The economic struggles of this country and our state are growing and becoming even more complex. California homeowners have been hit hard with job losses and negative equity, not to mention toxic home loans that are recasting and causing a high rate of foreclosures. It really boils down to just two numbers, there would be the unemployment rate and the number of people behind on their mortgages, which is now at 12.5% and could get worse. Recently, our Governor announced taking state employees down to minimum wage and offering them an "I owe you" sometime down the road. These state employees will have a difficult time keeping up with their expenses, let alone their mortgage payments.
One major issue that is being discussed is with loan modifications, they're just not working like they need to. According to the most recent numbers, 429,000 families who received trial modifications have dropped out or been denied help. We have seen hundreds of our clients being declined for permanent loan modifications, even after making all their trial mod payments on time. Many of these homeowners are being forced into bankruptcy to stop the foreclosure process and file chapter 13 bankruptcy to keep their home.The biggest banks have given permanent modifications to only a small percentage of troubled borrowers. The banks say it is because borrowers failed to provide proper documents or even make their lower payments. We know better because we've seen it with our own eyes. The banks are so overwhelmed by the amount of people in the system right now, some are simply left not paying their mortgage and stuck in limbo for the time being.
The trial mods are supposed to be reviewed for a permanent loan modification after 3 months but it's not happening. Banks employees are not properly trained and often giving bad information to their client and even illegally foreclosing. Bank of America has even foreclosed on the wrong homes over 30 times this past year, opening them up for even more law suits for wrongful foreclosures and unfair business practices. John Clark didn't do a loan modification mainly because the process with his lender was so overwhelming. His house went into foreclosure. "My house went into foreclosure in early July, and it's been an uphill battle since then," said Clark. He says he reached an agreement with his bank to get the house out of foreclosure, but that led to another crisis. "They told me I didn't need to hire anyone to help me with my loan modification and asked me to make payments on a trial modification agreement, I tried to make the payment and ended up with the home being sold anyway. They put it back in foreclosure, and without me being even notified," he said. Mr. Clark has now hired an attorney to help him and negotiate with the lender. He says the paperwork he has had to fill out during this process was extremely difficult to understand, at least this way he can have a law firm help him and see he's treated fairly. "You need a masters degree to understand the paperwork these days, you need an attorney," Clark said.
We don't sue lenders or do loan modifications, but we have relationships with reputable attorneys who do. If you feel you need help with a loan modification or have been declined for a permanent modification after fulfilling your trial mod payments you should call our office. We help homeowners avoid bankruptcy if we feel they are good candidates for a loan modification and refer them to attorneys who provide these services. If we feel they are victims of mortgage fraud we know attorneys who sue lenders to get them to listen.
Bottom line, the banks have attorneys and so should you. If you are facing foreclosure and fear the thought of losing your home contact the Law Offices of Zhou & Chini for a free consultation at (800) 972-9600 to explore your options and avoid bankruptcy if you can. We are consumer debt relief advocates and are here to help save your home from foreclosure or help you walk away and eliminate your personal liability.
