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Originally Posted by srmom
This is what my son does for a living - he was hired out of college to be a "mortgage remediation specialist" for a major bank who bought a smaller bank that had made a TON of "no documentation" loans in Florida.
What he says is that it is getting almost impossible to get the modifications okay'ed by the underwriters due in large part to the moving target that the government is giving them in terms of legislation and help. As soon as they've done the paperwork based on one thing, there's some hitch and they have to go through the process again. Couple this "banging his head against a wall" day after day, along with being in a cubicle call center calling people to try to help them stay in their house and getting treated like crap because who wants to talk to the bank, his life is pretty much sucking at this point - but at least he's got a job with benefits... (and he is appreciative of that)
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I'm sure there are other hitches with the government but nothing stops the banks from helping people out regardless of government support. The stories I've seen pretty much involve a distinct lack of caring on the part of the banks. Obviously not your son's fault, it seems to be happening on the higher levels.
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But, along with the stories of people who've run into tough times and are doing what they can to make restitution or the best out of a bad situation, he also has stories of people who are completely gaming the system.
In one instance, there was a college professor in Miami who bought at the worst time and now is behind many months (by choice because he makes plenty of money), when my son called to offer remediation, he told my son to make the best offer, in other words, to take $$$ off what he owes, not extending terms or reducing interest rates, that wasn't good enough. He had the audacity to tell my son that his offer wasn't good enough and to come back in a few more months with a better deal, because he was sure the bank would. And the sickeing thing is, he's right. Banks don't want to own those houses.
Oh, and another interesting case is the guy who wanted to deduct his losses at the casinos in Mississippi as a "business expense", there are some real winners out there.
I must be a fool for actually thinking it is honorable and right to pay what I promised to pay...
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It's a bit like people who rant about people who abuse welfare, or medicaid. There are abusers of the system who break the rules, there are gamers of the system who play just within the rule, and there are far more people who are following the rules to the best of their ability.
Mr. Professor has every right to say that an offer isn't good enough. If you're being negotiated with, coming from the perspective of being utterly thankful for whatever you're offered isn't exactly a productive stance. I just don't see that as some sort of jaw dropping audacity. (And it's a jump to say that it's by choice just because he has a good income, it might have been a "choice" of what bill not to pay, not a "choice" not to pay because he doesn't feel like it.)
A mortgage is an agreement, I get the house as long as I pay you. If I stop paying, you get the house. If I had to stop paying, or had to make what for me would be a difficult choice to stop paying, I'd understand that that means eventually I get evicted. But I'm stupid to pack up and leave before I'm served with that notice. And if I qualify to file bankruptcy, I'm stupid not to do that if it's in my best financial interests. I just don't think defaulting is inherently dishonorable.