We purchased our home in Buckeye, AZ in May for $175,610.00 with a 20% down payment and obtained a 30-year 5.5% fixed rate mortgage for the amount of $140,400.00. During the next several years, our monthly mortgage payment of $893.21 including Homeowners Association dues (HOA). The principal and interest (P&I) on our mortgage was initially $797.18.
Even as property values were steadily declining, property taxes continued to climb and our monthly mortgage payment increased from $893.21 in May to $990.99 in January. It was at this time that we began struggling to make our monthly mortgage payment which was the direct result of reduced work hours and the loss of approx. $700.00 in monthly income. As a result of falling two months behind on our mortgage payment, we decided to submit a request for a loan modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) to our lender, GMAC Mortgage LLC. And after meeting the eligibility requirements for HAMP, we expected to receive mortgage payment relief and assistance that would help keep our home. Once the loan modification process was started, we met all additional HAMP requirements as determined by GMAC Mortgage LLC and provided all the necessary documentation to substantiate the financial hardship we experiencing in order to qualify for a loan modification.in August GMAC Mortgage LLC provided us a trial HAMP loan workout plan, which we completed in November after making three trial period payments of $909.22.in November GMAC Mortgage LLC provided us with a permanent loan workout plan in which the words and any reference to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) are strangely missing. The terms of this permanent loan modification (prior loan terms in parenthesis) are as follows:
Interest Rate: 5% (5.5%)
Type Mortgage: 30-year Adjustable Rate Mortgage (30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage)
Interest Rate Change Date: 11/1 (6/1)
Monthly P&I: $768.33 ($797.18)
Monthly Escrow Payment Amount:$137.04 adjusts annually after year 1 ($127.04 adjusted for Escrow needs)
Total Monthly Payment:$901.16 adjust annually after year 1 (adjusted for to Escrow needs)
Payment Begins On: 12/1 (6/1)
Payment Ends On: 6/1/2037 (6/1/2037)
Monthly Mortgage Payment: $901.16 (924.22)
Although there is no mention in the permanent Modification Agreement that it is a 30-year Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM), Section 3. C. States: The above terms in this Section 3. C. Shall supersede any provisions to the contrary in the Loan Documents, including but not limited to, provisions for an adjustable or step interest rate. We requested a loan modification through our lender GMAC Mortgage, LLC because we believed that we qualified for a loan modification under HAMP. Our main concern was to get help so we would not lose our home to foreclosure. We realize that in doing so we sacrificed the certainty we previously enjoyed with our monthly mortgage payments under the terms of a 30-year 5.5% fixed rate mortgage. Our accepting the terms of the permanent modification means we will be facing greater financial uncertainty and potentially financial ruin as GMAC Mortgage, LLC now has the ability to implement an adjustable or step interest rate each year. It is our opinion that the permanent modification that we have received from and entered into with GMAC Mortgage, LLC is a means not intended to help struggling homeowners like us facing foreclosure and experiencing financial hardships as outlined under HAMP. We also believe that this permanent modification is a take it or leave offer, and the result of unfair acts or practices, substantially injurious to us as homeowners and one from which almost all benefits go to our lender, GMAC Mortgage, LLC.
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