The mortgage mill lawyer on the other end of the phone tried to tell me my client is a liar.
I bristled, but not for the insult.
I bristled for the whopper opposing counsel was trying to feed me.
Lenders don’t reject loan mod applications because the borrower is current, he said. You know that’s not true, don’t you?
You expect me to believe that?
You might gull me if I’d only heard it once.
But I’ve heard it twice a week for nearly 5 years from clients of all sorts.
Clients report, again and again, that servicers won’t favorably consider a loan for modification if it’s current.
So, I have to wonder: was the attorney on the other end of the phone just that naive, or is this a part of a propaganda offensive on the part of the servicers and their bankruptcy lawyers.
Your experience
Let’s talk about this:
- What has been the experience of your clients?
- Are you seeing modifications of loans that are current?
- Have you heard the claim that servicers don’t tell loan mod applicants to default?
- Have the rules on this issue changed over the recent past?
Or, as opposing counsel says, are all of our clients liars?
Image courtesy of Flickr and Mykl Roventine.
No, you are absolutely correct … and I have been practicing 25 years and, like you all, have heard this from clients for the last 5 years !
1. What has been the experience of your clients?
Have heard dozens of times in the last year that the lender won’t do a loan mod if current.
2. Are you seeing modifications of loans that are current?
Yes, but only if the loan mod process was initiated during bankruptcy.
3. Have you heard the claim that servicers don’t tell loan mod applicants to default?
No, except that they aren’t supposed to do that anymore.
4. Have the rules on this issue changed over the recent past?
I think the multi-state mortgage settlement might have changed the “only-if-you’re-at-least-4-months-behind” tactic. I just looked around, but couldn’t find a source for this. I just recall reading that when I was reading about the settlement more.