, we would have much less time to look for a new place, if that is what we end up doing.

I don't even know if FF will work with us on a modification and make it more affordable, or if they will just stick it to us knowing the outcome of the foreclosure today.

At least I know the sheriff isn't coming to evict us right away. I want to be out long before that happens. I told my husband on the way back from court today we can walk away now. He was worried about just leaving the place, but with the foreclosure order signed and a sale date set, we are basically cleared for take off. Soyy, I'm trying to keep my spirits up today and try to throw a little humor in, otherwise I'll just sit here and cry.

Thanks for all of your comments and support. Post a link to your new website here when it is up and running.

Evelyn-

That's all we got was more time from the judge, but you will get a letter from a realtor very soon offering cash for keys. If you do, do not take the first offer. Ask for more, and they will give you more. The sooner you leave, the more you get to move out. Don't just give up and leave without getting money to move out early.

If you can save, you can get your house back much cheaper. We're looking at $156,000 for the house instead of the $228,000 we bought it for. We made an agreement with harmon law that they can't come after us for $$$ after.

If you want to give the house back, get the cash for keys at least:) You will be offered it within a week or so.

Getting 90 days instead for 30 is much better for you to find a new place and get more money to leave before you are required.

Hopefully whatever is best for you will happen:)

Good luck!

Scott

How did you manage to get your house back?

We didn't get the house back, but we may buy it at the new price with the help of some relatives that I have credit with:) I will mortgage my next house through relatives.

For now, we are renting a three bedroom in a nice town for $600 instead of the $2400 FF wanted for us to keep the house.

My poor husband is still clinging to hope. Hoping that FF will come back with some amazing loan modification. Would be nice, but these are not nice people. Never were. They dreamed up these loans themselves and started the whole thing. They were the creaters of the 80/20 mortgage.

A lot of people made a lot money the day we closed on our house, including FF who collected some big fees, the two brokers who worked the loan, and all of the realtors involved.

Merrill Lynch had just finalized the deal to purchase FF the day we closed. It was a topic brought up at the closing, I guess an attempt to impress us. In a way it kind of did. Merrill Lynch had a solid reputation - not anymore. They got dirty with all the rest of them that fateful day, and look at them now.

BOA just got approved for another bailout to help recoup some of the losses associated with taking on Merrill Lynch's sinking ship.

Plenty of money to help the banks, but no one wants to help the homeowners.

Question. How does one find out about eviction hearings. Does it depend on county and state?

I know that Harmon Law runs an auction site for the homes they foreclose on. Funny how they are the lawyers, auctioneers, and a few other things I won't mention here.

Conflict of interests all over the place with the lawyers and banks. They are just cleaning house now and don't want to help people keep the houses on bad loans.

I never heard of an eviction hearing. I would guess you could find out through your local court house or court public records, depending on what information they make available. Every county is different.

Here in South Florida, evictions are handled by the sheriff's department, which is attached to our county court.

I do know they serve an eviction notice once the place is either sold or up for sale, and I believe that in this area they post or serve a 30 day move out notice. I don't know if this is the result of a hearing or not.

We had our foreclosure hearing and have a 90 day sale date. Our being present only gave us a time extention, not a delay of the foreclosure as my husband thought we would get. I don't think he understands the process, and who really does, but we had our time to speak within 20 days after initially being served. After that, the sale date was inevitable and could have been only 30 days has we not been present and asked for more time to work with FF.

If I find out any information on eviction hearings, I will post it.

People are notified by Sheriff of when the hearing is. They can't kick you out of your house, as far as I know, without a hearing and giving you a chance to speak to the judge. Might be different in some states, but I doubt it.

If you have a question about your hearing, you can call the court, the bank's lawyers, or loss mitigation to get the day, if you reach someone.

Good Morning to all,
Boy what a blog page, after reading from Evelyn and other members scattered thoughout the USA, I've realized we are all attempting to live the American dream...just to be home owners, establish roots and create normalicy and security in this ever so crazy world we live in. We had been in our house for 4 years, we've had our trials and tribulations but always been able to make the mortgage until the economy became unstable, thus we found ourselves requesting a loan modification from First Franklin. We submitted all paperwork required to insure success and continuing to live out our dream. We submitted on 11/03/08-on 11/26/08 our house was foreclosed on and sold right out from under us to Wells Fargo for 50,000 less than we paid. We were absolutely shocked, our future crumbled, my wife in tears and my 3 boys asking why we had to move. All paperwork was faxed, all verifications were received and in place, they claimed they never received paperwork, so they proceeded. Luckily we found a rental and we can move on but our dream and future thoughts of being homeowners again are shattered.
The reason we decided to enter a comment on this page is because it certainly appears that something underhanded is going on with First Franklin. Besides the fact that they sold the property right out from under us, when we called to check status on the modification the representative hung up on us. Then when the situation escalated and we asked for a supervisor we were given a man by the name of John Gorman. John told us that the property was indeed sold, but that First Franklin has bought it back. He wanted us to refax over the loan
modification info; which we did. When we called to verify that he'd received it he would not answer our calls. At one point he let the phone ring over 30 times, picked up the receiver and then hung it back up. When we were finally able to speak to him he could offer nothing but a possible approval for a short sell. We found out at this point that the house had been sold to Wells Fargo; not sure why John Gorman said that First Franklin had bought it back.
Losing a home is devastating; we fully beleived that we raise our young sons in this particular house. To those people that think that it was our fault and that we were being irresponsible, try making a mortgage payment when both you and your spouse work for the same company and you've both been laid off.
It may be too late for us, but we hope this can help someone else who might be facing foreclosure. If you have to fax anything over to First Franklin, make certain that you follow up with them to verify that they received all paperwork. Get names of reps, keep copies of everything you fax and make certain that you have your fax confirmations.
We were told by First Franlkin that based on our debt to income ratio that we certainly qualified for the loan modification but we lost our home anyway based on a technicality. Don't let this happen to you.

Wow, you have really had a horrible experience. I'm so sorry to hear that and I do hope you were able to find a suitable rental and were able to settle in. It is really hard facing the loss and understanding it.

We have been wondering ourselves what advantage there would be for FF to work with us at this point. They have their foreclosure order approved now and their motion for summary judgment, all is left is the sale. The only thing that went our way was getting the sale date extended to 90 days instead of 30 days. We just bought ourselves some time. Big deal. What would make them decide to work with us now?

All we need is for them to put the arrearages on the back end of the loan, lower our interest rate and get rid of the adjustable, or at least move the adjustment date to like 5 or 10 years down the road, to give the market time to stabalize and hopefully come back and then we could sell the place and they would get ALL of their money paid back. But why would they come back with something to actually help us to keep the house? What would they get out of that? Lowering our interest rate alone dramatically lowers our monthly payments, to where it actually should be.

I had heard rumors that Home Loan Services (also FF) actually pays bonuses to their staff for each loan foreclosed. That their "resolution team" is merely a collection agency. Their goal is to get as much money as they can out of the borrower - hence the repayment plans, etc. and to foreclose on the loans.

We would like to know yes or no so we can proceed how we need to in order to keep a roof over our heads. It is going to take us some time to find a landlord willing to take a chance on us. It's not like we will their first choice as tenants, although we do have a great landlord reference.

I don't have any banking or lending experience or knowledge of how the industry really works and can not wrap my brain around how foreclosing actually benefits FF.

I do hope that one day someone will file a class action law suit against this fraud of a lender, because these loans should be considered criminal acts.

Any advise?? I live in SW FL, am 2 months behind & am researching short sale to prevent foreclosure. I know it's a complex process & I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience in attempting short sale w/ FF? I'm also beginning to think foreclosure would be a better option than short sale, due to the taxes & the fact that my credit will be damaged by either. Any input is appreciated.

FF only permits short sale after the home has been listed for sale for at least 1 year, at least that is what they told us early on, but they lie so much, who really knows.

Short sale or deed in lieu are the only ways to keep from totally trashing your credit. We could not do either.

After 9 months of trying to keep our UNINSURED home from being taken, I'm still surprised by the actions taken by the state agencies that are surpose to help the consumer in these times. We had the lead investigator at the Department of Real Estate in Los Angeles tell us that we would not be in this mess if we just paid our mortgage like she does. It was our own fault that we were losing our home. We had written a letter to them back in September and this was the response we received in December, along with a statement that the Department of Real Estate could not investigate because time had run, like the week before. Honestly this woman came across like she was an investor and was not happy with US. I'm glad that we had taped the conversation along with all the the conversations that we have had with FF during this whole deal. We can't use the tapes in court but at least we have proof. Even as I write this, I an still hear her angry voice. I really thought these agencies were here to help us. Shame on me.

Hi!

I Just had my second "postpone sale date" from court since November 2008. The initial sale date was in December and now is going to be in March.

I have a 80/20 loan.

FFLS insure the 20% loan with AIG and after three months behind on my payments they make effective the insurance and got the money from then, now I own the money to AIG.
The modification on the 80% did not work for me and after hearing all the stories about people who lost the money during the repayment plan and FFLS did not stop the foreclosure I decide not to accept any proposal.

Does some body know if after foreclosure the bank can make a law suit for the differnece that the house was sell and you owned? and get this money from you, even taking your salary?

Hi Robert,
It depends on which state you live in. Research online what yours laws are pertaining to collection of the unpaid balance after foreclosure. I on the other hand went bankrupt, but every situation is very different in nature. I might have a few pointers for you but you can respond back if you want a few more answers to specific questions. Good luck, number one pointer is don't trust a word FFLS has to say. I went through this entire process and lost, I spent a year + before I threw in the towel. Good luck, you can find lots of information online in regards to collection and protection laws for your state.
Dar

Dar,

Thanks for your comment.

I am in Florida, if you know any websites where I can find related information I appreciate!

Thanks,

Bob

Hi,

Well im telling you this and hope that someday first franklin is taken down.I'm about to lose my home i'm doing a remodification and its been over 6 months and still no answer on it yet i call all the time say it is still in review well when you are about to lose your home and they have had this forever you think i would have a different answer. I called today 02/02/2009 and ask for an update still no answer and all i do is fax pay stubs for what you should have a years worth by now! how many more do you want. When I call them and ask for the guy that is reviewing my case he won't return my call. So any way there is alot more and i'm just ready to walk away let them have cause they wont help anyway this is the worst company i've ever scene in my life and thanks to them i will not have a home for to long hope they enjoy taken aways someones home when all they had to do is work with me and lower the payment and i could keep my home for my family... again THANKS TO FIRST FRANKLIN THE COMPANY THAT CANT HELP ANYONE!!!!!

Yesterday had a visit from a realtor offering us $1500 under the cash for keys program. So now I assume that our home has been sold. I will stop by the courthouse after work today and check records. The way I feel right now after all this mess, dealing with First Franklin and the CA state agencies, I come home after work and I feel uncomfortable here now. We never set out to cheat anyone. We just wanted a home to call our own and willing to pay for it. How can one tell what's going to happen to one's health. We paid our payments on time for several years and then we're down one income and ask for help right away and in the process find that money has disappeared about $40,000.00 that should have been applied to the principal is gone, isn't that called fraud? You ask the proper authorities to investigate and they flat out tell NO we don't want. Let me take someone's money and see how long it takes for me to be behind bars.

I don't think it means you house has been sold, it is just their way of ensuring that when it is, that you vacat without incident and leave the place clean, when the time comes. You should ask for more money to cover your expenses. You should also consult an attorney regarding a fraud suit against FF if you have money missing. I really don't think you will be the first.

I'm really very sorry for your situation and your worries and your loss. It seems more and more people are coming forward on these blogs and I don't really believe it is completely representative of the multitude of people and families experiencing such hardship.

I had heard reference once on the news that there are more than 500,000 of these loans out there. A good number have to belong to or originate from FF.

It really is a crime.

Good luck to you and God Bless.

just read everything about first franklin. I have been in foreclosure for about 9 months now.
I have been trying to work things out with these crooks for over 12 months now. I am past the point of worrying. I have a mediation meeting through the court next week.
I am not worried though.
The bank violated the predatory lending laws. And I got a 100% loan to buy the house. Our home has been devalued by 30% or so.
So its a huge loss to the bank, if they take it over.

I am goinbg to play hardball with these people at Home Loan services because of the disregard and disrepect they showed to me and my family.

You cant be charitable to these banks and loan servicers, they are in business, and could care less about us or our families.

I expect to be in the home payment free for another 9 or 12 onths, maybe more.

Right brfore the sale date I'll file chapter 13 and get another 4, 6 or 9 months out of this deal.

A friend of mine just got her bank to drop the second loan of 20%. So I have alot of options here.

chris

Evelyn:
I just checked my emails today and I wanted to thank your for your kind words. We had a very stressful weekend trying to find out when the sheriff is coming. At least I was able to find out that FF took the house back on 02/09. I was able to contact a non profit that was willing to review our paperwork. You will not believe the trouble we had getting anyone to review our loc docs locally ( now I know why the police department & DA's office wouldn't touch it). Now I know the reason behind this. It's the City of Visalia, CA that I will have to sue because the program they were to administer was poorly managed. Seriously, I have proof that money is missing, the home price was changed several times, even including that our home was posted as a three bedroom when in fact it's a TWO bedroom. Yes I admit to being a fool for not educating my self before we purchased this home. BUT what happens when the loan docs are changed after the fact. How does one prevent that from happening? Someone posted earlier that some federal programs never planned on the homes to be owned by private citizens and truly believe this now. Between First Franklin and Pacific Housing and Finance that is their goal. Have people like us lease for three years and at the time of purchase, install more roadblocks and if one is slow to catch on like we wereeither have us continue to pay or the bright ones walk away less their lease payments.
Still in all, thanks again Evelyn for your kind words.

Sorry about the last post. Bad spelling and grammar, can you tell I'm still stressed from the weekend. Please pray for me.

Sorry to hear they got the house back on you. I know it's not easy. And we who are all in similar situations with the same lender (FF), on.ly have each other for support. No one else wants to hear it or believes it, probably.

We are still waiting for the ax to fall. My husband called FF the other day to find out about or modification. Nothing new, still being processed. Probably sitting in a heap on someone's desk untouched. Anyway, they toly my husband that we may stand a good chance, as FF is really trying to work with the borrowers.

It makes my husband feel better, so that is something anyway. He has health problems and just doesn't need the added stress.

Who knows what will happen.

There are companies that will do a forensic investigation of your mortgage loan and loan documents, but who has the money for that? They always want like $3,000 or something. That seems to be the magic number for investigations and third party loan modification firms. If I had that kind of extra money, I'd not be in this spot today.

Good luck...

~ Evelyn

Sorry to hear they got the house back on you. I know it's not easy. And we who are all in similar situations with the same lender (FF), on.ly have each other for support. No one else wants to hear it or believes it, probably.

We are still waiting for the ax to fall. My husband called FF the other day to find out about or modification. Nothing new, still being processed. Probably sitting in a heap on someone's desk untouched. Anyway, they toly my husband that we may stand a good chance, as FF is really trying to work with the borrowers.

It makes my husband feel better, so that is something anyway. He has health problems and just doesn't need the added stress.

Who knows what will happen.

There are companies that will do a forensic investigation of your mortgage loan and loan documents, but who has the money for that? They always want like $3,000 or something. That seems to be the magic number for investigations and third party loan modification firms. If I had that kind of extra money, I'd not be in this spot today.

Good luck...

~ Evelyn

Evelyn-FYI
Well at least now I know when we have to leave. At 6:45pm last nite we were served with a Notice to Quit. The server was a nice kid, given what he's job is. I asked him what this meant and he told us that after three days(starting now) a law firm working for FF in this case out of San Diego will file motion to have us removed from our house. We're looking at min-2 weeks and max-60 days. At least we know the timeframe that we're working with. We found someone out of Fresno that said they would help for $5000.00. We have to give them a deposit of $2500.00 to start the process. We do have our federal return coming and with my paycheck, we can come up with the deposit if we don't pay anybody else or buy food. We are praying to god for guidance. BUT one way or another, we leave this house and the county, we are bound to see that someone pays for this and the only way will be thru the court.

Not exactly the news you want to hear, but at least you know you have to leave about when.

It is the not knowing that is the hardest part. It is a waste of time to look for a rental, because you can't commit. We already went that route last year, signed a lease and everything. The landlord was willing to rent to us even though we were facing foreclosure. Since we weren't moving in right away, the landlord had us just put down a half months rent as a deposit, then of course we heard from FF and ended up backing out on the rental thinking we could work something out and keep our house. When we told the landlord we had to back out of the lease she was really upset about it. She said she had no idea we were trying to keep the house and was very angry with us. I felt bad, but it made more sense to try to keep our own place. She rented it the next week anyway and they moved in right away, so she was better off. We have been up in the air pretty much ever since.

We have looked at other rentals occasionally, but what is the point until we have a date or an idea of when we have to leave?

Then you have to deal with explaining your situation to potential landlords and hope they take pity on you and rent to you.

My husband doesn't want to just move and abandon the place. I'm sure he is right, but at the same time I need some stability. It's been going on way too long.

I don't think the government has any plans for those already in foreclosure. I hear a lot of talk that they are only interested in helping those in "danger of defaulting". They may be offered better rates, modifications and may get some help where their value has dropped below what they owe.

Even a 90 day freeze on ALL foreclosures might be helpful to some, but it won't happen. At least it would give people more time to prepare for relocation.

Be very cautious who you work with and give money to. You will need some relocation money. Anyone contact you yet about cash for keys?

If they do, take it, but ask for more than they offer.

Good luck. I'm still hanging out in limbo.

~ Evelyn

GrammyG,

Go to court and ask for more time. The judge will give you time to work something out, or at least most judges would. First Franklin is known by courts all over the US. They charge illegal fees, failure to disclose, etc, etc... Just make sure you show up for the hearing. FF might not show, and then you can ask for more time since they didn't show up.

I lost my house, but I got out of it without owing a cent, and my credit was repaired, or will be soon. I asked for two months to find an apartment, the judge said OK, the realtor gave us $2500 to move out, and now we are in an apt. for 4 times less our mortgage.

If you want to keep your house, hang in there and go to all hearings with FF. You don't need a lawyer for the hearings unless you have the cash. Do research on FF on the net and print out the pages where they have settled out of court for illegal fees, etc..
The judge WILL give you more time, just make sure you ask.

Also, don't sign the agreement with FF lawyers unless they strike the clause that forgives them and everyone they work with from any future court action. If they say know, go to the judge and ask that it be removed or you won't agree to it.

Good luck!

Evelyn & Scott
Your words of encouragement mean alot. It's exchanging info with others that really help. Try asking someone who's in real estate and it's like pulling teeth.
It was almost a relief to at least know some kind of time frame. I would not want to have another weekend like this past one.
What happens next, as in will we be notified of the court date and in what manner? Either of you know?

I haven't gone that far in the process, but there should be hearings and you should be notified.

~ Evelyn

for Ashley on June 13, 2008
You really don't have any idea what it is like to have hardships. We mortgagees out here would have never received a mortgage, if the mortgage company didn't think you could afford it in the first place. So, it has nothing to do with that! We had hardships all year. Slid off the road and broke my foot and lost work for 2 months (and I'm a nurse and my husband a truck driver, meaning $$$). We could afford the mortgage and then some. But when that happened, our income was nil!
After I got back to work, like many people, my husband lost his job. There again, behind in bills.
Then my sister fell ill with an anuerysm and passed away 6 months later. Again, lost my job due to trying to help her health. I got a new job and have been there a year now. My hubby, though was layed off 2 more times last year.
Then we also, had the expense of putting to pets down due to cancer in one month. We have been trying to catch up all year. You obviously, don't have a clue to what causes problems with getting behind in payments. You must be the most lucky person in the world and never have a hard ship! Wow. Impressive! Sometimes life throws us a curve ball and it hits you hard. All of that happened in 2008 to us. All in 1 year.
To All Others in this blog:
We are dealing with First Franklin Mortgage. Did a modification last year and our payment went up, we had to pay 1500.00, the rate didn't change and our payment went up plus now we are back to 30 year loan. We will be in our 70s when it is finally paid! They messed us up more helped nothing. If there is a class action suit on the mortgage company, please count us in. We should have just done the high, hard to make repayment plan! It has been a year and we need help, like millions of laid off, unemployed people out there. It is ashame that the economy is the way it is. It made things worse.

GrammyG,

You will be notified or any hearings, either someone will drop a notice off at the house, or it will be mailed. We called out local courthouse to find out our date before they notified us.

One thing you should know, don't believe the FF lawyers ever. They will try to get you to sign your rights away, but won't explain the agreement at all saying they can't explain it to you. If they don't explain the agreement and you have questions, don't sign anything and bring your concerns to the judge.

Good luck to everyone! My house went from $228,500 to $152,000. I'm looking into buying it back after they do all the repairs and things I didn't have time to do:)

Good luck:)

Hi Evelyn, i tried to work with FF for the last six months, i just loose my time, they are very arrogant, and they dont understand nothing about be honest and human, they just call me today to inform me that my house will be in auction the next march 4TH, i asked if he can low my monthly payment just for 1 year, and they dont accept nothing, i already rent another house and im sure my family and my will be healthy and wealthy than today, is too much stress for the hole family, please dont deal never with first franklin or home loan services, sorry for my spelling, i dont speak very good english.

Hi Fernando:

Don't worry about the spelling. Even those of us who do speak good English get so emotional when we type our stories here and we make many type-o's.

So sorry to hear you are troubled by FF, too. There sure are a lot of us.

Enjoy your new rental. Leave all of the stress and worry behind you.

Good luck to you and your family.

~ Evelyn

Hi Evelyn, Thank you for your comments, I have one question, and probably some of you will know, I received yesterday one comment from one friend and he told me that City Bank ordered after the Obama's presentation in Arizona stop all foreclosures for at least 90 days, and also I want to know if somebody knows if First Franklin is part of Citi or City Bank?, problably this can help a lot of your friend if is true. I remenber when i received the first letter of the FF lawyers, they write something by FF and City bank, but i dont remember and i can not find the letter.
Again Thank you very much
fernando

First Franklin/Home Loan Services is owned by Bank Of America.
I believe BOA was part of the 60 day stay in foreclosures.
If you haven't already please check out the non-profit FREE services of NACA.com
There is a tab on their site for urgent situations. They have been around for 20 years helping people save their homes.

Reading all these posts, as a former HLS employee, I can tell you, they want your house! They don't want to work with you, they pay huge bonuses to get huge repayment agreements that they know statistically, you will default on and they end up getting the house with a lil more cash in their pockets to cover attorneys fees.

ML has perfected the rip-off of homeowners, they go to the Feds to get bailout funds to cover the lose from your mortgages, then they foreclose on you anyways to maimize their profits. ML has perfected scamming the Feds in a down economy. They havce no interest in working with you.

FIGHT the foreclosure, get as much free rent out of them as possible before they get your house. Remember, ML pays huge bonuses for executives to find ways to screw you out of your house while taking bailout funds from the Feds!

It's so nice to read about the TRUTH coming from someone that worked for the company. I wish more ex-employee's would post more information about how bad FF really is.Now we should see some current employees post comments saying it's not true, but we all know who to believe. THANKS

Whoever you are former HLS employee, if you really are a former HLS employee, your input here is appreciated.

Doesn't give me any hope, though. The axe falls next month on 4/15 when the sale takes place, unless by some miracle FF has pity on our souls and works with us.

This whole subprime mortgage mess is really just a big Ponzy scam for the investors who provided the funding (credit). They lose and we the soon to be former homeowners lose, and FF collected fees, payments, etc. and then slap on the judgements that claim to take everything when the borrows estate comes up for grabs. Its very sad and very disheartening.

Borrowers thought we were "borrowing money" from the lender, when it truth it is not really money. The only money involved is the profit paid to the seller and all of the fees doled out to the realtor(s), broker(s), closing attorney and the "lender". The rest is really just "credit" or the implication of "money".

If the bottom hadn't completely fallen out of the real estate market we would have been going in for a refinance this month and put this mess behind us. Can't refinance a house that has lost nearly of it's value.

With this lousy mortgage that we have, the final payment on the 30 year loan is almost the ENTIRE LOAN AMOUNT!!! After paying nearly $2M in payments and interest, we would have to cough up almost the entire loan amount!!!

Now of course, this was not discussed at closing. This was buried in the loan documents. I only found it because after the fact I read the stupid thing practically from beginning to end.

I honestly wish I had the money for a forensic investigation/review of our mortgage. This can't really be legal. There has to be something within this document that is not right.

Instead of the forensic review, I need what money we have to get into a rental, if we can find someone who will rent to us.

FYI - while listening to the radio in the car the other day, it was said that if your lender tells you you need to be behind in your mortgage payments or in default to get help from them or to modify your loan, it is a lie. This is exactly what my husband was told by FF when we first began to experience our financial hardship. It wasn't 60 days later before they served foreclosure papers on us. Based on this, I would have to say our HLS visitor is right on the money here.

Again, if you are a real former HLS employee, thanks for giving it to us straight.

Evelyn,
Everything you said is so very true. I have not posted for a long time as I have moved on, literally moved on to Canada for a short breath of fresh air. I am coming back to the States soon, but so needed a break from all the crap when I finally gave up in Sept 08. A litttle to add to your bit about having to be behind. I wanted to submit a hardship package the first month I new I was going to be behind, they said no, you have to be 60-90 days behind first or they won't look at it. Menawhile they start proceeding with foreclosure paperwork (dirty bastards). In the intrim, I start trying to refinance my loan. Time passes and I am still trying and finally went to HUD. They said oh, we can help you no problem. They mailed me an application package. They said that part of the criteria was you had to be 90 days passed due on your mortgage to refinace with them. They had bent the oh so stingent rules they usually have to help the homeowners in trouble with this whole sub prime fallout. Now, get this! After receiving the package and filling it out, and submitting it, guess what I was told is the reason it was denied? It was because I was 30 days or more past due on my mortgage. Now isn't what they said I had to be 90 days passed before they would help? Gee that is our Government at it's freaking best. Sorry, some may think I am bitter, well, damn rights I am bitter. I have been lied to so much, and reading all that is here is just like going thru it all over again. Good luck Evelyn, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. And to the former HLS worker, I wish there were more like you to come clean, we might have grounds for a class action lawsuit. Good luck to all.
Dar

Evelyn & Darlynda
Everything the two of you have posted is my story , I'm living the same nightmare. Oue home was taken back by FF and received a Notice to Quit on 02/05/09. Now we're waiting to be called to court. We were able to find legal advice and plan a big surprise for FF on that day. Also one of the local papers has asked for our story for an article. Not only do I want it to be known how FF operates(I recorded EVERY conversation that I had with FF and some government agencies) I want it to be known that our government agencies are as helpful as a wet noodle. I found a site called The Mortgage Insiders-Mortgage University very informative. Someone there posts that if you contact your senator, they have a dedicated team that will help the homeowners. I am some what doublful, but who knows till you try it.

Hi Dar.

Thanks for the post. It is really sad that the only place we can go for some support, all be it just moral support, is here to this forum. People who have never gone through a financial crisis - whatever the cause - have no idea the pain and anquish one goes through.

With all of these lies meaningless conversations and paperwork, we are out there without a hope of help. When HUD first came out as a so called helper, I thought maybe we could turn this thing around. That just turned out to be more b.s.

So here we are a month and a little less than two weeks from meeting our doom. Meanwhile, FF, who never really did have the "money" from our loan, just used someone else's investment to make it work, who gets screwed in this transaction and has to take a loss, then they get the judgement for the full amount (even though there was no real money here for the full amount, just an implication of money, and when we die, our estates go to them, instead of our children. They get the money one way or another, even if it means waiting till we die.

I'm feeling pretty bad about it all right now, because a month and a half is not that far away. My poor husband still clings to hope FF will work with us. He has health problems as it is, I just hope the stress of this doesn't do him any harm.

So according to the wording of the judgement, I have nothing to leave my children. We have worked all of our lives, just to have it just disappear.

What's next, wage garnishment? For God's sake, they paid out so much money to those bastard's at Merrill Lynch who sat at the helm as this all went on around them. It is just not fair.

Getting rich at our expense. So wrong. So, Dar, you are allowed to be bitter. We all are. We are all just pawns in their big Ponzy scheme. They make Bernie Madoff look like a boy scout.

At some point there has to be some recourse for us. Someone has to see what these people with their greed did and file suit against them.

Thanks for the kind words and good luck to you. I do hope we find a place to rent soon.

GrammyG:

I wish you a lot of luck. I hope you expose them for what they really are.

Next month, the same month they auction my house off, is the month the adjustable rate is supposed to kick in, the adjustable rate that the broker basically told my husband not to worry about, because we would refinance, which would also help our credit out (a selling feature, I guess)and all would be right with the world - what a joke.

Sad thing is, our credit really wasn't THAT terrible then, but it probably is now. We took a 100 point hit the day the mortgage went on our credit report.

Good luck to everyone!! I want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences here. It is something that we all need to know. We all need to know that there are a lot of people just like us who were manipulated and used in this mess.

Take care! GrammyG - keep us informed on how things go.

Evelyn
You could ask FF to produce the Promissory Note. The foreclosing party has to prove it owns the Mortgage. that will give you more time in which if nothing else, you can save money for your move. Try nolopress.com, very user friendly.

They produced it at the foreclosure hearing, that we went to. The judge told us we can notify him if we need additional time in the event FF does not get back to us on the modification before the sale date, but who know if he will follow through.

I'm not sure what happened to it, but GrammyG posted it seems a the same time as I posted a couple posts ago and it is not showing up here on the forum, so my las post may not make any sense.

I hope her post does appear.

Hello all,
I have not wrote anything on this blog because I have been fighting tooth and nail for my home and have been a little stressed out. I wrote to Evelyn back on October 30th 2008. Evelyn thanks for your support on this blog. I am writing today because I just had the strangest thing happen to me. While my loan was originated with FF it was sold to Select Portfolio (which is not different as far as customer service). I had tried to get a modification through FF way back in June 08' only to be told in Sept that my loan would be with Select Portfolio in Oct. And as most of you can guess Select never received my initial paperwork from FF. Resubmitted everything only to be told that I didn't qualify because I didn't make enough money. Well I had already explained to them that I had lost some of my income because of my husband losing hours at his job. If I still made the same amount of money why would I need a modification?? Well I have been randomly submitting a request for hardship every 15 - 20 days only to be told I don't qualify (It just made me feel good to keep doing that). So I get my foreclosure notice I call still get told no. I go through Hope for Homeowners which I don't understand what they are suppose to do (I did more work than my counselor). Well yesterday I contacted my counselor and she asked me had I called Select. No I have not I thought that was what you were supposed to be doing. So I said never mind hung up and called myself. The gentleman I spoke to told me that they had received everything a month a go and I was denied. I ask how could I be denied a month ago when they just asked my Hope for Homeowners counselor for my paystubs yesterday. I started getting frustrated and told him that this was very confusing. He asked me not to get upset could he put me on hold for a few while he went through all of the notes on my account. He came back and said that he was confused on what my H4H counselor was doing but that I was talking to the right person to get to the bottom of this and get it done. So we went over everything line by line he found a few mistakes and corrected them and low and behold I qualify! I just want you all to know that I have called them and actually spoke to someone 18 times in 30 days and have never ever had anyone that would help me. We got my loan modified in 53 min (down $350) and was done. I don't quit understand what just happened here. Could this be that they (the government) are trying to get this "cram down" (google it) law passed and now they (loan servicers) are all willing to work with people? I have never been treated so nice and with respect any of the times that I have called them, NEVER!!! I apologized to the guy on the other line that I was being such a pest and he said "ma'am this is your home and you are doing the right thing by not giving up on it". I felt like I was in the twilight zone!! He also encouraged me to call back tomorrow (on the 4th) to see if they could possible get it lowered with the new stimulus being passed. I just don't understand it. I have heard my same story on this blog so many times. I have a subprime loan, I was told I could refinance in a year or two, I have tried to get a modification many times (only to be told no over and over). So I am encouraging people on here not to give up keep calling a bugging them. Not sure what this new stimulus thing is going to be about but I pray for each and every one of you.

Hi Nichelle!

Sounds really great for you. Congratulations. We do call all the time, and write, all the time. Problem is, FF owns our loan. For whatever reason, ours was not sold. We still have to deal with them. My husband calls them every week. Just gets told its being processed or it hasn't been assigned to a "negotiator" yet. Last person said she was going to email someone in the modification department to see if she can get us a better time frame. Never heard back, but my husband will place his weekly call tomorrow or Friday, and I am sure will again be filled with false hopes and nothing new will develop.

If they would lower our interest rate and put the arrearages on the back end of the loan, at least for say 3-5 years, maybe we could all end up in a better place. Of course, extending the terms out another 10 years wouldn't hurt, but I am only asking for a break, not a full blown miracle. If the market ever comes back, we could sell it and move on free and clear. I don't want them to take our estate when we are gone. I want something for my kids.

At this point, all I want to know yes or no. That is all I want. If yes, what can we do here to fix it? If no, then see ya and we can move on. It is the constant limbo that gets me. We can't move forward, we are stuck here in limbo. Doesn't pay to look at rentals, because we can't commit. Been there, done that. The "landlord" got mad at us because we were trying to save our house. Go figure.

I really do hope it works out for you. It would be nice to hear just one success story.

Good Luck!

Hey there Evelyn,

I hear everything you are saying. None of us are asking for a miracle just a little help through some tough times. I will be calling my loan servicer back tomorrow and see what they tell me (with the new stimulus package). I will ask alot of questions and will post what I find out with hopes of maybe helping the many of you that are reading this blog. I truely hope that we all make it through this with our health and our sanity. I just hate feeling like we are all begging to hold on to something that we worked so hard to get.

Thanks, (still praying)

Nichelle

Thanks Nichelle.

I went home from work and filled my husband in on the latest from this forum. He asks me everyday if there is anything new. I told him about your situation, so he got on the phone immediately with FF.

The person who picked up the call could not really provide any additional information, so he asked if he could speak to a manager or supervisor. A manager came on the line and told him that our package is still in the processing phase and has not been assigned to a negotiator at this point. He feels that within the next week to ten days it will be assigned. My husband asked him if we get a couple or few weeks out from the sale date if we can get some sort of letter from FF to present to the judge with the status of our package to help us to get some more time and he said that would be no problem. Hopefully the judge will remember that he did tell us that he could extend out the sale date if we don't come to some terms on the modification by then.

This manager at FF was very nice and helpful, quite unlike the norm, so who knows. He says they did have to hire a lot of new staff to handle the influx of modification requests and field all of the huge volumes of phone calls coming in, and they actually hired some people to just process paperwork.

Still, we are left waiting and wondering, and of course praying.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

Hello Evelyn, im Fernando, Do you remember me??, ok the auction for my house was today, i went to the city and outside of the hall one guy come with a nice portfolio, and may be 20 more people, he just start giving us the case number and the address, almost 90% was postponed and 10% was offered, anybody bet for any property, and he just inform that all the properties now are owned by the bank, and thats it., my house was sold to the bank in 50% less than my balance!!!, i wish Today is the end of our Nightmare. Good look at all your forum and me and my family will continue praying for all of you.
Thank You.
Fernando

Hey Evelyn,

Okay I called back today and here is what happened. Ask them what they were going to do with the new bailout that was passed(helping homeowners). They told me that the new plan only consisted of refinancing those that have mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but wanted to know what was I looking to do.
I told them I was trying to get my mortgage lowered so that I can handle it. So she went over my information line by line with me again and the only thing that we found was that they had over stated my income by $300 (I think it was a typo). So here's what they did (these are not my real numbers)
Income(net): $3500
House pmt: -$1800
Credit Cards: -$300
Loan: -$400
Car note: -$350
Utilities: -$500
Food: - $400
Cable: - $100
Phone: -$50
Gas (car):-$300
Insurance: -$175
Cell phone: -$120
Short fall ($495)
New house pmt: $1800-$495 = $1305

I am to pay $1305 for 3 consecutive months without being late and then they will send out paperwork for new loan. I think the 3 payment requirement is to see if I will be able to pay with no problems and then they will modify the loan and this will be my paymen for the duration of the loan. I did not have to argue, loose my cool or anything they just said they wanted to work with me (once again I was floored). Another friend of my said she called her mortgage servicer and they had never ever been cooperative or nice to her but now they are. So as I said before please don't give up. I know that it get frustrating but keep at it keep asking questions. I will let you know what happens after my 3 months of payments. This is from my morgage servicers website. Read this and then go to the website that's in the paragraph.

Under the Homeowner Stability Initiative, Treasury will spend up to $75 billion dollars to make mortgage payments affordable for middle income families that are at risk of foreclosure. Borrowers who are delinquent on the mortgage for their primary residence and borrowers who, due to a loss of income or increase in expenses, are struggling to keep their payments current may be eligible for a loan modification. Treasury, HUD and other Federal Agencies are working with lenders and non-profit housing counselors to put all the systems in place to implement this massive program by March 4, 2009. In the meantime, borrowers can get additional information at www.financialstability.gov.


Take care,

Nichelle

Thanks for the update, Nichelle. Sounds like you are on your way back from the ashes. I'm really very happy for you. We hear so much negative and bad here, it is good to hear someone gets out.

I'm not really feeling very hopeful myself for our situation. It seems FF is really just coming in at the 11th hour and buying up the foreclosed homes for half of what is owed on them, and still maintain a judgement for the other half plus legal fees. I don't know what their game is, but some day it will be exposed.

Oh this guy from FF my husband spoke to was really nice yesterday, but who knows if our paperwork is in processing or is just buried somewhere waiting for the foreclosure sale so they don't have to work with us.

We don't have a Fannie or Freddie loan, we are not in good standing with the bank.

Keep us informed on how it goes for you. You are our only ray of any kind of hope. One of us gets a chance. That is really awesone.

Take care!

~ Evelyn

i would like to part of this teaparty against ff, we are losing our house in april, its too late for me, but the lieing and misinformation,i can relate with well, lacking of service oreinted help, and the mortgage broker getting paid for lieing, overinflated appraisals, and income, all lies, and i trusted them to tell me the truth, i dont understand their legal mumbo jumbo,i am not a lawyer, so i am in for the class action suit,

Hi Rich. Sorry to hear another sad FF story.

Nichelle: My husband called FF today to ask what the status of our loan modification paperwork. He was told it was assigned to a negotiator just today. Now if that is the truth, I don't know. Only time will tell.

It just figures. We were trying to figure out a way to move on and went and looked at a rental today and as usual we still can't commit to anything. It is getting very frustrating.

I don't know how long it takes from the time a negotiator gets the file to when you first receive contact, and so we once again wait.

I guess it is a small step and we will just have to continue waiting. Oh well. Not like we're mot used to waiting.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

Hello and God bless you all:

We are in foreclosure, but we are fighting this people trying to keep our home and have them doa modification. It has been very, very frustraiting and I really wonder if a class action suit may be in the near future as I can not understand how is it that they don't get the paperwork many of us have send to them

Anyway, I just found this information on the government web site. It is for those who are not fredie mae or fredie mac (sp?).

What do I do next?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may qualify for a Home Affordable Modification. The next step is to gather the information you will need to provide to your lender. This includes:

Information about the monthly gross (before tax) income of your household, including recent pay stubs if you receive them or documentation of income you receive from other sources.
Your most recent income tax return.
Information about your assets
Information about any second mortgage on the house.
Account balances and minimum monthly payments due on all of your credit cards.
Account balances and monthly payments on all your other debts such as student loans and car loans.
A letter describing the circumstances that caused your income to be reduced or expenses to be increased (job loss, divorce, illness, etc.).
After you have this information, you should call your mortgage servicer and ask to be considered for a Home Affordable Modification. The number is on your monthly mortgage bill or coupon book.

Please be patient
Servicers received the detailed program requirements on March 4, 2009 and it may take some time before they are fully operational. However, Treasury has encouraged servicers to immediately assist delinquent borrowers at the greatest risk of foreclosure.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IN THE MEANTIME, MANY LENDERS HAVE MADE A COMMITTMENT TO DELAY FORECLOSURE ON ALL LOANS THAT MEET THE MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR A HOME AFFORDABLE MODIFICATION.


Question: Have anyone heard about this from FF? The web site in case you want to see it is: http://www.financialstability.gov/

Thank you,

Miguel

By the way, the questions that you have to answer at the site are:



Making Home Affordable Modifications

If you can no longer afford to make your monthly loan payments, either because your interest rate has increased or you have less income or you are experiencing a hardship that has increased your expenses (like medical bills), you may qualify for a loan modification to make your monthly mortgage payment more affordable. Millions of borrowers who are current, but having difficulty making their payments and borrowers who have already missed one or more payments may be eligible.

Do I qualify for a Home Affordable Modification? Answer these questions:

Is your home your primary residence?
Is the amount you owe on your first mortgage equal to or less than $729,750?
Are you having trouble paying your mortgage? For example, have you had a significant increase in your mortgage payment OR reduction in your income since you got your current loan OR have you suffered a hardship that has increased your expenses (like medical bills)?
Did you get your current mortgage before January 1, 2009?


Miguel

has anyone dealing with first franklin contacted NACA (neighborhood assistance corparation of america)@ NACA.com for help with their first franklin/homeloan services loan. We sign up with this organizaion yesterday while they were on tour in columbia.They were able to help stop auctions that were scheduled this week for homeowners who were present. even foreclosures. I'm hoping Naca can stand up to FF/homelaon services and help us get our loan restructured. i'll keep all posted. If your are currently in foreclosure please check out the website for naca and let me know if they were able to help you.

I would like to know more about this situation. I am currently doing a loan modification with First Franklin and do not want to get dupped.

I don't think there is a way to find out if you are being duped or not until you go through the process.

We are still waiting for ours to go through the process and the waiting and the not knowing is agonizing.

We are at the point where we have been served Unlawful Detainer and have 5 days to respond. This is what we were waiting for. So I will file our response by thursday.
It has been most stressful, but by the grace of God we either have to move in 25-30 days or we will do a modification. This is what the courts have been allowing if you can show that you have a decent income. In order to have First Franklin play by the rules, you MUST have a third party involved.
This is why we have involved a non profit agency in the beginning of all this mess (05/08). They helped when we first knew that we would have a problem making our mortgage, the non profit tried to get FF to work with us. They would not. Then in 11/08 we either let the house sell or we start making payments of $2200.00 for six months, normal payment was $996.00.
So our home was taken back in 02/09 by FF and served with a Notice to Quit, had 30 days. I did mail a certified letter requesting the Note, of course no response. Now we will go to court and have the judge make FF work with us.
What I'm saying here is that from the beginning we had a third party involved as much as possible. So when we proceed to sue for Predatory Lending we will have a paper trail. Especially in California, there is no gov agency that at this time offers real help. I have seen other states that are very aggressive in helping the homeowners. Here in CA, your on your own.
But any way, make sure you involve a third party when dealing with FF. It's the only way you have of making sure that FF walks the line.Some what crooked, but at least you might stand a chance.
I can honestly say that we all here really know what your going thru. Check out loansafe.org Very helpful and user friendly.

We heard from FF today. After waiting since 12/24/08 when we submitted our modification application, they tell us today we don't qualify. Seems to me anyone with basic knowledge of this at FF would have known that.

Our 'negotiator' told my husband he was able to get his supervisor to approve us for another repayment plan - MORE MONEY...

He says even if we do a new repayment plan, our mortgage won't change much.

I really don't see the point to go through another repayment plan only to end up right back where we are now.

I think we would be better served to put the money toward a rental.

What a disappointing waste of time.

~ Evelyn

FF told us we didn't qualify for a modification either. The payment plan we were offered is $700 more than our original payment. we have a phone consultation with NACA on Mar 23rd. We came up with enough money to stop the foreclosure,however when we wired the funds in to ff/Home loan Services the money was put on our smaller loan with them which paid that loan up for 3months. we have an 80/20 loan. im having a hard time getting it changed to the right loan.FF/HLS is a waste of time find an outside counselor. Please contact NACA to see if they can help you, I sold alot of household items to come up with that money. If you perfer not to deal with NACA check to see if you have counselors in your state willing to take on your case. Evelyn I wish you lived in columbia South Carolina, because just as hard as i'm working on my home, I would work on yours. I eat,sleep,and dream FF/HLS!!!!! We've decided not to deal with First Franklin any more. we turned all of our documents over to NACA because they are willing to fight with these people first hand. I'm working on a letter for Congressman Clyburn of South Carolina now because he is the one responsible for NACA holding a seminar in Columbia and Im covering all basis to ensure Foreclosure doesn't happen. Dealing with FF is a waste of time..Because Foreclosures are a Hot topic around the U.S. take what you have done so far with your loan and head to your congressmans office. I will do the same and use every comment I can find about this company to make a point that it's not an isolated incident. Please don't wait for them to take your home.Since president Obama and his staff are listening to request being presented to them from other citizens about whats going on in their community we're putting together our letter with emails and copies of western unions for FF/HLS just to put the info out there.EVERY FF/HOME LOAN CUSTOMER READING THESE COMMENTS PLEASE AT LEAST MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE FOR HELP. IF ENOUGH OF US DO THIS SOMEONE WILL LISTEN. If there are any Home Loan Services Customers in South Carolina please contat me a wilcry80@yahoo.com

Hi Crystal:

Thanks for the post. I actually emailed NACA last night. I gave them a brief scenario of what we are going through to see if it is worth using up their time on us. If we don't meet their critera, I would rather they spend time helping someone who does.

This is ripping my family apart and we need it to come to an end.

We feel trapped right now. We can not move forward.

They want to keep this mortgage as is, basically, an 80/20 that adjusts in April to an outrageous amount, then $500 a month for the next 5 years. We could live in a mansion for that kind of money.

The final balloon payment is almost as much as the mortgage itself. So how is this a loan?? It is like paying back a loan shark.

Other lenders are working with borrowers offering 2% interest for the next 5 years, etc. and then assigning a normal fixed rate and changing the loan terms. FF is not. FF is not a bank, for one thing, is that how they get away with it? Our 'negotiator' said FF is no longer in existence, yet all of the documents we receive in the mail says FF on it. He says this is for those who got their loans under FF so the know who it is from when they receive it in the mail.

If we don't meet FF's criteria, then so be it, but I would LOVE to hear of ONE, just ONE success story and I have yet to hear one. I have seen posts on other web sites where they say they were approved and got their paperwork, but no one ever posts how it actually turned out. You would think you would want to share your success, so why are't they? Is it because there aren't any??

This 'engotiatir' says after the foreclosure sale they hire a real estate agent. If it is sold, then what do they need an agent for? I hear time and time again that FF always comes in and buys the property themselves. I just don't understand their game. If someone does understand it, please enlighten me.

The FF/Home Loan Services ex-employee who posted here previously, if you can enlighten us, please do.

We are suffering and all need some help.

Thank you.

~ Evelyn

Sorry for the big type-o in paragraph 8, it should be 'negotiator'. I'm so upset I can't even type.

~ Evelyn

Hello All,

Evelyn this is Nichelle I read through my Forbearance Agreement again and it reads in section C "The Servicer is authorized on behalf of the current holder of the Loan, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as trustee for the holders of the First Franklin Mortgage Loan Trust 2006-
FF15 Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006-FF15 (the "Note Holder") to service the Loan, oversee the collection of amounts due under the Note and enforce the terms of the Loan Documents". So what this says to me is that FF is still my note holder. So I'm not understanding why I am getting the help and you guys are not. Is it the difference in the servicer (My servicer is Select Portfolio)? Well I am going to call today and ask some questions and get back with everyone with what they tell me. As I said in my last blog my modification is not complete until I make the first 3 payments (which I have made the 1st one) at the lower rate and then they will send out the official modification. I'm not sure what I can do for anybody on here but I will be willing to write to anybody to tell my story. On another note: From the sounds of what everybody is saying and my own experience with FF it seems that they are doing old calculations and that is why no one is getting "approved" for a modification. And what I mean by this is when I orginally ask for a modification they told me (as they did with everyone else) that they would help but after their calculation that my mortgage payment would be $xxx higher then my current mortgage. This is because of how they calculate the late payments late fees and so on (just spreading them out over a length of time and adding the spread to the current payment). As everyone else has said "what sense does that make if I am already struggling with the current payment?" I just don't understand why they wouldn't take all of the late fees and late payments and calculate them back into the mortgage and just rewrite the whole loan with a better (normal) interest rate? I believe this is more or less common sense. I know I am preaching to the choir here but it just baffles me how you can sit on the other side of the phone and just screw people on a daily basis. In my case I care for my mother and my grandmother and if I am out on the street, guess what?, so are they. I will write later.
(Always praying for everybody here)

Nichelle

I am sorry for being so snappy in my last blog but it's just that I am pissed. I know I do not know everyone on here personally but I know your struggles and it just pains me to hear these stories. So please forgive me if my last blog sounded a little harsh.

Thanks,
Nichelle

Evelyn:

Sorry to call you oput like this.

I would like to email you an email I send to Crystal this morning and get your opinion about it. My name is Miguel and I posted twice couple of days ago.

May I have your email address? My email address is boriquagm@msn.com.

God bless.

I just want to take a moment to say that I really do appreciate everyone on here who is going through this very personal, very scary hardship at the hands of First Franklin.

The input and kindness when everyone's world is upended and fraught with stress and agony, is really very inspiring.

We all may not get to keep our houses, but we all have a story and it helps to have a place to tell them.

Thank you everyone who has posted here.

Nichelle: Don't worry about whether or not you were snappy. We all are feeling that way. I appreciate your support and don't tone it down, please.

Miguel, I sent you my email address.

While it is a very personal experience, and everyone has their own unique way of dealing with the stress and/or loss, we are all going through probably one of the most difficult situations in our lives.

Please continue to post, so that we can continue networking. One day someone will figure out how exactly how to crack First Franklin and learn how to achieve the ultimate goal of a REAL loan modification or REAL loan restructuring.

Also, one day someone will emerge who can on all of our behalf file a class action law suit against them. This needs to be out there, this needs to be publicized. People need to know what this company has done to the American dream.

Thank you everyone!

~ Evelyn

Hello Evelyn, do you remember me, Im Fernando, the guy that dont speak very good English, well, let me give you my Up-date, My house was in auction in March 04, in March 07 One lady from Century 21 just leave a letter informing us that they are the new brokers for the bank/new owner and they offer me "Cash for Keys", i explain my situation and she ask me for write a letter asking for leave the house in 60 days, i did it, she receive it, she inform me "verbal", that its not a problem, if i dont ask for the cash, well, yesterday i received another letter but from a Lawyer office, informing us that we have 72 hours for Quit!!, i call century 21 and the lady told me that its not her problem, she send my request and she dont have any news, she recomend me Quit ASAP, or the Sheriff will come and quit all our things and my family, immediatly I call the office of the lawyers and just is an answer machine, "IF YOU RECEIVE A LETTER TO QUIT, DO IT IN 72 HOURS, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME AND PHONE NUMBER AN IN 72 HOURS WE WILL RETURN THE CALL???!!!?!?!?!, do you think is fare??, well afortunatly we rent another house and we are moving out now, i dont want see the stress of my kids., Now I will ASK for CASH FOR KEYS, does anybody knows how much is the maximum we can get? and how deal with that people??
Thank You Again.

Fernando

Hi Fernando:

Yes, of course I remember you. I don't know if there is a set amount to ask for, but what I have been told from others on this site is always ask for more than they offer. If they offer $1,500, ask for $2,500 or $3,000. Tell them your moving expenses are very high and you need money for the first, last and security deposit on the new rental.

They may not give you what you ask for, but it never hurts to try.

I hope this helps. Take care Fernando! God Bless!

~ Evelyn

Thanks for the info Nichelle. This is why it is so important for everyone who is trying to use FF/HLS for modification to go through another organization for help. Everyone is being told something different if they are dealing directly with FF/HLS. My documents that I received form FF?HLS attorney states Lasalle Bank National Association, As Trustee for merrill Lynch Mortgage Investor trust. Home loan Services(the collector)isn't mention. this tells me that dealing with Home loan services who is collecting for First Franklin is a waste of time. I recommended homeowners to contact NACA an organization helping us because of their willingness to persue this lender regardless of the outcome.How ever if homeowners perfer not to deal with this organization by all means find a counselor NOT ASSOCIATED WITH FRIST FRANKLIN/HOME LOAN SERVICES. I have contacted my congressmens office and I am trying to get a contact for first franklin/HLS customers to contact directly in washington hopefully i can have this information posted by tonight. Any information I get that helps me with our mortgage issue, I will definitely pass it on to others in need of assistance

Evelyn You're the reason I stumbled upon this post. I'm very grateful of your comments. I'm sure there is enough of us to get something started and I'm sure others will follow once we begin.

thanks

As you know from my post on 3/17 we are preparing to go to court. Since we are going the whole way, wanted to let everyone know how things are going. When we filed our reply to the Unlawful Detainer, the cost was $400.00 to file (200 per person listed on docs). Talk about roadblocks, this one send my husband into a meltdown. Yes, we are both on the edge living with stress but I truly believe that God is guiding our way. When I'm feeling really bummed and I don't think that I can take it anymore, I ask God to help me with the load and he does. Remember people, we live on my salary alone (1700.00). Somehow the money is there when needed. As for, why wasn't the money there to pay the mortgage, I don't know. But something's happening in our lives and God's helping. Think about it, we are taking on one of the biggest crooks out there and we all know that the courts are not really looking out for us. For myself, I'm scared, but we are not giving up till all our options are gone. Gos bless us all.

Thanks so much for the kind words and for the support.

~ Evelyn

God love you GrammyG, for having the convictions to see it through.

~ Evelyn

Hello and God bless you all:

As you read this letter we hope that you still have a home for your family.

Like many of you our homes are in foreclosure due to the actions and non actions of First Franklin (FF).

We know there are many persons out there trying to abuse the system and get a free ride, yet many of us, if not all of us, are in this situation not because we wanted to be in this situation, but because life went on. Some of us found ourselves in default as a result of loosing our income, having medical issues, the raise in the cost of living but not in our salaries, family emergencies or just live itself. Whatever your case, we did not asked to be in it.

Some of us purchase our home and gave up most of our life savings to get it, not because of greed or luxury, but because we needed a home to call our own; for our families and specially for our children.

Yet in our time of need the people that were supposed to help us and work with us not only turned their backs on us, but they did everything in their power to take away our home and turn many of our families into battle grounds full of tears, anxiety an uncertainty. “Yes, send us your paperwork we’ll look at it” we were told. Do not worry, we were being “helped” and told to hold on while we complete our review.

And we believed. Only to have our hopes shattered in a court of law or with realtors offering cash for keys, or with people just knocking on our home doors with a notice that basically read “get out in x number of days”. While this was going on, and just to add insult to injury, many of us were in dismay after learning that we did not qualified for a modification for one of the many reasons, we could not do a short sale just because, etc.

End of the dream, end of the hope, end of our homes.

Why? A question that have crossed the minds of many of us, who knows how many times and that was the first of worse questions to cross our minds and hearts as the reality of seeing our children cry because they have to move settled in. Then more questions flooded our minds. What do I do now that I’m on the street? Where do I live? A

Many of us have been put in a situation where we have nothing to loose as even our dignity was taken away with a phone call to FF. A phone call where we were asked the same questions only to be told we can not help you. Or the day we receive the court documents like we are some sort of criminals. Or the date we were made go into a court or that they put a sign in front of our houses. Or the day we received a call at work from a FF person demanding to know where the money was. Or maybe it was the day that we were offered the false hope of a so called “payment plan”. All this while, as stated by an alleged FF ex employee, they were really making money our of taking our homes away from us while giving us no real chance of solving our situations and putting us in a no win situation.



Being that we have nothing to loose is why we are writing this message. You see, we have nothing to loose but much to gain. Divided most of us have encountered the same word: foreclosure. But what if we unite and give it a good shot. At least one good one. We are not saying yeah things will happen. We can not promise that each one of us will get a solution that will be of benefit. That is beyond us. What we are saying is: let make some noise and let our voices and stories be heard. It is time that people know what is really going on with the “so called” helping hand that FF is giving us people that are not asking for a free pass, but for chance to have a roof over our heads with dignity. To pay something that will be fair, but that will also allow us to put food on the table.

What we are doing, at least three of us, is this:

1. We will draft a letter to the White House (our President) and to CNN that will explain in general our situation. This letter will also ask for help in dealing with FF.

2. We will include our stories with that letter. Now here’s where you have a choice. You can join this effort by emailing your story with FF. What is your situation? What happened when you contacted FF? What did they do or didn’t do? How they treat you? Broken promises? How they proceeded with the foreclosure? How did it affect your family life?

PLEASE BE SPECIFIC AS TO YOUR SITUATION. PROVIDE DETAILS LIKE DATES THAT YOU CALLED FF, NAMES OF THE PERSONS YOU SPOKE, FAXES AND LETTERS YOU SEND TO THEM ETC. DO NOT STATE ASSUMPTIONS OF THINGS THAT YOU THINK MIGHT BE HAPPENING. STICK TO THE FACTS AND WHAT YOU CAN PROVE.

3. People, we are writing to our President. You may agree or disagree with him. You may have voted or not voted for him. But the truth of the matter is that he is our President. THUS, PLEASE KEEP YOUR FREE OF ANY FOUL LANGUAGE AND WRITE PROPERLY. Remember; we want to present ourselves like what we are honest, hard working people with values and dignity. Let us not go down to the level of FF.

4. Please include your name and the ages of your family members. Also, please provide a contact information for you so that you can be kept posted on what is going on with this. This could be your email address, mailing address, or phone number.

5. DO NOT, repeat DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR LOAN NUMBER, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OR ANY SENSITIVE INFORMATION. Again, we only need to contact you in case we receive a response so that you know what happened with our inquiry.

6. Remember we are not saying things will happen. We are just trying to do a coordinated effort to help our cause. The reasoning behind this is simple, many of us have contacted the government agencies only to run into dead ends. But many of us, I hope we are not ignored. United we stand, divided we fall.

7. Pray so that we can get what we need: Help, peace and the dignity of a home for our selves and our families.


8. Remember, we are not attorneys, rich people, politicians, or anything like that. We are regular people like you. So whatever happen, please don’t come back at us with some stupid lawsuit if things don’t go your way etc. If you do so, we can probably (and gladly) will give you have we have at this point. Debt.

If interested, you can email your story or any questions that you may have to the following email address: hope4ourfamilies@yahoo.com

We will be submitting our letter along with our stories to both the President and CNN on Friday April10, 2009.

Count us in.

Grammy G, please send us your story to the above email.

That's 4 of us now.

Miguel

WOW.... This is amazing! I have read these stories and most of them are alike. I would like to join any class action against First franklin whenever it is brought forth.

Here's my story, my mortgage went up $600.00 dollars back in September and I filled out modification papers in Oct. 2008. I was told that I had to be 3 months behind before they would modify. Once I was at that point, I started recieving letters of foreclosure. I spoke with 3 people from FF, twice I spoke to the same person and had to send in another form and my package would be complete. A month lateer after I had not heard from anyone, I called back and got the second person and she told me that I had to submit the package again because they didn't know what happened to my package. Once I did that, I recieved a letter saying that they had recieved my package and that a specialist from the modification department would contact me. Two weeks later, she did and I was told that my house would be auctioned off two weeks later (March 3). We talked a few times and she told me that they were still working on it and would let me know. Our correspondance was always on my cell phone and if i didn't answer the call, she would leave a message on my cell and home. Everytime she would leave a message, I would call her back, have to leave a message and wait for her return call. This went on for about 8 business days and then the question was asked, "how much would will you send in for donation"? I told her $300 and she said well, you were paying "X" amount for your payment and I told her that if thats what I have to do, i want my house and I will do it. Her reply was, I just want to make sure you are serious about keeping your house and i will stop the sell of your house. She called that Monday before the sell and left a message on my home number saying " i really need to talk to you about a few things and I have left a few messages (on home number), this is the only number I have to contact you so please call me back before 5 pm eastern time, it's very important". When I got in, it was 4:30 central time meaning that she was already gone for the evening. I left a message stating that I just got the message and that I know she has gone for the day. asked why is this the only number she has when we have never had any correspondance on my home number but always on my cell. I left my number again and never heard back from her. I called and called for abouta week asking what was going on with my package and if she stoped the sell of my house, never got a return call. On March 12th, I recieved a letter from her and from a law firm, on her letter, I was told that my modification was denied due to lack of funds, I am making about 10k more than I was when I bought the house 3 years ago and had never been late until my payment went up $600 bucks and they told me that I had to be 90 days behind. The Law office sent me a Notice to Vacate three days from the date of the letter dated 3/10/09, granted I didn't recieve it until 3/12/09. Since, I have spoken with the law office and they are giving me until the end of the month to vacate. I am willing to start a class action law suit if I have more that are willing to join me. My email address is: FOSTER_J@HOTMAIL.COM James Foster

Been busy trying to keep the wolves from taking my home. Like you James, we received a Notice to Quit and a Unlawful Detainer(Respond to the Detainer and you will get at least 30 days. It's not easy but you still have time in the home. They want to bully you out. We have a lawyer who's advising us for the Unlawful Detainer, just waiting on the court date, could come today, who's to really know. Now also, as some of you know, like others we have been fighting FF a very long time, since 05/08. So I have all our loan docs pretty much bundled for a easy read for whoever. Anyway to make a long story short, we have another attorney doing a exam of all our docs, for the suit. Now remember, we hae looked at these files time and time again. You won't believe when I tell you that WE HAD the ORIGINAL NOTE this whole time. It's been confirmed. So what I'm saying here is watch out Pacific Housing and Finance, City of Visalia and First Franklin. I might end up having to move BUT, several people are going to pay us for all the hardship we have had to endure.

Thanks for the info Grammy G. How did yur court date turn out? I recieved a letter from the Counstable today saying that I have to be in court because I am being sued to vacate on 4/9. I also spoke with Centry 21 with a offer of cash for keys. What are the chances of me going to court and the judge grant me more time in my house?

Hi GrammyG:

Thanks for the update. Sorry to hear about the docs being there all the time. We always had ours, so it was not a real issue for us. FF's attorney had them at the foreclosure hearing, too.

I hope your attorney can uncover something in your loan docs that will help you.

I can't afford to have our loan docs evaluated. We need to move, so that will have to go on a back burner. Here in FL they want a minimum of $2500 for a forensic evaluation, and these "attorneys" are coming out of the wood work to help all of us "victims". We need the money for a rental, so that's what we need to focus on.

If you can prove that your lender violated any of the TILA - Truth in Lending Act - just ONE thing, even a technicality, it can be possible to stop the foreclosure, wipe out the loan entirely and have all interest paid refunded to you. You live in the house free until such time as you can either work out a loan modification or a short sale. If after you prove this violation on their part you do a short sale, you walk away free and clear AND they have to remove all derrogatory account info on your credit reports. I found this info at:

http://www.gettilasecrets.org/?gclid=COLhisW1y5kCFYVM5QodKXD7ug

Of course, they don't give you the info for free. They sell CD's or DVD's with what to look for.

Keep us posted GrammyG. My sale is just about 2 weeks away and I still have yet to find a landlord willing to take a chance on us. Not sure what we are going to do at this point.

Take care!

~ Evelyn

Evelyn & James,
At this point we are waiting for a court date regarding the Unlawful Detainer. In the meantime, our attorney has found several items that are not up to par. We are now meeting to finalize our defense for court. As far as the note Evelyn, there is only one note that is valid and that's the original one, which we have in our pack. What do you mean that you always had your note? Orginial or a copy of?
I have found that these websites have given us a unlimited amount of info. Like for one @ Loansafe.org,they will due a evaluation of the 1st loan at about $700.00 and the 2nd @ about $300.00. Unsure of the second amount, but I do know it's no where close to $2500.00. Check out the website, very helpful.
Remember because you have been sued to vacate, they still have to serve you with a unlawful detainer. Be sure and reply. I know it's hard mentally going thru this. Some days I want so bad to just say enough is enough. But I know I have the facts in black and white. We cannot give up. I just wished we could play the conversations between FF and us to the judge when we go to court. At least the attorney heard that what we had told him was valid. I still might send a few copies out around. But please do visit Loansafe.

I went to Loansafe.org and saw this story from someone. Hope I can get this in here for you to read. Let's see.

My elderly in-laws were granted a $930,000 mortgage loan on a fixed income of $1,100 mo. SSI. The payments went from $2000. mo to a whopping $7000.
a month! Their income was inflated to $15,000 mo. The original lender, New Century Mortgage just days before N.C. filed Bankruptcy! Loan transfer, Saxon Mortg. Of course the elders couldn't pay the 7 G's each month and defaulted. This was Feb, 2007, I began to investigate this issue further, it seemed like every day a new violation would appear on the net about N.C. meanwhile, hours before the 1st foreclosure sale, the elders filed chap 13, they were safe for a little while, just before the next foreclosure sale was to commence, the elders chap 13 converted to chap 7. Safe once again for a bit. Before Chap 7 protection was up, 10/27/08 the house sold at auction "back to bene" (beneficiary) for $613,700. By the next day 10/28/08
the status was changed to "invalid sale" as Saxon in such a hurry to sell, didn't wait to find out if the BK was dismissed yet! Meanwhile I'm still working on strategies and digging for info as well as sending summaries out to Att. Gen, Dept. of Corp, Dept Consumer Aff, etc. After feeling as if I would never be able to fight this, I came across an article that CHANGED EVERYTHING! it was the first of many to get me going in the right direction, that article was by Moe Bedard on Judge Boyko & Deutsche bank. It was that article that inspired me to research the "Note" to this mortgage. Which is how I then found out about N.Century and the "bad loans" they were selling to investors, facing claims of 8.4 billion by it's backers, right down to the 700,000 doc's they failed to surrender in their bankruptcy case! Putting 2 & 2 together, it all began to add up to "New Century can't possibly have this note with all the ill-gotten games they've been up to"!
I remember reading the article by Moe to my in-laws and saying, "you wait and see, it will be the same way here in our courts before long" WELL.....after two years of escaping forecl. sales, bankruptcy hearings, and close calls, last week, with the current forecl. sale set for today, March 2, our Bankr. attorney filed a restraining order and we went to court the next day. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED!...............

The Judge, the Honorable Arthur S. Weissbrodt, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, San Jose, Ca. Division, asked our lawyer, "have you ever done a case like this?" the lawyer replied, "no your Honor" the Judge said, "neither have I, have a seat counsel, we're going to be here a while" The Judge then proceeded to look thru his law books.
He then contacted Saxon Mortgage Company's Attorney's via land line and there in the court room had Saxon's Attorney's on speaker phone. As the Judge read the new mortgage laws to the Attorney's while on speaker phone, Saxon's attorney's requested that the Stay be lifted and the March 2 sale commence, but the Judge wasn't having that! In fact, well, let's just say he really gave it to them good boy! Reprimanding them for not offering a loan modification, questioning why this elderly couple qualified for a $930,000 loan on a fixed income in the first place, and among many other issue's, gave them until the 16th of March to produce the original Note! Can you believe the phone went dead! Saxon's attorney's actually hung up on the Judge!
Judge made two attempts to get them back on the phone but there was no answer! The Judge said this was the first case like this in California, but I think he may have meant in this County as there was a case heard by Judge Bufford down south Ca. Anyway, it was the first time in two years of dealing with our BK att. that we seen him smile! While we're still awaiting March 16, response by Saxon's end, I find it hard to believe that they would have the Note after hanging up on the Judge that way! One would think the Attorney's would have confirmed with His Honor that they will appear in his court room with Note in hand if that was the case, wouldn't one? I will definitely be back here on the 16th to let you all know the final outcome to this.

Among others, two most important reasons for why I posted this story..........1. To let others out there know that there is still hope for them! They should understand that MANY foreclosures occur unlawfully! Homeowners HAVE RIGHTS! DO NOT GIVE UP YOUR HOMES UNTIL YOU'VE MADE THEM PROVE THEY OWN THE MORTGAGE!! That is SO important, especially now during this mortgage crisis! Laws are changing right before our eyes in favor of homeowners, now's the time for us to make a stand! The thing that helped me the most is knowledge! The more I learned the more power I had to fight back with! Which brings me to reason # 2. I wanted to thank Moe for being a big contributor in my quest for this knowledge as I knew NOTHING when I started this fight, I wasn't even aware there was a mortgage crisis occurring until I was deep into searching the net for answers. Moe's articles gave me direction and I appreciate that deeply!
Don't give up people! You can't just walk away from your homes until you've challenged the one's who are trying to put you out! If you don't win, your not losing any more than you already were, but at least you stand a 50/50 chance of saving your homes! It's almost like a game of russian roulette, out of say, 100 mortgages, there's no telling which one's will turn out to be the one's without a Note, or any other unlawful aspects that will give you the fighting power to save it in a court of law!
Good luck to everyone!
God Bless you all!
Debra

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Last edited by Cat Damiano : 03-03-2009 at 12:17 AM.

GrammyG:

The original note is in the possession of FF - lawyer presented it at the hearing. We have a certified copy and a copy is filed with in the court records. We didn't have a missing note, is what I am saying, which some attorneys use as a defense. In our case, that did not apply.

In Florida they don't do unlawful detainer, just eviction. We will receive a date to be out by and if and when that day comes and we are still their or our belongings are still there, all get tossed out on the curb. Literally.

They drill out the locks, install new ones and all belongings go in the yard. If you are not home, then you get to come collect after your neighbors help themselves to whatever they want.

And that is pretty much that. If you are home, they may serve you witn a 24 - 72 hours to vacate notice.

I hope to be out of there by then. I'm not sticking it out. After the last conversations my husband had with these people, they are just scum. The very scum of the earth.

They could work with us if they were not devoid of any humanity. I really believe these people just love inflicinting pain and humiliation on all of us.

When my husband told the guy we were not going to sign the outrageous repayment plan and accept the $1000 increase in our payments, he seems surprised. Probably thinks we are cowering somewhere. We are just tired of being abused. If we can pursue a separate predatory lending suit or get them for violation of TILA, maybe that will be our vindication.

We have been stuck in this one place unable to move in any direction for so long, like in a TwilightZone episode. We have been out looking at rentals, which does feel like we are finally headed in direction. Don't really know if it is the right direction, but we have no defense left in this matter.

So hopefully we can move on.

Keep in touch with us, please.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

Evelyn,
I hurt for you. I'm so angry at what is happening to all of us, it's as if I can hear the pain in your words. The c--- we all have been subjected to is a crime. It's too bad all of us didn't work for AIG, we could have gotten a bailout and saved our homes. More than likely my day is coming soon also. Everyday is a nightmare,at least it's helped me to lose weight, without trying.
Ain't it something, all any of us wanted was a home to call our own.
Either way keep me informed of how your doing. I pray that the Lord will help carry your burden.

The last few days in the local paper the subject of tent towns have been the topic. I think Oprah did a special here about it. Anyway, that could be me or you or anyone else out there. I try not to think that way or I'll go nuts.
Take Care

Thanks, GrammyG. I feell your pain, too. It is such a crime that so many are suffering needlessly.

Bailouts for everyone, except us. This is really a very difficult thing to go through.

It has worn me out. I'm just exhausted, emotionally, spiritually, physically. It is very sad. Like you said, all we wanted was a place to call our own. Now I just want a place.

You take care, too.

Our attorney submitted the paperwork to dismiss the foreclosure they have filed against us.

The attorneys for FF and Deutsche bank responded and not only did they claim that they have the documents to prove they are the lien holders, but aqlso that we owe them $100 on attorneys fees!

Only problem is that the documents they enclosed as proof are not ours but of someone who lives in Clearwater FL and we are in Green Cove Springs, FL.

I wonder if someone else have my papers.

Does anyone knows any about our rights under the Privacy Act on this matters?

God bless,

Miguel

Miguel, they would have had to submit the same documents to the court as well. This might be enough to get it thrown out of court, I would think.

How irresponsible these people are. It is just unbelievable.

I posted an inquiry on a real estate blog that I know of. I'll let you know if I get a response.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

Our story is not unlike all those I read regarding FF. They are ruthless.
1st Franklin LOAN SERVICES VIOLATED NUMEROUS RESPA LAWS, BY IGNORING ALL OUR CORRESPONDENCE REQUESTING PERTINENT INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO OUR CASE AS WELL AS A REQUEST FOR A MODIFICAITON FROM THE END OF JULY 2008 UNTIL AFTER THEY FILED FOR FORECLOSURE IN NOVEMBER 2008. THIS EVEN AFTER NUMEROUS FAXES AND CERTIFIED MAIL HAD BEEN SENT.
1ST FRANKLIN VIOLATED THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT BY MAKING DAILY PHONE CALLS TO HARRASS US, OFTEN MUTIPLE TIMES, EVEN WITH A “DO NOT CALL ORDER” IN PLACE.
WE ASSERT 1ST FRANKLIN LOAN SERVICES PUSHED US INTO FORECLOUSRE BY REFUSING TO CALL OUR MORTGAGE ADVOCATE UNTIL AFTER THAY HAD FILED FOR FORECLOSURE PRETENDING THIS WAS THE FIRST THEY HAD HEARD ABOUT OUR NEED AND DESIRE FOR A MODIFICATION.
WE ASSERT 1st FRANKLIN LOAN SERVICES, IMPLIED THAT OUR FORECLOSURE WOULD BE SET ASIDE WHILE THEY WORKED ON A MODIFICAITON. YET THE SHERIFF SOLD OUR HOME, EVEN WHILE THEY WERE STILL ON THE PHONE WITH US REQUESTING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
WE ASSERT 1st FRANKLIN IS ATTEMPTING TO COVER UP THE FACT THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW THE ACTUAL OWNER OF THE NOTE HELD ON OUR HOME. YET, THEY LISTED LASALLE BANK AS THE ORGANIZATION THAT FORECLOSED ON OUR PROPERTY, WHICH IS A BANK THAT NO LONGER EXISTS!
WE ASSERT 1ST FRANKLIN LOAN SERVICES HAD A COMMON LAW DUTY TO GRANT A MODIFICATION, SINCE AT THEIR INVITATION, WE SUBMITTED COMPLETE FINANCIAL INFORMATION 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE FORECLOSURE AND IN FACT WERE STILL BEING REQUESTED TO FAX THEM ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION THE DAY OF THE AUCTION, WHICH WE AND OUR BANK PROVIDED ON TO HAVE THE SALE CONTINUED AND THE FORECLOSURE COMPLETED AT THE VERY MOMENT WE WERE STILL ON THE PHONE WITH THEM. 1ST FRANKLINL ALSO REPRESENTED THROUGH MEDIA CORRESPONDENCE AND LOAN MODIFICATION APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING REQUEST FOR FINANCIAL DOCUMENTATION, THEY WILL ACCEPT AND ACT ON APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE FROM BORROWERS TO AVOID FORECLOSURE, WHICH CAN BE SEEN AS A REPRESENTAION OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE.
WE ASSERT 1st FRANKLIN IS ATTEMPTING TO DISPOSE OF A LOAN WHICH THEY KNEW WAS IN ITS ORIGINATION WAS PREDATORY, WHICH WAS AT AROUND 10% AND WAS AND INTEREST ONLY ARM.
We're looking for and interviewing attorneys. Unfortunately, most of those we have spoken with would rather represent the bank for monetary reasons. We're taking it to the media in the coming week and hoping to shine the light on the despicable practices of 1st Franklin. We also hope we can be a voice for everyone who was silently foreclosed upon. In our case, we're still in our home, although realtors have been coming by. I've told them all the same thing. We're going to fight this to the death in court. FYI, we plan to be the one standing at the end!!
KEEP FIGHTING EVERYONE!!! NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Hi Matt & Bev:

It is so sad that we keep getting more and more posters here that have the same sad story of this horrible lender. I am so sorry it didn't work out for you. What a tragic story.

A few if here on this forum are sending letters to the Whitehouse and we are trying to enclose as many personal FF horror stories as we can. Would you mind emailiing to me so yours will be included? I think this abusive heartbreak needs to be told.

Please send it to airforcemom@hotmail.com. We will be sending out letters out next week. Or if you prefer, you can also just post your permission for us to include your post. Whatever works easier for you.

Thanks. I wish you good luck.

BTW everyone, we had a court hearing yesterday about getting a time extension for the sale of our house that was scheduled for 4/15. The judge at the initial hearing in January told us that if we came close to the sale date and had not yet completed the modification process, to let him know so he could move the date. We had sent him a letter informing him a couple weeks ago that we needed more time, and he sent out hearing notices.

In the mean time, we had learned from FF that there would be no modification and we were prepared to tell the judge just that at yesterdays hearing. We worked out our time line of communication - letters, phone calls, etc. and were just going to tell him we were not successful in working it out.

When we checked in with the clerk, he placed a phone call and then told us someone would be down to speak to us. I wasn't sure who and about what.

Later an attorney walked in, picked up one of their blank court document templates and wrote out some things on it and gave it to the bailiff, who handed it to the judge. It was an order canceling the 4/15 sale date and resetting it to 6/16 instead.

I guess he was the local rep for FF attorneys. He shook our hands and wished us good luck.

Had we not shown up for the hearing, I'm sure the 4/15 sale date would have remained in effect. When homeowners make an appearance, they assume they are interested in saving their home and are more willing to give time extensions.

Well, we don't need the time for the modification since it is dead in the water, but we sure do need the extra time to find a rental. It is turning out to be a very daunting task. We either are told we will need a minimum of 4 months rent plus fees, or we are told the place is no longer for rent, that the owners have decided to sell instead. Then we see the property listed again as a rental, and sometimes with a lower rent amount. We are being discriminated against because of our completely ruined credit thanks to this foreclosure. But by telling us the owner no longer wants to rent but wants to sell it, it is not an open case of discrimination.

At least we have some additional time.

Take care all!

~ Evelyn

Evelyn
At least you received extra time to save up and hopefully find a rental. As you know we're on the clock here also. Still no court date regarding the Unlawful Detainer. Also what I didn't mention before that this go around has Deutsche Bank as the trustee for FF. We did not receive any notification of this prior. Looked D Bank up and found that at least once before a judge dismissed 23 foreclosures due to sloppy paperwork by Deutsche, this was in one day. So Miguel, I'm thinking that your issue is one of many.
Evelyn, I had forgotten till now that you have our permission to use all of our comments to help in the fight against FF. If you can find a way to use the recordings I taped legally, just let me know.
I able to paste the article here for all to read. Comes from Loanworkout.org

Aaron Krowne & Moe Bedard

In a decision piggy-backing on Judge Boyko’s recent Deutsche Bank ruling (announced on this site Tuesday), Judge Rose has thrown out another batch of foreclosures, making the following summary remarks:

“This court is well aware that entities who hold valid notes are entitled to receive timely payments in accordance with the notes. And, if they do not receive timely payments, the entities have the right to seek foreclosure on the accompanying mortgages.
However, with regard the enforcement of standing and other jurisdictional requirements pertaining to foreclosure actions, this court is in full agreement with Judge Christopher A Boyko for the Northern District of Ohio who recently stressed, ‘That the judicial integrity of the United States District Court is ‘Priceless.’”


The ruling is another HUGE victory for consumer advocate attorneys and homeowners in general.
A pdf file of the full ruling is available here.

Jacksonville Legal Aid attorney April Charney remarked to us regarding the two Ohio decisions:

” As to the real ramification of the Ohio decision, aside from slowing the foreclosure trains, is that the fact that there were no “original” assignments rendering the sales of the mortgages to the trusts, in violation of the true sale obligations imposed by securities law. ”

For more comments by April and by us on the fundamental bases of these rulings, see our next post. There we also address some criticisms and critiques we’ve received since our original coverage.

Thank you Granny G.

Miguel

We got the mother of all loan-modification turn down letters from HLS dba FF. Our fight is officially over. We have an extra 60 days from the court before the sale, so we press on for a rental. At least we now know that is the direction we should proceed in. No more second guessing and confusion about should we stay or should we go.

It really was a huge slap in the face, but perhaps snapped us into reality. The reality is, they COULD work with us and everyone else, but CHOOSE not to.

If it takes my last breath, I will get my voice heard and the voices of everyone else these people have abused and harmed. As a prospective landlord said yesterday as I groveled for a chance to rent her home, it's like a being raped. It is a violation. So true, so true.

We will one day see to it that these people are held accountable.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

Evelyn,
I understand your heartache after losing this battle you fought with all resources. I'm sorry. This is an injustice and the responsible parties will be held accountable; if not today, another day is approaching. The best you and your husband can do is to look forward. Bitterness is easily sensed by those around you.

My family is moving to the perfect rental home next week. I've been climbing 16 ft ladders painting. We are making it our own. Lots of people in the same boat here in AZ as in FL. Our landlord understood and this is the direction in which we need to move.

I hope you can sit down with your husband and make a list of what you both like in a home and approach the search that way. Negativity kills this process, and this is where you need to go.

Home is where you REALLY feel at home:)

Hope you and spouse are healthy through this process... you've been warriors thusfar:)

Best wishes, Colleen

I notice we all seem to have a major problem with FF. I notice many say that LaSalle Bank does not exist (LaSalle Bank does). I am working with two attorney's who are working with me in providing legal doc (cookie cutter) which have worked. I too have drafted letters to congress. For those who want what I have, shoot me an email, I will even share the website about LaSalle who is alive and well. For questions about what is an Original Promissory. This is easy, The holder of the original must bring it into court, the original will have your blue ink signatures. One thing you have on your side is BK13. Fed Courts and Fed BK courts are on our side. Its just the steps we have to take to get to them if the state courts refuse to hear us. Remember that state and fed constitutions are not the same and fed trump state in majority of these cases. Fed Judges are calling for the Original Promissory note. Without the note then the loan must be reset at todays market value and todays interest rates. The courts need to know you are not trying to get a free house. NOW! with that said, you can still request damages for stress, embarrassment, etc... BK13 should be your last option and for some of us, BK13 is NOW!. Many of you all need to contact Acorn, for they are playing a major role in keeping you in your home. They have a home defender program, they have legal help and no I do not work for Acorn but I am no fool either and I have enlisted their services. I am here to help anyone for if we do not band together then we will die in the night. My location is California.

Class Action HLS dba FF dba NationPoint. If anyone is interested let me know. I am working on a Class Action in this matter. From what it looks like money will not be our major target but a correct fair loan off todays rate and values. For those who have been foreclosed like me, you can still fight. I am still in my home. Judges and mainly fed judges have set aside (reverse) foreclosure.

Hi Colleen:

Your kind words brought tears to my eyes. We are trying to look forward and prepare to move on. It's not easy, but we have been stuck in one place for so long not getting anywhere with FF, that forward motion feels good.

We have a rental in mind, a potential landlord that we met with on Saturday who understands our situation - she is quite well off, and has friends in similar situations, so she is willing to move the process forward. We just need to decide if it really is the right place for us. Mostly, if the rent is something we can manage. We'll figure it all out this week. If not, then we will keep looking. One thing for sure, is there is no shortage of rentals. Many people who want to sell but can't are renting out their homes. I think we FF victims can in some cases be a bridge for these people. It's kind of a selling point when talking to a potential landlord. Live in their homes for a few years until it's time to get on with our own lives and help keep their mortgages in tact. I told this potential landlord we could help her get the place ready to sell when the time comes. She liked that idea.

This is not intended to be a permanent place for us. Our sons will be moving out one day probably witin the next few years, and once they do that, we will search for something smaller just for us.

An attorney we consulted with last year told us that the credit rebuilding process after a foreclosure is not nearly as long as it used to be. She said instead of taking 7-10 years to start rebuildng your credit, it now about 3 years.

We move on and hopefully leave the stress and anguish behind us.

Thanks for the kind words, Colleen.

Michael:

A few of us from this site are putting together a package of letters and emails to send to the Whitehouse. If you would like us to include your FF story, email it to me at airforcemom@hotmail.com and I will print it and include it in the package. Anyone who wants to share their FF story, please send it to my email address. Please be concise and refrain from using profanity and just tell your story.

The more stories we share, the better our chances are of getting all of our voices heard. I don't know what may come of it, but at least it will finally get out there and maybe ultimately someone can at least hold these people accountable for what they have done to all of us. We make no promises of anything, just want to get our stories heard.

Thanks. Take care.

~ Evelyn

Michael,
I saw your comment this morning in my email. It actually gave us more hope than we've had for a while. Prior to foreclosure, we tried to deal with FF after my daughter became ill with type 1 diabetes this past summer. We had spent most of 07 catching up, as a result of things we had experienced in our business that put us behind. in fact, as high as the interest only payments were, we finally did catch up. But our daughter's health issues left us with far more monthly expense than previously. We tried and tried to get a response from FF from August through October of 08. We attempted to go around them and contacting LaSalle bank, but could not find any contact info. FF finally responded to us with a foreclosure notice even though we had asked repeatedly for a modification. As of April 15th, we have 3 months left of our redemption period. Several days before our sale, with the help of an advocate, we submitted again, all the financial proof we could handle a reduced payment. Our contact seemed sympathetic and indicated she would try to set aside the sale. They even gave our bank and myself an (expediency fax number). The mitigation department worked with us until about 5 minutes after the sale. They suddenly the request for additional information stopped. We called them and their attorneys numerous times. Although I did catch someone at FF off gaurd and they spoke with us, they never provided any reasons as to why they did not set aside they sheriff sale when it was obvious we could afford a modified payment. Thereafter, FF did not return one call. After telling Trott and Trott (their attorneys) what had happened, we didn't hear from them either, although I have a recorded conversation with T&T that states they will "do what they can" to help us. T&T did return my call once and told me to contact the REO department, but left no contact numbers. My advocate and I called T&T several times thereafter, but did not get a return call.
Anyway, I have sent our story recently to numerous news agencies, citing that we are one of many to whom this has happened.
I did not know how to email you, so if you read this, I would be very interested in finding out how to contact LaSalle Bank as well as where to find a good attorney. So far, although I've spoken with m congressman's office, no one has given me any leads to find a "qualified" attorney. And all the calls Until now, most of the attorneys I've spoken with seem very ignorant as to how to proceed with a suit against FF/Lasalle/Trott and Trott. The others aren't interested in going up against these guys in court. All I know is we're determined to do so. We're also determined to stay in our home. I believe you're right. In many incidences we have to get this to the federal court level to be heard. In our case, there were numerous RESPA violations which must be attached on the ferderal level. We aren't asking for a hand out, simply a fair deal. We feel for everyone who has suffered at the hands of FF and their cohorts. I encourage you all, whether your in the process or have already been foreclosed upon, FIGHT BACK! If we don't, who know how long these companies will be allowed to use their deceptive practices to steal our homes.
God bless you all!
Matt and Bev

Information for everyone,

Incidentally, here are a couple of links that might help you all. I have not contacted the house subcommittee, but plan to do so. I think if they get inundated with stories, it may help. From what I can understand (disclaimer: I have not researched it completely yet ), I believe they review abuses like what we have all described in our blogs.

http://domesticpolicy.oversight.house.gov/

The second link is a case that used "common law duty" to support their claim. I'll let you read it for yourself.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28645505/

Not certain how the judge ruled, but if they prevailed it would provide case law as a defense for our claims. Story is eerily similar to ours and all those I've read about on this blog.
Matt and Bev

Michael:
We are located in California also and as you can see by my many previous posts looks like we're in the same boat. As of this morning, we still do not have a court date for the Unlawful Detainer. As in your case, we are still in our home. I will try Acorn, but from past experiences as in contacting NACA, Dept of Real Estate etc. along with other government agencies, all we ever got was passed off to another. We do have an attorney who is reviewing the court docs to ensure that the Sale and Unlawful Detainer was done on the law. If you can give any additional info regarding legal help, I'm here to listen. We are located between Fresno & Bakersfield.

Not to mention that from what others have posted here and on other sites, FF does not work with third parties.

We just cut a potental rental loose. Made us seem like we are convicted felons or something. Making demands on us for documentation and letters of reference. Maybe we have to jump through a few extra hoops because of our trashed credit thanks to FF, but this was over the top. Back to square one, I guess. I really hate this.

~ Evelyn

Evelyn:
Some days can be like that. You feel like YOU did something wrong and you want to crawl in a hole somewhere other than here. Will it ever be ok again? I don't know.
I try to keep up with anything in the news that pertains to our situations and I keep hearing that due to the fact that no one wants to get the investors pissed off, the powers to be are dragging their feet in giving the troubled homeowners any help. I have one question for them, what were/are we, if not investors in our homes?
It's hard, but try to keep your spirits up, we're with you on this horrible journey.

It is getting increasingly difficult wiht each day that passes. We wanted to know for sure what our fate is with FF and that we know.

But this b.s. (excuse me, but that is what it is) that these realtors are putting us through, my God. Why don't they just go ahead and call us deadbeats out loud. It couldn't hurt much more.

They want copies of our electric bill to prove we live at that address. Come on. Our drivers licenses all match our home address, as does our insurance card in the car, as does everything else we have given them so far. This is clearly a case where the realtor does not approve of the landlord approving us, and she has made it quite obvious. Now all of a sudden there are other offers. Good! Accept them. Make it final for us.

I'm just sick of this. And each realtor wants $105 for credit check and background check. I'm going broke just on paying for the darn fees. And of course, they don't give you a copy, even though WE pay for it. Well at least we didn't pay this fee yet. Thank God.

Thanks, GrammyG. I know we are all here for each other and it means a lot to me. Have a good day.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

I'm about as frustrated with your dilemma as I am with ours. it seems like Florida has the decked stacked against the consumer and entirely in favor of the lender, as unscrupulous as they may be.
Fortunately Michigan allows us to file suits through the redemption period. Don't let what others say or think about you carry weight. They're just opinions which are worth very little.
Is there nothing an attorney can do to prove that illegalities by FF were committed prior to the 20 days. It seems like the statute of limitations for deliberate deception on the the part of FF would override the 20 day requirement. Don't know. I'm not an attorney. But I do know attorneys can make appeals to judges for extenuating circumstances.
Our hearts go out to you and our prayers go up for you. They truly do!
Matt and Bev

No, we Floridians have 20 days to respond to the papers we are served and offer our defenses. Attorneys here in Florida only want to collect big fees for "loan modifications". If I could afford their big fees, I could have paid my mortgage payments. Florida, the land of the opportunist.

We have really done all we can. No one really seems to care what FF has done to people. Treating it as if we are the ones who committed the wrong doing. It's not fair. It's just not fair.

Thanks.

~ Evelyn

There has got to be a way that with all these posts regarding FF we can come up with 10 families to start a class action. How can we all meet in the middle and find someone to represent all of us?
Any ideas?

This is Bad Bad Bad! I thought that there was help for us all but I'm finidning out that no one really cares about what we are going through. My EV court day is 4/09 and have not been able to talk to an attorny that has reasonable rates. My last option (cousin was a Texas Supreme Court Judge) is out of the country and want be back until after Easter. So I say to everyone, I know that it's hard for everyone, including myself but, continue to pray and have faith that God will get you through for I know if I didn't trust in him, I would be a ball of wax right now. I have held it together but the other day while packing my belongings, I broke down because it just don't seem to be fair. I have been served and tonight is my last night in my house, it has to be empty tomorrow. Although I have to move out, I have not given up the fight, I will continue my efforts to prove FF are crooks and I will continue to keep eveyone updated with what goes on. My prayers are with each and everyone of you that are going thru, may God Bless You All!

James:

I am so sorry to hear how quickly things are moving for you. The problem with being on this forum as long as I have, is I see so many come and go. It just is not fair.

My own ordeal will be over in a couple months, if I ever find a landlord who will take a chance on us. Problem is, that is only part of the problem. The damage that has been done to myself and my family is going to take a long time to heal. We need to get away from this. It has taken over our lives like a cancer. I hope we can overcome much of the damage that has already been done to us emotionally. Were it not for my faith in God, I don't know how I would survive it.

I'm tired, very tired. This entire process has been just exhausting. We've spent over a year trying to save this place, trying to make it work, fighting with FF, without success. Now all we do is look for rentals.

I guess it will be over eventually.

Take care all. Time to try to get some sleep for me. It's been a long day.

~ Evelyn

Hi everyone, What a day. I have been in meetings with Acorn, BK attorney's, Foreclosure attorney's. Here is my email address I created for helping people fight4home@gmail.com Here you can ask me questions and etc. This way I can keep up with everyone and be able to answer their questions. I will also be checking this site as well.

In my meeting with my local Acorn chapter, I have agreed to be one of the spokes person for the members of Acorn for local TV and Radio.

I know I told you all that I will provide the true website for LaSalle Bank. I got this from the SEC web site. So here is LaSalle address http://www.etrustee.net

The question is this, you have to ask yourself do you want to keep this house? If yes, then how bad? How bad are you wanting to do this smartly? When you go into court in Pro Per/Pro Se (you representing yourself) you have to ready to lose with grace. You have 3-5 steps to do to get where you need to go in making your stay in the home possible. And for those who do qualify for BK13 then do it. Swallow your pride and do this for your home. For those who do not qualify for BK13, you have steps to take to get results. And for those who refuse to do what is needed, then don't bother me.

I want to thank those who are putting together letters and etc, job well done.

Like I said, I have cookie cut legal forms for you to present your case. The judge does not care about your story, they care in how the case is argued. The cards are stacked because attorney's that can argue this case are booked. So yes, you are on your own only in court. But as I said, how important is it for you to remain in your home?

For those who think you deserve to have a free home for what you been put through, then I can promise that you will loose. Only in a few cases have someone obtain title. What your goal should be is steps to how the law was violated. Then the steps in getting a rate you ca afford. Yes you can try to obtain some money for damages but good luck on that part.

One of the first things you should do is get your loan docs together and get them looked at. A forensic attorney for loan docs do not cost much. The fees are around 150-200. Here is where all the errors omissions and missing docs are presented. Without this, you have no leg to stand on. What if you don't have it, write for it via certified mail, I have sample docs for that. For those who did not have trustee sale then you have some time, those who did, you will need to go to court under the discovery mode and seek a stay of eviction to get your paper work in order. If they fail to provide, then you get a court order. If this all sound like a lot of money, it isn't. It does take time to draft your papers for the courts and I am willing to help you as much as I can but you will do most of the leg work. If you feel that spending a few hundred dollars is to much per month, then you cannot afford a new reasonable mortgage.

For those who are angry, join the club but you need to channel your anger into being COOL, CALM, COLLECTIVE, and proceed. For those who refuse then no one can help you. For those who say I do not know your case, your right, I do not know your case, but I know acting out in a negative way will get you nothing.

I am working on putting together a class action law suit for those who want to be part of it. I am working on getting to where a stay of Eviction or Sale is ordered based on what is presented.

Until the sheriff kicked you out then you did not loose this situation. If you do leave then you have given up and no court will hear you. This is where Acorn home defender program can help, but contact your local Acorn chapter for more info.

The other project I am working on is making a documentary on what is going on. This was asked of me today and I said yes. How this documentary will be presented or even created is still on the drawing board.

This crises will pass, the question is where do you plan to be when it is over? Some of us are tired but I cannot tell you to rest or continue to push. That is your choice.

As I said, I am here to help you the best that I can.

Ok everyone I got an update on parts of the new BK13 law. We are waiting for the senate to pass it. I was informed that it needs 60 votes to pass. I sure they will get it so let us just be relaxed and take this step when it is ready. Once it gets passed here what it can do for you...Helping Families Save their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009 - Amends federal bankruptcy law governing a Chapter 13 debtor (adjustment of debts of an individual with regular income). Excludes from computation of debts the secured or unsecured portions of: (1) debts secured by the debtor’s principal residence if the current value of that residence is less than the secured debt limit; or (2) debts secured or formerly secured by debtor’s principal residence that was either sold in foreclosure or surrendered to the creditor if the current value of such real property is less than the secured debt limit.
Declares the credit counseling requirement inapplicable to a Chapter 13 debtor who certifies that he or she has received notice that the holder of a claim secured by the debtor’s principal residence may commence a foreclosure on the debtor’s principal residence.
Requires the court to disallow a claim that is subject to any remedy for damages or rescission due to violations of state or federal consumer protection law, including the Truth in Lending Act, notwithstanding the prior entry of a foreclosure judgment.
Allows modification of the rights of claim holders, in the event of a foreclosure notice for a chapter 13 debtor, among other means by: (1) reducing a claim to equal the value of the debtor’s interest in the residence securing such claim, and any adjustments to a related adjustable rate of interest; (2) waiving early repayment or prepayment penalties; and (3) extending the repayment period.
Denies debtor liability for certain fees and charges incurred while the bankruptcy case is pending and arising from a debt secured by the debtor’s principal residence, unless the claim holder observes specified requirements.
Adds to conditions for court confirmation of a plan in bankruptcy that: (1) the holder of a claim secured by the debtor’s principal residence retain the lien securing the claim until the later of the payment of such claim as reduced and modified or the discharge of a debtor from all debts; and (2) the plan modifies the claim in good faith.
Excludes from final discharge of a debtor from all debts: (1) any payments to claim holders whose rights are modified under this Act; and (2) any unpaid portion of a claim as reduced....


For those who need help now, here is what an attorney shared with me.

Strategic Comment: There are two ways for you stop foreclosure, sale and eviction dead in its tracks. One is to file bankruptcy under Chapter 13 which is an opportunity for debtors to reorganize their payments to creditors.

* An automatic stay goes into effect immediately upon filing with the Bankruptcy Court. Creditors who say or do anything in furtherance of collecting a debt are committing a federal crime from the moment it is filed, whether they know about it or not.
* However, the payments include fees to the Court and Trustee which exceeds 10% of what you pay into the Court for the benefit of your creditors, so since you are strapped for cash it further impedes your ability to work out a realistic plan. Additionally you will have to commence making the former payment without any adjustment of the interest or any account that the house is worth about 25% less than what is owing.
* Also for secured debts like mortgages, the lender can come into Bankruptcy court and ask the court to lift the automatic stay which in the past has been routinely granted and for the most part still is, UNLESS YOU DO SOMETHING ELSE.
* WHEN YOU FILE YOUR PETITION STATE THE MORTGAGE AND NOTE TO BE CONTINGENT LIABILITIES BASED UPON TILA VIOLATIONS. You will need a TILA audit before or immediately after filing to support your position.
* YOU SHOULD ALSO NAME, AS THE CREDITOR, THE ORIGINAL LENDER, and state the amount of the loan as a contingent liability to them. The fact is, in most cases, you have not been presented with proof of transfer of anything, nor seen any assignment, or what rights or obligations were picked up in transactions after your closing by third parties who own the servicing rights, or the mortgage or the note. The Trustee or other party coming into court or posting notices of sale on your property probably is getting his/her marching orders from someone who either doesn’t have or can’t prove they know the amounts you paid, to whom or what is currently due. PLACE THE BURDEN WHERE IT BELONGS — ON THEM.
* Then you should state the present mortgage servicing entity to whom you are now sending your payments (this applies only where the loan has been sold which is true in 95% of the cases) as a contingent liability in an unknown or unliquidated amount.
* Then you should add a creditor “john Doe” as also an unknown unliquidated debt as the possible owner of a security under which he has ownership of the mortgage and note.
* Then you should file an adversary proceeding or action under TILA, RESPA, fraud etc. making all appropriate claims for rescission, refund of interest, points, loss of value in the property etc.

If your case is handled in this way there is a higher probability that you will survive the motion for lifting of the stay as the movant will have to prove the chain of title and authority on the mortgage and note, thus giving rise the the issue of legal standing for them to standing in the courtroom at all.
The second option, if you are faced with foreclosure, sale or eviction is just file the TILA action in Federal court and then go the State Court and ask the State Court to issue a stay because there is pending litigation in Federal Court. Usually State Court judges are more than happy to get the matter off their desks and thus grant your motion for stay, but they might not be under no obligation to do so.
Remember that whether you go straight into Federal Civil Court or Federal bankruptcy Court, which is a different division, and you are NOT represented by counsel, the Judge must do the legal research himself to determine the merit of your claims. If you are represented by counsel you need to make damn sure he knows what he is doing. Most bankruptcy lawyers don’t know an adversary proceeding or TILA action from egg on the wall. They have no experience with it. Very few lawyers or judges know this area since it only became important in the last couple of years.

Michael,
Sincerely appreciate the info. We're very determined to fight for our house. We haven't the least intention of leaving. We are fighters the the inth degree when it a simple matter of right and wrong. We're willing to do what we need to do including a BK. Not certain we would qualify. However, we will take the steps you've recommended to push this to federal court system. From what I've been told by one attorney, we have until the redemption period expires to get this into court in the state of Michigan. I'd like to verify that. We want to move forward as soon as we can in order not to loose time. Until now, we have not know how to proceed. What 1st Franklin has done (foreclosing while our advocate and I were still faxing information to them), was beyond my wildest imagination. All this time I've been trying to go around ff and contact LaSalle only to find deadends. You saved a lot of egg on my face, their none existence or at least having been purchased and incorrectly being listed on our notice was one of my primary bone of contentions. We will be following your advise and I appreciate your willingness to help. I will be in touch via the email you've listed. Thx, Matt and Bev

Evelyn:
I was doing some research this morning and came across this website. Thought you might want to look. floridadefenseteam.comcast.net they also have a number to call in case you might want to investigate them further. 772-403-3897 Hope they have something you can use.

Thanks GrammyG, I'll check it out...

~ Evelyn

Even though I am in California, I have good news for my Michigan friends who have not been foreclosed on. http://www.detnews.com/article/20090311/METRO/903110467/1409

For Matt and Bev, contact me with email I gave you and let me know where you stand in your situation and if anyone is working? What part of Michigan are you located?

GrammyG:

I emailed them the short version of our story (not like it can be told in a short form). We will see what they have to say.

Thanks again!!

~ Evelyn

Evelyn,
We certainly hope for the best for you.
Matt and Bev

Evelyn,
Well, you put a smile on my face today. I will say a extra prayer tonite for you.

Everyone, read this link

http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-You-May-Need-a-Forensic-Mortgage-Loan-Audit&id=1394630

I m not paying my mortgage for 4 months now, because I don't know where my payments go. I also don't trust anybody that calls me from that company. I think that they are scaming us ALL. Has anybody been evicted from there home that were not making there mortgage payments. Did they send papers to tell you that you need to move out? We did call FF and reached for help but they did not have any intrest in helping us. And all they ask is for any kind of money, even if its not your whole payment. Please Post with any kind of comment that will help.

Several people on this site have lost their homes to FF. Mine will most likely be the next, as they chose to not work with us.
Others have been served eviction notices, but remain in their homes and have been served as unlawful detainers.

So, in answer to your questions, yes FF does foreclose, does evict.

~ Evelyn

Evelyn:
Yesterday when I forewarded that website to you, I had also found another one called livinglies's.wordpress.com. This one also offered a boatload of info plus I emailed two attorneys'and received responses within two hours. Thought I would pass this on.

Hey everyone

For those are in fear of FF need to calm down. I notice the Evelyn posted the livinglies web site. Well done. They are good but their blog is somewhat confusing. They are having a work shop coming up. I say just by the book for 50 bucks from them. Those interested in getting the info for the book email at fight4home@gmail.com and I will send you the direct link to that book.

People it is time to get up, pick up your broom and sweep your steps. Get an attorney to look at your loan docs to find error and omissions. You have to have a reason and proof to have the loan reset to todays rate and values or something even better if forgery even was part of the findings.

FF cannot modify the loan period. They cannot modify what they do not own. They cannot foreclose unless the owner of the note tells them to do so but then they must provide the note for the judge. I hear and read all day long how cases were won in state and others in federal. Get those loan doc examined because once that is done you got more then proof, you got hard facts. That is all from me this evening. Email me if you like.

That was GrammG that posted the livinglies web site info. Thanks GrammyG.

I contacted the Florida Defense Team, GrammyG, as you suggested. They may be able to draft us up an emergency motion to vacate the judgment and get the case back into court, but need to come up with a good reason other than accusing FF of fraud or other wrong doing, something that would be reason enough for judge to grant it. That is the key. If it is too out there or unreasonable, he won't grant it, and we could end up losing our 60 day sale date extension and end up having to get out sooner.

I have written emails to them at 4:30 AM and had responses before 6:00 AM, so they do reply.

These people will draft up the motion for a fee of $300, which really is a reasonable fee and then send it to us and we file it in Broward County court. They do the document work, we do the leg work basically, and we would have to speak for ourselves at any hearings, under their direction of course. They have a pay as you go plan, or will work for a flat fee as well.

The attorney who I have been corresponding with will be out of town until Monday, but I did hear from him early this morning and he said we will address it then. I just will need to fax him the original complaint from FF's attorneys.

It's a long shot, but this may be our last chance to get ourselves actually heard in court.

I can't thank you enough GrammyG for looking out for my family and doing the research for me. If it works GREAT, if not, then we are really no worse off and will know we went out with some fight.

That livinglies site, for those who are interested and have some money to spend on loan doc evaluation, does offer a forensic evaluation for $149. There is a fax cover sheet that you can print and I guess you would pay by credit or debit card and you can fax your docs to them for evaluation. I ran across their site while on floridadefenseteam.org also. It is a confusing blog, but there is a lot of info there. I just wish I had found both of these sites sooner.

FF is our lender of record. So as far as modifying, I don't really know what their capability is or is not. Home Loan Services is their in house collection agency, and collection agencies normally have a limit of what they can do.

The modification turn down letter we received was from First Franklin Loan Services doing business as Home Loan Services, and if that is true, if they are working accounts that are not in default (current accounts) AND delinquent account (accounts in default / foreclosure), that is really against the law. That is considered "double dipping". This I know, because I work for a medical billing company and we also have our own in house collection agency, that has to be a separate entity by law. You can lose your collection licensing for "double dipping" and many attorneys who represent patients with delinquent medical bills will try to use that tactic to stop the collection process. So, this could be an ace in the hole for FF customers. I would need to look into it further to be sure, but it may be something, especially if they have ever violated the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) in an attempt to collect past due monies.

It is just one more thing on the laundry list of wrong doings that FF commits on a daily basis.

I will keep you all posted on what transpires with this attorney when he gets back on Monday. I just hope they are the real thing. I have been trying so hard to avoid the scammers that are all over South Florida who are targeting foreclosure victims.

ACORN may be an option, but I have heard that FF is refusing to work with these third party advocates.

I did finally find a recent post on a real estate blog about a "successful" FF loan modification. This person I guess was working with NACA, who proposed a specific modification for their client. FF did not follow their guidelines, but did "modify" her loan, albeit slightly modified. The FF customer says they reduced her interest rate by less than 2%, which very slightly reduced her mortgage payment, but it is only for 2 years and the adjustable rate remains in place. Once she reaches that 2 year point, the adjustable rate kicks back it and it kicks in at where it would at that time if the loan remained current. She is not happy with it, but at least it is something. So just because a third party advocate makes recommendations, doesn't mean FF will follow them.

These people are despicable. There has got to be a higher level in this company that can do something. Do we need to start bombarding BOA with complaints about FF and Merrill Lynch, to the point where someone finally does something?

I saw a clip of an interview with the CEO of BOA on Fox News this morning and he was quite pleased with their acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Maybe we need to let him know what he bought when he took them on. BOA is really basically leaving to themselves and only working in an overseeing capacity. In my opinion, they are not watching them close enough since their SOP has not changed.

For any Florida FF customers facing foreclosure, please check out wwww.floridadefenseteam.org. They may be able to help you. You can fax or email them anything you would like reviewed. If nothing else, maybe they can buy you some more time.

You can email them at: floridadefenseteam@comcast.net. They do reply.

Thank you again, GrammyG, and thank you Michael for your help.

Take care. Miguel, you should contact the Florida Defense Team...

~ Evelyn

Evelyn,
Good info. I followed Michaels advice and called acorn.
The attorneys r recommended by acorn but not part of
them. So this may avoid the 3rd party thing
FF is balking at since u r entitled to legal
representation under the law.

Thanks, Matt & Bev. This is good stuff. I hope it really is a workable solution.

~ Evelyn

Hello and God bless:

A prior post got me thinking.

I believe taht the real question we all need to be asking our selves is whether or not FF has violated any laws at all in their dealing with us. Really, courts don't care about our stories, etc. All they care is whether or not there was a violation of any law or statue under their jurisdiction.

With this in mind, has any one research the laws that govern mortgages and how an entity is supposed to dela with people in our situation? If so, has there been any violation on FF's part and what exactly they violated?

Please remember that tomorrow we will be sending our letter to the President and CNN. If you wnat your story to be part of it, please let us know.

Miguel

Evelyn:
So glad to hear that you may have a way to fight this mess. For us, we are going with one of the attorney's from livinglies. Prompt response and gets to the point and costs are reasonable.
Something else keeps us going is the picture that we have of driving by a home and seeing piles of boxes lining the driveway. Talk about getting hit in the face with a reality check.
We are not giving up till we have exhausted every avenue that we can find.
What helps is the fact that it's official, the Unlawful Detainer that was filed against us by FF has a missing step and that's all we needed to help us with time. We're not done by a long shot, but we will not be put out of our home.
Anyway, Evelyn I hope that you and yours have a nice weekend.

Thanks GrammyG. I hope we finally have a peaceful weekend, and of course you and yours, too. Our case may be a long shot as well, but it’s worth giving it a try.

I know what you mean about reality hitting you in the face. Our local news did a report a few months ago where they went on a ride along with the Broward County Sheriff's Office and Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office to demonstrate what an eviction really entails. It scared me to death.

When homeowners were not home, depending on the circumstances they may post a 24-72 hour vacate notice. The come back to enforce the notice and of the homeowners have not left the home but are not home at the time they come back, they use drills to drill out the locks, then someone changes all of the locks on all of the doors, while others empty the contents of the home into the yard. Of course, after they leave the neighbors descend on the unattended belongings like vultures and take what they want. The poor homeowner comes home from work or the kids come home from school to find they have been dispossessed. It is very sad. If the homeowners are home, they may allow them 24 hours to vacate, and then of course if they do not, then they are put out.

I have proof of how your neighbors will turn on you and take your stuff. When we moved several years ago from Sunrise FL to Boca, we didn't have room on the rental truck for our outdoor patio furniture, our gas grill or my patio plants, so we left them for a second trip. When we came back a few hours later everything was gone. Of course there was not a soul in sight anywhere.

People who have never struggled in life have no idea what it is like to worry about things like this all the time when facing foreclosure. To wake up in the middle of the night after seeing a light through your window that shouldn't be there or you hear an unfamiliar noise outside or even inside. It is very scary. We have actually had people drive by the house and stop and take a photo of the house - probably because of the foreclosure putlic notice in the paper. The nightmares that wake you up multiple times through the night. Waking up at 2 or 3 AM worried and unable to go back to sleep because you are so worried and your mind won't stop. Not being able to concentrate at work. It is something that you just have to live with when your home is in foreclosure. It consumes your entire life.

We were actually ready to walk. We may still end up walking, but at least we will know that we are trying something. Florida is a weird state, and the way the laws are written (the actual wording of the legislation) regarding foreclosures, many courts do not allow legal representation for foreclosure victims. They worded it so vaguely and so stupidly that it really depends on the particular judge's interpretation of the law or the wording of the law. It is the fact that the Florida law makers DID NOT READ WHAT THE SIGNED INTO LAW. Sound familiar?? Pretty stupid, I know. Meanwhile many people lose their homes without a fight because Florida law makers don't read what they sign. Such a horrible shame.

I signed a petition on ACORN's web site today for a moratorium on foreclosures. Everyone here ought to sign it too. After you do, there will be a prompt to send emails to your friends. Let's all do it and do what we can for ourselves and for everyone else.

Thanks everyone. You are all very awesome. I really do appreciate everyone's kind words and the motivation.

As Miguel said, our letter goes out tomorrow to the Whitehouse, so if you want your story included, please send it to me at: airforcemom@hotmail.com so that I can print it and enclose it in the envelope with our letters.

GrammyG, as you had indicated in a previous post I am including your posts.

Everyone, have a good productive weekend. Take care and God Bless.

~ Evelyn

Hi everyone

I can not stress this enough, get your loan docs to an attorney to perform a forensic audit. Acorn is fighting for us, they have a home defender program, membership is 10 ducks per month. NO, I do not work for them but I use their services until I win.

Please do not think that if you lose in state court that it is all over. Federal courts are hearing these cases as well and many people are winning in Fed courts. Some of the people were awarded title others a were given an interest rate based off todays rates and current home values.

As for those who contacted me via a temp email I set up, thank you. I am glad to hear the info I shared is working for you.

As many people here are saying "write your congressman" I agree fully, but after your loan docs come back from forensic audit, please share the results with the following: Your state and fed senate rep., your congress rep, your state and fed attorney general, Your gover and mayor. If forgery has been detected please make a police report. This is how you can make a difference. For those who want to ask me questions please contact me at fight4home@gmail.com

OH, here is another thing you all can do. Write your Sheriff a letter and find out if they are evicting. If they are not, THANK THEM and tell them why the should continue the path of no eviction. IF they are evicting, ask them kindly to delay the evictions. Give then the reason why, such as an empty house is subject to vandalism, drives property values down even more which effects property taxes which effects their budget. It ties up patrol units responding to such calls of vandalism. Tell the Sheriff how kicking people out pushes crime up, which will use up more tax dollars for jailing. Let the Sheriff know you can afford the house if the correct interest rate was given. REMEMBER your Sheriff is an ELECTED OFFICIAL. Hold a town hall meeting with your Sheriff or Under Sheriff or Assist Sheriff. These three can make things happen and do not meet with anyone else from your Sheriff Dept.

In a few days Acorn will be attempting a nation wide request for all Sheriffs to stop evictions. I have been asked to write the request for two counties here in California. Call your Acorn if you want to be part of this drive. You do not have to be a member to support this drive.

For those who are going to be evicted in a few days, then you need to get an emergency stay order to buy you time. What defense can you use? Produce the note, the fed law says only the owner of the original blue ink signature note can issue a foreclosure on you. Use it if you have too. Then get those docs examined.

Ok, enough from me, I do not want to bore you all. Have a good day!!

I just arrived at this site today, after my umpteenth frustrating conversation with FF...what a breath of fresh air you all are!
I won't bore you with the story of how FF has lied and told me a different story every time I've called...every dept. a different threat or misleading timeline. I am not in foreclosure yet; the letter says legal fees will start being charged to me for the foreclosure process starting May 2, 2009. So...BK13 is my best bet, prior to that May date? I am in Colorado...any advice re. my particular state from any of you? A class action suit---count me in! Thank you, thank you!

...and I will get in touch with ACORN and also get an attorney to look at my docs...

You can always start BK before trustee sale. You can always back out of BK before the BK judge sees you. Call those people and get those loan docs looked at. If their is major issues, you got a case. Call Acorn and tell them your story. We have to look it FF this way. out of every 10 foreclose dealings. 1 out of 9 will fight like we are doing and the rest will fold. So, it is still profitable for them to continue to violate laws, the "catch me if you can" theory.

This is why I tell people not be angry, just do what needs to be done. When you win you also file that they remove all neg hits on your fico and contact any creditors and notify them of their mistake. If you obtain any money from the settlement then take some of it and go on a vacation at a US Tourist spot, this will put some money back into our economy, keep jobs etc...
I am off to meet with some attorney's I will let everyone know how it went today.

Linda Marie Luna:

If you want us to include your story on our letter to the PResident, please send it in to Evelyn by tomorrow.

Her email is airforcemom@hotmail.com

Glad you found us and pray everything work out for you and your family.

Miguel

Linda Marie Luna:

If you want us to include your story on our letter to the PResident, please send it in to Evelyn by tomorrow.

Her email is airforcemom@hotmail.com

Glad you found us and pray everything work out for you and your family.

Miguel

Thanks Miguel, Lindamarie sent me an email and will be sending me her story.

Please, anyone else that has a FF horror story to tell, please email it to me so that I can include it in or package we are sending to the Whitehouse tomorrow.

airforcemom@hotmail.com

Thank you all!

~ Evelyn

Hi Evelyn, You are an Angel !!!, God Bless You, and also we already loss our house, not OUR HOME, we will continue praying for You.
Thank You
Fernando
fernando@ikstudio.com

Fernando, we need your story. I sent you an email. Please send it to me so we can include it in our package. Your's is especially important because you have already lost your home.

Please send it to airforcemom@hotmail.com.

Thank you and God Bless.

~ Evelyn

Hi, Evelyn, and thank you for taking these letters. I'm trying not to be paranoid...but when I attempted to send you this letter by my email server, hotmail, I hit "send" and then it bounced me out of hotmail and won't let me back in! So...I have no idea whether you received my email or not. Therefore, I'm sending it on here as well. You'll have to reply here as I can't get into my email!

My First Franklin Mortgage Debacle

When I wanted to refinance my home loan, a friend suggested I work with her mortgage broker. At the time, I wasn't desperate; I'd had great credit my whole life, and thought it would be good to shop around to see what kind of deals I might get. She said he would shop around for me, saving the time and complexity.
The entire re-finance was done over the phone, with me FAXing the mortgage broker my documents as needed. Like I said, I had good credit and a perfect payment history on all bills, so the new loan went through in no time. When the title company rep was on her way to my house, the mortgage broker called and said "Oh, by the way, I got you the best rate because I set you up with an ARM---but don't worry, it will be totally easy to modify that when the time comes, due to your great credit rating." I had known a few other people who had gotten ARMs in the past, and had modified them, so I agreed...although I thought the timing of the delivery of that news was a bit suspect. But like I said, I wasn't a high-risk borrower, and thought my continued good reputation would speak for me when the time came to modify.
Being a pre-emptive person, I phoned First Franklin in September of 2008 to discuss getting a loan modification going, as my ARM was due to kick in on January 2009. The representative I spoke to said, "Oh, you're way too early on that. They won't even look at your paperwork until you're one month away from your ARM kicking in." I thought that was strange; if the whole point of a modification is to avoid an adjustable rate setting in, why would a company set it up so last minute?
Little did I know that I was descending into the depths of double-talk and horror of being on the edge of losing my home that the last 9 months have been! I replied, "Well, that seems like really close timing. How long does it take to get an answer on a modification?" The rep replied, "It will only take a few weeks to look over your paperwork. You'll be fine."
The suggested date the rep told me was December 15, 2008 to FAX in the paperwork for the loan modification. I sent in the paperwork on December 20, 2008, as the FAX numbers on the paperwork they sent me did not work, and I had to make 6 phone calls over 4 days to get a person at FF to give me a FAX number that would receive my documents.
I let it rest over the holidays, and called them on January 5, 2009 to see if they had received my documents in legible form. The rep I talked to said, "We haven't seen them yet. We are swamped with loan modification requests and it will be weeks before they get on the desk of the resolution team office."
Needless to say, I was starting to get the picture. Simultaneously, the economy sank even lower, further compromising my ability to pay the new, adjusted rate mortgage payment which was now due---which had gone up from a payable $1032/month to the new rate of over $1400/month. I am currently making through my self-employment, about $1500-$1800 per month. I live very simply, so even with the economic slump I could have figured out how to make the old mortgage payment. The new rate is not remotely payable for me!
After more January phone calls, I was told by one rep that I was "not a priority, as we have people who are facing foreclosure a few days from now. We're trying to help them!" in a raised voice. I explained that as a single mother, my excellent credit rating was very precious to me, and was about to be trashed by their misinformation. The rep reiterated that I was not a priority until I was close to foreclosure. Well, at least I got one honest remark out of someone, I thought. Disconcerting, but refreshing. I was told that they would decide by mid-February what kind of package they could offer me, as they had just received my paperwork on January 11, 2009.
I phoned again in mid-February, and was told that nothing would be resolved until after March 1.
Each time I called, I was alternately told to make my payments immediately and in the same conversation I was told I was not a priority because I wasn't that far behind. Talk about mixed messages!
I phoned in March, and got what I thought was a somewhat helpful person. (I've never gotten the same person twice, of course, even when I try to find someone familiar with my case.) She said that if I could make my January past-due payment, that would buy me some time to stop foreclosure until the resolution team had decided what they could offer me. I thought that was helpful, but now I see it as just another tactic to get money out of me while the company's goal is really to drive me to foreclosure eventually. I paid the January payment in March 2009. She told me that they received the paperwork on February 11, 2009, (even though a previous rep had said January 11) and that they must offer me something within 45 days as far as a loan modification, so the timing of paying the January payment sounded like good strategy at the time.
When I got no letter or phone call by April 9, 2009, I phoned the resolution department, and was told that the paperwork was received on February 11 and that they had 60 days to decide (the previous rep had said 45 days!) if they even want to give me a modification. She also that they are under no obligation to give me a modification and that it might take even longer for them to decide. I told them that I'd just received a letter saying that they will start foreclosure proceedings on May 2, 2009 and that they will start charging me legal fees on that date. I told her it seemed suspicious that they are now going to probably not notify me of any loan help until after foreclosure proceedings have started. I asked her what makes them think I can pay their legal fees, when I can't even pay the new, raised mortgage payment. Her rote reply was "you must pay the entire arrears immediately" and that was all the information I could get out of her.
So now it is obvious to me that they received bail-out money from the Federal Government, and none of it has trickled down to actually help the consumer. The present administration has presented what appear to be admirable programs for helping those of us caught in the predatory lending trap. But I personally have seen no benefits whatsoever from either new policies or the vast amounts of cash that have been thrown to the corporations and banks.
I already have a family living with me who have been displaced by sudden reduced employment and predatory lending. We take great care of this house, and I am grateful to have a nice but simple home to share with those in need. We would love to know if we can get a workable mortgage rate, so we could plant a garden and grow our own food here once again this year for canning and preserving. We are intelligent, hard-working, and love simple country living. We all formerly had great credit, and none of us have ever been late on a payment of any kind in our lives.
I certainly hope that someone in a position of power will look into where all that bail-out money really is going; because from what I've seen in person, the money is not helping low- and middle-income families to keep their homes.
We are putting an ad in our local paper asking for donations of old campers and travel trailers, to hopefully put on a charitable person's land somewhere for shelter in the Colorado winter should this foreclosure go through. We will also ask for wood stoves to put in them, as we most likely will not have electricity and will need to heat with wood. So we will survive, although that is not thriving, which would be preferable. Our credit will be trashed, and therefore we assume we won't be able to even rent a place once this First Franklin debacle has had it's way with us.
Sincerely,
Lindamarie Luna
Paonia, Colorado

I pasted some informatoin that was posted on a real estate blog that I visit from time to time with regards to who First Franklin Loan Services d.b.a. Home Loans Services really is. This may be valuable information so you may all want to copy it, paste it into a word document and save it for future reference. If we ever end up with a class action law suit, we may need this info.

Take care.

~ Evelyn (read below, please)


For service of process contact the Secretary of State's office. Corporation Name HOME LOAN SERVICES, INC.Fictitious Names ALTEGRA CREDIT COMPANY LOAN SERVICESFIRST FRANKLIN LOAN SERVICESNATIONAL CITY LOAN SERVICESNATIONAL CITY LOAN SERVICESNATIONPOINT LOAN SERVICESFiling # 100207487Filing Type Foreign For Profit CorporationFiled under Act For Bus Corp; 958 of 1987Status Good StandingPrincipal Address Reg. Agent THE CORPORATION COMPANYAgent Address 124 WEST CAPITOL AVENUESUITE 1900LITTLE ROCK, AR 72201Date Filed 04/12/2002Officers PHILLIP CUNNINGHAM , Incorporator/OrganizerN/A, ControllerNANETTE M STEVENS , PresidentBRENNAN HOLLAND , SecretaryTIMOTHY C LULICH , TreasurerN/A, Tax PreparerForeign Name N/AForeign Address 150 ALLEGHENY CENTER MALLPITTSBURGH, PA 15212State of Origin DE

Here's another little tid bit. This is from the Florida Defense Team and the Living Lies websites - their words, not mine. Won't hold up in court, I'm afraid but it is interesting just the same.

~ Evelyn


Why You Don't Owe the Money

OK it’s complicated. But I have distilled it down to a few sound bites that more or less captures the basic truth of why you don’t owe the money on that mortgage note, credit card, student loan, auto loan, furniture loan etc. There are exceptions and you should consult with counsel licensed in your state before acting or making any decision on this. And the facts of any particular case do vary, but for the most part I believe the following list applies to nearly all debt in the U.S., secured, unsecured, guaranteed, not guaranteed. Nearly all of this is based upon the presumption of one or both of two factors being present: predatory loan practices and/or securitization of the loan.

You don’t owe it — you only think you do and THEY want to keep you thinking that way so you’ll sign a new deal (”modification”) and release your defenses and claims. Your “lender” was paid in full by the mortgage wholesaler, who was paid by the investment banker and investors who were bailed out by insurers and the Federal Government with your own tax money. There is no debt left. Zero.
To enforce an obligation a creditor must prove the obligation. They can’t. But in non-judicial states, foreclosing parties get around it by NOT going to court — they try to put the burden on the homeowner to convert it to judicial. If you can get something filed in the property records, like a reconveyance through power of attorney (after presenting them with an extensive qualified written request), then you shift the burden back on them.
www.livinglies.wordpress.com have not seen a single case go to trial in thousands of cases we have tracked. The harder the homeowner fights the better the results. The “lenders” either disappear, dismiss their claims, or enter into settlement agreements satisfactory to the homeowner. - livinglies.wordpress.com December 8, 2008

1st of all, we are praying that the powers that be will take a serious look at our letters and do something about it. The more noise we make the better chance we have of being heard. Second of all per Michael's advise I did sent my sheriff a "respectful" letter sharing our situation, reminder him we were one of hundreds like him and and imploring him to follow suit with the Detroit sheriff's office who has place a moritorium on foreclosures and evictions.
As Michael advised get you docs looked at. As for us, when I began to review our docs, I realized we had never been given final closing docs from the title company with buyer and seller signatures, since we closed in two separate states. If you need copies of your docs, the title company is required to retain copies.
In response to Evelyn's statement from livinglies.wordpress.com, good information and we're looking into it as well. We indeed to sent qualified written request to FF twice, which was faxed to 4 fax numbers and sent certified mail to both HLS and FF addresses. We have confirmation of reciept from each. If you have not done so, I would check with counsel on time line as to when you can submit such a request. But for those of you who are just beginning to get threats, get a qualified written request sent out. Our prayers are will all of you. DON"T GIVE UP, DON"T GIVE IN AND KEEP MOVING FOREWARD!
Matt and Bev Murray

Hey everyone, we are starting to get some new responses gfrom people who want their story sent with our letters to the Whitehouse, so we going to wait until Monday to send it. That gives moer time to type out your stories and send them to me.

Please send your First Franklin horror stories to: airforcemom@hotmail.com.

The more we get, the bigger our voices are. Please send us your story!

Thanks so much and have a great holiday weekend! God Bless.

~ Evelyn

I also did my 14 months of calling, faxing, refaxing, calling with FF, Home Loan Services. They were absolutly terrible to work with. I swear, as soon as I have 20% equity, I will refinance with a new company. But for now, I feel as though am stuck meeting their terms because no one is doing the creative financing now.

Hello and God bless you all.

Just an update. Yesterday we mailed our letter to President Obama. It contained 17 stories. We will let you know once we get a responce.

Also, we will be mailing the same stories to the media next Thursday April 23. If you wnat your story to be included, please email it to hope4ourfamilies@yahoo.com

Miguel

Hi, wow, I'm overwhelmed with all I have to do now that I've decided to fight this. But having the information about the fact that the bail-out ALREADY paid the mortgage makes me want to fight the Goliath! I looked on livinglies for how I could pay them to do a forensic audit on my mortgage...couldn't find a way to request/order that. Anyone know where that is? Thanks!

Friends, here are a couple of other links that may help you if you have not come across them yet. In almost all cases with FF aka Home Loan Services aka whatever else, there have been predatory loan violation regarding our loans. There have been truth in lending violations and debt collection laws violated. If you have corresponded with them, most likely there were RESPA violations with regards to response and how much time they had to do so. Don' be afraid to assert your rights.

Fair Debt Collection Practices
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdfhttp://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf
Fair Debt
http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/6500-1300.html
RESPA OVERVIEW AND CASE
http://www.nelsonmullins.com/DocumentDepot/Overview_of_RESPA_and_Digest_of_RESPA_Cases_2006-07.pdf
Also you can search for truth in lending violations and RESPA laws.
REMEMBER KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Dig in and research. AND NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!!

Hi Lindamarie:

Here is the link to the fax form, just copy and past into your browser address search window:
whttp://livinglies.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/request-to-perform-preliminary-document-review.pdf

It is accessible from: http://livinglies.wordpress.com/in-trouble-right-now-press-here/

You just select at Start Here: Download Request for preliminary document review HERE.

It is a lot of work, but so worth it if you can beat them at their own game...

~ Evelyn

Sorry, for some reason there is a w in front of the link for the form that does not belong there. This is the link:

http://livinglies.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/request-to-perform-preliminary-document-review.pdf

~ Evelyn

Thank you very much, Evelyn!

The form says that I need to provide 2 years of tax forms prior to settlement date. Does "settlement" mean when I originally signed the loan doc? or what? not sure about this wording...sorry, I'm such a newbie! Trying to crash course on legalities while taking care of my family and jobs. Yikes, I know you all have been there!

I'm really not sure, haven't done that yet. I would contact someone at the lvinglies site. There must be a contact us link.

~ Evelyn

Lindmarie:

You can email the livinglies site at: fdg.clientservice@gmail.com. Hopefully they can give you all the info you need on filling out the form and all the documentation you would need.

~ Evelyn

Just wanted to post an update. My husband met with a local foreclosure attorney this morning. He says there is nothinng more we can do. He commended us for getting ourselves this far, but says we are beyond help. He pulled up the docket and was amazed at how much work we have done ourselves. He says the fact that we got two sale date extentions from our particular judge is really an accomplishment, but there is nothing to pursue.

This attorney also confirmed that FF is not doing loan modifications. He estimates that there will be class actions at some point against these people.

He said that at one point, FF was not even verifying income, employment, credit, etc. He says they are a huge fraud.

So based on this, we will continue with our search for a rental.

We were turned down for our latest rental application, due to my son's dog. So now I have to sacrifice the dog in addition to losing my home?

I will still have a forensic evaluation of our loan docs. Won't affect the foreclosure at all, but will be the first step and going after these people for fraud or TILA violations.

Not a very encouraging day, that is for sure.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

Evelyn,
Really disappointed to hear your news. I so hoped that your home could be saved.
Now I'm wondering about our situation. We are working with the folks from livinglies and will enter into a contract with them. Here's the deal that makes me queasy, $2500.00 deposit to start and could run as high as $10000.00. I'm told that they have people that are still waiting (1 year+) for the ax to fall regarding FF. We're talking about people that have gone to the point where they have been served with Unlawful Detainer and waiting for a court date. FF has foreclosed on so many of us and have become aware that we ( homeowners) are becoming knowledgeable and asking the right questions that they are reviewing their position on these foreclosures. For us, we have the original note in hand, so we hold the card, it's the stress that's killing us. With God's help, we will find the strength to continue on.
Evelyn from the bottom of my heart, if you lived in CA, we would invite your family to come live with us for however it takes to start again. I mean that.

Hi everyone! I have decided to post some info for all of you trying to fight the beast known as First Franklin/ Home Loan Services, Evelyn, it is in my opinion that if the judge has already gave you 2 extentions to me that indicates he may be potentially on the homeowners side I urge you to go to the www.naca.net site, then on the right click on mortgage/real estate and the subcategory fight foreclosure and predatory lending, then on the upper left click on your stae there you will find a whole list of attorney's who can assisit you. This is not the same naca site likeH4H it's consumer advocates attorneys and I haven't spoke to one yet that isn't familar with this company. I disagree with the one your husband spoke to, there are ways to get them to the negotiation table, it is the only thing this company understands.To the former HLS employee, there is a government site that I hope you will consider,it is the Government Accountability Office at www. gao.gov.We are looking for people willing to come forward and you may do so anonomously to report, waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement of any companies that have received government or TARP money. You may e-mail, fax or call with your info, by the way the agreement the Obama administration has with participating servicers listed is they were to agree to set aside foreclosure activity while allegedly working out a modification agreement with the homeowners. It is being suggested that homeowners trying to seek a modification to mail in their packets as opoose to faxing, but, please send it certified mail so you have proof it was sent and received and make sure you make a copy of all correspondense for your own records. Remember to document who you spoke to the date and time and name, you may need it. Good Luck To All!

Oh yeah, I forgot to give some info that may help get your message through to President Obama, send a return receipt copy to the WhiteHouse to F.Michael Kelleher , Special Assistant to the President and Director of Correspondence. It will be looked at and possibly referred to the President.

Thanks for the info, Kathleen. It's going out today!

~ Evelyn

Greetings all,
Like most of you, I have had several unexpected events thrown in the way by chances in life.
The first problem related to long term unemployment for my wife of close to a year. Running one income when you have two incomes previously does not work out well. In fact, we were falling back over $1500 a month and all bills were eventually fallen due to our insolvency. As with many people, we push to do our best and hope for a change in circumstance before we face the fact that we have less money to work with and cannot possibly pay all obligations. Eventually you lose cars, get judgments, go into foreclosure. Since we waited so long to face the fact that running that short of money available, there is no conceivable way to fix the problem. We waited until it was hard to get money to take action. We first thought we would go chapter 7 and give up all but one car. After talking with council, we decided to file chapter 13, both with the goal of saving the home and also the provision in repayment plans where you can start with very reasonable starting payments for circumstances like one income is not there to make you solvent. The provision for graduated payments let up be able to keep both the home and the car, pay back the missed payments over a five year period.
Some mistakes we made, first it would have been best to go CH 7 instead of 13. The reason is that most loans can be modified in CH 13. High interest rate loans on cars can be lowered, balances can be reduced to property value, except for loans less than 2.5 years through on automobiles.
When we filed BK out taxes were not yet escrowed for the house. In fact, I did not know that HLS was paying out county taxes for some time. This was eventually brought to our attention about the same time our home loan reset. Anyway, the house payment went up 3% or about $120 per percentage the interest raised. This reset I assumed would not occur in BK. It does on your primary residence.
With that being said, without changes to BK laws for title 11 which would allow judges to modify the mortgage rate, base it on current market conditions, I would choose surrender instead of trying to keep a home with a bad loan.
Dealing with HLS regarding where to place payments is pretty sad of an event. This is where my current problem lies at. Their accounting is horrible and is alarming that the company even is considered professional.
Also I can verify that when I first realized I would be having trouble ahead of time, I called FF/HLS and as with most of you, I was told that nothing could be done until I was late. Of course then they would tell you at National City that your credit was too low to qualify for a modification. Of course the pre-payment penalty rider was a hindrance also.
Good luck to all of you. I know by reading the thread from top to bottom that most postings were supportive and offered the best advice possible.
My battle is now to prevent objections in my case. I figured I would get this accomplished by directly dealing with this entity. I hate to complicate the dealings, but this company needs to be investigated. Either they are staffed with completely incompetent staff or are crooked a a snake slithering down the cesspool.
Either one or both are possibilities.

Hi Jim:

You are about the 3rd or 4th to visit her from the Mortgage Insider blog.

With BK of any type, is it really possible to restructure a FF/HLS loan? On their repayment plan and loan modification applications it clearly states that BK will disqualify you from ever being able to do a loan modification with them (not like they are really doing any to begin with).

We considered it as a last resort, but opted not to. An attorney we consulted earlier in the foreclosure process told us that the credit recovery time after a foreclosure has dramatically reduced from 7 to 10 years as with BK, saying that within 3 years of a foreclosure, your credit begins to come.

My husband was going to file BK nearly 10 years ago, but after a prolonged hospital stay (3 months then 2 months in rehab), his BK attorney advised him to not attend the BK hearing, thinking that if we had a potential malpractice law suit, any proceeds could be grabbed up for the BK repayments, so he followed his advise. Here we were thinking the attorney would attend on his behalf and inform the court that my husband was not filing, which he didn't do, so my husband has had on his credit report all this time a BK that was never fully processed, and we could do nothing to remove it. Even just the initial filing shows as a full BK, whether you actually followed it through or not. It shows as a full blown BK. The 10th year comes up in September this year, so I will be anxious to see if it finally disappears.

At any rate, we didn't see BK as an option here for us. Our credit is already wrecked thanks to the foreclosure. I don't just want to buy more time in the house, I really wanted a solution to the problem with the really bad loan. Without that, it is pointless for us to go on in the property. I don't want a free house, I just want my house to be reasonably affordable.

We did find a rental, finally, so we have the option to move on. It is just a really hard decision to make and neither of us are comfortable with it just yet.

Trying to work with these morons they have working at HLS is really extremely frustrating to say the least. They were not intended for loan servicing, just collections. They fired all of the real loan servicing customer service reps when they closed down FF, so we are all stuck with incompetence and really bad loans. Really very sad.

~ Evelyn

Chapter 13 is limited for the place people live in because of a flaw in title 11 at section 1322(b)(2)
"modify the rights of holders of secured claims, other than a claim secured only by a security interest in real property that is the debtor’s principal residence, "

So any exception that the servicer makes regarding filing BK is no different than loans on peoples place to live. You do get the length of your plan to pay off the missed month payments, but from the date you file, you are paying the home loan according to its terms.

There is legislation out there to correct the error in the laws but they just sit there in committee with no addressing of the problem. S.61, HR 1106, HR 200, HR 225 are the bills from the present Congress. HR 3609 and S.2136 were from the previous congress.
Now for car loans you can at least get your interest rate set lower than maybe a high interest loan would be.
It is a good news for your rental.
Regarding HLS, calling in to the place is a real challenge to get anything accomplished. Either they are complete financial incompetents or do a good job portraying it when you communicate with them.

DBK doesn't sound like much of an option, sadly.

I sometimes wonder if the HLS staff is much more sly and cunning than we give them credit for. Perhaps the incompetence is an act of sorts. It is annoying. We lost your fax, we can't find your tax return, your file is empty please fax everything again and again.

We drove by the rental this afternoon and they took the for rent sign down, so looks like we have a deal.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

BK is not an option for those with bad loan conditions. It is a rational option for those trying to save their home and catch up with past payments. It does stop foreclosure actions on properties.
Currently the LIBOR which I believe a lot of these loans are based on is on the decline. Under normal market conditions my loan would probably have maxed out the full 6% rise, $120 per percentage or my payments would have gone up the full $720 a month, even in BK and I would be in serious danger of losing the home regardless. The way it worked for me was the index of my loan was 5% plus current 6 month LIBOR value. The first increase in Dec 2007 based on Oct 2007 LIBOR of 5.22875% which being originally at 6.875% allowed it to escalate $360 with the 3% cap to 9.875%. This kind of brought to my attention why at our meeting of creditors a few people were keeping their rental properties and giving up their primary residences, they cannot modify their place of residence but can modify other properties.
Myself, I assumed my loan would be locked at 6.875% throughout the BK length of 5 years.
Guess what! It rose $360 and reduced the funds being paid to others in our plan.
Afterward, I found out that there was work on making this flaw in title 11 remove the above mentioned unwarranted and unjust exception that I mentioned previously at section 1322(b)(2) by Brad Miller in the house with HR 3609 and a similar goal in the Senate by Richard Durbin in s.2136. With the last congress these never passed legislation were set aside and both Durbin and Miller presented new legislation with the same goal. Allow modification of home loans in BK. In reality removing an unwarranted exception to modification which their marketing of high interest and predatory loans are protected by.
When the prime rate went down, the LIBOR was not yet on a decline by much. Each following rate adjustment is limited to a 1% rise or fall. The following rate was based on April 2008 and was 2.68813%. My next change with the 1% cap for changes after the initial change could have fallen to 7.68813% without a cap or if my loan initially adjusted in June 2008, I would only have experienced an increase in payments of less than a percent for a $98 increase, reality and timing matter though. I did get a 1% drop and go down $120 to 8.875%. The adjustment after that was based on 3.98125% plus 5% for 8.98125% and rounded up to 9%. My next adjustment in June 2009 based on April 2009 LIBOR will be down to 8% because LIBOR was 1.73563%. Too bad it was not low back in 2007 when the rate initially adjusted. Hopefully Oct 2009 has a low value under 2% so my loan can go down to 7%.
With BK reform, the loan will not jump around as it is. The reduced rate of homes lost due to reset is only reduced because of the index is currently low. The rate could go up or down overnight. Allowing modifications of these loans will allow more to keep their home and meet their plans. Of course the effect of allowed modification in BK will add the needed incentive toward lenders to modify loans before one is forced into BK and a full surrender of their homes in full satisfaction of the debt. No home, but no deficiencies either.
I am glad that it looks like the rental will come through for your family. Remember though, don't allow unfair debt collection, use your rights as appropriate.

Clarification. BK 13 now for bad loans is an option. But for bad loans, a surrender is the only rational option since loans cannot currently be modified. You don't show a foreclosure and do not have deficiency judgments against you.
If appropriate changes are ever passed, options may be appropriate for modifying bad loans, predatory at least.

Hey all, I guess the saga continues for each of us who have had the unfortunate experience of working with FF. I would like to add that if you have lined up your ducks properly, FF can still be fought. Relinquishing your house that is in a bad loan is not necessarily the best course of action. I believe we should fight it too the end. Please note: In many courts, they tide is beginning to turn according to a lawyer we've consulted with in Detroit.
The best thing everyone can do is educate themselves with regards to RESPA laws and TILA violations. As Michael advised, get your loan audited. And especially for those who have not yet had a sheriff sale, get a qualified written request to HLS/FF. Make sure you document everything. I mean phone calls, correspondence, everything. You can even purchase an inexpensive service at recordmycall.com., which will allow you to record your conversations. Check your state laws, you may be required to advise HLS you are recording them.
However, this program will even give you a copy of your conversation. it may also not be considered admissible in court. That also is at the discretion of the judge and according to the laws that apply. But it can be used as a tool that will let FF know you're not ignorant and you plan to fight back.
Also, FF can be challenged in court to produce original loan docs to prove they have/had a legal right to foreclose, which is doubtful they can do. Most FF loans, if not all, were required to be presold to another buyer before you even closed. Our broker let that one out of the bag. We ourselves, are preparing a case to challenge this in fed court. If FF cannot provide "true copies" of the loan docs, the judge will most likely recalculate the loan on current values and rates. So although you may not get FF/HLS to provide a mod, it can be done in the courts. If there were any forgeries on their part, you could be entitled under respa laws to have the entire loan forgiven.
I encourage each of you to challenge them on note ownership and the legality of their foreclosure.
Also, it was advised earlier that people write their sheriff. We sent ours the entire story of how things went down. Believe it or not, our sheriff called us back and shared his sympathies. But more than that, advised we cantact our state representative, which we had already done. Our sheriff noted that he was considering following suit with the Detroit sheriff who is refusing to conduct any more sales until people have had a chance to appeal for a modification. Kudos to Sheriff Warren Canon. The goal of each of us is to prevail against FF and keep our homes. For many I believe this is very possible if we don't give up. But if not, we can definitely call attention to these legalized thugs and together bring their illegalities to light. If we do nothing, that's exactly what we'll get.

Matt and Bev Murray

We too are trying to work with FF on a loan mod. They only offered a 3 month pre-mod (basically collecting their foreclosure costs of escrows, appraisal, attorney fees) of $3K per month for 3 months with no promise of what they will do. We are working with a local governor and real estate attorney, but they are not hopeful. We would join a class action in a heartbeat and have documentation to support predatory lending and actions. Shelly (sj4re@yahoo.com)

I read something regarding the Chapter 13 being an option (in this blog)and I wondered if anyone had further insight on that? My real estate attorney said it was not an option yet. Also, we are currently 5 months back (we fell behind when I lost my job) and they would not accept any payments after 3 months unless we caught up in full. We are about to receive our 90 day notice from FF and wondered if anyone could speak on what the process has been since then?

Hey there all -

My wife just posted above and found this incredible link. It is her hard work that might help us stay in our home.

Miguel, GrammyG, Micheal, Matt/Bev. I feel like I know you after reading through this entire post. WOW. God bless your situations.

Where to start. Short but to the point.

We have a home on the Central Cal Coast we bought in June 2007. We fell on hard times with loss of work in 08 and are certainly in an incredibly bad loan.

We have a FF loan and stand to be served foreclosure notice on May 14th, 2009. We were offered a pre-mod as my wife explained above with nothing stating that they will modify our loan in any way after the pre mod payments are made. A short term loan modification makes absolutely no sense for our situation. Reading this post obviously affirms we mad the right choice in not paying them a dime.

We have since stabilized out income situation but are still in one big mess of a loan. The thing is, we are PERFECTLY willing to get into a loan that makes sense for us regarding a modification but know this will never happen with FF - say a 30-year 6.0 percent fixed. We don't want a free home, just not $4K payments on a place we are 100K upside down on. Makes zero sense nor do I even understand why FF would want to foreclose. They do NOT want to work with any of us is all that I can come up with.

Shelly and I have started the process of doing everything possible to find a solution and all this information here is invaluable. I just wish we would have found this sooner. We are certainly willing to explain our entire situation, the UNBELIEVABLE predatory practices by FF and anything needed to add to a potential lawsuit or solution. We are IN. Email shelly with address in the last post.

Good luck all and I'm sure we will be a steady diet to this post.

Cheers-

Jay and Shelly

Shelly,
Chapter 13 will allow you to pay anything that you are behind up to the day you file in your plan for the duration of your plan which can vary from 3 yrs to 5 years depending on your income for the six months prior to filing. This portion of debt is called pre-petition debt. I myself was 5 months back. As you say, they offered only full payment by a given date or foreclosure.
Right now your mortgage post-petition, the money due after you file is going to need to be paid by whatever conditions the loan is after your filing date. In other words it will be bad if the index your loan is set to or not as bad if the index your payments is low.
If all you need is a 3-5 year time to catch up with missed payments, it may be a good option for you.
Your atty was probably talking about modifying the terms of the loan. Right now you cannot.
New muddied legislation will allow loan modification but only if you sold your children into slavery and other crazy obstacles. JK about the selling the children.

On the advice of Matt, I have sent to FF/HLS, the judge and FF attorneys, a "Qualified Written Request". This is a request for all account information, letters, statements, legal documents, loan doc copies, everything basically since the inception of the loan to the present, including the application and all support documents we provided regarding income, etc. This is something that WE ARE ALL ENTITLED TO - "under Section 6 of RESPA" They are "required to acknowledge our request within 20 business days and must try to resolve the issue within 60 business days." They are to "treat this letter as a 'qualified written request' under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. Section 2605(e)".

This is the first step in preparing for a forensic evaluation of oue loan documents. I mailed the letters 'certified' on Friday.

Basically under RESPA, they have 20 days to reply and 60 days to provide you with what you have requested.

The 60 days will push past our sale date, but sobeit. We have found a great rental, a landlord willing to work with us and are ready to move on. I am in no way finished with FF/HLS.

I will continue the fight, not as a home saving technique, but to call them out on what they have done to so many lives. The stress of the past 15-16 months has been suffocating and very damaging to my family.

Now I work to get justice for my family and for all others who have suffered at the greedy hands of FF/HLS.

I also wrote a letter to the judge explaining that our only option in our situation is to pursue a potential predatory lender case against FF/HLS, based on our experiences with them and the findings we will obtain from our forensic evauation.

If nothing else, perhaps it will give him pause in the courtroom when faced with other FF/HLS foreclosure cases.

My best wishes to all. Take care.

~ Evelyn

Came across this website that really gave me a major headache. But we need to know what we're up against. Sobering to say the least. Your looking for the header;"Why Servicers do Not Want to Modify Your Loans". Share your thoughts on this info. I do suggest that you are sitting while reading this article.

Headache is right. Looks to me like they set all borrowers up. Their greed really cost each and every one of us.

FF/HLS is our servicer AND lender, so not sure why exactly are not doing modifications, since it is their loan, but I have always felt they had a pool of money that they used for the mortgages.

Ponzi scheme of grand proportions. Now it is all caving in and taking us out in it's wake.

~ Evelyn

i am just out of a sheriffs auction by ff, no help from them from the point of trying to get a hardship modification two years ago, till this day, now house is sold, ff bought it back, im guessing, nobody knows for sure, not even the sheriff, now i understand that i have to keep the utlilities in my name until ff notifies the right utilities,(like that is going to happen)so i am responsible for the utilities until further notice, like that is going to happen, i am not even living there, these ff creeps are just scum of the bottom of a sewage pit

We are in the same boat as Rich. The auction was supposed to have been April 15th, but was put off at last minute until May 15th. We are out of the house which has a pool. I convinced my husband draining it was the best option to avoid headaches from mosquitoes, algae, and putting the money into caring for an old pool needing a complete redo. We just want the home out of our names. FF has called several times asking for our financials, but we continue telling them we don't want the loan reinstated... just foreclose! Isn't it ironic, we can't get them to do what so many are fighting tooth and nail to stop. Haven't been paying the mortgage since Oct 08 when it was decided via this blog and other sources, our loan was an unrefiable death trap. So sorry to everyone involved. Even in trying to move on, FF sticks it to us.

Granny G:

What is the website?

God bless,

Miguel

This is a PDF document that I found when searching for the phrase Why Servicers do Not Want to Modify Your Loans http://www.keepingthekeys.com/pdf/nomod.pdf

I had suspected this all along, that the funds for our loans did not belong to FF. I had always said they got it from a pool of investors - I have said it often enough that I know my husband is sick of hearing it - but if what this document says is accurate, then I was right.

The only thing that is going to make these people work with anyone is an act of congress or the Whitehouse.

Our package was FINALLY received at the Whitehouse. It took extra time to get there, I guess everything addressed to the president gets scrutenized before it ever gets to his office. Let's hope it makes it to him.

I hope our letters and stories can do some good, I really do.

Take care, everyone.

~ Evelyn

We are leaving the house mid May. Just can't wait around. Rentals are beginning to be less plentiful and it has taken us nearly 2 months of looking and 20 tries before we could find a landlord willing to work with us. I don't plan on being there when the sheriff comes knocking to throw us out. If we wait until June, who knows what it would be like and if we could find a place in time, or a place at all. I may keep the electricity on until the sale date, but not beyond, so they better make sure they have a realtor or care taker who can handle getting the utilities turned on.

FF has dragged out this foreclosure process, all the while knowing we were not going to be approved for a loan modification. We have been living in limbo now for about 16 months, and it is time for it to come to an end.

They denied our loan modification, so what else must we endure? Just let us go. We will go peacefully.

We'll be living in the area and will check in on the place from time to time, but we need our lives back.

We will maintain the lawn until the sale date, but beyond that, it is their house. They have had plenty of time to work with us and all we do is wait and worry.

They are the ones who turned us down. We are ready to go.

~ Evelyn

In a earlier post I had shared that I was going to use the folks from Livinglies, but was unsure due to the fact that they wanted $2500.00 up front. Pondered that awhile because that money could be used to rent if need be. So, I thought, search a little more before we commit. Someone bought up NACA again and I thought why not look. Received the name of Eric Fagan, the attorney who posted the info as to why we're not getting help from FF.
I contacted Mr. Fagan by email and gave him the short version of our nightmare, he responsed the same day, didn't sugar coat what our chances are dealing with FF. He's had many a dealings with them. But he did offer to send a letter on our behalf to FF's attorney. This was done all within three days and guess what? Money, that matter did not come up till we were done. What he is charging us, well I can honestly say it's no where near $2500.00. Mr.Fagan did not promise us the moon, but would do his best to help us.
The letter reached FF's attorney this morning and I received a copy of it also. We have a court date set for 05/01/09 regarding the UL, so let see what happens.
For the couple located @ the coast,or for that matter, anyone in CA. I honestly can say, contact Mr. Fagan's office ASAP. efaganlaw.com He can be very honest and you have to be prepared to handle the info. But it beats throwing money out there that could be used to house us.
We have finally found an attorney who truly cares about people.

It's nice to hear that honesty and integrity are still alive and well in some folks. Wish you the best. It's not over til it's over. And then sometimes there's still a few things that can be done. Spoke with someone from our congressman's office today. It does appear that the more people are finding out about FF and even HomeQ (another despicable servicer), that the tide is turning against them. So keep fighting everyone. Tell anyone in power who will listen. Numerous times if necessary. FF has to be help responsible for their treachery and it's those who have a story to tell who can help make that happen. Keep the faith gang!
Mat and Bev

Hi! GrammyG,I am happy you have found an attorney who understands the situation that FF has forced homeowners in.I believe that the stall game that FF plays with responses and requests for modifications are designed on purpose to waste any time each particular homeowner has on the time remaining of statutes of Respa and Tila violations, however, once a respa letter is sent out, the timeclock starts all over again , putting FF in a difficult position. It may be possible as well that if they don't have possession of the original blue ink note, that a homeowner may be able to file a quiet title on the property, this is particularily useful since the lack of possession of the note would create what is referred as a situation of clouded title, a partial claim is also another possibility. It's like I said before,it is possible to fight this predatory company and have a successful outcome,and I still say, call a naca.net attorney or google predatory lending attorney's for your area, if you are using a standard run of the mill real estate attorney, most are not knowledgable in this area, they mostly handle closings and contact for deeds, etc...and is a waste of money, so you need an attorney that deals specifically with predatory lending issues and foreclosure defense. Grant money is available to some lower and moderate homeowners to help make a mortgage payment as well through their local hud office. Contact your local county courthouse for the human resources dept. and ask if they have any resources as well,get an attorney and fight them,they can't force you out until a unlawful detainer has been filed and served. If you don't respond, you have handed them a position to legally evict you. Call an attorney and find out what your rights are, you may be surprised at the power you really have over them! Good Luck To All!

Kathleen,
I think it was your earlier post that reminded me of the folks @naca. So before I gave $2500 to another group, I checked naca again and found Mr. Fagan.
And yes we have already been served with UL and we responsed. Now we have a court date for 050/01, In the meantime Mr. Fagan's staff is completing a audit for us.
Unless you have the original note in front of you, it's hard to believe that a homeowner would have it in hand. (blue ink and red checks noting where to sign) The copy does it no justice. When I found the original note, it was stuffed in a envelope with other items from the title company that I had forgotten to return, the other forms all have stamped across the top " PLEASE SIGN AND RETURN".
But yet on the documents filed at the court house, the rep for FF signed under oath that they had the note. This should be fun in court.
So thank you for reminding me of naca, it saved us a bit of money.

I don't know if we have any Freddie Mac's in this FF/HLS forum, but:

WASHINGTON – David Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of money-losing mortgage giant Freddie Mac, was found dead at his home early Wednesday in what police said was an apparent suicide.

Further down in the article was:

Some neighbors said Kellermann had lost a noticeable amount of weight under the strain of the job, and some said they suggested to him he should quit to avoid the stress. The neighbors did not want to be quoted by name because they didn't want to upset the family.

The full article is at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_freddie_mac_official_dead

We started in a Freddie Mac program. Sad to hear, but doesn't it make you wonder, anybody else behind this?
How ugly is this going to get?

Reading the note on the CFO from Freddie Mac, it really make you think what have happened to America. It used to be a place where people care for people. I remeber growing up when my parents got a divorce my father took off an gave us no money. There we were almost on the street. Yet, my mom went to the bank and explained the situation. Three years later when things got on track she started making payments on the house again with a payment plan of $50 extra per month until she re-pay the 3 years she wa sunable to pay.

I echo Granny G words, how ugly is this going to get? How far can you push people before they break down? How much abuse and threats can a person take before he/she says enough and do something crazy? And after all, is it worthy? What really gets me is the hypocrites from the collection agencies, banks, etc that sit there with a puzzled face asking why did it happen? Well if you help people and treat people like human beings and with dignity, you will get more than what you are getting and in the end, you will be able to go to bed knowing that you did the right thing. Help people.

Those are my two cents. (Please forgive any typo errors.)

God bless,

Miguel

Hello everyone! I have a question. I just got done reading everyone's posts and I'm in the same boat. I submitted my modification package in Oct. 08 since then I fell behind on my mortgage 5 months (April will be 6) and on Monday I finally received my 3 month pre-modification offer. $147 less a month is all they are willing to do. I e-mailed the lady I was dealing with, who was not nice to begin with, and begged her to please help. She said it was the best that she could do, they have guidelines. If I wanted to keep my house come up with a way to make it work or sell my home. I also have until Friday to Western Union them my first payment.

Until tonight we were just going to walk away from it all, but now I'm ont sure what I should do.

Should I e-mail the lady I'm dealing with and tell here that I can't afford her proposal and that I would like to research my other legal options? Or should I just start the forensic evalution process before I contact them? I'm not sure what will happen if I just don't send in the payment.

Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Heidi,

I'm not familiar with pre-modification. Is this simply a plan to pay legal fees and still fall back on your loan? If it is, I believe it is a dead end offer. You pay the cost of foreclosing while FF/HLS enjoys your money.
Does this money pay down your loan or simply put you further behind?

I think that it's just suppose to show Good Faith that I'm actually willing to make these payments.

Good luck with it. The only one showing good faith will be you. Hopefully your 3 payments are reasonable.

FF/HLS repayment plans are specifically designed to cover legal and other fees associated with the foreclosure, nothing more. Nothing goes to the principle or the interest. If it turns out that after you complete the plan they determine you do not qualify for a loan modification (which there is a high probability of), all of that money is lost and the foreclosure clock starts ticking all over again from where it left off.

From what I have learned over the past 16 months, they are approving precious few modifications, and precious few of those, if any, really offer any true viable long term fix.

It was open ended, promised nothing – not even offering a timeline, such as make these three consecutive “good faith payments” (as they refer to them) and this will be the next step and so on. There was no indication of what the actual modified payment might be, and no indication there would be a modification offered at the end. Instead it was filled with threats, basically – failure to successfully complete the repayment plan will render it void and result in the foreclosure process going back into force from where it left off and also their other caviat, if you file bankruptcy you will forever be automatically disqualified from loan modifications.

We tried, we failed. Now we prepare to move on. It was a very sad and disappointing experience, but like I said, we prepare to move on.

Take care.

~ Evelyn

I'm so sorry Evelyn, I've ready all of your entries and feel like I know you personally, your my friend. I do hope you let everyone knows what happens down the road.

As for everything you said about being open ended and no inidcation of what the actual modification will be, that's exactly what they're saying to me. I live in California and tomorrow I will be 6 months behind. Do you have any suggestions for me?

What do you think will be their next step? And for me? I looked into the Forensic Evaluation and I'm getting all of my paperwork together. I figure $200 is worth it to see if my doc's are legit. And if I do walk away, do you have any suggestions on the best way to stay and save before they kick me out?

Heidi:

Just be very cautious in your dealings with them. They lie, they cheat and they are very good at avoiding contact. We went weeks sometimes without being able to talk to someone, anyone. It drags things out, makes you miss deadlines, etc.

We were contacted by a 'Customer Advocate' last year, and we found out he was not an advocate at all. He was the collections supervisor. Wolf in sheeps clothing...

For the most part, what few modifications they do are temporary, usually for 2 years. If you aren't upsidedown like we are, it may work for you. We have already lost about $156,000 in value. Maybe more. The market will take YEARS to come back here in South Florida.

A 2 year temporary fix would not work for us even if they had approved us. Just not enough time for our market to sell or refinance.

The reason we ended up with the rental we found was because the owner can't sell.

I wouldn't want you to rock the boat any if you are going to enter into a repayment plan with them, but you can request a 'Qualified Written Request' to gather all account information from them for a thorough forensic evaluation of your loan. Per RESPA you are entitled to this information.

We sent ours. They received it on the 21st, so the clock is ticking for them.

Please just be careful and cautious with these people. Document EVERYTHING - when you called, who you spoke to and what was said, what you sent them and likewise if they call you or send you something. Record the conversations if you can. They will deny conversations.

Take care. I may be moving, but I'm not leaving this forum. With our letter to the president and all, there is too much unfinished business for me to say good-bye. I'll be around...

~ Evelyn

For Heidi and any one else considering a modification with FF, our advise would be DON'T. In most cases you will again be locked into an interest only ARM, which essentially is a bottomless pit. I know the strong urge to agree to such things when you are being threatened with the loss of your house. However, we did agree initially to a mod until our situation again changed. Our payment was not lowered but raised. I'm actually surprised they were willing to lower you payment at all. But there are usually other benefits to them and detriments to you that are not readily seen. We've found this out the hard way. Although our story is posted elsewhere in the blog, let me just say, we have never found FF/HLS to either provide a fair modification or live up to their promises. Actually by following their advise, they pushed us into foreclosure.
Being in Michigan, in which I believe the foreclosure laws are similar to California, (Michael another blogger, could verify that or deny that) we have found that even once we got to foreclosure, it's not over.
For us, although our income had been reduced, we still would have easily been able to have afforded a modified payment. FF was on the phone with us still requesting docs while they were selling our home at a sheriff sale, but indicating to us that it had been called off. FF in no way should be trusted, even with signed documents in place.
Now for the good news. Yesterday we met with an attorney in Detroit. That's about 2.5 hours from us, but the drive was worth it. In searching for a good attorney over the last six months, this was the first one we have been able to find who was knowledgable about challenging RESPA, TILA and other statutory defects and violations.
When we took our docs in it was evident she was looking specifically for certain thinks that shouldn't be there or things that weren't there that should have been. All in all I think there were about 34 initial document discrepancies.
She advised us that there were several ways we could play this out. Because we have a federal court that still largely ignores legal claims by the homeowner's attorney, we may not wish to challenge this immediately in federal court. So here are a couple other options. There is a new modification that many servicers and lenders have agreed to participate in they're calling the Obama template. It essencially forces these companies who have agreed to participate to modifiy to today's values and interest rates, taking into consideration gross income as well. This may be benificial to you, especially if you are not yet in foreclosure. You would have to talk to a qualified attorney to find out the details. For ourselves, we didn't feel this would be the most advantageous way to go.
Keep in mind, that in most cases if FF loan services is claiming to be the rightful forecloser, usually with Lasalle Bank as the Trustee, neither of these are the rightful note holder and therefore the foreclosure is not legit. If I were you I'd try to find an attorney who is knowledgeable. Often the attorney general has a referral service. You can also call your congressman's office as we did. ACORN also can refer attorneys that are affordable and knowledgable, irregardless of whether you like or dislike the organization. This is who referred us to our attorney.
1st thing our attorney suggested was to begin to search out who really owns the note. If it turns out that say Wells Fargo or Chase now owns it, they they would be the ones to actually negotiate a mod with, not FF. Believe me, they are far more worried about bad press. FF has nothing to loose
Short of that, we could run directly into court and be on the offensive. However, in Michigan, we can challenge the legality of the foreclosure right up through our redemption period and even once an eviction notice is served. Not the most emotionally comfortable, but perhaps most beneficial. Again, you would have to check Cali laws. Our attorney has challenged several of her actual evictions that are several years old now and at least two I believe have been sold back their house for about 25 cents on the dollar.
Our attorney suggested we play it defensively and wait for them to attack again. They we can actually get all these violations heard. Evidently this scenario allows more to be presented. If this is the direction we go, we will probably challenge in district court and by all means, (as Michael suggested once) request a jury trail. If a favorable verdict is not rendered, we can challenge in circuit court. At any point it could be removed to federal court. I know this is more info than you may have wanted. But the long and short of it is FF can not be trusted and you should not agree to anything before seeking counsel. We live in a fairly expensive home that is now worth about 50-60% of what we paid for it. Keep in mind FF already got paid for this when they sold the loan. So they really have nothing to lose.
I discovered yesterday that REO dept (the dept who has the home post foreclosure) gets paid a substantial sum for actual evictions. That's why we believe it's so terribly important to get our cases into the court system. Case law is being established as homeowner's prevail. Now the courts don't always hold the servicer or bank accountable, but there's a far better chance of them doing so than FF self policing themselves. That's not gonna happen. Had we been able to find a qualified attorney prior to foreclosure that would have been preferable. We had two drag us on so long, that we began to run out of time. Because we didn't trust FF, we were not anxious to deal with them directly. But because we had not yet found qualified counsel, we did. You know the end of the story. They whole time they were acting as if they were helping us, the clock was ticking and then time was up. Once the sale was over, they refused to take our calls our calls of our mortgage advocate, who had been working to gain a true modfication from July 08 until Jan 09, when then finally foreclosed. Had they worked with us initially, we would have been in good shape.
So my advise in short, is seek out good counsel, get the forensic audit done (you'll be amazed at how sloppy they prepare their docs ) and refuse the mod. You'll get threats and they will back it up. Only you can decide whether you want to stay in a predatory situation. I'm convinced as the tide changes on these servicers and banks, people will see more and more cases taken to court with the homeowner prevailing. Of course then, they'll be lobbying for more changes in the law. But until then we believe you have a far more fighting change of a decent mod by not working directly with the culprits who have put you into this loan. Whatever you do, don't give into them and don't let them intimidate you. That's what we allowed for more than two years. It's been a living hell. The best thing to do is gain knowledge about your situation, remain confident and don't ever give up!
Matt and Bev

You may want to investigate the "The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)"
also the
"Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)"
and
"Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)"

I was in the same situation as most of the people on this forum. In October 08, I submitted a request for loan modification after my job was transferred my to another city and lost almost $15,000 per year in income. In December 2008, I was served foreclosure papers. In March 2009, I was approved for the loan modification. My mortgage payment with property taxes was approximately $2600 per month. I had a 80/20 loan and the interest rate was 8% on the first and 10.4 on the second. My new payment is now $1500 with taxes included and my interest rate is 5% for the duration of the loan (26 years).

I wanted to share my success story with others so that they could continue to hold on. I experienced the same frustration as all of you. I was getting ready to walk away several time but continued to hold on and did everything they told us to do (ex. checkstubs,etc). I returned all of their calls and also documented and kept a track of everything I faxed to them.

I know a lot of people on this forum are scheduled for foreclosure or have already had their homes foreclosed. I also appreciate the fight that you are putting up for the rest of us (letters, advice, etc). Good Luck to everyone and GOD Bless.

It is also important to find out the name of your investor is/who own your loan. Fannie Mae owned my loan and I don't know if this is the reason my interest rate is now 5% for the duration of the loan. The other 20% of my loan was charged off and the overdue payments was added to my loan. Did anyone try to contact NACA? I was working with them as well. HOPENOW did not help me at ALL.

Heidi you are really the only one who could decide whether or not to take the repayment option. Personally, it would have been a problem for me if that was offered but out of desperation, I would have settled for it. Also read the article that was posted by Evelyn (above). I believe that the information is accurate and it explains the process (modification) well.

GOD Bless

Thank you for sharing a success story SWV - I wondered if there was even one out there. Can I ask if they first offered a pre-mod that had you pay 3 months of good faith payments with no promise of what they would do after? Also, is your rate fixed or does it adjust in 2 or 3 years? Can you post the name of the representative you were working with at FFHLS? I worked with a truly awful representative there (she basically would not answer my questions and got very angry whenever my husband or I wanted clarity on anything).
Thank you and God bless :o)

BTW, I do believe that it truly matters whether or not your loan is Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.... I know ours is not. How did you find out who the investor was? I went to a website where you could enter your address in and they could tell you if it was or was not government owned; and it came back with a no, but it did not say who owns it. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks for all of the great info. I think that we've decided to just walk away. Does anyone have any advise on this?
I'm wondering if I should file for foreclosure or just wait until they kick us out and maybe get some cash for keys, if offered.
Does anyone know if they can come back and attach your wages later? Also, what about any fees for foreclosing. I can't afford a lawyer, but any advise would be greatly appriciated!!!

Shelly

I wasn't offered a 3 month modification and my current rate is fixed at 5% for the next 26 years. My negotiator name was Barbara Callahan and she was very nice and helpful.

I find out my investor is Fannie Mae when I searched the loan look up at http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/. I called FF/HLS yesterday to find out who's the investor on my second loan and they refused to tell me. I am getting the second loan wiped out in Chapter 13.

Good Luck I hoped this helps

Thank you :o) After pouring our life savings of $52K into the home and killing ourselves (absolutely NO extras) to make the $4k monthly mortgage for the last few years (in hopes that it will pay off in the long run), I am desperate to save our home.... (must be emotional, because logically it would seem okay to let go being that the value is so much less than what we owe). I have been trying to get a contact at FFHLS for a while and would love it if you could provide the direct number you contacted Barbara at and extension (I still feel like the number we are calling is the collection department b/c of how they handle our calls). I'm pretty sure they wont work with us b/c it is not a government backed loan, but I'm so desperate to try anything... we've made this our home... (BUT for all out there looking for something to help.. I pray for our heath... because although we may lose our home, we thank God for our health and know that the rest is truly sweating the small stuff..) Anyhoo, I thank and pray for eveyone going through this and am happy to hear that someone had some resolution (thank God!)

Shelly

Barbara's number is 1-800-622-5035 ext. 12080. Did you try NACA? They are really helpful and they are assisting a lot of homeowners reach a resolution with their lenders. It's worth a try.

My heart goes out to each and every poster on this site who is suffering at the hand of FF/HLS. Lord knows we have had a rough time of it, but you all are here to testify that I and you are not alone in your struggle to save your homes and improve your toxic mortgages.

Shelly, your saving grace is Fannie Mae. I am glad someone has a success story... That is the ONLY reason you had such a good outcome. Congratulations. I really am very happy for you.

Supposedly, our lender IS FF. They sold our 20% loan, but not the 80%, so we have no real recourse, we can manage to find out they are lying about owning the 80% loan. I looked us up on Freddie and Fannie, but we don't have one of their loans.

It is a shame that we all had to come together under such circumstances. I do appreciate all of the kind words and advice that has come from posters on this site. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you, not just for myself and my family.

Have a good weekend everyone, I know it is hard to put this all aside and relax, but do the best you can to unwind from it all.

Matt & Bev, your story is very poignant. I really do feel your pain. God Bless.

~ Evelyn

NACA can put you in touch with legal representation and can make modification recommendations on your behalf to FF/HLS, however, from what I have read all over the internet, FF/HLS is not following their recommendations, or the recommendations from other third parties, such as HUD.

They don't want to help, they don't want you to succeed. When you do, they don't make as much money. They want you to default, repeatedly.

I have been corresponding with someone who had applied to HUD's Help For Homes and was approved. They presented their recommendations to FF/HLS, who in the end did not offer her what was recommended, but what they wanted to offer, a higher interest rate with higher payments and only a 2 year fix that she will most likely end up defaulting on yet again. They seem to feel they can play by their own rules.

~ Evelyn

Yes, unfortunately, we also do not have a government backed loan, so it is looking grim. I will contact as many of the suggestions as I can - thank you. It is a nightmare to try to balance work and life as we go through this. Thank you so much for all of your posts and info. Good luck to everyone in your struggle and hopefully we will see some more success stories of good representation and good mods, etc. Shelly

FF/HLS is only giving loan modifications based on the investor's recommendation and guidelines. I'm not saying that some of their practices aren't shady but I do believe their hands are tied to how much they could do for homeowners. REMEMBER: FF/HLS is only a SERVICER.

My intention are not to put anyone down, I'm just trying to give some of these homeowners reading the forum a positive success story. When I was looking for answers, I found this forum and after reading the stories, I became so discouraged I almost gave up.

It is truly a blessing that my loan was sold to Fannie Mae but because others have a different investor doesn't mean that the outcome could not be the same. I also believe that because my husband and I having steady incomes was a major factor as well.

Good Luck to everyone and GOD Bless!

FF/HLS is my lender, not just the servicer. Only our 20% loan was sold. They still own the 80%.

~ Evelyn

I apologize Evelyn. It was too my understanding that FF/HLS was a servicer.

No problem, they are a servicer, but FF used to be a loan originator as well. They say they are our lender.

Funny thing is, I have a document from the closing that states that the "are not a loan servicer" and that they intend to "sell" our mortgage. They sold the second but for whatever reason never got around to selling the first.

I read a post somewhere that said HLS refused to disclose who they sold their loan to. In my loan docs it states that they have to notify you when your loan(s) is sold and to whom.

They really do infuriate me. That's for sure.

~ Evelyn

Well, I sent in all of my loan doc's to be reviewed for an evalutaion. They say it will take 3-5 business days. I told HLS that I was going to look into all of my legal options and rights, and my negotiator is giving me this week to figure out what I'm going to do. She also told me that I should look into getting a roomate. I just don't understand why they would say that I could afford their payment plans with my income and then tell me to get a roomate!

So unless the evaluators can come up with some discrepincies it looks like I will have to leave my house.

A few people that I've spoken with that have walked away, have had offers to buy back their house. Has anyone heard of this. People that have been gone for 6 months or so have had offers.

Also, does anyone know what happens legally if you do walk away? This is such a difficult decision!!!

I know that these fools such as HLS and similar lenders think that people will work many jobs, take in roommates, let other bills go and still find it hard to make payments.
On another thread, HLS even suggested someone eat soup and could afford the current loan conditions.

This latest group of HLS "representatives" are a bundh of real jokers. Yucking it up at the borrowers expense.

~ Evelyn

This is what gets me. FF/HLS will go to any lenth to get their money. The only thing they have not suggested is "if you get sick, or need medicaation, do not seek medical attention until you pay us or agree to one of our payment plans."

Truly, after reading some of the latest posts on "eat soup" I have to come to the conclusion that Bozo the Clown would be proud of his offspring working hard for FF/HLS. I wonder if Homer Simpson is their supervisor. DUH!!!

As has already been stated, FF/HLS is either run by a troop of bungling fools or a group of extremely slick operators. My guess is a little of both. I believe top management knows exactly what they're doing and they train their employees with false information to do their dirty work. Although in my experience, there are some who very much enjoy the job of harassing.I do wonder about the character of anyone who could in good conscious work for them.
A couple of questions have been ask regarding what can happen if the home goes back. Not to be a downer, but the fact is that in most cases the house that is being taken back is worth less than what the bank redeemed it for. The bank will usually attempt to sell the home from it's REO department. Sadly, a lot of times, the home is picked up by an investor paying far less for it than was the original amount of the loan. The difference between the amount you owed on the loan and what it sold for is a deficiency. The bank has a right to sue you for a judgement in court for this amount. Much of the time, unless they are fervent in getting their money, these judgements are not paid. However, if the bank is intent of getting their money, they can garnish wages etc. In general, filing a BK will protect you from this action, but obviously the BK must be filed after a deficiency judgement has been established. The long and short of it is that the laws are unfortunately stacked in the banks favor. But there are ways as I just shared to utilize the law to defeat them.
Now with that said, I would stay in the fight long before you get to a place where a judgement is issued. Should you already be to the point where a case has been filed, I would first of all, show up. Many folks think by ignoring something it will go away. Secondly, we're not at that point and we're of the mind we will refuse to leave without a fight. Regarding FF, it would be uncommon, not to have statutory defects in the loan docs themselves. Also, as I stated earlier there are still things you can do in most states even when you have been served with an eviction. Our attorney advised us that she has people who were at the eviction stage three years ago and they're still there fighting it out.
I know in Evelyn's case, Florida is difficult to work with because of how the laws are set up. Our hearts go out to her and her husband. But for Heidi, I would advise contacting Michael on his email that he provided on this blog. It's fight4home@gmail.com. He is also fighting his battle in California and is very informed as to the laws in your state. I'm conviced he will win his case. I'm sure he would be willing to advise you. You're still at a stage where I believe you have some great cards in your hand.
We continue to pray for everyone going through such difficult challenges. If at all possible, don't let FF/HLS services steal your home without a fight. Too many people lay down and let them run over them.

Matt and Bev

I read somewhere on the internet, don't remember where exactly, that HLS reps are a trained to get the cash by any means necessary, and intimidation and scare tactics are key to try get you to send it in. As long as you comply with their requests, they are cordial and "helpful". When you do not comply and question things, they are much less cordial and helpful. Eventually they are just rude and hostile, as with the guy who told my husband that because he refused to sign the repayment plan agreement, he was "coming to get the house". Big scare tactic on his part.

It is all about the money. The money for the repayment plans do not go toward your loan or even to the investor who has your loan, if your loan was securitized and sold. It goes to them. They say it is for legal fees and other fees, but it goes in the HLS coffer.

We have taken the fight as far as we can, legally, as far as the Florida courts are concerned. Perhaps we can fight them at a later date. We are working toward that end.

Keep the faith.

~ Evelyn

I just read that if you are in the Miami area there is a required mitigation if you are facing foreclosure, effective May 1. There are similar requirements in other counties besides Dade in Florida, call your county courthouse administration office and check with them if there is one in place in your specific county, you mayy be able to negotiate a loan modification after all, there are similar requirements in New Jersy and Ohio, check it out. Also those having problems with the servicer of your loans google RESPA Section 6, especially if they have been ignoring your requests for a loan modification, or any other problems with the servicer. Fight for your rights!

Agreed! Laws are changing daily toward the favor of the homeowner. In many cases these laws apply to after sale/redemption period rights and up through eviction. Those of you who have not yet left your home and desire to stay, there is hope. DONT GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

Kathleen:

Is there an internet site here in Florida where we can fond out about the mitigation requirement in our counties?

God bless,

Miguel

Thanks Kathleen.

It is for cases filed on or after May 1, 2009.

I pasted part court order below, or the link to the order is:

http://reports.jud11.flcourts.org/Administrative_Orders/1-09-08-Establishment%20of%20HOME%20Mediation%20Program.pdf

11th Circuit Homestead Access To Mediation Program (“CHAMP”;

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the authority vested in me as Chief Judge of
the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, under Rule 2.215 of the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, it is hereby ORDERED:

1. Establishment: The 11th Circuit Homestead Access To Mediation
Program (“CHAMP”) for case management of residential foreclosure
cases involving homestead properties in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of
Florida, in collaboration with the Collins Center for Public Policy, Inc., is
hereby established.
2. Mediation Referral: This Administrative Order constitutes a formal
referral to mediation pursuant to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. By
this Administrative Order, unless a stipulation is specifically invoked by the
parties in writing within five (5) days of service of the complaint on the
main defendant, the parties are deemed to have stipulated to referral of
the mediation to the Collins Center pursuant to Rule 1.720(f), Fla. R. Civ.
P. Referral to the Collins Center is for administration and management of
the mediation process and assignment of a Florida Supreme Court
certified circuit civil mediator who has been trained in mediating residential
mortgage foreclosure actions and who has agreed to participate in the
CHAMP.
3. Procedures and Requirements: In all residential foreclosure actions
involving homestead properties filed on or after May 1, 2009, to which this
Administrative Order applies, if a notice for trial or motion for summary
judgment is filed with the Clerk of the Courts, no action will be taken by the
court to set a final hearing or enter a summary judgment until the following
procedures are followed and requirements are met:
a. At the time a complaint for foreclosure on a homestead property is
filed by a Plaintiff/Lender, counsel for the Plaintiff/Lender must also
electronically transmit a notice form to the Collins Center advising
of such filing, providing the names and contact information for the
parties, and a certification that the Lender’s representative who will
participate in the mediation has full authority to modify the terms of
the note and mortgage and to settle the matter. (See Form A
attached hereto)
b. At the time of filing of the complaint and transmission of Form A,
Plaintiff/Lender shall forward a check, made payable to the Collins
Center, in the amount of Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), to
cover the administrative cost of the CHAMP (“Cost Check”).
Should the Plaintiff/Lender fail to tender the Cost Check to the
Collins Center within five (5) calendar days of the date of filing, the
court will be so notified by the Collins Center, which may result in
the court’s dismissal of the complaint without prejudice.
c. Immediately upon receipt of the Cost Check, the Collins Center
shall commence its efforts to contact the Defendant/Borrower to
substantiate the foreclosure action and to advise of the availability
of financial counseling and mediation. The Collins Center shall
have thirty (30) days to make such contact. In the event the Collins
Center is unable to contact the Defendant/Borrower within this
prescribed timeframe, the Collins Center shall so advise the court
and the Lender/Plaintiff, which may result in a final hearing being
set or an entry of summary judgment by the court.
d. Thereafter, with the agreement of the Defendant/Borrower, the
Collins Center will refer the Defendant/Borrower to a US
Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and/or
National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program (“NFMC”)
agencies experienced in mortgage delinquency and default
resolution counseling (“Counseling Agency”), to assist the
Defendant/ Borrower on the telephone with the completion of
financial documentation which shall immediately be made available
electronically to the Lender for the purpose of renegotiating loan
terms (“Financial Documentation”). The Counseling Agency shall
have twenty-one (21) days from receiving a referral of a
Defendant/Borrower from the Collins Center to contact the
Defendant/Borrower, conduct the telephonic counseling session,
complete the Financial Documentation, and make such Financial
Documentation available electronically to the Plaintiff/Lender. The
Counseling Agency shall use the Collins Center’s website,
www.collinsmediation.org to download forms for the Financial
Documentation and to complete and store the Financial
Documentation. The Plaintiff/Lender shall use the Collins Center’s
website, www.collinsmediation.org to retrieve the Financial
Documentation if it wishes to review it prior to the mediation. The
Counseling Agency and the Plaintiff/Lender and, if it so chooses,
the Defendant/Borrower, shall register at the Collins Center’s
website and receive access codes from the Collins Center for
confidential use of the website for these purposes. In addition to
making the Financial Documentation available electronically by
cooperating with the Counseling Agency, the Defendant/Borrower,
as advised by the Counseling Agency, shall bring to the mediation
such supporting documentation, to verify information on the
Financial Documentation, as is specified on the Financial
Documentation form.
e. Upon notification from the Counseling Agency that its services
have been rendered to the Defendant/Borrower and the Financial
Documentation is complete and has been made available to the
Plaintiff/Lender on the Collins Center website, the Collins Center
will schedule and notice the mediation (“Mediation”)
f. The Collins Center shall schedule such Mediations with those
mediators who have been duly certified by the Florida Supreme
Court as Circuit Civil Mediators and who have received additional
training in foreclosure mediations provided by the Collins Center.
All Mediators who meet the herein stated qualifications shall be
eligible to provide mediation services for the CHAMP (“Foreclosure
Mediators”).
g. The Collins Center shall be responsible for paying the Foreclosure
Mediators for their services, using Three Hundred and Fifty Dollars
($350.00) of the Cost Check for that purpose (“Mediator’s Fee”). If
the Mediation does not occur for one or more of the following
reasons, the Collins Center shall refund the Mediator’s Fee to the
Plaintiff/Lender:
(i) The Mediation is cancelled sooner than five (5) business
days prior to the scheduled date.
(ii) The Collins Center is unable to contact the
Defendant/Borrower within the thirty (30) days required by
Paragraph 2c of this Order and the Mediation is never
scheduled.
(iii) The Defendant/Borrower, after being contacted, refuses for
any reason to participate in the mediation and the Mediation
is never scheduled.
(iv) Pursuant to Rule 1.720(f), Fla. R. Civ. P., within five (5) days
of service of the complaint, the parties have agreed upon a
stipulation with the court designating a certified mediator.
h. All parties named in the foreclosure action shall be noticed of the
Mediation (“Mediation Notice”) by the Collins Center, using
information provided on Form A by the Plaintiff/Lender. Upon
being noticed:
(i) Plaintiff/Lender’s counsel and the Defendant/Borrower must
be physically present at the Mediation.
(ii) The Plaintiff/Lender’s representative with full and complete
authority to settle on behalf of the Lender is required to
personally participate in the Mediation. Personal
participation is deemed to be either physically present,
present telephonically, or readily available by telephone.
(iii) Other interested parties who were noticed, may; but, are not
required to personally participate in the Mediation.
i. If either the Plaintiff/Lender or representative with full and complete
settlement authority designated in Form A or amended Form A, or
the Defendant/Borrower fails to appear at a properly noticed
Mediation, the Collins Center will report the non-appearance to the
court.
j. Moreover, if the Plaintiff/Lender fails to timely tender the Cost
Check as prescribed herein or if the Plaintiff/Lender or
representative with full and complete settlement authority fails to
appear, the Collins Center shall notify the court of such information
and the court may dismiss the action without prejudice, order the
Plaintiff/Lender to appear at mediation, or impose such other
sanctions as the court deems appropriate including, but not limited
to, attorneys fees and costs if the Defendant/Borrower is
represented by an attorney.
k. If the Defendant/Borrower fails to appear, or if the Mediation results
in an impasse with all required parties present, the matter may
proceed to a final hearing or summary judgment, in accordance
with the rules of civil procedure without any further requirement to
attend mediation.
l. Pursuant to Rule 1.730, Rules of Civil Procedure, within ten (10)
days after the completion of the Mediation, the Foreclosure
Mediator shall file a report to the court of the result of the Mediation
as follows:
(i) If the parties do not reach an agreement as to any matter as
a result of mediation, the Foreclosure Mediator shall report
the lack of an agreement to the court without comment or
recommendation.
(ii) If a partial or final agreement is reached, it shall be reduced
to writing and signed by the parties and their counsel, if any.
The agreement shall be filed when required by law or with
the parties’ consent. A report of the agreement shall be
submitted to the court and/or a stipulation of dismissal shall
be filed.
m. All mediation communications occurring as a result of this
Administrative Order shall be confidential and inadmissible in any
subsequent legal proceeding pursuant to the Florida Mediation
Confidentiality and Privilege Act, Section 44.401-406, Florida
Statutes, the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Florida
Rules for Certified and Court-Appointed Mediators, unless
otherwise provided for by law or by order of a court of competent
jurisdiction. Accordingly, in conformance with Section 44.405(5),
Florida Statutes, the Defendant/ Borrower’s Financial
Documentation must be provided to the Plaintiff’s representative
and any other party for whom Borrower gives authorization for
disclosure in connection with the renegotiation of the loan
documents under the CHAMP.
n. In the event of a breach or failure to perform under an agreement
reached by the parties at the Mediation, the court may impose
sanctions pursuant to Rule 1.730, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
o. Each CHAMP case, subject to the procedures and requirements as
hereinabove set forth, shall commence and be completed within
one hundred twenty (120) days.
4. CHAMP Limitation: Notwithstanding this Circuit’s desire to reduce its
number of mortgage foreclosure actions, the CHAMP shall only be
available once per case for cases filed on or after May 1, 2009. However,
mediation services will be available for mortgage foreclosure actions that
predate May 1, 2009 that are still pending in the court, on a case by case
basis, subject to the availability of Foreclosure Mediators, who will be
selected from registry on a rotational basis, established in collaboration
with the Collins Center, by the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

This Administrative Order shall take effect on May 1, 2009 and will remain in full
force and effect until further order of the Court.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Miami-Dade, Florida, this ______ day of
April, 2009.

JOSEPH P. FARINA, CHIEF JUDGE
ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA

Below is an article from the Florida Bar (& the link) regarding administrative orders dealing with foreclosures in Florida:

http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/jnnews01.nsf/8c9f13012b96736985256aa900624829/daa626f675edfe558525759e006d6eb9?OpenDocument

Administrative orders dealing with foreclosure
First Circuit, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties — Effective March 17, 2008, with implementation on April 1, 2008, all owner-occupied residential foreclosure actions must file Form “A” with the action providing, among other things, a lender representative with the authority to settle. This form shall go immediately to Managed Mediation with the Collins Center. Unless the parties stipulate in writing to the use of an alternate mediator, the parties and the presiding judge are deemed to have stipulated to referral of the mediation to the Collins Center. All plaintiffs must file a copy of the promissory note, mortgage, and any pooling and servicing agreement that may affect the plaintiff’s ability to settle. Plaintiff must pay the nonrefundable managed mediation fee of $750. Defendants will be given a list of HUD and National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program counselors who can assist the defendant in preparing for the mediation. A representative of the counseling agency may accompany the defendant to the mediation. If defendant hires an attorney, the attorney must file a notice of appearance. The appearance may be limited to the mediation only. Includes a Borrowers Financial Information form that the Collins Center may require, along with other documents from the borrower.

Fourth Circuit, Duval County — Requires that for all foreclosures filed in Duval County a copy of “Notice of Legal Assistance Regarding Foreclosure Cases” be attached. Gives the number for JALA on the Notice. Dated June 8, 2008.

Fourth Circuit, Nassau County ­— Effective July 7, 2008, no foreclosures may be heard with either party appearing by telephone.

Sixth Circuit, Pasco and Pinellas counties — Effective January 19, all foreclosures on homesteads by institutional lenders must include the Foreclosure Judgment Packet — notice with information to homeowner, lender contact information, certificate of compliance with procedures (plaintiff must indicate information about the original note), Uniform Final Judgment.

Seventh Circuit, St. Johns County — Effective November 12, 2008, notice of legal assistance served with summons.

Ninth Circuit, Orange and Osceola counties — Effective May 1, 2008, no telephone hearings in foreclosure cases.

Ninth Circuit, Orange and Osceola counties — Effective February 25, at option of the court, a foreclosure case may be referred for mediation. At time plaintiff/lender files foreclosure, defendant/homeowner must be served with a form notice providing lender contact information for loan workout department and notice of homeowner’s right to mediation. Orange County Bar provides a list of certified mediators. Plaintiff pays cost of mediation at $275 for two hours and $100 per hour thereafter, with one half of the cost recoverable.

11th Circuit, Miami-Dade County — Effective May 1, upon filing a homestead residential foreclosure action, the plaintiff/lender must include a fee for $750 payable to the Collins Center. Failure to pay the fee results in dismissal without prejudice. When the Collins Center receives the fee, they have 30 days to find the homeowner/defendant to “substantiate the foreclosure action and advise of availability of financial counseling and mediation.” The Collins Center shall advise the court if they are unable to locate the homeowner and the court may set final hearing or enter summary judgment. If the homeowner is found by the Collins Center, the homeowner may be referred to a HUD Counselor. The HUD Counselor has 21 days to help the homeowner complete financial forms provided by the Collins Center. The homeowner’s financial forms are provided to the lender/plaintiff by the Collins Center. The mediator will be paid $350. If the mediation does not occur for one of the specific reasons stated in the administrative order, the plaintiff/lender will be refunded the mediator fee of $350. Within 5 days of the original service, parties may stipulate to not using the mediation services.

12th Circuit, Desoto, Sarasota, and Manatee counties — Effective December 1, 2008, on all cases filed after this date the Homestead Foreclosure Conciliation Program (HFCP) requries that lenders communicate with the homestead owners to explore options to litigation. The HFCP does not require mediation but requires lenders to schedule a phone conference with homestead owners. Lender’s attorney must certify the conference was at least attempted. Pro bono attorneys make a limited appearance. There are sanctions for lenders’ failure to comply in good faith with the Administrative Order.

12th Circuit, Desoto, Sarasota and Manatee c ounties — Effective March 9, no telephonic appearances in mortgage foreclosure cases.

14th Circuit, Bay County, Judge Michael Overstreet’s court — Effective February 1, no telephonic appearance at mortgage foreclosure hearings and original note and mortgage to be attached.

15th Circuit, Palm Beach County — Effective November 1, 2008, if a borrower wishes to modify their loan, they must complete the Defendant’s Foreclosure Questionnaire and provide a financial affidavit, two years of tax returns, three months of pay stubs and proof of living in the property. Lender must process request and respond. Borrower may also request a short sale by providing lender’s attorney the sales contract, HUD 1 statement, real estate agent contacts. Mediation may then be ordered by the court upon request by either party.

17th Circuit, Broward County, Judge David Krathen division – Effective January 17, 2009, Judge Krathen issued an order requiring all mortgage foreclosure cases in his division complete a notarized form verifying, among other things, that the original note is filed or that a lost note affidavit is included and has been executed by an officer of the institution who has authority to bind the plaintiff.

18th Circuit, Brevard County — Effective February 9, if a responsive pleading seeking relief is filed by any defendant, then the case is referred to mediation before final or summary judgment hearing. Plaintiff may schedule mediation through the Supreme Court Certified Civil Mediator or the Brevard Civil Mediation Department. If the mediation department is used, the fee is $250 paid in advance for 1.5 hours. If the matter is not resolved, the fee may be added as a cost to the final judgment. A mediation agenda is provided with options: repayment; home saver advance under Fannie Mae; forbearance; modification; sale; deed in lieu; consent judgment; reverse mortgage. A representative with authority to settle for plaintiff must be available, but can appear by phone.

18th Circuit, Seminole County — Effective January 29, if a responsive pleading seeking relief is filed by any defendant, then the case is referred to mediation before final or summary judgment hearing. Plaintiff may schedule mediation through the Supreme Court Certified Civil Mediator or the Seminole County Court Mediation Department. If the mediation department is used, the fee is $250 paid in advance for 1.5 hours. If the matter is not resolved, the fee may be added as a cost to the final judgment. A representative with authority to settle for plaintiff must be available, but can appear by phone.

19th Circuit, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie counties — Effective March 13, all owner-occupied residential foreclosure actions must file Form “A” with the action providing, among other things, a lender representative with authority to settle. This form shall go immediately to Managed Mediation with the Collins Center. Plaintiff must also file a copy of the promissory note, mortgage, and any pooling and servicing agreement that may affect the plaintiff’s ability to settle. Plaintiff must pay the nonrefundable managed mediation fee of $750. Defendants will be given a list of HUD and National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program counselors who can assist the defendant in preparing for mediation. A representative of the counseling agency may accompany defendant to mediation. If defendant gets a legal aid or pro bono attorney, the attorney may file a limited notice of representation only through the conclusion of the mediation process. Includes a Borrowers Financial Information form that the Collins Center may require along with other documents. (See 1st Circuit)

Supreme Court of Florida – Dated March 9, Administrative Order creating a statewide task force to report and recommend to the court a system of mediation or other alternate dispute resolution efforts that would protect the rights of the homeowners and lenders. Interim report due by May 8. Final report due no later than August 15.

Miguel,
At least Bozo the clown brought joy to children. HLS would suggest feeding the kids Mac and Cheese and rice so the overinflated mortgage could be paid.
Hopefully the inquiry into this companies accounting will work to positively correct the damages caused by the negative saturation caused by these thieves and their heartless and greedy investors.

I really think that the first couple of waves of foreclosures have in a way been overlooked by the government, from all levels. Not necessarily on purpose. I honestly wonder if they even realize the gravity of the situation, or if anyone really does.

With the delay in legislation and the bail outs where the bailed out banks are not doing anything for their struggling borrowers, it appears to be nothing more than a Band-Aid on a really huge wound on America, and now with local government, such as the Miami-Dade Court Ordered "financial counseling and mediation" on all cases filed on or after "May 1, 2009", it seems as if those of us facing foreclosure or already foreclosed from pre-May 1, 2009 are left to deal with it on our own. Financial counseling is not going to catch up late mortgage payments of fix these garbage loans.

Sure, I realize that only certain people will qualify under many of the programs, such as HUD's Help for Homes, etc. I also understand that it was stated that not all foreclosures will be prevented. But just with FF/HLS borrowers alone, there must be a tremendous number of families struggling, teetering on the edge of foreclosure with a lousy FF/HLS adjustable rate loan with rising rates and payment and declining home values, or already having been served with a foreclosure or even already foreclosed on. These families have to make up a large number of current foreclosure numbers across the country.

Surely there are some FF/HLS customers who have been able to deal with their rising mortgage payments, and not all will go into foreclosure. But at the same time, FF/HLS seems to be purposely sending families into foreclosure by advising them that they can't apply for a loan modification until they are in default. Those of us who were fed that line know all too well what the next step is.

Without the government offering any real help or solutions or putting a freeze on ALL FF/HLS activity, and FF/HLS not doing anything to help borrowers stuck with their garbage loans, how many more FF/HLS borrowers will face the loss of their homes?

We have as yet had no response to our letters to the president, but I'm sure it will take time for it to even reach him, if it indeed does. His mail is probably scrutinized and what they don't feel he needs to see or should see is discarded.

Our packages to Fox News and CNN have been delivered. Additional media packages will go out this week.

One way or another our voices will be heard. I do hope it is sooner rather than later, for I really don't want to hear of another FF/HLS borrower losing their home. We are unique. We are not the average borrower, because we have the distinction of basically being trapped in loans that are designed to fail, and in their failure, FF/HLS gets more money in their pockets because that is when they go on a fee frenzy and convince unwary borrowers to pay them "good faith" payments in their repayment plans (which have nothing to do with the arrearages or the principle or interest of the loan itself) in order to move on to the next step of "loan modification", which as many of us already know, there is none. None that reduces payments or changes the loan terms in order for families to keep their homes and make timely affordable payments. What they offer, if they offer anything at all, is a short term fix that is designed to fail, just as the loans themselves are, so they can again go on a fee frenzy.

I truly hope at least our media letters do get some much needed focus on this dastardly company. To be hearing that they are so brazen to suggest to borrowers that they need to start eating soup or take in roommates really makes my blood boil. I don't know how they sleep at night.

My poor husband thinks I need to move on from all of this. I can understand. He is tired of it – as am I. It has taken over our lives and is probably present in our thoughts most of the time. It invades our sleep, our peace of mind and has become this huge burdensome load of worry and stress. Our credit is in the toilet. But this is such a sinister company, that I just can't move on from this. My goal is to draw attention to it. Our voices must be and will be heard.

Take care everyone.

~ Evelyn

How would you handle this? Due in court on friday regarding Unlawful Detainer, have orginial note (it's been confirmed). How would you present this before the judge?
I would appreciate everyone's input.

I don't know the court protocol in CA. It may not be presentable in the unlawful detainer case, it wouldn't be in FL court, but CA is very different. You should consult with some legal counsel.

~ Evelyn

Many states/cities have pro-bono legal help for foreclosure victims. Foreclosureproject.org is one of these organizations. Look it up as Foreclosureproject.org, otherwise you get a lot of junk sites not associated with this.

I couldn't find a listing of all participants, but perhaps further searching will find help. I did see FL, MD, NY, OH & NC all seem to have some sort of pro-bono ForeclosureProject program. I haven't heard of any results specifically, but for those who really just can't afford legal help, it may be a way to get some legal questions answered and ultimately get some help.

GrammyG, I couldn't find a ForeclosureProject.org for CA, but I did come across another pro-bono site for CA residents. http://www.probono.net/ca/oppsguide/search?natl=&c=&a=25&p=&o=&t=
Check it out and see if they work in your area, maybe they can help you, or at least offer some free advice.

I hope this helps.

~ Evelyn

One more thing, check out your state bar association for pro-bono representation. When looking for this Foreclosureproject.org I noticed that many bar associations had some kind of program,

~ Evelyn

GrammyG, If you can't find a attorney by Friday ask the court for an extension on the unlawful detainer and continuance pending on you finding an attorney to represent you, Tell the judge you are uncomfortable addressing this issue pro-se (without legal counsel). DON'T tell them about the note,or bring that up in court,since that is your ace in the hole and your attorney would likely address that in a discovery or motion to compel. Also, try calling today your local courthouse, ask for the court administrator or assignments desk and ask them if you can ask for a continuance) a later court date) on the unlawful detainer, they might let you reset the court date for the hearing, make sure it is confirmed, a non appearance would be an automatic default on your side and give FF
/HLS the upperhand, so double check that it has been reassigned (continued)to a later date.Hopefully,they grant you a continuance over the phone with a new later court date, if not make sure you get to the hearing and ask the judge what I suggested, but, please try to find an attorney in the meantime. Also, understand that I am not an attorney ,however, I am familar somewhat with some court proceedings due to my line of work. I am a homeowner just like the rest that got stuck with this lousy mortgage company.Check out all the resources that Evelyn suggested, she's very much helpful to so many.Good Luck!

Great advice, Kathleen. GrammyG - all court clerks offices have blank document templates for motions, etc. You can stop in and pick up what you need and hand write motion for continuance (or motion to continue) and you can suggest a date, like say 30 days from taht date, etc. Just tell them what you need to accomplish and the clerk(s) will give you what you need. They may have free templates on line. In person may be a good option, because if you need help filling out, they can guide you. And you can file it with the clerk while you are there.

~ Evelyn

kathleen &evelyn:
I have an attorney, BUT he's holding back now. I for the life of me, don't know why, so I asked him straight out just now.
I'm the one that has asked about items,as in how about filing a quiet title and just now as kathleen passed on to me, how about discovery or motion to compel. Mr attorney has never suggested any of these items. Forget about the note, he will not say anything about that.
I send him my loan docs for a audit and has he said anything about that? No on that too.
All he's saying at this point is be ready to move and we'll try to do something then. What gives here? Any ideas?

I’m not familiar with CA courts, but have recent FL court experience. I would not be able to address a note or anything else pertaining to the actual foreclosure per se, with the exception of needing time for further modification negotiations. But as for discovery, and motion to compel, etc. the window of time in my case has expired in my case – defendants only have 20 days in FL to respond to the initial foreclosure filing. Beyond that, we are powerless. Our modification denial letters have kind of closed the door for us on the actual foreclosure for us.

If there is already a judgment entered against you for the foreclosure, and a sale or sale date, then you are basically through the courts on the actual foreclosure case. The unlawful detainer is a separate issue. Not saying you don’t have a predatory lending case, I am sure like most of us you certainly do. But I guess we who have been through the process have to file a predatory lending suit or something against FF/HLS and all other interested parties after the fact, which is why it is important to have our loan docs evaluated. Why your attorney has nothing to report yet is beyond me. Have you paid him yet?

Your best bet would be to try to get more time. You can either get the documents from the court like I said in my previous post, or just speak up in court. Tell the judge that you need more time. That was how we got our time extensions.

~ Evelyn

Well, I'm getting my ducks in order for tomorrow's UD hearing and it looks like I will have to do this alone. Our attorney has not responsed to my email.
So anyway as I was gathering the paperwork to show why we need more time (so I can follow Evelyn & Kathleen's advice and file the items suggested) with the courthouse) Now this is like unbelievable, I'm making this up but I'm not, trust me. Remember when I shared that I had found the NOTE in a envelope from the title company that I failed to mail back. Well I also found both orginials and copies of all the escrow paperwork. As in escrow instructions,amendments,deed of trust,prelim change of ownership etc.
What does this all mean? I hope you girls can share ideas with me today because I will be gone tomorrow and monday(husband is having surgery on monday-looks like cancer has come back to visit.)
If I don't hear from you both today, please say a extra prayer for us.
Thanks for being here for me.It means the world.

Granny G

What that means is that if they show up tomorrow in court with an "original document" as proof that they owe the mortgage and that shows your "signature", you could get a free house as they have forfeited your signature.

This is one of things our attorney told us that mortgage companies were doing and those who fought them that came accross false signatures were able to get the house.

Hope and pray this is your case.

Miguel

Someone really screwed up big time. I don't know if it was the closing attorney or the lender itself. How could they have sued you and won, if they had NO ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS to show the judge??

Again,this won't apply to the UD. That is a separate issue all together.

This could be a HUGE ace in the hole with regards to your foreclosure. Your attorney needs to file an "emergency motion to vacate the judgment" (only way to get a foreclosure case back into court after judgment and/or sale). Having ALL original docs in YOUR possession, means that your lenderDID NOT HAVE THE ORIGINAL DOCS to present to the court - could be considered just a technicality, but it seems like a pretty big one to me. You would really need to speak to your attorney, or get a new one. This could bring your foreclosure case back into court where you could continue to fight it and maybe win.

You need legal help, seriously. Contact your local bar association if nothing else. This could quite possibly get the foreclosure case thrown out on a technicality.

I am praying for you, and for your husband. I am so sorry that you have to deal with a health concern and this at the same time. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

~ Evelyn

GrammyG, please email me A.S.A.P.

at airforcemom@hotmail.com

Thanks.

~ Evelyn

Anybody out there? Too quiet for too long. Any updates?

I guess the situation where the HLS accounting being in error for over a year without correction got another creditor to request a relief from stay after not being paid for over a year due to too much money going to HLS instead of equally applied to all creditors.
My lawyer suggested to try for a loan modification with HLS since their action forced other creditors into not getting paid.
Any ideas as how to successfully address this request to HLS so they would modify the loan so my damaged plan can be salvaged?

Main questions. Who to contact? What to provide in information? How to check progress with modification request with FF/HLS?

Dos and don'ts appreciated.

Hi Miguel, we're still here. Been busy getting packed and starting to move. The final move is this Saturday.

We have also been busy trying to assist GrammyG and hope we have her going in the right direction. Please pray for GrammyG & her husband.

Jim: As far as getting a loan modification from HLS, you can go to their site: https://www.viewmyloan.com/bahlhls/Welcome.jsp

There should be a link to this page:

https://www.viewmyloan.com/bahlhls/hardshipassist.html

This will get you to a menu of topics - repayment plan, loan modification and some links to external agencies.

Or you can contact them at their Secure Message Center link on their site or call their Customer Service Department at 1-800-346-6437, Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. EST. They have an automated voice response unit available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Ask for their "loss mitigation department". As far as contact names, I don't have any of them with me today.

You need to explain your situation and request a "hardship package" which contains the application and worksheet for you to list your monthly obligations. Keep in mind, that it could take weeks for them to get the package to you. It took nearly 4 months for them to send ours.

You will need your most recent tax return, your two most recent pay stubs for yourself and spouse if applciable and when you have everything together, you will fax it all to them. Of course, they have a tendency to lose faxes, so you should also mail them a copy. Keep a copy for yourself, because they lose mail, too.

They are modifying precious few, and the precious few that they are modifying are not getting much relief from the high adjustable rates, but I guess anything is possible. You need to be persisant and call them frequently.

As far as how to address it, that is hard to say. Their customer service skills are lacking a lot.

FF/HLS normally advises those who request a loan modification that they don't qualify for it unless you are "in default". Now this was clevery done on their behalf, as modifications are intended for those "potentially at risk of defaulting" to "prevent defaulting". As soon as you default, they file a foreclosure suit against you, even though they know you want a loan modification and even though you are in constant contact with them, as was our case.

What we the people don't know or understand, is once borrowers are in default, they do not have to work with them. Even the President's rescue plan clearly states that mo