Citi Residential - Loan Mod Success!!!

[Mike]

:DHello everyone. First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE in this forum who shared their stories and knowledge. Now it's my turn to share my SUCCESS story. Our loan is with CITI Residential just like everyone it used to be with AMC. We were paying about $2900 and in Dec. 2007 our mortgage increased to $500. Since then we were paying about $3400. Then I stumble on this site last April just in time my husband was out of job and we received another letter stating that our mortgage will increase $500 effective June 1, 2008. I knew we were heading for trouble since our mortgage will continue to increase every 6 months. I did my homework using this forum.In April 18, 2008, I sent out a hardship letter (see homeowner tool box and modify as needed) to everyone in CITI Residential (see CITI Residential contact info in this forum). 5 minutes after sending my massive email, I received this email:Thank you for contacting the Office of Homeownership Preservation.We forwarded your request to the appropriate channel and will have a representative contact you as soon as possible.Hala FaridVice President - Deputy DirectorOffice of Homeownership PreservationCiti Global Consumer Community RelationsNorth America Community Programs718-248-4701 Officehala.farid@citi.com My first thought was - GREAT! And 5 minutes later I received another email:Thank you Hala.We will contact Mrs. B today and see what can be done to assist them.Victoria Ann DunnManager, Office of the PresidentOOP: 866-461-0913Direct Line: 909-484-0381 x37171Fax: 909-484-03813 minutes later I received another email:One of our specialists just left you a message, please call him back. Are you by that phone number now? Thanks. Hala FaridVice President - Deputy DirectorSo I called the person back and spoke to him. Here's what he had to say:Hala,Good afternoon, I just spoke with Mrs. Faraan and had a very pleasant conversation with her. I advised her that I would be assisting her with assistance to make the monthly payments more affordable to her family. I will be faxing her a letter which outlines the financial documents that are needed to review the request further and provided her with my telephone and fax number. She will gather up the information this weekend and fax them to me. I will keep you updated with the status of the loan. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you Hala.Stephen Gilson (He's my Angel)Office of the PresidentOOP: 866-461-0913Direct Line: 909-484-0381 x38296Fax: 909-484-0381Then another email minutes later from:Stephen, Thank you so much for reaching the customer...you guys are great...your hard work is much appreciated. Here is what I recommend you write: The Office of the President spoke to Mrs. Baraan. We will work with her and her family to make the monthly payment more affordable so she can keep her home. She understands the next steps include providing documents and a hardship letter, and she will. An update will be provided as the case moves forward.Thank you. Hala FaridVice President - Deputy DirectorKind of funny in a way I guess. By this time I was excited and full of hope.The next day I received a FedEx letter from CITI and they have a list of things I need to provide so they can start the process:[list][*]2 copies of pay stubs for the past 2 months for both my husband and I[*]Copies of bank account statements (2 months)[*]Proof of insurance and property tax and W2's[*]Personal Financial Statement - make sure you list down all expenses. Put down minimum payment only on credit cards, DO NOT add extra $ on your bills. Give them an average $. I made the mistake of stating we are paying $450 on PGE, but really on average it was $250 a month. Over estimating can cause not only DELAY, but a DECLINE letter. Yes I was DECLINED in the beginning - read on...On April 25, 2008, I faxed the items listed above. On May 7th, I received a letter stating we're not approved. I called Mr. Gilson to get more information why they didn't approve our request. Per Mr. Gilson, my income was not enough and it is impossible. When I first contacted CITI, my husband didn’t have a job until later (April 28th) and I didn't notify CITI at that time. I figured with just one income (mine) - better possibility, but I was wrong. They declined, but as soon as I told them my husband has a new job it changed. So I faxed over his new paystubs and off we go. I made sure that I kept in contact with them every week. I contacted them at least once a week. I didn't want to be overbearing that they might get annoyed and will just push our loan request at the bottom of their pile. So I kept my distance from them and I was always pleasant when talking to them. I think it helps. After all they are trying to help. On June 16, we heard back from Mr. Gilson and gave us good news. He said that our request for loan mod is in process and we should know by end of this week. The following day, June 17th Mr. Gilson called us and told us that we were approved. Saving us $700 a month, short term interest reduction for a period of 7 yrs. And today, June 20, 2008, we received our Loan Modification Agreement via FedEx. Mr. Gilson was responsible for crunching all the numbers and provided the underwriter all information needed to approve our loan mod. And because "I SENT AN EMAIL TO THE PRESIDENT" the underwriter didn’t think twice. Yes that's right. Jennifer Foley said, "Oh ok". Jennifer Foley made it happen for us… NO questions ask - she stamped our papers: APPROVE. They didn't pull our credit - no needed. I told Mr. Gilson that we have foreclosure in our credit beginning of this year. YES, everyone, we FORECLOSED our first property. ASC was our lender and I tried working with them. I was frustrated because they were not willing to help. I tried to short sale - NOTHING! I tried to give them the Deed back, they were not cooperating.. So our last option is to let go. This is one of the reasons why we couldn't refi our current/2nd home 3 months ago. It showed that we have FORECLOSURE and they told us that we will have to wait 2 more yrs before we can try again. Well, no need to wait 2 yrs anymore. It’s too bad with ASC. We could have saved our 1st property if they were just willing to work with us.I hope that my story can provide some assistance or moral support to anyone who is going through the same thing. Stay positive - look for options, read and search the internet. Have a back up plan incase it doesn't work out. Things happen for a reason and if you fall flat on your face due to home crisis you are not alone. It's temporary and it will get better. Owning a house is everyone's dream, but it's not going to make you or break you. It might not happen now, but it will be later WHEN YOU ARE FULLY READY. Good luck! Now I need to tackle my 2nd loan.. GMAC.. Will need to do lots of research again.. :) I’ll be sure to post another success story I hope.