New here, and need help

[JohnnyO]

Thanks, I feel much better about it now that I got them to see they made a mistake. It's funny, the first guy I spoke with insisted there were no mistakes, everything was correct. I have a good instinct to tell when something isn't right. I mean, this was a blatant problem that he just couldn't see. Amazing!! Anyhow, I believe the servicer and the lender are one in the same in my case, CitiMortgage is doing the mod, and it's with gov't funds the way I understand it. At any rate, if it fixed my problem, that's all Im concerned with.

[mmertens67]

Citimortgage info

Hi,

I just read your entry and was wondering if you ever found that info for upper management at Citimortgage? I am trying to make a settlement offer to them and that information would be helpful. We filed Chapter 7 due to a lost business and during the process it was discovered that Citimortgage made a mistake on our mortgage paperwork. They somehow released the lien on our house and when they refiled it they changed the date which put my second lien holder in first position and fully secured. This was confirmed in court by all attorneys involved, including Citi's. Now, Citi is in 2nd and I am going to make them a settlement offer to release the lien. We also have a third mortgage with Bank of America that is completely unsecured and was discharged in our Chapter 7 also, so I am going to make them an offer to release the lien. If anyone has information for Bank of America's upper mangement/executive to get some action, I would appreciate it. Also, my Bankruptcy attorney says I could file a Chapter 13 to strip the lien on the 3rd if I can get Citi to accept my offer. My first is with Southwest Bank and I am in talks with them to modify the loan. It's complicated and now that Citi made that mistake, I can't go through with my modification with Citi that I applied for April 24th becasue I owe more than the house is worth with the first now being fully secured and having to make payments to them too. We want to stay in the house and I am not leaving until every option is explored. Everybody keeps saying the banks don't want bad loans on their books and holding all of these foreclosures, so hopefully, they will take the offer, or we walk and they get nothing. The house will be sold at auction and the first will get paid and the 2nd would get very little, that's why I am hoping they will see that and accept our offer. The third, Bank of America, will get nothing also. So far, they have been unresponsive with my attorney. Thanks for the info if you can find it. I need to send the letter immediately. Does anyone e-mail or do you send a certified letter? Do you think I should hire an attorney who specializes in this type of negotiations? Any info that anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

[JohnnyO]

No, sorry. So far, Im just working with my regular assigned rep. If he keeps working with me like Im hoping, I wont have to worry about going any higher. It sounds like you are in quite a position. I will follow this for sure to see how you make out. Im sure someone else here may be able to give you some advice.

[mmertens67]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, we are in a very unusual situation. Citimortgage made a huge mistake with the deed issue. I hope someone can offer any advice. My attorney said to keep trying, but I can't afford to pay him to make phone calls. They have been unresponsive to his e-mails. He tells me the big banks do not want a reputation for negotiating and so they make poor business decisions. What bothers me the most is the fact that the banks get their bailout money, still pay their execs their big paychecks and "bonuses" and we still can't get results and are faced with losing our homes. Until we lost our business and the income, we had never made one late payment in 20 years. We had perfect credit. They should look at the whole picture, not just the last 10 months. This is not a pattern for us and we obviously are in a hardship situation. We did qualify for a mod through Citi, but now that they are in 2nd, I don't know how this will all play out. Nobody seems to have any answers, so I am just trying to be proactive and keep talking and working with them until I can get an answer. Again, thanks for your reply. I am happy for you that your situation seems to be working out. It's so stressful and tough on the family..lots of sleepless nights and scouring the Internet for any helpful information. I feel like the mortgage/foreclosure crisis has taken a backseat to healthcare reform. We are all faced with losing our homes and uprooting our families and where's Obama? Hawaii! Best to you!

[mmertens67]

Real Estate Attorney

Would it be helpful to hire a real estate attorney to negotiate on my behalf? Or, just try on my own? It sounds like everyone is working it out without an attorney. My BK attorney is great, but I do not think he is knowledgeable about real estate law, and right now, I need the best possible advice and someone who knows all of the options available to us. Any real estate attorneys on this forum who can comment? Thanks.

[mmertens67]

I just received a letter from Citimortgage that all reasonable efforts afforded you to cure this default have failed. Our loan has been referred to the following legal firm to begin foreclosure proceedings. If I have any questions, I am supposed to contact the foreclosure attorney. I just received a call from Citi two days ago asking how they can help me? They are so disorganized, it's unbelievable. They are also in second position on this house due to a mistake on filing the deed and so they will have to pay the first off first. So if it goes to auction they will have to start the bidding at what's owed on the property, which would be the first $185, 2nd, 341K and $4200 in RE Taxes, plus foreclosure costs, so opening bid on a house valued at $355K would be $530K+. Do you think that will happen? Or will they just keep it and try to sell it. Or, do you think I can still offer them a settlement? I just don't know and I really would love to hear feedback. I am going to forward this letter to my BK attorney and see if he will contact the attorney for me to see what's going on. Thanks for listening. I am trying to be strong, but I have been fighting this fight for almost a year and I am tired and at this point coming to the realization that I may have to move my family and it is hard to believe that nobody wants to help the homeowners. They would rather take the loss then help us after receiving bailout money too.

[mmertens67]

Just got off the phone with Citimortgage's Executive Response Team and was told that my case needs more investigating on who's in first position. She told me that they can put my case on hold and will not foreclose on us. She says their lawyers will fight for that first position and that they will help us. I will be assigned to someone today or tomorrow and they will work with me to figure this out. I hope this is true. I explained to her how many different reps I have talked to and there is no consistency in the information given. She said she understood that to be true and apologized to me on behalf of everyone at Citimortgage. She also stated that she was going directly to her supervisor and they would be contacting me. I hope this is going to happen. She also gave me her personal extension and said to call her back if I need to. I am cautiously optomistic.

[mmertens67]

Still working on this and have title question

It's been a while since I have updated. I have some good news to share. I was able to settle with Bank of America on the third to release the lien! Thanks to the information on this site as well as loansafe, I was finally able to make contact with someone who had authority. I have until March 3 to pay them. Very happy about that. Thank you to all of you who shared your stories and information. You don't realize how it can help others.

However, CitiMortgage says they have filed a claim against the title to put themselves back in first position and then move forward with us on a modification. But, Southwest Bank is in first by mistake and are moving towards foreclosure. I received an acceleration notice today. I have sent two e-mails to SW Bank's attorney and she has been unresponsive, which is frustrating! I have been told by CitiMortgage and Bank of America that if there is a title issue, no one can foreclose on the property until that's resolved. She told me not to worry, if they try to foreclose, they will hit a wall. Does anyone have any information regarding that? I have been searching the Internet, but did not find anything. Southwest Bank who is in first by mistake, says that they haven't received any paperwork on a claim, so they will move forward until they receive something. My rep said that he is aware that there is an issue with the title, but they don't have the paperwork on the claim yet. He agreed that if that paperwork is received, it would halt everything. He also stated that if it's determined that Southwest Bank is in second position, it would obviously change their course of action on the house. He sounded like he knew it was coming, not too confident in them remaining in first. I asked him if they would settle to release the lien, because we were discharged from Ch.7 on Dec. 31st. He said they would do that. Not enough equity for them to foreclose and have to pay off the first. He also said that mortgage companies carry title insurance and they may file a claim with their insurance company to get paid since the title company is at fault in this situation. If that happens, it will release the lien and we will avoid the settlement issue. Then CitiMortgage would be back in first and we can work out a modification. I have read many posts where people are saying that if you file Chapter 7 Bk that you can't get a mod. Our loan is owned by Freddie Mac and their guidelines state that a person is eligible that is in active bankruptcy. Our trustee wants our tax refund, so our bankruptcy is still open until that is cleared up. We were pre-approved for a mod with CitiMortgage back in 4/09, but never received the paperwork. Then I was told by them that we had to get through our Bankruptcy first or we would lose our mod, so I haven't been given consistent information. My rep said she will help me stay in my home and not to worry. They will work something out with us. She is part of the executive response team and has done everything that she said she would do, so far! Does anyone have any information on what I have just posted? Anything you have to add would be appreciated. I have been working on this for many months and am emotionally exhausted as I am sure so are many of you. I am hoping this will be over soon. I just keep fighting and will not give up for my family. I still have not heard from CitiMortgage regarding the status of the title situation. She told me it may take weeks, so I need to be patient. Until I know Southwest Bank is notified and the process is halted, I will be stressed!