Discharged, but mortgage modification not done in time! Advice?

[phoenixrisin]

We got discharged according to Pacer on 8/25!!! Normally I'd be very happy, but my DH just finally got through to the right people at Citimortgage early this week. We didn't reaffirm our current mortgage because we wanted it modified. They sat on our loan mod request for almost 3 weeks, and finally started working on it late last week after my DH said , "Hello! we are going to be discharged any minute, what are you waiting for??" It had just sat on someones desk! So the day we get everything worked out with them verbally, the guy says "this is based on getting this signed and reaffirmed prior to discharge". And I come home that night, and BAM! Discharged!

Now my DH is very upset because he's been calling and calling and now getting the discharge seems to have really messed things up! And of course lawyer isnt responding to calls... We really wanted to keep the house under the terms we worked out, but that offer may no longer be an option. Last time we did a mod (not under BK) they closed our old loan out, and opened a new one. Can't they just do that again?

Questions:
We can't reaffirm now, right?
What options do we have?

[goingcrzy]

most people here seem to not reaffirm the mortgage anyway and there seems to be some dispute if modifying it after discharge is setting up an entirely new loan anyway.

Unfortunately, Citi will probably want you to start the process over again. Citi works with NACA and they seem to get things done faster if you can go to one of their workshops.

[destitute]

It sounds like they wanted you to reafirm under the new terms. Now that you're discharged you may actually have more bargaining power since you can walk at any time. Just keep calling the bank and see if they will still honor the offered mod.

Congrats on your discharge!

[phoenixrisin]

Thanks!!!

Our lawyer also didn't recommend reaffirming, but my DH hates the idea of NOT reaffirming. He wants the "security" of knowing that if it's "normal and binding" then they can't just kick you out if you are late with a payment.

DH wants to keep the house, I am indifferent, but both of us feel like if we are paying almost $1800/mo, we want credit for making those payments. If we want to rent a house and not have it help our credit, we could be doing it for more like $1200-1500, and have a nicer place you don't have to to the upkeep on. But Citi was going to have us back down in the $1500 range, which we were happy to get.

Besides, these folks who aren't reaffirming but want to keep their houses seem to be banking on the idea that they will be able to get a mod, or a refi, within 2 years or so. My question is, how? With the market the way it is, and my house being $50K underwater- who is going to refi us? That is too scary proposition for us.

I guess if we can do a loan mod w/o illegally reaffirming the debt (and have specific language as such), and create a "new" mortgage we are liable for, everyone would be happy?

Also, is there any reason to think "re-opening" our BK to get an actual "reaffirmation" for the mortgage co is a good idea? Can it even BE reopened between discharge and closing??

[goingcrzy]

you should also ask your lawyer if a judge needs to sign off on the reaffirmation. In my district the judges won't. So you could go through all of this just to have the judge say no anyway.

[hamletsdead]

We got discharged according to Pacer on 8/25!!! Normally I'd be very happy, but my DH just finally got through to the right people at Citimortgage early this week. We didn't reaffirm our current mortgage because we wanted it modified. They sat on our loan mod request for almost 3 weeks, and finally started working on it late last week after my DH said , "Hello! we are going to be discharged any minute, what are you waiting for??" It had just sat on someones desk! So the day we get everything worked out with them verbally, the guy says "this is based on getting this signed and reaffirmed prior to discharge". And I come home that night, and BAM! Discharged!

Now my DH is very upset because he's been calling and calling and now getting the discharge seems to have really messed things up! And of course lawyer isnt responding to calls... We really wanted to keep the house under the terms we worked out, but that offer may no longer be an option. Last time we did a mod (not under BK) they closed our old loan out, and opened a new one. Can't they just do that again?

Questions:
We can't reaffirm now, right?
What options do we have?

Your bank is retarded. They can simply modify the existing terms of your loan and have you sign a new, post-discharge promissory note, which will once again make you personally liable for any loan on the property. The re-affirmation is meaningless if they were going to modify, since virtually every bank rolls out new paperwork in which you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the loan, just like a straight refi.

[mom2three09]

Well we are NOT reaffirming our mortgage with BofA (I guess they don't reaffirm anyway even if we wanted to) but I can tell you that the reason for not reaffirming has nothing to do with a loan mod or refi at any time in the near future. We won't even think about doing either of those things because it's my understanding that we then are financially responsible for the loan even if we get into a predictament down the road where we cannot pay. No way Jose' ... ain't gonna happen If we stay here... and that's a big IF... we plan to sell as soon as we're able to get approved for a new loan which will get us into our forever home.