Saved By The Making Home Affordable Difference in Maryland

Name:	Denise and Joseph H.
Residence:	Maryland Suburbs, Washington, DC
Home Affordable Mortgage Finalized:	December 3, 2009

The Crisis

After the construction recession cost Joseph H. his job in 2008, it wasn't long before he and his wife Denise were facing a foreclosure notice on their family's suburban Maryland home outside of Washington, DC. Frightened about losing the home they had lived in for 11 years, they panicked and handed $2,500 to a so-called "foreclosure rescue company" they found on the Internet.

When the company's "guaranteed results" didn't materialize (no surprise!) Denise called her lender and vigorously pursued a Home Affordable Modification under President Obama's Making Home Affordable program.

"I did a lot of praying and a lot of nagging," says Denise, who works as a private secretary. "But I wouldn't take no for an answer." Her persistence paid off.

In August she and Joseph were approved for a trial Home Affordable Modification. After making three monthly payments on time and documenting their income and other information, their modification became permanent on December 3 and their foreclosure notice was dropped a few days later.

The MHA Difference*

Denise and Joseph's mortgage rate was reduced from 7.25% to 2%. That will cut their mortgage payment by 49% for the next five years and achieve the Making Home Affordable goal of reducing their payment to no more than 31% of their pre-tax monthly income. (In 2015, their mortgage rate will gradually rise and level off in 2018 at a still affordable 4.875%.)

MHA Advice from Denise H.

• Don't give up. "Even though we received a foreclosure notice, we didn't give up," she says.
• Be proactive and persistent. "Don't depend on the mortgage companies to do everything by themselves," she adds. Example: After sending documents, always follow up to make sure the lender got them.
• Stay away from foreclosure rescue companies. Denise and Joseph are going to court in January to get their money back from the 'foreclosure rescue company'. "They never told us anything we already hadn't heard from the lender," she says.
• Keep foreclosure attorneys informed. "They may still be pushing the foreclosure papers through while you're waiting for a mod," Denise cautions. She kept her lender's foreclosure attorneys informed of her HAMP's status by sharing all documentation and once it was final she immediately told them to remove the foreclosure notice from the public records.

* Not all borrowers may qualify for a HAMP under Making Home Affordable; specific HAMP modifications will vary with the borrower's documented income and financial circumstances.