As a mortgage bailout professional, I get to witness and hear about a lot of situations that you as homeowners aren’t privy to. One of the most common and unfortunate situations is when homeowners are denied loan modification for very vague reasons. This happens more often to homeowners that are current with their mortgage payments when they intitially request a loan modification than those that are behind in payments.
And, it just so happens that one mortgage company in particular is responsible for a large portion of this injustice…JP Morgan Chase.
To learn more about this injustice, visit this article written by Paul Kiel, an author for ProPublica.com which reports journalism in the public interest. You can visit this article by clicking on the title, Chase Denied Loan Mods.
The thing that really bother me about this is when you contact JP Morgan Chase, the on-hold recording that you hear warns homeowners of hiring a third party to assist them with their loan modification because Chase is “there to help” for FREE. They are implying that you will get the same assistance from Chase that a third party would offer you for a fee. This is a horribly inaccurate statement for two very good reasons;
- Banks will always do what’s in their best interest and if you review the above article amongst the other resources available on this blog there is more than enough information available to back that up.
- If you have no idea what mortgage bailout programs are available to you, you will have no idea if the bank is giving you what you deserve.
To make my point perfectly clear, I want to give you two personal examples of what I’m talking about.
The first story is that of Terry Tolar of Interlochen, Michigan. Terry hired us to assist him with his modification because he was a previous mortgage client of ours and he was having trouble getting assistance from Chase.
Terry’s story is very sad as when he initially requested his loan modification with Chase his wife was very ill. Unfortunately, during the process his wife passed away. When this happened we had to update all of his information, including the death of his wife, with Chase.
As we continued to follow up with Chase throughout this long and grueling process, Terry received a denial letter from Chase stating that his loan modification was denied. The reason for denial was that his hardship was not of a “permanent nature!”
So, apparently, Chase is not only one of the largest banks in America, but somehow they’ve developed the technology to resurrect the deceased. Fortunately, Terry had us, you know-one of those third party companies that you should beware of hiring, in his corner to fight his battle for him.
It wasn’t easy, and it took a lot of extra work, but you’ll be happy to hear that Terry Tolar was finally approved for Home Affordable Modification Program. His payment was reduced significantly and I can honestly say that this would never have happened if Terry was on his own.
The next story is that of Glenna Drohn from Howell, Michigan. Glenna’s story is similar to Terry’s as she too lost her spouse. However, that was her main reason for hardship as it happened prior to her requesting the HAMP program.
Glenna was already on Step One of the Home Affordable Modification Program when she contacted my office. She called because she had already made 5 trial payments on a program that supposedly requires only 3 trial payments, yet they still hadn’t completed her modification. She thought something was fishy so she found us online and gave us a call.
After reviewing her information, the amount of trial payments she had made was the least of my concern. After doing the initial math, I discovered that Chase was actually charging her $200+ more per month than she qualified for. She would have never found this out if she didn’t call me, one of those third party companies that you should be wary of hiring because Chase is there to help for FREE…lol.
Anyway, it took some time, some persistence, and a keen understanding of the guidelines, but we were able to get Glenna the reduced payment she actually qualified for and her permanent modification in place.
It makes me sick the way they tried to take advantage of Glenna because she is a senior citizen on a fixed income and $200 a month is the difference between buying real food or eating potatoes and Ramen Noodles.
To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, get your copy of the FREE report “7 Simple Steps to Your Mortgage Bailout” and if you feel like you need more assistance than the report offers visit www.MichiganMortgageModification.com and set an appointment to speak with one of The Mortgage Bailout Guys.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome journalism! The column covers it all without any propaganda and sheds light on the subject without an underlying agenda. This is mandatory reading for anyone trying to educate themselves on this topic.
Thanks Greg! It would be nice if the banks did what they were supposed to do for struggling homeowners but unfortunately that isn’t the case. That is why self education is a must when it comes to a mortgage bailout.
I am glad to hear that there are actually 3rd party companies out there that arent scams. Unfourtunetly 50% of the companies are and charge outragious fees and rip off clients everyday. I am glad that Chase warns people of this because no where in this article mentions that. Everyone needs to do their homework in life and double check everything that is told to you. I would never put my life or future in anyone’s hands but my own. If you can find a honest 3d party company that is truely trying to help out it is a huge advantage.
Brandon, you are absolutely right when it comes to researching any company you choose to do business with. But that shouldn’t be specific to just the mortgage modification industry, it goes for every industry as there are bad apples in every bunch.
If you do your homework on the HAMP program, on your mortgage company, and, on the third party companies you might do business with, you should end up on the right side of this process. If you don’t do your homework, unfortunately, you may get taken advantage of by your mortgage company or by your third party.
I’ve heard nightmare stories about Chase, and am glad you wrote this blog post Trevor. A reputable third party can make a big difference when you are dealing with a pit of vipers like Chase Home Loans. Keep up the important work you are doing.