Author |
Message |
Snuffles
Member
07-17-2005
| Monday, January 05, 2009 - 1:29 pm
I am trying to find out what kind of damage happens when one doesn't pay their mortgage for a couple of months, but doesn't intend on foreclosing either. What kind of damage to their credit? their credit score? Can that action affect credit card interest rates? Also, does anyone know the ins and outs and questions to ask re the Modification Loans? I'm hoping in this wonderfully knowledgeable community, that there are some folks in this industry that can answer my questions. I'm in California.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Monday, January 05, 2009 - 2:28 pm
For me I just asked my mortgage company to modify my loan and they did it. And yes if you don't pay your mortgage for a few months it definately goes on your credit score an will damage it.
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Monday, January 05, 2009 - 2:38 pm
Anytime you don't pay your mortgage you will have a ding on your credit report, and it repeats. So if you pay late in Jan, on time in Feb, late in March you would get two 30 day delinquencies. If you go two months without paying you get 1x30 and 1x60 delinquency which will impact your credit score. Some credit card companies will jump your rate if you are late on other accounts. Since you are in California I assume you are underwater on your home, meaning you owe more than it will currently appraise for (or sell for) just like me! Even though I am able to handle my mortgage payment and plan to weather the storm, I am going to ask my lender to lower my mortgage payment by 1% through modification. The worst thing they can do is say no, but I suspect they will okay it.
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Ktbb
Member
08-10-2003
| Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - 11:50 am
What exactly is modification? We are also upside down on our mortgage, and without explaining to us what we were getting into we now in a interest only loan. When we refinanced they put us in an arm and interest only. We got snookered bad. Now our payment will go way up, and we still are not paying anything on the house. Now I'm laid off so I doubt we can even qualify for a new loan. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Snuffles
Member
07-17-2005
| Friday, February 06, 2009 - 2:00 am
Ktbb, I understand the loan modifications generally are a way to keep your house. They change your loan so you are paying a smaller portion for a specified time (maybe just a few years) and the difference is added to the back end of your loan. Unfortunately, I've also heard that those doing the loan modifications are flying by the seat of their pants because there aren't any clear guidelines of how it should be working. I found my lender wouldn't work with me until I defaulted on my loan (and messed my credit up), so I decided to keep paying, wait until more clear guidelines are in place with Obama's administration. I also found that some companies will work with you if you are current on your loans and do some type of modification, but it costs around $1,000-$3,500 depending on the company. I was wary (sp?) of paying someone to do what my lender already told me they wouldn't/couldn't. My mortgage is upside-down, but we actually did get a good loan and interest rate. I'm sure I won't see actual equity for years, but we're gonna stick it out. (ugh).
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, February 06, 2009 - 2:28 am
I have a mortgage question, though it's not quite about the financial aspect of it. We just recieved a letter that our mortgage was sold to another company (again.) The letter states that after a certain date (two days before our mortgage is due) to send the payment to the new company. Because of Darren's payday, we'll be paying before that date, so who do I send my payment to, the new company or the old one? The letter doesn't say either way about who to send it to before the date they'll transfer the loan over and I'm not even sure which company to call. The other 2-3 times the loan was sold, it happened far enough away from the due date that it wasn't an issue.
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Friday, February 06, 2009 - 3:28 am
I'd call both companies. The first one to find out where the payment is going, and the second one to let them know what the other company said. This way you are covered in both places.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, February 06, 2009 - 9:13 am
That's a good idea, Twiggy. Thanks!
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Friday, February 06, 2009 - 1:14 pm
Wargod, it won't hurt to call, but usually you pay the old company if you pay before the date they indicated and the new company if you pay after.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 7:04 pm
Anyone know if someone loses their job, are banks/mortgage companies likely to negotiate monthly payments at all??
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 8:55 pm
It would be appreciated if someone would post the three top credit reporting companies here. I know it has been posted before, but I've lost where that was. It was suggested that you call one credit reporting agency for a free report, then call another a few months later, then another again later in the year to keep on top of your scores. Did you know your scores go down if you pay off all your credit? Did you know they keep going down if you don't use credit?
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 9:21 pm
Equifax® Experian® TransUnion® https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp is the site to use to get a free report once every 12 months from each them. We do one every 4 months, first with Equifax, then Experian, then TransUnion, then start over again the new year.
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Frootjuuce
Member
02-25-2007
| Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - 9:51 pm
Be sure and keep an eye on your credit cards, too. I noticed that two of my cards had lower limits when I went to pay them this month. One of them went from me having 3000.00 free on the card to having 105.00 free. The other went from me having 700.00 free to having 120.00. When I called to ask why - thinking it had to be a mistake - I was told that I had impeccable credit on my cards, but they "just wanted" to lower the amounts so they did. And this was with no notice at all...it just showed up. I almost missed it all together. I read an article on line about this somewhere, and it seems that many companies are doing it and that it is legal. The companies that did it to me were Discover and Mastercard. My Visa has not done anything strange yet. It just makes me paranoid. I paid an extra 1000 on the Discover card last month. I wanted to pay on the card, but I wanted to also have the extra room because I am changing jobs and moving soon. So they credited the money to my account and promptly lowered the amount that I could spend on it. I have extra money to pay on others as well, but I am afraid of letting go of the cash now. It's getting bad...
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 10:09 am
Julieboo, do you mean will they negotiate a lower payment or defer payments? I haven't been in servicing for a while but here are my thoughts. First go to http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/ and see if your loan was sold to Fannie Mae; it doesn't matter whether it was or not but might be helpful to know for when you call your servicer. Many servicers are more helpful than they have been in the past, but remember, they have more people to deal with than they have employees. You should call and see if they will take interest only payments, or if they can modify your loan and put you on some sort of payment plan. sometimes they can work with you and sometimes they can't, but there are a lot of more options available than before, and if you can keep making your payments but just want to try and lower them that could work. They generally can't just defer your payments for any period of time. Hope this helps.
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 10:11 am
KTbb, I just saw your question on modifications, did you get an answer?
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 10:35 am
Well it took DH almost a whole day of being on hold (luckily he has a speaker phone in his office) and the are so busy that he ad to leave his name and number online and they are *supposed* to call us back. Yeah, right. Thanks Dipo...
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 10:41 am
Julie, here are the guidelines from the recently passed Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan. There is an online tool to see if you are eligible for refinancing under the plan. This is a government website, not a sales site! There are a lot of scammers out there right now taking advantage of people in trouble, so be careful who you talk to! http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/eligibility.html
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 10:48 am
Thanks KAR!!!
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