Countrywide Home Loans
CRISIS is an understatement with Countrywide

My husband and I refinanced our house August with an agreement to a subprime rate of 8.5%, and total payment (PITI) of $2431.30 per month.
I also provided my current homeowners insurance information to Countrywide several times.

Shortly after we refinanced, Countrywide placed a "homeowners insurance policy"- Balboa Insurance on our home, even though we had already provided insurance information to Countrywide. My insurance was supposed to be renewed in December, but Countrywide failed to pay Statefarm in December, and our Insurance was dropped.

In my June statement, Countrywide had increased my payments to approx. $3100.00 per month. I called to see what had happened and was told that
Countrywide "realized" that they had "miscalculated" our escrow account by $600.00 per month! I, at that time, was informed by Countrywide Customer Service, that I did not have full homeowners insurance. I called several insurance companies and had agreed to a policy with Farmers Insurance to insure our home.

Because we were without adequate insurance for 6 months, our premiums are twice as much as we were paying with StateFarm Insurance. Our Payment in July then increased to $3334.20 per month.

I would have never refinanced my home if I knew my payments were going to be over 3000.00 per month. I was paying $2200.00 per month with Wells Fargo before we refinanced with Countrywide.

When I called Countrywide in August for help, I was told that someone from the Work Out Department would contact me. I also asked why my payments increased another $300.00 per month (to $3334.20), I was transferred to customer service, who agreed to spread my negative escrow balance over the next 12 months, and decreasing my payment to $2914.76. I also had medical problems last June that kept me out of work for several weeks.

At this time, we were getting closer to becoming late on our house payment, and were falling behind on all of our bills. When we finally were able to speak to someone in the Work Out Department, in the first week of October, we applied for a loan modification, in hopes that we would have a more reasonable mortgage payment. We received a letter from Countrywide stating that Loan Modifications normally take 2 - 4 weeks to complete. I called at least every 2 weeks to find out what the status of our application was. We were also advised on Nov 21, to not send any more payments in until the end of the modification, since we would need this money for up-front-fees.

In the end of January, we received a letter stating that the documents had been sent and they had not received them back from us. I called to find out when the documents had been sent, and why no one had called to let me know any of the details of the loan modification.

Almost two weeks later, I finally spoke to our negotiator, who stated the letter was generated in error. Two weeks later, we received another letter stating the same thing. Again, I called and the beginning of March, I finally spoke to our negotiator again, stating the same thing, the letter was generated in error.

On March 4, Seven Months later, we finally received our papers to sign. We received our papers with new payment information and "up-front-fees". We sent the papers, signed and notarized, back the same day. What we had been paying during the first month of the Loan Modification application that we had been sending in went towards the up-front fees, plus $1500.00 more. (We were never provided with a Good faith estimate from the work out department.) Our new payment is $3044.00 per month. Still, $600.00 a month more than what we originally agreed to when we refinanced our house.

The up-front-fees that we sent in with the documents were applied to our past due balance as a partial payment on March 12. Countrywide continued reporting our payment as not current in March and April, even though, we were suppose to be brought to current status when the papers were returned in March. I sent a letter to Countrywide with our May payment, asking why were still not brought to current status, and why were still being reported to the credit bureau. I never heard back from Countrywide. They did update the information, as marking us current, but did not reverse the reporting to the credit bureaus for March and April.

I would have never refinanced our house if I would have known the payments were going to be more than $3000.00 per month. Now there is nothing that we can do, since our payments were "in Default" for so long.

And, if Countrywide would have completed the modification in 2-4 weeks as estimated, I would have only had $3000-$4000 added to the end of loan, instead of $20,462.84. I also, would not have been reported to the credit bureaus for 7 months!!!

I can not afford $3044.00 per month, and have been told that there is no help, until I am current on our mortgage for the next full year. I fear that I will lose my home, and, because my credit is so bad, that I will not be able to rent anything either.

Nikki
Chesapeake, Virginia
U.S.A.

Company: Countrywide Home Loans
Country: USA
State: California
City: Semi Valley
Address: 450 American Street
Phone: 8006696600

  <     >