December 10, 2010
Dear Congresswoman Kosmas
Hello my name is ####### and I'm one of your constituents in the city of Orlando, Florida. This is my 1st time contacting you but I'm sure you have heard from thousands just like me. I was a victim of predatory and deceptive lending by Countrywide- the same Countrywide responsible for the housing collapse and for hundreds of thousands of predatory loans. Their predatory techniques were proven by the FL attorney General in a lawsuit in 2008. However, even after their predatory practices were exposed they still refuse to help homeowners stay in their houses. (I've attached a copy of the lawsuit in my letter)(or got click HERE)
I’m contacting you to inform you about my case and ask for your help. My bank refuses to modify my loan and will not help me stay in my my home. I’m only asking for lower interest and affordable payments. However, such demands seem to be too much for the bank and they would rather foreclose on my Condo. I’m desperate and i will appreciate any help you can give me.
Bank of America has received billions of tax payer dollars to help people like me modify their mortgage and help them stay in their home. Modifying mortgages and allowing people to stay in their house with affordable payments is the only way to stabilize the economy. However, unlike their press conferences claim, they are just taking taxpayer dollars and throwing us out in the streets.
I've paid about 75,000 in 4.5 years for both of my mortgages and have drained all my savings in the process. I’m no deadbeat as the media and banks are trying to portray people like me. I paid for years an inflated loan amount and interest for my property but I can’t afford it anymore. I was unemployed for a while and i can’t rent out my extra room like i used to. I’ve tried to do the right thing and refinance into a lower interest loan when my Condo was worth it. However, the bank denied me on the basis of low income (which was higher than my stated loan). Now my Condo is worth ⅓ of it’s original value so refinancing is not an option.
I have been trying for months to get a modification and now I've been told I make too much! My interest is about 9% on my 1st and 11% on my 2nd mortgage and my combined payments are about $1,900 a month. I tried for months to get a modification on my own but i found my self blocked by the phone bank maze systematically placed by Bank of America. Such maze in my opinion is set up to prevent people from getting modifications.
I found out about the predatory lending lawsuit by Attorney General and I contacted his office for help. Because I fell under this category, his office was able to escalate my case all the way to the office of the president of Bank of America.
After almost 7 months I was able to obtain two modification offers from Bank of America but none of these two offers lower my interest nor lower my payments (as you can see in the copy attached to this letter)(or got click HERE). Leaving my interest at 8.5% and payments actually go UP. To add insult to the injury not only they want to charge me thousands in fees disguised as interest, leaving the new loan amount higher than my original loan amount! In their modification papers they also managed to include a paragraph which would take my court rights away. I highlighted the paragraph where a legal advisor from the AG office says i would be giving up my right to fight the bank and have them prof they own my loan note.
Because I refused to sign away my rights and take their loan modification, I received a letter today that my request for workout was canceled “due to non compliance”. I will probably face foreclosure soon and i will be out in the street for the holidays. I wish I was a freak accident but as you know there are thousands just like me all over the state of Florida. Their so called “modification” does nothing to make their predatory loans any more affordable. You wonder why so many HAMP modifications don’t work out? Here is your answer. “Low ball” modifications are prevalent with banks receiving billions of tax dollars. However, their “low ball” offers have people having to pick between the streets and another predatory loan. Such response from the banks in the time when consumers are most vulnerable is despicable and I hope your office helps me with my bank. The people I was working with stopped answering their phone and stopped calling me back months ago. If you could please contact them and ask them to please return my calls or at least pick up the phone, I would really appreciate it. Here is their contact info:
Office of the President
Customer Advocate
Camille Maris
(###)###-####
Customer Relations Executive
Brandon Ruk
###)###-####
Home Retention Division
Cindy Carranza
###)###-#### ext 3794
All I'm asking is for an affordable payment on my Condo with a reasonable interest. That’s the least they could do for a victim of their predatory lending and predatory loan practices. Please help!
Sincerely
##########
###)###-####
### ########
Orlando FL ####
Loan# 1###74
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