Got an email this morning from Bill and Brenda (not their real names) letting me know they had gotten approved for their mortgage loan modification.
They first came to talk to me about filing bankruptcy in Virginia in November 2008. They really wanted to keep their house, but at that point their income was really low. Bill was paid by commission, and it had gotten really slow during the worst of the panic.
They couldn’t get approved for a loan modification, because the mortgage company thought couldn’t afford any house payment at all.
So, the mortgage company set a foreclosure sale date on May 15. Bill filed bankruptcy on May 14–to take care of his credit cards and stop the foreclosure.
They applied again for a loan mod, but got no where.
A new foreclosure sale was set for October 2, after the mortgage company got permission to foreclose from his bankruptcy judge. We filed Brenda’s bankruptcy on October 1, just in time to stop them again. (The bankruptcy also took care of her credit cards at that point, too.)
By the time the mortgage company got permission again to foreclose, Bill’s income had improved. This time the mortgage company would consider a loan mod.
And yesterday the loan mod was approved. That was twice bankruptcies were filed within two days of scheduled foreclosures, and now they have saved the house. Bill and Brenda’s hard work staying in touch with the mortgage company was one reason this worked. Good timing on the bankruptcies made it possible. Commissions getting back to normal on Bill’s job helped a lot, too.
It doesn’t always work out that well, but when it does, I’m really happy. Bill and Brenda really are, too.
I’ve seen several clients get mortgage loan modification offers after bankruptcy when they couldn’t get one before. This is the one I’m happiest about today.
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