I was listening to talk radio this afternoon on the way to an appointment to show homes.  Gil Gross of KGO 810 Radio was talking about mortgage companies... he was talking about REAL PEOPLE trying to call the  mortgage companies for help.  You know, all that stuff you hear on the news, "the banks are here to help," "we'll modify loans," "we'll help you stay in your homes." 

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Here is recap:

Friday  January 23 , 2009

2 PM:  Congresswoman Gets the Runaround on Bank Help Lines...

In a revealing example of what she says the average homeowner faces, a California Congresswoman spent more than two hours on the phone trying, without success, to find someone at the Bank of America who could help a struggling constituent modify his mortgage payments. ABC News "Nightline" cameras were rolling as Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Ca.) was repeatedly put on hold for long stretches, disconnected, transferred to extensions that did not work and ultimately switched to a recording which directed her to the bank's website.

Guest: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, D - Los Angeles.  

Click here to listen to the entire hour for up to 7 days after the intial broadcast. 

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Do any of you in the business actually believe that your call is very important to them?  I don't.  Yes, I know , I know... there are some isolated incidents of a bank actually helping.  There are rare times you hear a success story but for the most part, what this talk radio host was talking about today - is happening all over the place.

He talked about those evil words you hear just before being put on hold forever, or to be put into voice mail jail - a place where there is no way out except to hang up and call in again.   "Your call is very important to us." Yup, those are our banks.   Your call is very important to us.  If it was important, you'd probably be answering, and if it was really important, you'd probably have solutions.

If you want to hear this broadcast, click here and start at about 8 minutes in.

He talked about and with Maxine Waters, a congresswoman from Southern California.  She had been called by many of her constituents, they complained of long hold times, and quite frankly the inability to actually talk to a person who could help them.   So, KUDOS TO HER, she took it upon herself to pick up the phone, with a news crew from Nightline by her side and call the banks herself, on behalf of these people, REAL PEOPLE begging for help from these banks.  They filmed her as she called, sat on hold, was hung up on, routed to nowhere and quite frankly being given the run around.  I think I heard at one point she was on the phone with Bank of America up to 2 hours.  She named Bank of America as the worst (I already named them myself as the worst company to conduct a short sale with).   Not sure when the Nightline episode aired, or will air - but I'm checking on that.

I tried to call into the radio show to tell them my side, that I do short sales, and sometimes I do short sales for those same people who tried and failed to get help from their banks. No help. No contact. No sympathy. 

Think of this absurdity - I had one short sale that these folks had been denied a loan modification because they "didn't make enough money" to repay no matter what they did to their loan.  But guess what, they then initially denied their short sale because they made "too much" money.  I fought that and its absurdity, and ultimately that sale was approved.  But those people wanted to stay in their home!

So now as an example... this home, my clients bought for over 500,000 will now be sold to a perfect stranger at 335,000.  Why couldn't something have been done to keep these owners IN THEIR HOME!  Why?  Many people I work with could afford their homes at the price we are now selling them for in a short sale, but the banks have flat out refused to help.  No principal reduction.  But sure, we'll approve a sale to a stranger, but it can't be those same people.  Why? I know, there are economics at work here I assume that I can't pretend to understand. . . but as a REALTOR my priority is to have people retain their homes, maintain THEIR American dream.   Sadly, for many this year, even a loan modification won't help as millions are predicted to lose their jobs and this economy continues this maddening decline.

Fellow agents, borrowers, homeowners... when do we revolt?  When do we stand up and say enough is enough?!  These companies are being "bailed out" with BILLIONS of OUR dollars.  Is it helping the consumer?  Not yet from what I can see.  Will it ever?  Even if it will it will be too late for many.  Its sad to say that these companies do not care, in fact, they can't care - they just have too much on their plate, they are in crisis mode.  They can't care.  They don't care.  Most have their hands tied by guidelines that make no sense in our world today. They're strangled in red tape, and our homeowners are suffering.

Please, encourage all your clients to write to their congress and senate representatives.  Write to their local officials, write to their Governors, write to Obama.  If Maxine Waters called a news crew and was willing to experience for herself what millions of homeowners are experiencing every day - maybe others will too.  Maybe if enough notice, something will change.

MORTGAGE COMPANIES!  Hear this.  You should be ashamed of yourselves! Absolutely ashamed.  I know you are following guidelines but its to the point of absurdity.  I have hundreds of short sale stories, here are just a handful THIS MONTH:

1. Countrywide said they would foreclose over $70.88.
2.  Citibank will foreclose over $15,000 (the property did not appraise and Citi refused to accept buyer's appraisal as value and held firm to a 3 month old value they received)
3.  Wells Fargo would foreclose over $10,000. 
4.  Chase willl let a home foreclose over $2,000.
5.  Files that take months to review, and every time a buyer gets tired of waiting, they close the file and start the months ticking all over again.
6.  Files that take weeks just to assign someone to look at it (oh but we've been assigned an assignor).
7.  House foreclosed 2 weeks shy of a successful closing as negotiator "forgot" to contact attorney.
8.  When buyer's appraisal did not come in to value and we needed a new price on the short sale approval letter (even though the net to the bank would not change) Countrywide closed the file 2 weeks before we're closing, first will not wait, we're foreclosing.
9.  Home foreclosed due to Mortgage Insurance Co refusing to work with us - home ultimately sold as an REO for 120,000 LESS that the offer we had on the table.
10.  On a purchase money first and second (protected against recourse in California) Bank of America makes a borrower sign that by agreeing to the short sale , they have now turned that deficiency to a collectable debt? In a foreclosure thay are protected - so they walk. Bank of America pushes people ON PURPOSE to foreclosure EVERY DAY.
11.  Chase going after a destitute seller after closing in a collection action on the remaining balance on their HELOC  = bankruptcy for seller.
12.  Chase going after people after short sales despite promising no collection activity in writing.  Now these people are having to hire attorneys to fight the collections.

People want to maintain their dignity, when all else fails, they want to hold their head up high.  At times, their priority is to avoid foreclosure at all costs.  But you have to wonder, when it takes 9 months to approve and close a short sale and now they've had up to a year of rolling late payments on their mortgages .. was that the right thing?  What can be done to help those people?  

I have ideas, but no mortgage companies are asking me.  Put me on the Obama taskforce. Make me Secretary of Short Sales - for those who have exhausted efforts to keep their home, or who have run into brick walls, please Mortgage Companies, help them maintain their dignity by avoiding a foreclosure if that is what they wish.  If it is not your wish, then foreclose already and stop pretending you're trying to help.  These lingering short sales are hurting the individuals involved and hurting our communities.  What about some guidelines that allows the banks to quickly streamline these sales?  Yah, what if.....