1700 per month for family of 4

[Skipper]

frankies_mom - All good questions that I intended to ask jamesalip as well. In doing some research I did find the official website for the program Jamesalip referred to. You can find it at http://www.makinghomeaffordable.com . I have emailed my lawyer asking what the proper course is to apply while in CH. 13. I will post any useful information.

A useful site for modifications is http://www.loansafe.org/

Lot of good people and info there.

Skipper

[jamesalip]

We started off by contacting Wells Fargo to determine if we would qualify for a modification and to have them give us the steps. Once they told me I could qualify for the modification, then I contacted my attorney. You will need to contact your attorney so they can request to have the automatic stay lifted. To be honest, I was more nervous about the automatic stay being lifted because that meant if I did not come through on my part, then the house could be taken. However, my attorney contacted Wells Fargo's attorney and they sent over the terms of the modification. This was done to determine what the new principal balance, payment and interest rate would be. Once we reviewed it, and the attorney accepted the terms, then the automatic stay was lifted and Wells Fargo went to work on the mod. Do not be scared when you get the foreclosure notice in the mail as this is a formality if they do have to foreclose. As long as you do what they are asking, then you should be good. Wells Fargo request to see pay stubs, a hardship letter and my expenses.

Wells Fargo advised us to not make a payment on the loan while they went through the process. We saved the money just in case we needed it for a downpayment, which we did not need it. Once they finished the modification, they sent us the paper work overnight which we had to take to a notary and sign the papers in front of him and he notarized it. The process started in May and we had to make our 1st modified payment on Aug. 1st. I was very surprised how easy and stress free the process was, but that may not always be the case. I hope this helps. (Sorry if there are any spelling or grammar errors.)

[jamesalip]

Sorry, I forgot to say we were only 1 yr into the plan when it was modified.

[frankies_mom]

thanks rdwng11... i'l look forward to anything more you found out.

thanks james for the great info. we have our 1st mortgage arrears and a few months of condo fees in our plan. we are getting our 2nd mortgage lien stripped. we will look into a loan mod down the road. maybe we can rework it after the condo fees are paid for so we can put the balance of our 1st arrears into a modification and out of a 13.

[rdwng11]

Update...

Well I'm finally getting around to posting an update and unfortunately it is not a good one.

To begin with, my so-called "lawyer" is a crook and nothing more than a glorified paper pusher. He has been totally unresponsive to our needs. He tells us that he cannot modify our plan in a way that will help us. I've consulted with two other lawyers who have kindly taken the time to look over our plan (free of charge) and have confirmed that there is room in the plan to allow for approximately $400 per month toward living expenses. Unfortunately, to change lawyers at this time will require an additional fee of $250 per hour and the process will take at least another month.

In the meantime we continue to barely make ends meet. We've decided that we can no longer afford to make our $423 per/mo car payment and that eventually it will have to go back. I have no idea how this will impact the plan.

A small bit of good news. I have worked with the mortgage company to confirm my suspicions that the proof of claim was incorrect. (I got tired of my lawyers empty promises that he was looking into it) They have agreed to submit a new proof of claim, reducing the arrearage amount by nearly $3000. I have also started the process to request a loan modification. In searching for a new lawyer I've been given two different opinions on how to proceed. One opinion is to struggle through the 13 plan and payments while going through the modification. If all goes well then attempt to convert the 13 to a 7. The other opinion is to convert now to a 7 and start negotiation with mortgage company for modification or payback plan. Of course, all the while we would have to be willing to simply walk away from the house if we can't work things out with the bank. I'm ready to do the 7. I simply can't take it any longer. However, my wife is in it for the long haul ready to do whatever it takes to keep the house......

Anyway, until we come to some mutual agreement we remain in Chapter 13 HELL..