My husband and I were first time homeowners. We were only 1 year into our mortgage with another company. We were locked in at 6.5%. Well, we had several things happen at once... Hotwater heater, washer, dryer and our stove needed replaced. We had been receiving mailers from Countrywide, so we gave them a call about an equity loan. The person we were working with was very nice... Told us what we wanted to hear, that we could get the money we needed right away, but that we would have to refinance our entire loan. They also told us the rate would be 7.5%. We really needed the cash, so we agreed.
We closed and got $9,000 in cash and were charged $4,000 in fees. Well, we got a surprise when our mortgage started to adjust. They put us into an adjustable rate mortgage. After 2 1/2 years of struggling to pay on time, we got behind. We were 80 days late and they told us if we did not catch up all three payments totaling $3000 they would foreclose. When we told them we could not come up with that much, they offered to refinance again to cure the default. Well, we did not want to lose our house, so we refinanced. This time we got $4000 in cash and were charged $11,000 in fees. $5,000 to refinance and a $6,500 prepayment penalty. We were shocked, but had no choice. The put us into another adjustable rate mortgage. Our rate now is at 10.5 and our mortgage payment has almost doubled since we started with them.
No good lender would talk someone out of a fix rate of 6.5 into a horrible adjustable rate like this. Our credit was good when we started, now it is horrible and we cannot get refinanced with another company. We are very close to losing our home and it doesn't seem fair. We work hard and did not buy a house we couldn't afford. Stay away from these lenders, they are horrible and do not look out for what is best for you, just for them.
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