Sought help through Obama's Making Home Affordable program, when Chase refused to do anything to help with 2 missed payments. They wanted the house. Even though they knew the late payments were the fault of my former credit union. Chase told me I did not qualify for MHA program at all prior to this. After contacting the MHA directly and using conference calls, suddenly Chase H.F. tells me that I qualify for a Modification through Making Home Affordable. Chase told me it would take only 3 months max and not to make any payments at all that it would mess up the process. I let them know I was not comfortable with this. It ended up taking a YEAR ~ and a telephone call to the Head of Chase Home Finance directly. I called the CEO's office after 6pm, and he actually answered the phone. Lo, and behold, I got a phone call from Chase that I got my trial modification set up.
During this year however, 95% of which was done in conference calls with Chase and a Making Home Affordable Counselor as I had never been through a loan modification; paperwork was "lost" many times by Chase, constant threats of foreclosure by phone and mail. My whole file was lost twice by Chase. Each time this happened, Chase wanted to start over. Making Home Affordable actually had to elevate to a Supervisor to Deal with Chase. My credit was destroyed by then. I made my 3 trial payments plus one and was told by Chase, again, not to make payments while the final modification papers were being drafted, that the payment would be the same as or less than the trial payment. It took a month to hear from Chase again, as I had not received the paperwork when it was to come. Chase said it must have gotten lost in the mail & they would mail it again & I would have it within 2 weeks. Instead it was mailed overnight, on a holiday weekend. In the letter enclosed it told me to have the first modification payment mailed to Chase in 3 days, notarized and witnessed by two people. This was on a Federal Holiday. NOTHING was open.
Chase calls it a "denial" on my part, a "refusal" of the permanent modification. On top of this, the permanent amount was well OVER my regular house payment and $50 plus, more than the trial payment. When a conference call was made to the underwriter, Tony, he LAUGHED when I told him that he knew I could not afford that amount. This is recorded by the third party counselor who was stunned by this. I contacted Making Home Affordable "higher ups" and filed a complaint with them. They told me that even though Chase did not follow federal guidelines given for Making Home Affordable, there was nothing they could do. I have filed complaints with Freddie Mac, with The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (who is still investigating). Freddie Macs response was that Chase did in fact NOT follow Freddie Macs guidelines either and then, WITHOUT ANY NOTICE to me, Freddie Mac forced Chase Home Finance to buy out my mortgage. So, I am no longer under the protection of Freddie Mac. I then updated the The Office of theComptroller of the Currency about the situation, and filed a complaint with Federal Housing Finance Agency. They oversee Freddie Mac. By Chase Home Finance, (and one person at MHAffordable), I was told that since I am in a wheelchair, I don't need to own my own house. I could go live in a GROUP HOME, or with family. Since I am disabled, I was also called a "non-productive citizen" and told that MY HOME, that I have lived in nearly five years now, should go to a family with kids, that I was using up the space !!
While I wait for the investigations to go through, Chase Home Finance keeps contacting ME instead of the above mentioned organizations. Chase Home Finance also told me that if I kept making the trial payment amount, they would put it in Escrow and still take my house.
Just so it is clear, I take care of myself. I do not need a nurse or anything like that. The only thing I can't do is mow my own lawn and only because I do not have a riding lawn mower. Chase refuses to include my four trial payments at all in the money they now say I owe. It has been a NIGHTMARE. |