My Page for “Anger Management”…..

What is with Kids these days?
Oh don’t worry, I am allowed to complain..you see I have three teenagers of my own…

Now, I am not going to say my kids are pefect little angels..because there is no such thing..  However, I do get quite a few compliments on my children’s behavior, manners, kindness etc..
So maybe I am just old-fashioned, when it comes to installing values and morals..

My “rant” today is this:
What the heck happen to patience? is it all those video games, and the “instant reward” for doing something?? Here is an example..

One of my son’s friends will call for him. If we do not answer he will hang up and call again. and again..when I finally get irritated enough to answer (I was busy, you know) I say whats the emergency?  ”oh, nothing, just wanted to see if he could come over”

ha ha ha, yeah… “um okay, well” I say, “next time just leave a message and wait until he calls you back, or else I am going to think your house is on fire or something..”   he is like “what?”

They just don’t get it. Instant gratification I tell you, and I just gave him more, by answering… do they think that I am just sitting around, doing nothing- waiting for them to call? hmmm..

I put a stop to it (or tried too, anyway) with my own children when they call home.. it is ridiculously annoying to see and hear someone call more than two times in a row- especially if you are in the middle of something.
Now,  if my kids do this, I answer, and tell them “is what your calling about an emergency?” (answer: no) “Okay then you have been placed on hold, you need to wait 15mins before calling  back, then I will talk to you”  And then I simply hang up.

I mean, really, have a little patience please!

Loan Modification?

The last two years of “living hell” with our mortgage company… (I am wondering who doesn’t have this story)

A few years ago- we decided to refinance to pay off some Debt (mostly medical bills). We were “fast-talked” into a loan more than we could really afford at the time, by an Internet loan company- with a very smooth talking salesman (you know the one)..
Our loan was almost immediately sold off to another company (we were assured that it wouldn’t be). This new company was Ocwen. We did okay for a while, then found the new payment to be too taxing on our monthly income.

So, I called Ocwen to see what our options were. They told me I could apply for a loan modification and sent me the paper work. I was amped about this, so filled everything out and sent it back right away. We then received a bill with a new monthly payment- $450 cheaper!! yay!

I assumed all was well until a few months later, I took a closer look at my bill and noticed a balance accruing. We were told that this loan mod would “wipe the slate clean” and there would be no back fees..hhmmm…
When I called the loan dept. they stated that it would actually take a few months for them to completely process loan mod.

In February 09, I began receiving default notices. Again I called Ocwen, they assured me that everything was fine- not to pay attention to the notices and that our house was not in danger of foreclosure..

(*a little “edit” to add a side note in here- we never missed sending a mortgage payment, and always on time, every month.. the default notices were due to the lowered payment..which I found out later was not a loan mod, but actually put in forbearance..)

Skip forward to April.. My monthly payment was actually sent back to me, with a letter stating that it was “insufficient to cure default” I called immediately and was told that I should think about applying for a loan modification. Really??!! I explained that I had applied for one- almost a year ago! The customer service rep. told me that since President Obama passed a new bill, that I would need to reapply under the current modification rules.

By this time I am really starting to stress out, but I told her to go ahead and send it to me. Shortly after faxing all the paperwork and info- directly to that cust. svc rep (again) I started receiving Foreclosure notices! OMG! I cannot tell you what this did to my nerves..blood pressure through the roof… and that was before they sent me one with an actual Auction date set for August!!

I was their new pest at this point- I called at least 9 times, sent several faxes, and about 6 e-mails. When I finally got someone on the line, they would tell me “your account has been sent to a specialist” So I called and left voice messages for this “specialist” and never did receive a return call..

Since I wasn’t really getting anywhere- I started researching Ocwen online, and found a lot of people were not only having similar problems with them- but other banks as well! I couldn’t believe my eyes!

I did come across a site called Foreclosure Angel Foundation. Started by a woman who was at an auction- to find a cheap home for her son, and actually ended up purchasing a house for a woman that was losing hers. She just bought this strangers house, and signed it back over to her! um..wow! talk about “Good Samaritan ” Anyway, she then started her Foundation, to help others in danger of losing their homes. I did apply, but I believe she probably had more requests than she could handle, as I never even received a response. Besides, I think it was a little too late for me at that point.

I also looked into government help, but again it was too late.

At exactly 5 days before my house was to be auctioned off (still no response from Ocwen) I was at my wits end. I called a local mortgage company, and asked if they could just give me any advice on the matter. The man was extremely nice, and helpful. He referred me to a local attorney and said to tell them exactly what I just told him..

Basically, to make a long story short (ha ha) we ended up filing for Bankruptcy (oh the horror!) I never thought I would be “one of those guys”, but here we are. The attorney put an immediate “stop” on the auction, and our house was saved.. the bonus is our medical bills are taken care of now.

We opted for the Chapter 13, as I did not want to get out “scott-free” and also, if we would have filed Chap. 7, we would have had to sell the house. I definitely wasn’t going to give that up, after all the fight to keep it!

The ironic thing is, shortly after filing for bankruptcy, we received our new loan modification in the mail from Ocwen (gee, I wonder why?) With another new payment, even lower than the first reduction! We are now paying about $630 less than originally!! So I guess sometimes it pays to fight! I hope this article helps someone.

I wouldn’t actually “steer” anyone away from Ocwen, as it seems they are just “OK” however- I would advise anyone to check into these online loan companies- thoroughly, before signing up with them. Do a search in google, on every company you are considering, ie.. “(bank name) problems” or “trouble with xyz”

I also do not recommend bankruptcy, unless absolutely necessary. For us, it was just a last ditch effort to save our house from the auction block. And it is hell on your credit (ours was still ok before) but again, research, research! If I would have seen it coming, I would have had more time to look into it. I basically had to just take what our lawyer said and go with it…

We are still dealing with Ocwen, and just completed a three month “Trial period modification” so we will see if it ever turns into a “final modification”…