A friend of mine asked me recently if I could talk to a friend of hers who needs to refinance out of the really bad mortgage she's in. With just some basic info from my friend, I suspected that her friend probably needed a loan modification, which I wouldn't be able to help her with but since she was a friend of a friend, I agreed to contact her. 
Her friend didn't want to get into any details when I spoke to her on the phone and said she would explain everything in person. I was reluctant at first to meet with her because I truly felt that I wouldn't be able to help her but because she was a friend of friend, I agreed to meet with her. We made arrangements to meet at a local coffee house the next morning for a cup of coffee before she had to go to work. So, 8:00am Saturday morning the last thing I wanted to do is drag my tush out of my nice warm bed with a handsome, naked man cuddled up to me and go meet someone I barely knew (I met her once in passing at my friends shop). But, drag myself out of bed I did and I meet this woman at the local coffee house (thank God it was only minutes from my house). 
She walks in with a bigger purse than mine and it's stuffed with a large envelope with papers sticking out of it and I'm thinking to myself "please don't let that be all of her personal documentation and correspondence". As we begin to talk, she's visibly upset as she begins to share all of the minute details of the foreclosure process she's in as well as quite a few personal details and matters that triggered her current financial situation. 
In less than 60 seconds, I discover that this woman's foreclosure is the least of her problems and that this woman needs some serious legal advice. While I truly felt sorry for this woman and very compassionate for the unfortunate situation that she now found herself in, I couldn't help her and that refinancing her mortgage was not an option. As we all know, sometimes bad things happen to good people which doesn't make them bad people it just means they made a mistake. As is the case with so many foreclosure proceedings, the lenders have frightened and intimidated the borrower to such a degree that many often become paralyzed with fear and anxiety that they simple don't know what to do or where to go for help.
After hearing the extent of the woman's financial situation, I explain to her that she needs to speak to an attorney and fast and that perhaps an attorney may be able to buy her some time with her lender. I comment that just recently her lender's CEO was one of the bank executives that testified before Congress that his bank would impose a temporary foreclosure moratorium and hopefully that might also buy her some time. I promise her that when I get home, I will forward the names and contact info for some attorneys who may be able to help her with her legal matters with her partner and their joint assets and if they can't, they will know someone who can.
She seemed a little relieved with this information and a little less anxious than when she first came in. She comments on how really difficult and demeaning the lender reps she's been dealing with have been towards her. She goes on to say that all she asked for was a little more time to try and resolve some of her problems so that she could get caught up on her mortgage. She tells me that in the 12 years that she has owned her home, she never mad a late payment until seven months ago but apparently, more than 11 years of excellent credit history with them means nothing anymore. I mention that would probably be a good argument for her legal counsel to take up with a judge when trying to get her some more time to get current on her mortgage.
As we prepare to leave, we exchange business cards and agree to stay in touch with each about her situation. Just as we start to get up, she asks "do you know anything about that government loan program"? I ask "what government loan program are you referring to"? She proceeds to tell about a friend at work who wants to buy a house and has been working with this rep at their bank but they don't really like him because he's not very nice and doesn't return their calls.
It sounds like they've been pre-approved for an FHA loan and they wanted to make an offer on this house but they can't get the bank rep to call them back about some questions they wanted to ask. She asks if I do FHA loans and would I work with them because at this point, they don't really want to work with the guy anymore. She tells me, "they're a very nice young couple who have never bought a home before so they ask a lot of questions and they just need someone like you who's nice and polite and doesn't mind answering a lot of questions". I just smile and say, "yes, I do FHA loans and I wouldn't mind at all talking to your friend at work who doesn't want to work with a bank rep. As a matter of fact, those are my favorite people to work with, especially the ones who ask a lot of questions".
