Mortgage Modification Nightmare with MetLife. Need Advice!

I am looking for some advice on handling the situation I find myself in today. Sorry if this gets a little long, but here is the story so far…

My fiancé lost her job in May of 2008 and has not been able to find steady work since. We were able limp by for a couple of months but in September we had to stop paying the mortgage. I kept in constant contact with MetLife making sure they knew exactly what our situation was all the while hopping that she would find another job and we would be able to catch things up.

In January 2009 MetLife finally started talking about options instead of just demanding money. They sent me a “workout package” which was essentially just asking for all my financial details, proof of employment, amounts in savings…etc. I returned this packet probably around mid Feb. I sent it FedEx overnight and got confirmation it was delivered, but for whatever reason the notes on my account (according to the CS rep.) say they didn’t receive it until almost 3 weeks after it was delivered. Guess they are busy.

I was calling every 1 to 2 weeks just staying in contact and trying to see if there was any progress. I was always told that it was in review. I eventually was told that my account had been assigned to Laura (not real name) in the corporate office in Texas. Laura called me in the last week of March to say I have been approved for a loan modification and was drawing up the paperwork, but she needed money. She said I had to promise to give them $5k in order to do the modification. I said I didn’t have that kind of cash and she said she would continue to review the account and hung up. She called back about a week later saying that I was approved for a loan modification but I had to promise to give them $1700.00. I had the money that I was saving in case we had to move, so I agreed. I probably shouldn’t have but we really want to keep the house and most of the $1700 was supposed to go to the first month and a half mortgage payment after the modification went into effect.

I received my modification paperwork about April 19th and I returned them with all the signatures, notaries, and cashier’s check via overnight mail on April 24th. I was on cloud 9! The modification gave us a 40 year mortgage and a 5% interest rate that stepped back up to the original 7% over 2 years. It covered all past due amounts and fees and brought the payments down to where we could manage them.

Now it all goes to crap. On May 18th I receive a collections call from MetLife that asks for the entire past due amount. About $16K. Before I can ask a question I get disconnected. I call back directly to Loss Mitigation and they assure me that the notes on my account say that the modification is approved and they are just waiting on the paperwork to go through their system. The collection call is just their automated system and they apologize.

On May 21st I receive a statement. The first one I have got in about 6 months. I open it, excited to see my new payment under the modification, but it is asking for the full amount past due (about $16K) with no mention of the modification. The money I sent in with the modification document is listed as a payment to the account but that is all. I call trying to get a hold of Laura and leave her a message to call me. This is typical, she never answers her phone so I leave a message and she calls me back in the next day or two. She only calls back between 8 and 3 my time and only once. Since I am at work, sometimes I miss her call and I have to leave her another message to get her to try to call again, which, of course, takes another day or two. I am pretty used to this by now.

On May 22nd I receive a call from Laura saying she is responding to my message. I call back, and the rep says she can’t transfer me to Laura for some reason but will email her to let her know I wanted to talk to her.

On May 23rd I get a message at 7:30 am from loss mitigation asking me to call, I call back within 15 minutes but the recording says they are closed on Saturdays. I leave a voicemail but no one ever calls back.

On May 27th I get home to see a FedEx envelope on my doorstep:
“Dear ___,
We recently evaluated your mortgage loan for eligibility under the new Home Affordable Modification Program, part of the initiative announced by President Obama to help homeowners. Unfortunately you do not qualify at this time based on your current financial situation.”
The letter goes on to say that I qualify for something called “HomeSaver Forbearance”. Essentially I pay half my original mortgage payment for six months and the will forbear the foreclosure for that six months. During that six months they will work with me to find a long term solution. What happened to the modification paperwork I signed and they said was approved multiple times!!!

It was too late to call so I call first thing this morning May 28th. The Loss Mitigation rep sees the Forbearance offer but can’t give me any details. He says all modifications have been turned over to a different company called First American. Shortly, I find out he wasn’t supposed to give me this info. He says that First American are the only people that can talk to me. I ask what happened to my modification I already signed and he says he doesn’t see anything about that. I ask to try to speak to Laura and he asks if I have worked with her before. What happened to the notes on my account!!! He won’t tell me, but acts as though the notes from my modification are not there. He agrees to try to transfer me to Laura.

For the first time in probably over 30 calls someone at the corporate office picks up the phone when I am transferred. It is not Laura but supposedly someone in the same office. She will not transfer me to Laura or her voice mail. She says all modifications go through a new department and I have to call them. I ask if that department is the First American company the previous rep was talking about. I get a frosty “oh.” And then she explains that it is just a new department of MetLife. I ask if she can give me any info. On what happened to the modification. No, the only people that can talk to me about any modifications is this new department. After going around a few times and getting no new information I allow her to transfer me to the “new department”.

When the next person answers, I get a “Thankyou for calling MetLife (yea right) “ I give the account number and info and the rep asks me if I am calling to take advantage of their forbearance plan. I say I am calling about my modification that I already signed. He has no record of there ever being any modification offered to me. I ask where to get info on it since the papers are sitting in front of me. He tells me he does not know. I ask for a supervisor.

Supervisor comes online and I explain the whole story again. When he hears that my Modification paperwork was signed in April he says that that is why they have no record of it. His “department” was assigned my account in May and he “uses a different system than the rest of MetLife” and doesn’t have access to anything except my basic information and the forbearance offer his department qualified me for. He tells me to call Loss Mitigation. After explaining that both Loss Mitigation and the Texas corporate office sent me to him, he says he will call them to try to figure out what is going on and call me back. That was five hours ago.

I really don’t know what to do anymore. No one at MetLife will even acknowledge that I was sent and returned a modification. Any time I mention it, whoever I am talking to gets defensive and just tries to steer me to this new forbearance plan. The person who set up my modification refuses to even let me leave a message, let alone call me.

I am really sorry for the long post, but it was a bit therapeutic writing it all down. I feel slightly less like going to the mountains and hiding in a cave. Has anyone else experienced this? Is anyone else trying to do a modification through MetLife?

What a nightmare!!!! I'm in the process of trying to get my loan modified with Aurora Loan Services....Sent in all my paperwork in April, made first new "lower" payment (trial period) in April and again today for May. Everytime I call to check the status, I get someone different, some knowledgeable, some not. It's very frustrating to say the least so I can understand your frustration. I don't understand why more can't be done to help people like us stay in our homes?? I'm not looking for a handout, just some help to get us through these tough times would be nice. Good luck!

This really worries me. I am trying to work on a modification with GMAC. I've seen a lot of people complain about gmac with loan modification. I really hope that I can get through this with GMAC without a lot of trouble.

i wish you the best of luck. Hopefully you have a copy of your paperwork that you signed. If necessary I would seek legal counsel and let a lawyer follow up and deal with them. Maybe they will pay closer attention and actually deal with the problem.

I called the "mortgage modification dept." back after about 5 hours of not hearing anything. I got on the line with a supervisor and she asked what I was calling about, I stated that it should be noted on the account and I was calling to follow up. She read the notes that the previous supervisor put on the account. "Customer concerned about modification and wants more information." Obviously he understated the point of my call and had no intention of following up with Loss Mitigation and calling me back as he promised. After telling the story to the new supervisor She said the same canned line "the only modification you qualify for at this time is the forbearance plan. She admitted she had no record of my previously agreed to and signed modification. When I asked for her to get someone on the line with MetLife that did know about my modification she refused and gave me the general customer service number. She asked me to fax the paperwork I had about the modification to her and she and "the floor manager" would review it and get back to me in one day. I faxed the paperwork right after the call but I have very little hope that anything will be done with it. I am starting to think that they are going to try to claim I never returned the packet or something in order to try to get out of the deal they offered me. Luckily I have all my copies. I will probably try to call this afternoon to give her a full day to do the right thing.

Bubbles,

Aside from settling your issue in your favor and retaining your home, I wanted to point out:

There are so many violations of the UCC and Fair Lending Act here that you could quite literally amass enough money from sanctions to nearly retire.

No joke. You need to read up on some similar cases I have seen. One I recall is hauntingly close to what you describe, and ended with the borrower receiving over 500k in sanctions. It involved Bank Of New York, I believe.

I will try to dig through my bookmarks this afternoon and locate specific cases and rulings.

You should definitely be aware of the possible legal ramifications, though, and I hope, for all our sakes, that you pursue them if it makes sense to do so. It could save many other people from the same nightmare down the road.

Thanks DeadMan, I look forward to seeing those links if you find them.

Decided to try one more call before I gave up for the weekend. Finally got someone at Loss Mitigation to put me through to Laura's direct line for the first time in 2 days. As usual she didn't answer and this time her voice mail box is full and I can't leave a message. got kicked over to what sounded like a general corporate operator who tried to transfer me back to Loss mitigation but disconnected the call. Called Loss Mitigation back. I explained about the voice mail being full and he transferred me to "default Resolution" Apparently this is the "corporate office" Laura works in but they have never called it that before. The rep takes several minutes silently looking through my account and comes back with "I will transfer you now" I ask where I am being transferred and he says "There has been a process change and Mary (not real name) is now in charge of your account and has approved you for the forbearance program. I explain that MetLife has already committed to a modification and I need to talk to Laura since she is the one that set it up and no one else seems to want to acknowledge it. He says he will transfer me to Laura. I again interrupt to explain I just came from there but could not leave a message. He says he will try to get a hold of her directly (apparently she is working right now) and puts me on hold after a few minutes I get her voice mail which is no longer full so I leave a message.

I think I am done with this for the weekend unless they call me back, but I am not holding my breath. I will start fresh Monday. Might call and talk to some attorneys Monday too. I hate to do that thought. If I had money for an attorney I wouldn't need a modification on my mortgage in the first place.

Just putting away my paperwork and my eyes fell on the first line of the letter MetLife sent me with the modification forms "This letter constitutes a commitment to modify the Mortgage (identified above)..."

<sigh>

Bubbles,

Here is the grandslam court ruling that an attorney may be very interested in. It deals with "covenant of good faith and fair dealing" in addition to UCC matters as I noted, Fair Lending, TILA, RESPA and so many other things that look applicable to you.

http://www.goodwinprocter.com/Files/CFSA/rm_Nosek.pdf

Here is another source of many rulings that have peripheral relations to your issue:

http://www.abiworld.org/committees/newsletters/consumer/vol6num4/Consumer_Sept_2008_NE08_Messing_Mortgages_Cases.pd f


Note that the first case, which seems likely to be a case-law reference for your attorney to use in court, applied hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in sanctions, all based on the idea that the lender was basically. . . behaving like an idiot and not honoring their agreements, while attempting to mislead the court.

They also awarded emotional damages. While the details of your case are a little different, the context sounds almost exact. I hope you look further into this.

the Court
finds that Nosek is entitled to actual damages for her emotional distress as well as
punitive damages under Section 105(a) for Ameriquest's violation of Section 1322(b) .
The Court finds that its previous award of $250,000 .00 for Nosek's emotional distress is
appropriate and hereby awards that amount under Section 105(a) . The Court already
found in its previous decision that Ameriquest's inability to properly and timely apply
Nosek's payments caused her emotional distress, which was supported by testimony from
herself, her therapist, her psychiatrist, her primary care physician, and her pastor . Nosek,
2006 WL 1867096 at * 15 . Nosek testified that upon seeing her incorrect payment
history:
I felt like somebody hit me in the stomach . . .and you know, suckerpunched
me. . .so when I saw that [this payment history] doesn't represent
my payments post-petition, . . . and to get another mortgage, they need to
see that I was making the correct payments . . . and this doesn't show that . I
was devastated. I felt there was no hope . . .I became tremendously
depressed and really since then I haven't been able to get my feet under
me . . .
Id.
The Court was outraged by Ameriquest's actions and found that its failure to maintain
accurate accounts exacerbated Nosek's emotional distress, something this Court can
remedy by assessing damages under Section 105 . The Court cannot award Nosek other
actual damages because the Court already found that she failed to prove any . See Nosek,
2006 WL 1867096 at *6, 15 (explaining that Nosek failed to proffer any evidence tha t
7
Ameriquest's inaccurate accounting prevented her from refinancing her Note on more
favorable terms) .
As for punitive damages, the Court finds that Ameriquest's accounting practices
are wholly unacceptable for a national mortgage lender and hereby awards $500,000 .00
under Section 105(a) . The Court considered punishing Ameriquest's conduct in its prior
decision, but was precluded from doing so because the remedy was erroneously based on
the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, under which punitive damages are
not available . Nosek, 2006 WL 1867096 at * 15 (stating that "punitive damages are not
recoverable although the concept is tempting to the Court considering [Ameriquest's]
egregious behavior") .
In awarding punitive damages, the Court notes that "Ameriquest is one of the
largest and oldest home mortgage lenders and loan servicers in the U .S. It services home
loans in 48 states . As of July 2006, Ameriquest service[d] approximately 437,000 loans .
Of that, nearly 7,200 involve borrowers that are currently Chapter 13 debtors ."

Bubbles-
I to am in the middle of a loan mod with MetLife. I have the mod documents in front of me. I need to sign and send back with a cashiers check by Friday.

Questions:

Did you get the following documents from them (I did):
Acceptance of Offer for Modified Mortgage
Federal Truth-In-Lending Disclosure Statement
Loan Modification Agreement
Notice of no oral agreements
Errors and omissions compliance agreement

I have to send a check for $4,388.96

Misc fees: 422
Late charges: 1161.44
7/1 Payment 2805.52

New loan agreement:
12 Payments $2,433.30
12 Payments $2,905.03
297 Payments $3,403.11
1 Payment $3,481.49

My original mortgage payment was $3885

My concern, I don't want to get dinged on "late fees" and Missed Payments. According to my "offer for modified mortgage", This is what is stated:

Current Principal: $510,000
Capitalized delinquent interest 24,801
Capitalized escrow 2782
The new modified principal balance will $537,723

This amount, $537,723 is also the amount financed on my truth-in-lending statement. I have not made a payment since august of last year.

This all looked VERY official to me, but you have given my some concerns. Anyone have any advice? I CAN afford the new modified payment and would like to keep the home

I can't say it has been fun, but I think we have stuff back on track today. I called again this morning and now, no matter what number i call, my call is routed to Mary's voice mail. Mary called me right back and answered most of my questions. The modification is still in effect and was sitting on her desk. She is the on that gets assigned the account after the paper work has been signed and actually implements the modification.

My impression is that my modification just happened to occur at the same time they were changing their process for handling modification accounts. In essence, i fell through a crack in the system. I have lost a lot of trust and will not entirely trust things are OK until I receive my first statement. The paperwork said I should have received it in 30 days and it is well past that but Mary says they are waiting on one more thing to come through with the mortgage insurance and then it will be done.

Getmeoutofhere:

The paperwork that was sent to you looks exactly like the stuff that was sent to me, all the same forms and whatnot. Your numbers a a bit bigger though :)


I would definitely go ahead with it. I hope you or anyone else dose not have to go through what I did the last couple weeks. I have a feeling a lot of my problems are coming from a very overworked and under trained staff in the middle of a change in how they handle modification accounts.

Make sure you double check all the numbers on your paperwork. I had two problems in mine that I just found today. I have already signed them so I am not sure if I have any recourse.

1. Laura failed to mention to me that the payment she quoted me and was reflected in the paperwork was only principal and interest and did not include escrow account payments. Mary told me I should have been told this and even received a letter explaining it. I wasn't and didn't. In fact, The amount on my Truth in Lending Act sheet says my first years payments are $992.12 but with escrow added in they will actually be $1324.40.

Then, after I got off the phone I realized:

2. The amount of delinquent escrow that is capitalized into my new principal seems way off. It is listed as $6226.94. I have not paid in 9 months and my escrow payment is $324.20. That should only be $2917.80.

My loan carries mortgage insurance. Mary said the only thing they are waiting on is a payment from PMI for the escrow account. I asked if MetLife is making a claim on the past due escrow payments and she said yes. Right after I got off the phone I remembered that the past due escrow is rolled into my new principal. Sounds like there might be some double dipping going on.

I have left a message asking for explanations for these new questions but have not heard back yet.

well, it looks like I am back at the beginning again. I can not even express my frustration level. Apparently everything Mary told me has turned out to be incorrect.

I called today to find out how to make my July payment (my first payment under the modification) since I have not received a statement. My modification has been sent back to Laura who is now making "changes" to it and going to send me some new paperwork. No idea when i can expect the new paperwork. No acknowledgment whatsoever about what Mary had told me or even that I had ever talked to her. The person I talked to today, told me I can wait for new paperwork or agree to proceed with a foreclosure.

I truly hope others going through Mortgage modifications with MetLife don't have the problems I have had. That being said, if it is legal in your state, record all calls with them, keep written logs of all calls and copies of all paperwork, and don't put any faith in any information or promises made over the phone or in writing (even ones with signatures on it) until you absolutely sure they have came through on those commitments.

61 days since signing and sending in my modification paperwork and payment and still no modification. No information on what is wrong. No communication on when I can expect to know anything. MetLife is refusing to take my payment that is due July 1st under the signed modification. I wait for "new paperwork" to show up with no idea what it will contain.

Bubbles-
Similar situation with me as well....signed my paperwork and mailed in with my first payment. Received a statement in the mail with the "old" terms. Called to find out when my new statement would be available. After an hour on the phone, ended up back with the person who did my mod. She said that my next payment was not due until August 1st, however, there was an error on the paperwork and they would need to resend to me. The error? My original mod had the interest rate changing every year for year 1, 2 and 3. She said that was incorrect and that the interest rates would be fixed for 3 years. What the result would be is that my payment will be the same for 3 years instead of just the first year. I confirmed with her that I was not at risk of forclosure...she said no risk. I checked with my attorney and basically, they deposited the check which was tied to the mod agreement, so therefore, we have a binding agreement....

hey bubbles
just found this old thread, just wondering if you could give us an update.

I am interested, too.. hopefully you see this thread.

For your information, I sent in an online form in March (it was from the Government's website). it asked basic information and said I'd hear back from Metlife within 45-60 days.

94 days later, I got a letter from them saying my application was incomplete because I didnt submit paycheck stubs - well, no duh! How am I supposed to do that online. The form gave me 10 days to resubmit... problem is I didnt get the letter until 8 days after the 'date of the letter'. So I quickly rounded up the information and faxed it it.. which, of course, the fax was busy and it took me about 4 hours of resending to get my 50 page document to go in...

Anyway, I eventually got it in and got a letter a week later saying they got my completed information and would respond in 30-45 days. Of course, everytime I call, I get a different time frame. The good news is, I know the name of the processor/negotiator... but the extension they gave me is just the general loss mitigation number.

Does anyone know how I could get the person's email address? The format?

OK, here is my story, My wife and myself purchased a house, the company she was working for was sold, thus the office was closed and she lost her job. I have been working 2-3 jobs paying the mortgage for months, however with the recalculation of the escrow, the payment jumped too high for me to manage. After she was laid off (income slashed in half), we found out she was pregnant, and the baby was born and placed in the ICU. So here is the rest of the story with First Horizon/Metlife. I will leave out some of the calls which I could not get any information in as this is going to be long.

In February 2009 I contacted First Horizon requesting a mortgage re-work/modification package, of which I was told that they will send the packet, however, to qualify for a mortgage re-work I have to have missed at least two payments. I completed and ubmitted the packet in March 2009. I called First Horizon on a weekly basis to receive information on my modification request, however, when I started to be directed everywhere without accurate information, I decided to start these notes.

05/14/09 - Mr. Steve Cabrera called notfitying me that he is from a new department - HMP Department (Home Modification Department - 1-866-814-4414) - he requested information on why I am requesting a modification. He only has that I was delinquent. I provided a background on my hardship, of which he stated that I was eligable for a modification packet, which I should receieve in 15-30 days. I re-ittereated to him that I already had the packet filled out and submitted to First Horizon back in March 2009. He stated that it is a new department and that the infor should be sent accross from the previous department to them.

05/14/09 - I called First Horizon to verify the information provided by Steve Cabrera, who notified me that my case was transferred to a new department and that they should be receiveing my modification request I submitted in March.

05/15/09 - Called HMP Department (Home Modification Department - 1-866-814-4414) - Spoke to Diego - reittereated my hardship and income, which he verified the information as stated by Steve Cabrera.

05/20/09 - Called HMP Department (Home Modification Department - 1-866-814-4414) - Told that my case was transferred to Default Resolutions (1-866-633-0358)

05/20/09 - Cannot get hold of anyone at Default Resolutions

05/28/09 - Finally got through with Mr Leroy of, what I am told is now First American, who is now handling all modification requests for first horizon. Mr. Leoy stated that all foreclosure proceedings are on hold.

06/09 - Called First American numersous times requesting an update, and was always told to be patient they are working on it, and I should know something soon.

06/26/09 - Received Letter of intent on foreclosure and that information was forwarded to David Stern to Process foreclosure.

06/26/09 to 07/09/09 - Called First American numerous times requesting for information as to why I am still in foreclosure and was on hold for hours.

07/09/09 - Called First Horizon Loss Mitigation numerous times requesting for information and was on hold for hours - left a message requesting a call back. Left all my information.

07/09/09 - Got hold of Clint (TKQ) at Default Resolution, who could not provide information

07/09/09 - Got hold of Sergio (SR1) who indicated that there is a stop hold on foreclosure, their department started in April 09 and they got my information in May 09 from First Horizon and that they are working on a package and I should receive something soon. Likewise, he is again submitting a stop/hold on foreclosure and I should call the loss mitogation department to notify them of this.

07/09/09 - Called First Horizon - Got hold of Brandon (UKL) and somehow this ended up being Default Resolutions. Brandon was rude and unhelpful. I asked for a manager, and I was told a manager was unavailable, I was transferred from him to a voice messaging system, I left a message and my cell no. asking for a someone to contact me.

07/09/09 - Called First American - Teresa Ramos (informed me that they do not have identification numbers) and was informed that she is placing a foreclosure stop/hold note, I was asked to reinstate my hardship. I was advised to isregard all further mailings as it is automated and I am already in the system for a modification

07/10/09 - Called First American - Teresa Ramos (amazingly I got the same person twice) she verified all the information as stated the day before, foreclosure stop/hold note, I was asked to reinstate my hardship. I was advised to isregard all further mailings as it is automated and I am already in the system for a modification

08/10/09 - Received statement of complaint and that the house is in foreclosure proceedings

08/10/09 - Called First American - Yasmin - 1-866-814-4414 - verified my information, do not have information, cannot have no forclosure, 05/15/09 received my information, will forward information to manager (Matt Cochran). Asked me to call back tomorrow.

08/10/09 - Transferred and left message for Jenna Copp of Law offices of David Stern - regarding the letter delivered as well as the stop/hold on all foreclosure proceedings as detailed by Teresa Ramos.

08/10/09 - Called First American - Sissily - 1-866-814-4414 - I asked to speak to a manager, she put me on hold to get one. Manager - Amanda - said she needs the date of foreclosure that she can provide to the lender and state that they have not sent us the packet yet, and that forclosure proceedings should be placed on hold.

08/10/09 - Called Law offices of David Stern - 1-954-233-8000 - Spoke to Mandy - Who notified me that I am in foreclosure proceedings, and I have been served complaint that I am in foreclosure proceedings. She needs written verification from Metlife that they have a stop hold on foreclosure. otherwise they are proceeding.

08/10/09 - Called First American - Lynette - 1-866-814-4414 - Discussed with her that the law office is actively pursuing a court date for foreclosure of which she has placed a stop/hold request for foreclosure. She advised me to contact First Horizon and notify them of there is a stop/hold foreclosure which should then carry over to First Horizon notifying the legal firm seeking foreclosure.

08/10/09 - Called First Horizon - Jenae Sherrod - 1-800-364-7662 - I called to notify them that First American has placed a stop hold on foreclosure. She said they closed out the file in May 09, and is unsure as to why, she sees no activity of review since then except for notes for forclosure. She wanted to requalify me for they HMP (Home Modification Program) of which I was aksed all my financial information and reason for hardship. They then deterrmined that I met the qualifications and would I now have to re-submit my bank statements, pay stubs, work-out sheet and hardship letter. She also advised me that foreclosure is now on hold and a sale date is post poned. Once they get this information, they will assign it to a reviewer/negotiator, of which can take approximately 45 days, once they review it they should get back to me, so it should take 60 days or so from when I submit the package. However, she urges me that they are backed up on modification requests, so it could take a little longer.

My Questions are:

- What in the world are these people on?????
- So they closed my file request for a modification since MAY 09, thus Metlife has been seeking foreclosure, while First American and First Horizon has been been telling me to be patient they are working on it and all foreclosure proceedings are on hold. So I am going to be liable for all the attorney fees if I am approved a mod.
- I am afraid that the arears as well as all the attorney fees may be to much that they may deny my request.
- Even if I can scrape together some funds to pay some of the arears, I cannot as the house is now in foreclosure proceedings, when it should not have been?

BPFL

OMG, that is terrible! No specific advice except to keep going, call them every day. I know they are wearing you down but dont give up! They could still stop this.

I don't understand, why are there soo many involved? Metlife, First American, First Horizon?

You might need to go up the food chain at this point to get things moving. I see you are on loansafe too, see if they can get you an email address or mailing address to the CEO (I guess to all three involved?) or I am sure you could google the names and addresses. Write the CEO and give a brief explanation that you have been approved and the foreclosure is proceeding, and you are getting the run around and fear you are falling between the cracks and attach a copy of the log you are keeping. I went straight to the top at BoA and it worked for me. You would be surprised how much pull they have over stuff like this, and if they know the big cheese is watching, they may be less incompetent.

OK, so this is a summary of what has transpired thus far:
- My lawyer issued a response the Lis Pendens,
- My lawyer issed a interrigation and request for the loan docs for review,
- NO response from firm for First Horizon and time expired for their response,
- Follow up letter to the legal firm for the First horizon asking for coorporation and providing the docs for review,
- NO response from firm for First Horizon and time expired for their response,
- My lawyer filed a motion to compel for generation of the documents and a court date was set,
- Firm representing First Horizon attended the court date and was granted 20 days to provide the documentation,
- Firm representing First Horizon still do not respond to court order and time exired,
- My lawyer filed a motion for contempt.

Meanwhile, I have submitted a 3rd modification request, becasue Met Life (who now owns First Horizon) told me that the loan is a fannie mae loan and that the documents/modification package have to be within a certain amount of days otherwise they expire and a new packet has to be submitted. so basically they sat on it for sooooo long that the "age" of the docs expired.

when is this going to end.... they have people who are willing to work out something and willing to stay in the house, but they are dragging their feet and putting us through the added expense of obtaining a lawyer and in the meantime, the property value is plomerting and the missed payment, interes and fees are escalating. By the time any sort of modification can be achieved the fees may be astronomical....where is the common sense with these people?
Can someone advise me as to what and where their impression of the legal battle is heading too. I just need some piece of mind here...

Thanks.

bpfl

I wish I had some advice I could offer... I have none, but I did want to offer you some encouragement. I was successful in getting a modification on my first and both second mortgages. I took 6 months and a million phone calls to Bank of America but it did work out for me. I believe that persistance and patience are key. Keep at it and good luck!

I am horrified yet not surprised by these stories. I too was put in foreclosure when I should not have been. I was promised that I could catch up by Jan. 29th. When I called 2 days later on Jan 14th to confirm where to send the check, I was told by a representative that I was in foreclosure and never made a promise to anyone to send money. I wanted to speak to a supervisor. NO ONE would let me. I wanted a copy of all my recorded conversations. No luck there!! The foreclosure reinstatement was $1000.00 more tagged onto my bill.
Now, I'm trying to fax the so called "work out" package to them and it's busy busy busy. So, I've called for the past 2 days. I'm put on hold for 50 minutes or so each time. Then, someone picks up the phone and says that they are transferring me and I'm disconnected. I have a feeling that it is done on purpose. They can see my loan number. It is as if they want for your home to be foreclosed upon once you get stuck in the horrible lost mitigation department of Metlife. Now, I'm going to see if I can borrow money from family to get reinstatement of the loan, but I'm so scared that won't even be enough to escape these people. None of their stories are the same. Any thoughts as to what in the world to do? We've got to stop this!

Ok this is just crazy. so apparently since my lawyer filed a motion for contempt I have magically been contacted by First American, who is contracted by First Horizon, asking me to re-submit recent copies of my paystubs, keep in mind that it is now feb 2010 and I submitted my 3rd modification request in Dec 2009. I faxed the stubs in last week, and again magically First American calls me two days ago, at 8 am asking me for the same info. I told the rep I faxed it in last week, she puts me on hold to check the file, and suddenly the docs that I faxed in are there. She tells me that they are expediting this to see how best they can help me out. what is so funny is that all this sudden contact came from them a few days after the motion for contempt was filed by my lawyer and a court date set for march 2, 2010...... don't know what is going on with these people.....they seem to be rushing to get me something before the court date for contempt as their lawyer has not responded to any of my former requests, or the courts orders...... these people are sickening....

Dear BPFL,
Wholy cow what you have been through. After reading all this, I'm getting family to help me just reinstate the thing rather than going through all that. I know that somehow it will expire and the sale date would be set and that's it since so many balls are dropped at their end. I'd just rather get it current and negotiate after the fact. I'm sure that won't be easy either. I've been reading so many other threads in other forums about this company. I suspect that there will be a class actions against these banks that give the run around. It is as if they want you to lose the property. I wish you the best of luck. Keep us posted. Oh and BTW, I called lost mitigation back and entered in my social instead of my loan number. My call was picked up immediately. That could be coincidental, but nothing surprises me anymore.

________________________________________

Due to a series of unfortunate events, I fell behind on mortgage payments by two months last summer. I initially applied with Metlife Home Loans through the HOPE NOW Program in June 2009. I kept in constant contact with MetLife making sure they knew exactly what the situation was all the while hoping that I would be able to catch things up.

In August 2009, adviced by Metlife to contact by First American LMS which started talking about options instead of Metlife just demanding money. They asked me to complete a “workout package” which was essentially just asking for all my financial details, proof of employment, amounts in savings…etc. I was sent a contract drafted by First American LMS, to make three trial payments for September, October, and November while my package was in review for modification. (They did not explain that these modified payments would be applied to arrears while my application was in review, They did not tell me that while in review and making modified payments that they would be reporting my mortgage as unpaid for the duration of the review process essentially creating irreversible damage to my score.)
I returned this packet with first trial payment in September as agreed. I sent it FedEx overnight to First American LMS ( the third party processor approved for processing applications due to high volume of applications Metlife was receiving in response to the Making Home Affordable Program) and I got confirmation it was delivered. First payment was sent to First American; then the next to Metlife; and finally the third payment was sent overnight to Metlife but they did not post it until 10 days later. I got a letter stating I did not qualify because posting delay put me beyond the date payment was due. I contacted Metlife. The rep said they do not know why the letter stated this because I have made my modified payments as agreed; but that to call back and check because it is still in review. In December, I called to follow up. I was advised to wait for a workout package which has still never come. At that point, I was told to continue making trial payments until I receive an answer. I sent in two additional trial payment amounts which were returned to me because they did not meet enough of the total balance due on my mortgage since I was “no longer under a trial modification plan”. I was then advised it would be best to withhold all payments until I receive a response; I called again in January and was told to verify mailing address and to wait for the package being re-sent and that still has yet to come. Again I was told, if you send payments less than the total balance, your payment will be rejected by our systems so it would be best to hold the funds until your application is reviewed. I called again in February 2010 only to be told yet again why I should just hold money until modification review is complete, that collections activity up to and including foreclosure process may occur and asked if I have considered a short sale? or Have I already listed my home for sale?
I asked if they would put in writing that I should withhold payment until I receive a response; but, they state they “cannot generate letters like that on their computers” or that they can only generate pre-printed letters to mail.

I have been calling every 2 to 4 weeks just staying in contact and trying to see if there was any progress. I was repeatedly told that it was “in review”. I eventually was told that my account had been assigned to Kim, employee identifier UKI (not real name) in the corporate office in Irving, Texas. Kim provided me with a fax number and an extension. (You cannot reach her via the extension). On the same day, I faxed in the information requested. I printed my fax confirmation and have put it with all the documents related to my loan modification application. I was told it takes 7-10 days to upload my financial documents into their system. It still has not been uploaded into their system. I called after 15 days and it still had not been uploaded. I called again five days later and it still was missing in action as of 3/2/2010. When I called in on 3/2, I was ultimately told that my fax confirmation only verifies that a fax came through the number not that the documents have been received. I was then asked who I faxed it to and what number I faxed documentation to.
I then asked the rep if I could send it in by certified mail; and, they said yes; however they “cannot advise me on that mailing method since it would cost me money” to send it in that way. I asked rep for an address to mail it to. She provided an address: 4000 Horizon Way, Irving , TX.
To this day I have received no official response regarding the status of my loan modification application which was started in June 2009 through the HOPE NOW website.

I really don’t know what to do anymore. I have been in panic mode holding all payroll and paying only light bill, phone bill, water bill, car note and insurance, and groceries. My credit is now damaged so horribly!

No one at MetLife will even acknowledge that I was sent and returned a modification. Any time I mention it, whoever I am talking to gets annoyed and just tries to repeat that scripted message from Metlife about how a modification is not guaranteed and that I should know that “collections activity will continue up to and including the foreclosure process.” I was also asked if I could pay higher amounts they had a payment plan but it would raise my monthly payment (which leads me to wonder why they even bother because it does not seem to make sense to me; I mean, why would anyone be able to pay more if presently claiming economic hardship and applying for loan modification?)

I have been consistently told unless I can send in a payment that will bring me within one month late ; that they will reject my payment. The bank is refusing to accept payments less than $12,000 because I now owe $14,000 as of March 1, 2010. I have offered to send in payment of $9,900 and they say they will not accept it because it does not cover the $12,000 past due. I am frustrated and feel hopeless. I do not trust this lender and feel that their dealings are unscrupulous and that they may be violating consumer rights with these misleading and unfair communication practices. It is emotionally stressful, affecting my health and outlook, and I feel that there is no regard for the good faith efforts that I have made to communicate and try to resolve this with the full intention of staying in my home.

Also the reason for having to submit new information is quoted as follows

"First American was not handling processing quckly enough so Metlife had to recall all the dockets sent out to them."

"Financial information remains valid for only 60 days"...a fact they did not explain at all until I specifically asked how often should I be re-submitting documentation?

Finally noone can respond as to when I can anticipate the review process will be complete!!!!!!! FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!


I used alot of someone else's post because the story was so similar to my experience...that it just seemed perfectly worded. Thanks to the original author!!!!! Hard to share this frustrating experience but may prove helpful....does noone else think this may lead to class action?