HaloScan.com - Comments

Haralambos writes:
There is nothing below the fold.
Haralambos | 08.26.08 - 9:53 am | #

Chewbacca writes:
Tanta, can you please help me write my Haloscan comment?
Chewbacca | 08.26.08 - 9:58 am | #

Outsider writes:
Chewbacca - forget it. You can't afford her.
Outsider | 08.26.08 - 10:02 am | #

Tanta writes:
Tanta, can you please help me write my Haloscan comment?

Now there's an idea. Instead of this ad revenue nonsense, I could charge all the blog readers a fee to write their comments for them.

I must say, that would improve the off-topic problem.

Send me a check for $100 and I'm yer ghost-commenter.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:04 am | #

swampfella writes:
Am I missing something? Am a broker and have handled several short sales and in all so far the lender refused to entertain or make comment on the possibility of a short sale or what amount they would accept until the seller had a ratified sales agreement in hand with all the supporting docs you mention.

Are there lenders who will pre-approve a short sale?
swampfella | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:04 am | #

Outsider writes:
If I were in the position to write this letter - and I shudder to think about that - this is why I would need someone to help me write it.

Because as I'm trying to read through every enumerated, bulleted item, to express just the facts clearly and concisely, it would be hard to maintain any rational thoughts above the obsessive screamings in my head: Oh no, I'm in trouble, this is never going to work, there's no way out, I'm not going to get through this, my life is ruined, where am I going to go, now I have to start all over, etc. etc. etc. If we could leave the emotion out of it, maybe the letter could get written correctly. But i have a feeling that by the time we're at this stage, we're bound like pretzels so much that it would be nothing short of a miracle for a rational thought to express itself.

That's just what I'm sensing between these lines.
Outsider | 08.26.08 - 10:07 am | #

Yearning To Learn writes:
excellent post.

I find the insanity that our markets has become... uh... interesting.

when I bought my house in 2003 I remember that we were supposed to write a letter to the homeowners telling them how we'd take care of their house and what a great family we were and all that. it tasted yucky. (and they chose another family's letter I guess... I had to buy a different house)

and there was the infamous house that sold where part of the contract was that the new owner feed the squirrels.

and now it's bleeding the other way. People have this idea that their sob story will move the lenders to take a loss.

I know that I as a lender WOULD take a loss on a true sob story. But the borrower would have to spend a lot of time PROVING that they have a sob story.

For instance:
I want documentation of all illnesses. I want documentation of why the owners couldn't have a second job. I want documentation of why they bought that house in the first place. I want ALL of their credit card receipts and checkbook receipts for the last 5 years (to find out how much money was wasted on Starbucks, Mickey D's, Best Buy, Vacations, Cable, Cigarrettes, etc).

there would be so much documentation!!! on second thought, I agree with Tanta. Just the facts, m'am.
Yearning To Learn | 08.26.08 - 10:08 am | #

Doofus writes:
I would GLADLY and OPENLY accept an offer to write someone else's letter. Easy and done.

Amazing how much scratch you can earn if you just know how to proffer rational arguments in a succinct and didactic manner.

Sign me up!
Doofus | 08.26.08 - 10:10 am | #

Doggy Dog World writes:
At first I thought that you were being hard on her, but then I re-read her email and, yeah, she deserved it.

There's some idea out there that "all I have to do is tell my story and then people will understand" and I will get what I want. And why not? It seems to work for a lot of people... a murderer with a good narrative is going to get a lighter sentence than one without, a college applicant with a terrible tale of woe is more likely to get accepted, and a politician with a stronger story is more likely to win election no matter the efficacy of his policies.

Still, the universe is occasionally more Pythagorean than Levi-Straussian, and maybe it's that confusion that has Ms. Short Seller casting about looking for someone to tell her story rather than crunch her numbers.
Doggy Dog World | 08.26.08 - 10:13 am | #

Tanta writes:
Are there lenders who will pre-approve a short sale?

There are lenders who will do that. What they do is send you a letter you can share with your RE broker that approves a short list price. That allows your broker to list the property as a "lender-approved short sale," which gives any potential buyer more confidence about signing a contract. Of course, if all you get are offers under the pre-approved list price, you'll have to negotiate again with the servicer.

It was always more common in the past to start with an offer. But given how cruddy the current market is, I suspect that there are a lot more people who just can't get a good broker to take their listing because it won't sell at the loan amount and it may well fall through anyway if the servicer hasn't been asked to OK the short list price.

It isn't such a bad idea to ask for a pre-approved list price, even if the servicer in question tells you they only approve actual contracts. At least you know where you stand.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:13 am | #

Dave writes:
Off topic---help in writing a letter to lower my appraised house value. I live in the Bay area, and I bought close to the top (yahoo!--the expression, not the stock). Anyway, seeing that my home is probably fallen below it's appraised tax value, is it worth it to write a letter to the county assessor to get the home’s appraised value lowered to the market rate and therefore pay lower taxes? In determining the market value, will the county assessor accept Zillow/RedFin numbers? Or as mentioned in writing the hardship letter in Tanta’s post, do I get an appraised value from a reputable real estate agent? Should I wait until winter (with the thinking that the appraised value will be the lower than today and before any spring 2009 housing “rebound”). Thanks to the board for any advice or thoughts on this subject. Dave
Dave | 08.26.08 - 10:16 am | #

DonKei writes:
I'm with you Tanta--leave the emotions at the door, and rely on reason in explaining your situation and presenting a workable solution. But then, I can see where someone emotionally swept up in the housing frenzy of late might have a tough time thinking reasonably about anything.

It's their emotions (I know I can't afford this McMansion, but I just love the countertops!) that got them in this pickle to start with.

As my favorite Jewish heretic philosopher (Spinoza) said, emotions are passive (meaning they happen to us) and we'll always remain in bondage to them unless we follow the path to power, which is knowledge based on reason. He said it 400 years ago, but it remains relevant today, particularly regarding one's personal finances.
DonKei | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:21 am | #

Shnaps writes:
Dave - We know some bros in Sac-town who get paid mad stacks to do exactly what you describe.

Or you can just do it yourself; many big-city assessor's offices even have forms for that sort of thing.
Shnaps | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:22 am | #

Tanta writes:
At first I thought that you were being hard on her, but then I re-read her email and, yeah, she deserved it.

You know, I wasn't actually trying to be hard on the woman. It really just isn't about what any of us "deserves." That's the whole message here.

It is just true that that's the problem with the old advice gig: you have to be willing to tell people something they don't want to hear. Or else you're just pandering.

Fact is, I think a lot of people have been trained, in school and by their professions, to "sell themselves." It isn't just our Oprah-culture's insistence on everyone spilling their guts at length about their troubles; it's a training we give people from a very young age to "make an impact" and "be different" and "hire a coach/trainer/consultant/whatever" whenever we need to do something challenging.

So I'm not trying to be hard on Ms. Short Sale, but it seemed clear that she had read my original post and missed at least one of its key points. Some people are just very hard to talk out of their preconceptions.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:22 am | #

Yearning To Learn writes:
"I would GLADLY and OPENLY accept an offer to write someone else's letter. Easy and done."

Doofus: I think you have NO IDEA how hard it would be to write this letter. I on the other hand unfortunately deal with this all the time. (getting irresponsible family members out of "a fix")

writing the letter would be no big deal IF you could get the information you need. But you will find quickly HOW DIFFICULT it will be to get it.

You'll say things like:
"Ok, all I need is your last year's tax documents, as well as your last few checks and also your mortgage payment, and your bank account records. I'll also need a list of your assets like your car and your jewelry."

and then you'd get hours and hours of drivel as they hem and haw (sp?) and come up with reasons why the info they're giving you isn't really the right information and use you as their personal psychiatrist.

they would turn over "financial documents" that would be the envy of any Rorschach test, if they turned over anything at all.

after 3 months of listening to their whining, with only 1/2 of the information you need, you would finally be reduced to writing the letter that they want. It would go something like this:

"Dear Bank. Before I begin let me show you a picture of my daughter's beautiful smile. That is where this story begins- with a smile; with love; and most of all, with foregiveness."
Yearning To Learn | 08.26.08 - 10:22 am | #

Anonymous writes:
a fresh pile of "capital" to go with the $100m from yesterday:

http://www.newyorkfed.org/market...mo/dmm/ temp.cfm

already shoved out $26.5b this morning.

http://www.newyorkfed.org/market...mo/dmm/ temp.cfm

Ciao
MS
Anonymous | 08.26.08 - 10:24 am | #

Cara writes:
In this market getting the pre-approved short-sale list price is key to getting an offer from a buyer. A friend of a friend went through this process, and now is waiting to hear back from the bank on whether it will approve the buyer's offer, which is a tad, but not much, lower than the list they pre-approved. Still, this has got to be cheaper than foreclosing on her, which given that she just moved in with her new husband who owns his house free and clear, they would otherwise be doing shortly. So, really pre-approving list prices is good for all parties, as it should move the property quicker.
Cara | 08.26.08 - 10:25 am | #

Doggy Dog World writes:
You know, I wasn't actually trying to be hard on the woman.

Well then the "you can't afford me" and "only use one exclamation point" snark was a little gratuitous, no?
Doggy Dog World | 08.26.08 - 10:27 am | #

pharniel writes:
Dave - also note that many places only allow you to contest yoru apraised value at a certian time of the year.
pharniel | 08.26.08 - 10:27 am | #

Seminole writes:
Dear Mr. Bank Person:

I was born the son of poor sharecroppers in the darkest reaches of Appalachia ....
Seminole | 08.26.08 - 10:27 am | #

ac writes:

Just the facts, ma'am.

ac | 08.26.08 - 10:29 am | #

Tanta writes:
Doofus: I think you have NO IDEA how hard it would be to write this letter. I on the other hand unfortunately deal with this all the time.

Precisely.

And this is why whenever I read these detail-free things in the paper about servicers taking three months to approve short sales or mods and not cooperating and being big jerks and shit, I often would like to have a copy of the original request sent by the borrower. Because servicers end up having to do what you just described: pull teeth for months trying to get beyond the baby pictures into some actual relevant facts.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:29 am | #

ratefink writes:
Tanta,

I think your advice is sweet and loving, expressing true realism. I hope Ms. Shortsale wasn't just someone jerking your chain, and is able to comprehend this time around.

How true about breaking through preconceived notions, however. It happens slowly with patience, or violently with crisis, but I fear there will be a lot more of the latter on display over the next few.
ratefink | 08.26.08 - 10:29 am | #

buzz saw writes:
deer surz, i ain't a gonna pay my mortgidge no mo'. iffin' you don't likit, you kin take back this pos house.

signed,

up yers
buzz saw | 08.26.08 - 10:30 am | #

Anonymous writes:
One major reason that this does not work very well...and it should... is that he bank has to file the NOD. We all know what that means...taking and realizing a loss. That will and continues to be a major sticking point in any of these transactions. These mods. are all about perception of help...not really help at all. But it plays well.

This, of course says nothing about the stupid people that allowed themselves to get into this situation however the realization of loss will continue to be the real issue here not the person's situation.

Ciao
MS
Anonymous | 08.26.08 - 10:30 am | #

Broker writes:
Just to be safe after "To whom it may concern" you should add "My dearest Sheila".
Broker | 08.26.08 - 10:30 am | #

Elvis writes:
Dear servicer,
My income is based on bubbles and easy money. Although I lost all my money in the tech bubble, I made it all back with free houses and rapid appreciation only to lose most of it again. However, I was able to keep a portion that I promptly grew and now have lost again in oil futures. Unfortunately, my income is terrible right now and I can only afford $600 per month mortgage payments as long as those stimulus checks keep coming. Also, it would be helpful is I could get a HELOC of $100,000 for future anticipated appreciation, so I can plow it all back into gold and silver. They will bubble once the deleveraging has occurred. Thank you for your help.
Elvis | 08.26.08 - 10:33 am | #

Cara writes:
Oh, and I would like to point out that this friend of a friend managed to get this whole thing done starting June 20th to now. Between the detailed comps on other condos in her building, and the summer selling season, the bank was well motivated to get this loan off the books now, rather than wait until prices dropped any further. Of course, she's also an executive secretary, so I'm sure was well-organized in her letter and supporting documentation.
Cara | 08.26.08 - 10:33 am | #

Doofus writes:
Yearning To Learn writes:

I wasn't referring to dealing with deadbeats or deniers. I was referring to the letter itself (given the necessary info); how easy it would be for me to pen a professional, logical, yet forceful letter.

Clearly if said "clients" were hiding, misstating, or obfuscating the data, the letter could not be authored.
Doofus | 08.26.08 - 10:34 am | #

Tanta writes:
Well then the "you can't afford me" and "only use one exclamation point" snark was a little gratuitous, no?

Well, she can't afford me. No one could. That's a problem with my willingness to hire myself out as a letter-writer, not a slam against her.

As far as the exclamation point thing, that isn't gratuitous, that's a mission I have been on for thirty years, and I'm sorry if it makes the people who do this feel insulted. You should feel insulted. You are commiting a crime against English punctuation.

Seriously? People who use three exclamation points are just displaying the very problem I'm trying to get this woman to see: the belief that sincerity and really really meaning something makes up for content. She is trying to put emotional intensity in her writing--that's what the three screamers is meant to do--instead of thinking through what her reader needs to hear.

But then again, call it gratuitous. I didn't, after all, charge the woman for my advice.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:36 am | #

Yearning To Learn writes:
I was referring to the letter itself (given the necessary info); how easy it would be for me to pen a professional, logical, yet forceful letter.

Yes, I know. I'm just saying that in my substantial experience doing things like this you can rarely get said information. I THINK that was also Tanta's implied point (not to speak for her, it's what I read in her post)

In general (huge generalization alert) it is difficult to extract financial information easily from people who would write Tanta such a letter, totally not comprehending Tanta's first post

Sorta like this: "It would be easy to create a peace treaty between Israel and it's Muslim neighbors if only we could get some reasonable people in power to sit down to the table." totally true. now about that table...
Yearning To Learn | 08.26.08 - 10:40 am | #

Yearning To Learn writes:
deer surz, i ain't a gonna pay my mortgidge no mo'. iffin' you don't likit, you kin take back this pos house.

signed,

up yers

interestingly, this letter is nigh perfect, and would fit all of Tanta's letter-writing rules for mods.

The writer has disclosed
1) s/he has a house with a mortgage
2) the mortgagor plans to default on the mortgage
3) the mortgagor is not interested in a loan modification

I as lender could then expedite this house through to the foreclosure process.
Yearning To Learn | 08.26.08 - 10:43 am | #

Broker writes:
And also don't forget, if Freddie is the happy owner of your mortgage you have ~300 days to mail that letter.
Broker | 08.26.08 - 10:43 am | #

Doggy Dog World writes:
And also don't forget, if Freddie is the happy owner of your mortgage you have ~300 days to mail that letter.

sigh...
Doggy Dog World | 08.26.08 - 10:45 am | #

Anon E. Moose writes:
pharniel writes:
Dave - also note that many places only allow you to contest yoru apraised value at a certian time of the year.

Long Island (Nassau at least) is wonderful at that little game of "hide ethe ball". They send you a post card once a year with your 'assessed value' on which you are taxed. For some palliative reason the 'assessed value' is a mere fraction of the 'market value' equally pulled from an unpleasant orifice. The card tells you that at last year's tax rate, you paid $#,### of last year's assessed value; and your taxes next year would be $#,### (invariably very similar to what you paid last year) at the same tax rate -- but you know, the tax rate for next year hasn't been set yet, and we make no promisses (all lies in jest). You have a only short time window to appeal your assessment -- most don't bother because of the hastle and the post card said taxes would be about the same.

Then the other shoe drops -- they set the tax rate as a multiplier of your new assessed value, which ends up with a tax bill quite the bit higher thann what you paid last year and higher than what they said you'd be paying on aforementioned the postcard (which coincidentally also describes the size of the lot you're now paying 5 figures property tax anually on).

Don't like your assessment? Sorry, you missed the chance to appeal that when you got the post card. Not to mention that the appeals process is byzantine and arbitrary -- nearly identical houses on the same block are often assessed for wildly different values. Don't be suprized if the owner with the lower assessed value drinks or golfs with a town councilman.

They wonder why young professionals are moving to the Carolinas in droves -- they save enough on taxes alone to fly the whole family back to visit their parents 2-3 times a year. Then their parents die... and so does Long Island. Wait a minute.. I'll try to cry...
Anon E. Moose | 08.26.08 - 10:45 am | #

Shnaps writes:
Cara - your "friend of a friend" must have an interesting relationship. She, on the brink of foreclosure. He, a presumtive spendthrift who owns his home with no mortgage. That outta work out great. Too bad they didn't use chemistry.com.

/How ya like that sponsor plug? zing!!!11!!one!
Shnaps | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:46 am | #

Mike in Long Island writes:
Tanta,

Is the $100 offer good for a certain number of words or comments and does it have a time period attached? If someone contracts with you to write comments on their behalf do they retain editorial control and more importantly do they forfeit all comment writing of their own whilst under contract with you? Lastly, can one reader/commenter subsribe to your comment writing services on behalf of another?

This is important info because I'd be willing to fork over a few hundo to contract with you on behalf of a few commenters...
Mike in Long Island | 08.26.08 - 10:48 am | #

friardaddy writes:
Tanta, it looks like unnecessary exclamation point has a friend named "unnecessary" "quotation" "mark":

http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/
friardaddy | 08.26.08 - 10:48 am | #

Shnaps writes:
I am in your comment sexshun...

commitin crimez against English puncutashunz!!!
Shnaps | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:49 am | #

Tanta writes:
And also don't forget, if Freddie is the happy owner of your mortgage you have ~300 days to mail that letter.

I assume your "300 days" is in reference to the FC timeline.
So what makes you think Freddie would accept a hardship letter proposing a short sale on the day the house is sold on the courthouse steps?

Stupidity? Bad faith? Maliciousness? Inquiring minds want to know.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:50 am | #

Doggy Dog World writes:
http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/

This is great, and I thank you for "posting" it!!!
Doggy Dog World | 08.26.08 - 10:56 am | #

Holden Lewis writes:
If you must use exclamation points, one is sufficient.

Marry me, Tanta!

--

This blog often contains media criticism, much of it deserved. I hope the comments here will add some perspective to what reporters go through.

Yearning to Learn writes: "I think you have NO IDEA how hard it would be to write this letter. I on the other hand unfortunately deal with this all the time (getting irresponsible family members out of "a fix"). Writing the letter would be no big deal IF you could get the information you need. But you will find quickly HOW DIFFICULT it will be to get it."

And Yearning goes on to describe how, when you ask for financial details, you get "hours and hours of drivel as they hem and haw and come up with reasons why the info they're giving you isn't really the right information."

Yep. Sounds about right. And Yearning is describing conversation among family members. Now imagine being a reporter and trying to extract this info. The same thing happens.

Keep this in mind the next time you read an article about some sob sister who is losing her home, and the article doesn't contain complete info about the sob sister's finances. Maybe, in rare cases, the reporter isn't as clueless as you think. Maybe the subject of the article is clueless or manipulative (or both) and ran out the clock as the reporter tried to gather information.
Holden Lewis | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:57 am | #

sbarrkum writes:
The only part I saw was:

Loyal readers, or just people with too little mental stimulation in their lives

Now, am I the fool rushing in where angels fear to tread.
sbarrkum | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 10:57 am | #

BG writes:
People who use three exclamation points are just displaying the very problem I'm trying to get this woman to see: the belief that sincerity and really really meaning something makes up for content.

Minor nit: expressions of strong belief and sincerity can't be said to be information-free. The information just isn't relevant to the business decision that the loss-mit department has to make. Your advice to forget about "deserving" anything goes right to the point, I think. They are making a calculation, and that calculation doesn't incorporate the deserving (or undeserving) nature of the borrower any more than a highschool algebra problem incorporates whether the train travelling westwards at 70 mph should get to its destination on time. It either will or it won't.
BG | 08.26.08 - 11:01 am | #

Tanta writes:
Holden, I'm well aware that reporters get sob stories and self-serving interpretations and babble and fiction and general time-wasting when they interview some people.

What bugs me is writing the story anyway, after you have tried nobly but failed to get any coherent, verifiable facts out of your source. Reporters who do that are just giving miserable people an opportunity to see their names in the paper.

So it's not that I don't understand the problem here. In fact, that's why I wouldn't take the job of writing this letter. What would happen if, after hearing the whole thing, I decided it didn't pass the smell test or the laugh test and refused to write it? I'd be out my fee, probably. If the story holds together and the deal makes sense, she'll find a way to write it. It won't be easy, but for God's sake, she's trying to get the lender to lose money on her. A little hard effort putting the request together isn't too much to expect.

So reporters have to decide when an interview becomes worthless and the story can't be published. I see too many of these things where the reporter published anyway. I am not inclined to forgive that.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 11:04 am | #

DCRogers writes:
Tanta,

You forgot to tell her that to get premier service, make sure to cc: the letter to her local newspaper and the CEO of Countrywide, er, make that Bank of America...
DCRogers | 08.26.08 - 11:04 am | #

Mike in Long Island writes:
DC Rogers wrote, "DCRogers writes:
Tanta,

You forgot to tell her that to get premier service, make sure to cc: the letter to her local newspaper and the CEO of Countrywide, er, make that Bank of America..."

Or better yet - get elected to Congress. I wonder if ShortSale is in Laura Richardson's district - I'm sure she'd be willing to share her negotiation tactics with her constituents...for a small campaign contribution perhaps.
Mike in Long Island | 08.26.08 - 11:07 am | #

Tanta writes:
wasn't referring to dealing with deadbeats or deniers. I was referring to the letter itself (given the necessary info); how easy it would be for me to pen a professional, logical, yet forceful letter.

Clearly if said "clients" were hiding, misstating, or obfuscating the data, the letter could not be authored.

The problem, frankly, is that there tends to be a correlation between people whose financial hardships are a real can of worms and a very long story and so complicated they're hard to explain, on the one hand, and people whose short sale proposals are either fantasy-driven or a real can of worms. Like, you find out it's a sweetheart deal or there's some fast-talking Nigerian email consultant involved whose advice she's taking or the house was damaged when she tried to install her own jacuzzi upstairs with a screwdriver and a Screwdriver and she blew the insurance money on a foolproof 30% investment she heard about from her personal trainer and nobody will pay much for a property with water damage and she wasn't going to tell the lender about that and, well, see, it's very complicated . . .

It's true that some people just don't organize their thoughts well, and a skilled interviewer can tidy things up for them just by asking the right questions. But it's also true that a lot of people have complicated financial lives because they tend to fail to connect with reality at key points most of the time and will substitute wishes for facts at every turn.

Of course I have no idea where my actual emailer falls on the continuum, but I am just too old and too tired to want to risk going there. If you want to try, it's all yours.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 11:24 am | #

def jam writes:
1098s?
def jam | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 11:27 am | #

Mike2 writes:
Anyone else wondering what Tanta's hourly rate actually is?
Mike2 | 08.26.08 - 11:33 am | #

jim writes:
Tanta:

Do you really think all the Ms. Short Sales out there are bright enough to take or understand your advice, much less carry it through? If they were that bright, they prolly wouldn't be in the mess they are in now.
jim | 08.26.08 - 11:36 am | #

lawyerliz writes:
Oh, gosh, I can't tell you how many times I have to repeat a question to get one fact. Usually, it's because they don't want to tell me, but sometimes it's because they think I need to know some other fact. And sometimes I do. But people are paying me usually to do this. Not, however, what you would charge.
lawyerliz | 08.26.08 - 11:41 am | #

lawyerliz writes:
Also, quelle nerve!
lawyerliz | 08.26.08 - 11:43 am | #

Markel writes:
This blog often contains media criticism, much of it deserved

Especially when Tanta eviscerates a story using publicly available records, easily-obtainable industry information, and common sense. None of which generates much sympathy for what reporters have to "go through."
Markel | 08.26.08 - 11:49 am | #

Tanta writes:
Do you really think all the Ms. Short Sales out there are bright enough to take or understand your advice, much less carry it through?

Anyone who can read this blog and send emails to me has the basic skills it takes to write a hardship letter. I keep saying that it DOES NOT MATTER whether your letter is elegant or organized or spelled properly or what.

Frankly, if she wants to write a 10-page letter to the servicer explaining how her life started to go downhill in seventh grade, she can. It won't hurt her, actually, as long as somewhere before the end she gets in the part about the sales price and the second mortgage and so on. It will not help her any, but then again, having me write her letter probably wouldn't help her any if the terms of her proposal don't work.

Possibly, having me structure her deal for her would help her, but that's what a good realtor would do and she'll be paying for that.

It really hasn't got all that much to do with native intelligence or education. This is not a resume cover letter, where you have to look and sound smarter than everyone else. You just gotta give the Loss Mit people the info they need. I can assure everyone that the Loss Mit people wouldn't care if it was in crayon on the back of a cocktail napkin, as long as it explained how much she wants to sell the house for.

If you want to be cynical, actually, it might help you to come off as not all that bright or skilled. The servicer might conclude your long-term economic propects aren't great and decide to cut you loose as quickly as possible. You never know. But that makes as much sense as this assumption that servicers will only agree to short sales if you write a top-notch letter.

It all still comes down to some people thinking that servicers approve or deny these requests based on fairly frivolous or irrelevant factors. They don't. They are using a pretty simple loss calculation. Nothing you can possibly do in your letter could be more effective than showing them how that loss calculation works in favor of your request. Regardless of how inelegantly you express that.

Are there people too dense to understand loss calculations? Sure, I suppose there are. But I don't expect to find them among readers of the blog. I know for a fact there are people who are just too self-involved to understand loss calculations. And no, I doubt there's anything I could say to such people that would clue them in. If you're looking for a short sale solely because you "deserve" to get out of your mistakes without paying any price at all because you're just so special, I have nothing to say to you.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 11:58 am | #

Tanta writes:
Anyone else wondering what Tanta's hourly rate actually is?

It's "you couldn't pay me enough."

Many people use this phrase for comic purposes. In this case, I simply mean it. I do not want to get into the hardship letter-writing business, I do not have to accept any employment that offers itself, and therefore I have priced myself out of the market, so to speak.

Seriously. I wouldn't make a "reasonable" offer for this. You can find good non-profit housing advocacy groups in any city who will do it for you for free.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 12:03 pm | #

jim writes:
I adore the video. The granite in the kitchen must be worth at least $50,000 and the free standing frig is a great idea. In the back the toboggan (sp?) is a nice addition. If it rains, does water slide down the hill onto the patio too? It is almost too good to be true to have beer sitting waiting on "grandma's" chair. Other amenities too many to count. I wonder why it cost less than $700,000. Too good for that low price.
jim | 08.26.08 - 12:04 pm | #

Anon writes:
I think part of the average person's problem in writing a hardship letter is that it is called a "hardship letter". That implies to most people that they need to explain why they are in the situation they are in, why they have a hardship, what the hardship is, how it started, and how they feel about all of it. Can the industry change this to something like "workout proposal" or something that implies it is a business letter in which they are making a business proposal to the lender?
Anon | 08.26.08 - 12:07 pm | #

DrChaos writes:
well, this post is a bit harsh. I don't think it is cool to make a circus of someone else misfortune.

Mentioning above, in 2002 I told some people that investing in Vegas RE is not the best idea. Should I prank call them ,saying "told yo so"?
DrChaos | 08.26.08 - 12:11 pm | #

Markel writes:
Don't lenders simply create forms for people to fill out? I'm sure applicants would muck them up hideously, but at least you'd have, on paper, a list telling you to assemble your bank statements, last mortgage statements, tax filings, and so on. Sort of an Ikea instruction manual for short sales, except not in Swedish.
Markel | 08.26.08 - 12:13 pm | #

DrChaos writes:
forgot to mention:
investing in Vegas RE was done through using part of their "retirement savings".
DrChaos | 08.26.08 - 12:13 pm | #

Tanta writes:
I think part of the average person's problem in writing a hardship letter is that it is called a "hardship letter".

Well, the trouble is you do have to have a hardship. You have to be unable to pay your mortgage for reasons outside your control.

We go around and around with this one. People contact their servicers to ask for a mod and it turns out they aren't delinquent and their income hasn't changed and their payment hasn't gone up. Why would any servicer give them a mod?

The workout is only offered when it is less loss than FC. That means you have to demonstrate that default (and FC) is reasonably foreseeable.

So the trouble isn't referring to hardship or bringing it up. You have to. The trouble is assuming that the point is to win sympathy, or to make yourself sound utterly blameless. When we say the hardship has to be something out of your control, we don't mean that it has to be something no one could ever have prevented. We simply mean that deciding to buy a second Hummer and therefore being short of cash for your mortgage payment is not acceptable.

Sure, we could call it something else. But the point is that if it doesn't document a hardship, it won't get approved, because if the servicer can't provide evidence to the investor that it reasonably foresaw default, the servicer can get sued.

As I said above, it really doesn't hurt you any to spend too much time explaining and emoting and so on. Loss Mit people can skim over that. They really can. They do it all the time.

The big problem is, like the letter from the original post with the Countrywide borrower, that there is nothing to work with except hardship.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 12:21 pm | #

Shnaps writes:
Anon - see step 1. The letter must explain the nature of the hardship. (e.g. "I spent my entire savings and maxed out all my credit cards on veterinary bills for Fluffy, and also Fluffy and I live in Merced, CA and we are demonstrably upside-down on this here loan").

It just doesn't need to go into any lengthy explanation of why they shouldn't be to blame for the hardship ("Fluffy has a right to live, you heartless bastards!"), or why it sucks so much to be facing this hardship ("if you only knew Fluffy, you'd just accept this short sale proposal without any further questions, you heartless bastards!")
Shnaps | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 12:22 pm | #

sdtfs writes:
One point that strikes me is that the email demonstrates a level of writing skill that should translate into an ability to write a decent workout letter. Although she missed the target in appealing to Tanta's sensibility, it clear she can communicate effectively, and once the letter writer accepts the inevitable she'll sit down and write the best workout letter she can. The hard part to swallow is that there is no guarantee that things will work out the way she would like.

Although the three exclamation points may be viewed as a 'crime', it is an effective way of communicating her state of mind. A pre-Internet emoticon.
sdtfs | 08.26.08 - 12:22 pm | #

Tanta writes:
Don't lenders simply create forms for people to fill out?

Yes, indeed they do.

But even the forms need some explanation. (They often have "essay question" sections for exactly this purpose.) I mean, you fill in the form showing me you make $5000 a month and your mortgage is $2000 a month and your second car payments are $2000 a month and you cannot live on that. I will probably suggest you get rid of your extra car.

Ah, but what if the "second car" is a specially fitted van to transport your kid around who was just in an accident and is now a paraplegic? OK, that explains that.

With short sales it's particularly an issue, because some people ask for short sales not because they can't carry the payment, but because they have to move for some reason and can't cough up the lump sum to clear the mortgage at closing. That, you have to explain in the letter, since your problem won't be obvious from your monthly budget.

I did a post a long time ago--I think it was my first one on old Gretchen--where she quoted a HUD IG report regarding FHA "partial claims" (i.e., workouts) that were done for truly bad reasons. There was one deal where the borrower got a workout and was driving a brand-new Mercedes, and another one where the "hardship" was gambling losses. So HUD really cracked down on FHA lenders about making sure that there's a real hardship. Unfortunately, that very often requires narrative explanation.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 12:31 pm | #

other jim writes:
But it's also true that a lot of people have complicated financial lives because they tend to fail to connect with reality at key points most of the time and will substitute wishes for facts at every turn.

Hmmm... have you been talking to my wife lately? Very much the same idea she has about me and my finances...

Outsider

Supposing Ms. Shortsale is emotionally wound up and thinks she is unable to do something so complex as write a coherent business letter, Tanta has thoughtfully broken the complex task into several easy steps. Follow the directions in each step, copy-paste the results onto a new sheet of paper, add the address of the servicer and a stamp, and Tadah!, complex task accomplished. Treat yourself to a waffle cone at Dairy Queen, you just did something useful.
other jim | 08.26.08 - 12:37 pm | #

Tanta writes:
well, this post is a bit harsh. I don't think it is cool to make a circus of someone else misfortune.

Some circus. I wrote a whole post and didn't get to see a single elephant.

The writer of this email sounded like someone who has a sense of humor about her own troubles. I assumed she understood who she was writing to after having read the first post which was not overflowing with sympathy for the writer of the letter in question.

So I assume people are grownups and can deal with some frank advice. This is somehow less respectful than assuming they're all poor unfortunates who need to be wept over?
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 12:37 pm | #

DCRogers writes:
Tanta writes: People contact their servicers to ask for a mod and it turns out they aren't delinquent and their income hasn't changed and their payment hasn't gone up. Why would any servicer give them a mod?

Because of the unspoken backstory: I bought a $500,000 house that's now only worth $250,000, and if we don't share the loss somehow, I'm walking. Ruthless enough?
DCRogers | 08.26.08 - 12:41 pm | #

Tanta writes:
Because of the unspoken backstory: I bought a $500,000 house that's now only worth $250,000, and if we don't share the loss somehow, I'm walking. Ruthless enough?

No, actually, it's not.

Put your precious FICO where your mouth is and go 60-90 days down. Then I will believe that default is imminent and then I might do some negotiating.

It is when people are not even delinquent and don't have a hardship that the servicer will always adopt the 1000 yard stare.

The sad fact of the matter is that you could rack up a 90-day DQ and find that your servicer still won't let you off with a mod or short sale. Well, that's the Game of Life. It's about risk. If you are truly ruthless you will understand that.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 12:44 pm | #

Stinky writes:
No loss mit can possibly take seriously a request that does not include the "sub-prime standard double illness take away close"
The proper technique is to withhold one illness until clarification on the first is asked for. Then BAM!!! you hit 'em with the second and insinuate you'll be taking away their humanity credentials if they can't see the relevance of little Jimmy's turrible psoriasis.
Cluttering up the letter with superfluous numbers and stuff just wastes everybody's time.

This has worked just fine for many years and I only ever had one underwriting supervisor disagree. Tanta, you didn't work for Conti by any chance, did you?

Oh and if you can attach a MP3 of some music from Deliverance to your emails your chances of approval go way up.
Stinky | 08.26.08 - 12:55 pm | #

Scott writes:
Loyal readers, or just people with too little mental stimulation in their lives

I'm not sure how to tell the difference...and something about 'admitting you have a problem is the first step' comes to mind...

Thanks for the read! The whole "messy can of worms" invoked my bitch-slap reflex.
Scott | 08.26.08 - 12:57 pm | #

DrChaos writes:
"This is somehow less respectful than assuming they're all poor unfortunates who need to be wept over?"

oh, I would never assume that. There are consequences for any type of behavior and the better people understand those consequences, the faster they will learn from their mistakes.
Unfortunately people are slow to acknowledge their mistakes, that's why most of us never learn.
:)
DrChaos | 08.26.08 - 12:58 pm | #

rent_to_own writes:
I come here for tart ala Tanta, and instead - a balanced nutritional meal is served.

Which is likely to lead to an increased sense of disappointment in the kitchen later on, leading to a really tart Tanta creation, with bitters on the side.

Because even though glimpses of serene acceptance of the human condition do come through, the 'bite me' side is still what brings the customers back for more.
rent_to_own | 08.26.08 - 1:14 pm | #

a different chris writes:
>Should I prank call them ,saying "told yo so"?

Yes. Yes you should.

You see, a certain very economically and politically important class of people (white middle and up salaried classes, esp.) had, during the Greenspan "Bubbles" era, become infused with a certain level of basic smugness about their current situation, their given abilities, and from that constructed a view of their future prospects that was in no way or form aligned with Actual Reality.

Not helped by 24/7 "Business" cable channels blaring reinforcment to their fantasies.

Now I know they have been taken down more than a notch nowadays, but our job is to take every opportunity to ensure that every last remnant of this smugness is wiped out so we don't repeat this crap ever again. If that means kicking people when they are down, then so be it. The country needs this.

Oh, and OT: good post, nothing to add. Tanta, does the Loss Mit person ever get to the bottom of a (properly constructed w/firm offer, hardship other than relocation) letter and say: Crap, I might as well just remortgage the whole thing at the short price to the current owner, she/he should be able to afford that.

With today's plunging prices, sometimes the math might start to actually work out that way.
a different chris | 08.26.08 - 1:15 pm | #

wes writes:
Ditto Tanta. If you have ability to pay and are not seriously delinquent, you are not going to have much success convincing a servicer to mod or approve a short sale. Indeed, you have to start up a game of chicken with the servicer by withholding payments. Once you are 60-90 days in, you have their attention and that's when the real game begins.
wes | 08.26.08 - 1:19 pm | #

Lurking Larry writes:
Excellent post.

I'm sure this idea of communicating the situation, supplying a foundation based on fact, and proposing a solution can be applied to other business relationships.
Lurking Larry | 08.26.08 - 1:23 pm | #

Emma Anne writes:
"But it's also true that a lot of people have complicated financial lives because they tend to fail to connect with reality at key points most of the time and will substitute wishes for facts at every turn."

Oh, yeah. This sentence captures a very big truth.
Emma Anne | 08.26.08 - 1:28 pm | #

Tanta writes:
Tanta, does the Loss Mit person ever get to the bottom of a (properly constructed w/firm offer, hardship other than relocation) letter and say: Crap, I might as well just remortgage the whole thing at the short price to the current owner, she/he should be able to afford that.

I'm quite sure that happens. Some people may think they have no choice but to sell, and sometimes the Loss Mit folks can find a way to do a "home retention" workout instead.

It also happens the other way around. Someone is proposing a mod deal that would still just barely give them enough money to live on Ramen. The Loss Mit person might come back with a short sale proposal on the grounds that the person might be better off just getting out from under the house entirely.
Tanta | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 1:28 pm | #

Banker writes:
I just figured out that Tanta was a chick. will you marry me?
Banker | 08.26.08 - 1:31 pm | #

peatey writes:
Holden and Banker, you should write [business] proposal letters for public competition. Please connect with reality at key points and do not substitute wishes for facts at every turn.

===
Holden Lewis writes:
Marry me, Tanta!

Banker writes:
I just figured out that Tanta was a chick. will you marry me?
peatey | 08.26.08 - 1:40 pm | #

sk writes:

...
already shoved out $26.5b this morning.

http://www.newyorkfed.org/market...arket...mo/dmm/ temp.cfm

Ciao
MS
Anonymous

Heyyy, anybody know how to reach out to the "Slosh Report" website author/owner ?

http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/...ader/ OMOps.aspx

Because I rely on that site and its webscraping of the website seems screwed up since it didn't pick up the above $26b so I want to let the owner know so that they can fix it or let _ME_ ( or 1000s of others no doubt ) fix it.

There's no contact info at the site - WHOIS gives a privacy protected domain name.. I'll try that admin contact but I don't have too many hopes..

Any other ideas on how to reach out to the owner or how to fix the error ( clone the website perhaps?)..

-K
sk | 08.26.08 - 1:45 pm | #

DCRogers writes:
Tanta writes: Put your precious FICO where your mouth is and go 60-90 days down. Then I will believe that default is imminent and then I might do some negotiating.

Ho ho! So all the on-the-street stories of and my bank wouldn't even talk to me until I stopped paying are effectively true.

The problem with this strategy for the loan holder is that you've pushed the person into a what-else-do-I-have-to-lose mindset: FICO ruined, why go through the hassle of a short sale to minimize losses to the loan holder and leave the house early? Might as well enjoy the free rent and ride out the longer time period of an FC! Now we're talking ruthless, if we weren't there before!

In all seriousness, anyone sitting on a large loss of principal is a flight risk, and loan holders better believe that default is imminent on many of them even while the checks currently flow. They'd do better to throw them a bone and let them keep their FICO-fig-leaf, and pray that's enough to keep them paying while holding their breaths underwater for years to come.
DCRogers | 08.26.08 - 1:48 pm | #

Shnaps writes:
DCRogers -

If your FICO was your body:

a 60 or 90-day mark heals like a black eye.

a Foreclosure heals more like a gunshot wound.

"flight risk"? Where are they going to go where the lender can't continue to collect? Kazahkstan?
Shnaps | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 2:04 pm | #

O'Malley writes:
Tanta,

Do you think Ms. Short Sale is one of your loyal readers, who wrote this to see how you'd react, which would be pretty amusing for him/her? I feel like this person wrote it precisely to push your buttons (the run-on 'can of messy worms sentence' seems purposeful and set off my BS detector).
O'Malley | 08.26.08 - 2:09 pm | #

Real Vapid Bimbos of OC writes:
Dear Bank,

I have loan # BS12345678. I cannot afford paymetns.

Previously I was a stripper, but then became a REAL ESTATE AGENT. I made good money. I was succesful and then you gave me the toxic loan for $1,129,000 with zero down a minimum payment I didn't understand. My live is no ruined because of the loan and I have post tramatic stress cause by this.

No one will buy my house, I want to sell it cheap. My agent and former boss and ex-boyfriend tells me we'll be locky to get $569,000 for it.

He's barely hanging on becasue of the bad loans and we broke up because of it!!! If he can't get a sale soon, he'll have to go back to working as a personal trainer.

Please approve my short sale.

I can't go back to pole dancing because I'm too old now. I am now waitressing at Wally World and make $28,000 a year. I can only afford $240 a month for housing as I still have my $639 lease on my mercedes from when I was a successful AGENT. The cheap car place won't take my car back either and it's part of the reason I can't pay.

Thank you,
Bimbo

/sarcasm
/satire
Real Vapid Bimbos of OC | 08.26.08 - 2:59 pm | #

Holden Lewis writes:
Peatey, a question mark beats an exclamation point every time.
Holden Lewis | Homepage | 08.26.08 - 3:07 pm | #

BW writes:
"At first I thought that you were being hard on her, but then I re-read her email and, yeah, she deserved it."

I didnt see that as being hard on her. I see more than my fair share of hardship letters. The advice Tanta gave was excellent. I plan on giving a copy of this to those that I need to have write hardship letters.
BW | 08.26.08 - 6:16 pm | #

Paul writes:
Once again, I submit that Tanta misses the point of loan mods. See Martin Feldstein in the FT.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ 29e69e...00779fd18c.html

In it, he argues again for modifying loans to create positive equity. If I am reading this properly, the borrowers status (current or in default) does not matter.

The goal is to keep people in their homes and put a floor on price declines. Will it work? I don't know. Will some undeserving speculators catch a break? Of course. This seems to be a deal breaker for everyone so I guess we'll all go down together.

I say it is worth trying.
Paul | 08.26.08 - 6:28 pm | #

Kevin Johns writes:
I am a colage graduet. I used to make alot of money working with people like BimboOC(I went to witness at the dens of iniquity they call "gentelmens clubs).
But then

I got a good degree at a fashionable community college, worked hard to earn my 33 credit hours (whew! those were hard!) and was able to be a professional teacher (sub only) in a modern city school system.
Recently, my lovely wife( the good Lord gave me) of 29 years and our lovely 9 children purchased a home that would give each of our beautiful childs a bedroom of their own. Issnt that the american dream?
I enjoyed going to work in a shirt and tie (used to only wear t shirts)
and be respected as a good proffesional.
Unfortunetly our church was in troubled times as it were, many of the humble parishenors could not continue giving allot for the weekly tithing and in due course the church that we just built ( a 50,000 sq foot beautful structure to the Lord) had to give it back to the devil-which was the banks directors that demanded the mammom or else.)
So we just had to come up with some extra monies to help the pastors and thier familys to survive during these trying times sent from the Lord. I do hope the Lord remembers us all. I know our Godly president remembers us, that is why I got my $349 check in the mail to help pay my electric bill.

So now I need someone like RVB to help me out writing to the bank to humbly ask them to lower our bank payments from $3500/month to 450/month.
Could you help?
God Bless you.
KJ
Kevin Johns | 08.26.08 - 7:50 pm | #

AllenM aka Joliet Jake writes:
Ah yes Tanta,
The thousand yard stare.

Well, I still am tempted to send my letter to the heloc piggyback on my investment property that resembles a uboat.

It would be something like this:

Dear Shiela,

Now that you have killed the bank (1st National of Arizona)that made the stupid loan that I had to get from you because the house I was buying was totally under the foreclosure gun when I bought it, I would likz to make a great offer to you.

Since my employer is in the red by bazillions of dollars, I will get no raise, and in January, most likely no job. My future cashflow is dreck. My tenant is going chapter 7 and will only pay enough to cover the first loan. I can't get another tenant 'cause the house is a wreck from this tenant. You think I am going to punt another dime to fix it?

I borrowed the equity I put into my investment fiasco from my retirement account, which if you zillow it, is now gone. Thanks to shorting banks in my gambling account funded with the remainder of said loan, I can now afford to either pay back my retirement account or pay you at 40 cents on the dollar.

Which would you like?

Oh yes, if you think you can sue me for the remainder- it was a purchase money loan and is pretty much a wash if I walk. And my primary residence was unfortunately purchased in 2005 and the 20% equity I paid out of my savings is also about 10% underwater.
Did I mention I have a prenup which was fully doc and disclosed (including some rather annoying paperwork expressly disclaiming interest by my spouse), so her savings and equity are unavailable to support the rental property.

Is that ruthless enough?

In other words, heads I win, tails you lose, just like Wall Street.

I admit to being nearly as ruthless as most of the folks you read about in the news. Oh yeah, the remaining funds in my brokerage/gambling account- funded by citibank at 4% till I pay it off.

Someday this war's gonna end...
AllenM aka Joliet Jake | 08.26.08 - 8:06 pm | #

BW writes:
Jake, purchase money protection wont apply to your investment.

You both lose.
BW | 08.26.08 - 8:29 pm | #

AnoninCA writes:
O/T

Tanta,

I just started reading Gorton's Jackson Hole paper. It definitely merits a citation for ubernerds who might want to understand the gory details of subprime securitization.

(I'm also curious as to what you make of section III of his paper.)
AnoninCA | 08.26.08 - 8:33 pm | #

AllenM writes:
BW- it's in Arizona- purchase money exemption can be stretched.
AllenM | 08.26.08 - 9:29 pm | #

DCRogers writes:
Shnaps writes: "flight risk"? Where are they going to go where the lender can't continue to collect? Kazahkstan?

In California, all they can "collect" is said house. Playing tough on someone still paying off a $500K loan on a $250K house ain't so smart. You should be sending them candies in the autumn and flowers every spring. And if they're honorable enough to come to you and suggest a conversation about principal reduction but find they have to sit through a FICO beating and pretend to dead-beat-ism by stopping paying, well, I'd say they're worth a call-back before it comes to that.

The truly ruthless got the breaks on the way up, and looks like they're gonna be the only ones to get them on the way down, too. Feh.
DCRogers | 08.26.08 - 9:57 pm | #

Tom writes:
The truly ruthless got the breaks on the way up, and looks like they're gonna be the only ones to get them on the way down, too.

Why yes, I bought my California house in 1995, only refi'd existing balance for interest rate reductions, and currently owe significantly less than the current depressed value. And yet I keep paying that mortgage.

Where's My Break?

I'd like my servicer to write down my principal balance by 25%, which roughly represents post-peak price declines in California. I'm not sure I want any candles, they'd aggravate my allergies...come to think of it, so would the flowers...but I'd appreciate it if the servicer would send me annual season lift passes for Squaw while cutting my balance by 25%.

I Want My Break.
Tom | 08.26.08 - 10:18 pm | #

sdtfs writes:
I Want My Break.
Tom | 08.26.08 - 10:18 pm | #

Which leg would you prefer?
sdtfs | 08.26.08 - 10:57 pm | #

AllenM writes:
Tom, just wait, congress will be handing out happy pills after the election that will include your pony, and mine too.
AllenM | 08.27.08 - 10:44 am | #

wes writes:
Tom,

No breaks for you!

Love,
The Mod Nazi
wes | 08.27.08 - 2:07 pm | #

AJB writes:
Tanta,

I live in the Sacramento area and can tell you from personal experience that just because somebody is current on their mortgage doesn't mean that they are not in financial trouble. I have two acquaintances that have lost their homes only after hanging in as long as they could by running up credit card debts, using their HELOC to make the mortgage payments and other radical and foolish ways to keep the game going. Another friend was paying his mortgage by burning through some cash he’d made by selling another home he owned in Seattle. He knew he was running out of money and tried very diligently to get his bank, IndyMac, to either work out his loan or arrange for a short sale as the home was listed with a broker. IndyMac told him he had to be delinquent before they’d talk with him, so he got delinquent by walking away and renting a home that was as nice as his and ½ mile from his job instead of a 40 mile commute. The home he rented is about 65% of what the cost of his first and second was with IndyMac. Yes, he never should have “bought” the home in the first place, but the fact was he was in trouble and current on his mortgage, until he wasn’t current on his mortgage.

Oddly enough, after he was significantly delinquent, IndyMac did not foreclose on him but contacted him and arranged for a short sale.

IMO anybody that needs to rely on running up credit card balances to make their payments would be better off mailing in the keys and renting a cheaper house.

AJB
AJB | 09.13.08 - 2:02 pm | #

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