Help With Homecomings Financial

[Joel Fraser]

This story started November 2000. Myself and my wife bought a home with no money down. The home appraised for $129,000.00 and we purchased for $124,900.00. We were first time home buyers and the Mortgagor was Accredited Home Lenders. They set us up on a 80/20 loan with an initial interest rate of 9.90% on the first mortgage and 14.99% on the second mortgage. The second mortgage also contains a balloon payment in 15 years. We paid on the home in a timely manner until my wife lost her job in February of 2002. After 3 missed payments we decided to file Chapter 13. The plan was approved and confirmed in August of 2002 and we had to include the Mortgage payment with our payment to the trustee. We managed through the first four years of a five year plan with no mishap but the taxes on the house were not being paid. With one year left in the plan we received a notice from the trustee that Accredited wanted to raise the plan payment due to no escrow account being set up and a shortage in the new escrow account. We could not complete the plan even though we had caught all the arrearage up so we converted to a Chapter 7. We received our discharge in November of 2006. The first thing we noticed was the late charges still on both Mortgage accounts. Even though our payment were administered by a court appointed trustee we were charge late fees while we were in bankruptcy. Accredited sold/transferred the account to Homecomings in June of 2007. We tried to make the new mortgage payments with the shortage in escrow and 3 interest rate hikes until October of 2007. My wife lost her job again and with all of our savings I managed to pay on the mortgage until April of this year. Homecomings mail a Notice of Default to our in-laws and we were contacted by their attorney on May 27, 07. My wife started back working and we strongly felt a loan modification would help us save the home so I filled out the Hope package on their website and faxed it in. I called the loss mitigation department and spoked with a gentleman named Anthony. He instructed me to send in a payment which would enable Homecomings to continue to look at doing a modification. He gave me the amount to send in and told me to call back with a MPTNC. I went to do a moneygram and right when she swiped my debit card it declined the transaction. I called Anthony immediately and he told me to go to a different location. I went to a new Wal-Mart Supercenter and tried the entire process again. It denied the transaction and gave an error code 615 Invalid Account # and a phone number of1-800-206-2901. I called the number and it said the account was in Foreclosure and to dial 1-704-333-8107 which is the number to the law offices of Shapiro & Ingle aka the substitute trustee. I called the following Monday and told Anthony everything that happen. He instructed me that by not making the payment there was nothing he could do. I continued to call and explained to the rep who took the call what happened. He asked me a couple of questions and then he wanted to know if the mortgage had been reaffirmed after Bankruptcy. I told him I did not know what he was talking about but I would find out. He instructed me to call back in a couple of days but my time is running out. We go before a judge on the 25th of June to determine if they can continue with the foreclosure and I am at my wits end.