In November of 2008 I found myself in the unexpected position. I had a good job on the Wednesday where I was doing well and on Thursday I was laid off with no warning and no reason. To top the situation off, I was almost 5 months pregnant with our second child and had just bought my first home with my husband less than 1 year earlier as a dual income family. Needless to say, I was devastated and not sure which direction to go. After some thought I decided to call all of my creditors and my mortgage company and inform them of my situation knowing that in a bad economy I was not the only person going through this same scenario. I was thinking I would find sympathy and support in the creditors that I had paid so faithfully until that month- I was wrong.
I ran into a sea of robotic operators who said, “yes we understand” but “no we cannot do that” in the same breath. A lot of creditors told me since I was not behind yet they could not help but to call back when I was 3 months or more behind. This was bizarre enough to me but what really shocked me was the mortgage company.
I was most concerned about them due to the fact this was our home, we loved it, and we had bought it knowing we could afford it with both of us working. I had little savings at this point because most of our life savings was spent on the down payment less than a year earlier. I assumed that my proactive call to the mortgage company would help them see I wanted to keep my home but in my situation we would need to work something out temporarily to help with the monthly payment. I was TERRIBLY mistaken.
What I found not only disgusted me but made me realize I was going to have to step up and make something happen or risk losing my home and putting my family to the street with all of our life savings lost. I asked for a payment plan to help ease the burden on the ONE mortgage payment we had missed and help us with the future ones that were coming fast. I, in return, was offered a new monthly payment for the next 6 months $500.00 dollars higher than my current monthly payment that I already could not afford. This was the best they could do.
In the meantime a sea of calls began to come about “ mortgage modification” and the new help for home owners and how these companies calling could all help me get a new payment by working with my lender. Most of the companies that called had terrible reviews and were less than trustworthy according to my research. Then I found New Hope Mortgage Solutions.
From the first contact I had with CEO Angella I felt secure and confident she could get the job done. She was honest and sympathetic to my situation and spent time walking me through the “new laws” for homeowners and how the modification process really works. She addressed my concerns both as I voiced them and in some cases before they even came out of my mouth. She was unbelievably knowledgeable about the modification process and very forth coming about whom she works with and how the job gets done. This was the best call I ever made and the turning point of my nightmare.
Shortly after our conversation, I decided to go with new hope mortgage and try to get a modification to our mortgage in order to keep our home. This was a scary step for me and at the same time smartest thing I ever did. The process is time consuming but the end result of keeping our home knew no limit. Angella was there every step of the process to guide me and answer questions. She answered every email I sent and returned every message I left and worked diligently to make sure my paperwork was correct and that we did all forms in a timely manner to allow the modification to occur as quickly as possible.
A few months later I got great news from Angella. We had been approved, by our lender, to receive a modification to our mortgage to lower our payment by $150.00 a month. This was a big help to our overall financial situation and helped to bring our mortgage closer to affordable in our situation.
The takeaway I have for anyone in my situation reading this testimonial is this:
Banks are not designed to help people. They are designed to collect money on debts they are owed and are happy to make profits on high interest rates and late fees. They do not care if you have a home or not as long as they get their money in the end. You are not a person to them you are a loan account number so do not feel bad that you have fallen on hard times and need some help with your debt. Lastly, you CANNOT get a loan modification on your own. I wish someone had told me this a lot sooner than I realized it on my own. You need a knowledgeable agent to represent you and educate you about the process, tell you your options, and help you through the process from the beginning to the end. I will tell anyone who ever asked me that New Hope Mortgage Solutions is that Agent.
Thank you,
The Scheinders
