Hello,
I am five months late on both of my mortgage payments -- my primary mortgage is $180k (7% fixed) with Chase, and my HELOC with Countrywide is $29k (also 7% but variable).
Yesterday I was served with papers by Chase so time is running out. If Chase forecloses on me, it's pretty safe to say that they're going to make most of their money back, and Countrywide is going to get shafted altogether.
Based on that, I figure that maybe Countrywide would be more interested in working with me than Chase would.
My house is mortgaged for a total of roughly $210k at 7% interest. I figure I could manage the debt if I could roll both loans into one loan at 4.5% interest for 30 years -- or 5% for 40 years.
I realize what I'm proposing is not a loan modification but rather a re-finance.
I saw Donald Trump on "Larry King Live" the other night and he kept going on and on about how the banks want to negotiate and you can strike deals with them. He made it sound so easy. And I'm sure a sharp businessman like him could pull it off.
But I've read a lot of stories on these boards about people getting the runaround for months and months -- I'm wondering if I should even bother wasting my time, or if my idea is just pie in the sky.
I really don't want to run around in circles. I don't have a land line here at home, so faxing documents would be a big deal and expense. In addition I only have one cell phone and limited minutes, so I don't have the luxury of being able to camp out on the phone all day making phone calls.
If I thought it might pay off, I might give it a try. But I was wondering if you all have any opinions on this. Should I even bother trying for a 4.5% interest rate?
I am five months late on both of my mortgage payments -- my primary mortgage is $180k (7% fixed) with Chase, and my HELOC with Countrywide is $29k (also 7% but variable).
Yesterday I was served with papers by Chase so time is running out. If Chase forecloses on me, it's pretty safe to say that they're going to make most of their money back, and Countrywide is going to get shafted altogether.
Based on that, I figure that maybe Countrywide would be more interested in working with me than Chase would.
My house is mortgaged for a total of roughly $210k at 7% interest. I figure I could manage the debt if I could roll both loans into one loan at 4.5% interest for 30 years -- or 5% for 40 years.
I realize what I'm proposing is not a loan modification but rather a re-finance.
I saw Donald Trump on "Larry King Live" the other night and he kept going on and on about how the banks want to negotiate and you can strike deals with them. He made it sound so easy. And I'm sure a sharp businessman like him could pull it off.
But I've read a lot of stories on these boards about people getting the runaround for months and months -- I'm wondering if I should even bother wasting my time, or if my idea is just pie in the sky.
I really don't want to run around in circles. I don't have a land line here at home, so faxing documents would be a big deal and expense. In addition I only have one cell phone and limited minutes, so I don't have the luxury of being able to camp out on the phone all day making phone calls.
If I thought it might pay off, I might give it a try. But I was wondering if you all have any opinions on this. Should I even bother trying for a 4.5% interest rate?
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