Countrywide Home Loans and FRAUD!

[Dzone]

TweetHave any of you heard what is happening with Countrywide? I heard they were being investigated by the attorney general for fraud.
Well, last year my house slipped into foreclosure..ya, it royally sukcs a$$...to get out of foreclosure, I had to double my mortgage payments for 6 months!!!..It was a beoitch but I bought my way out of foreclosure...Countrywide made me pay through the nose. Im wondering if I have any recourse against Countrywide. Not sure who to talk to about this. I think they were charging me for everything they could and then some. Anybody here have a countrywide mortgage?...thanks for any advice.

[Scott1975]

TweetWe also had a Countrywide home loan. We didn't have a fixed rate, had a adjustable rate, they said it would raise no more 9% after 3yrs, it was 6% at the time. For the 1st 3 yrs it was set at 6%, then after 3yrs if jumped to 14%, Our payment went from 658$ a month to something like 1200$ a month. It was stupid, we had to foreclose on our home. We tried everything to not have to foreclose, but it happened. Now we can't get a home for 10yrs. Sucks.

[Dzone]

Tweetdang bro that sucks. sorry to hear that...Hope you and your family are doing good. That is one of the hardest things anyone can gothrough...The mental strain of it can just wipe a person out...theres nothing that you can compare the stress to....Financial stress can be unreal for people to go through. Going into foreclosure was a living hell for me. It sticks in your head for 24/7-365 days a year. I dont know how people hold up. When they are losing it all! I saw a lady on TV whos car broke down. She got behind on her mortgage as a result & lost her home to foreclosure..all from a car breakdown...when it hit me, I really didnt talk about it. Never mentioned on this board. Suffered through it silently.LOL.. dont know how this new mortgage savior bill that passed today is going to help anyone. Hope so, but who knows.

[Dzone]

Tweetanyway, I have been searching a bit online to find information on Countrywide. There are thousands of complaints. I just am wondering if a good attorney can do any good against them. Im guessing the average attorney isnt going to know shyt. Maybe I could get my money back they took from me. Just wondering if anyone on here knows anything about these things or has experience with this..thanks

[firstenrgy]

Tweet

anyway, I have been searching a bit online to find information on Countrywide. There are thousands of complaints. I just am wondering if a good attorney can do any good against them. Im guessing the average attorney isnt going to know shyt. Maybe I could get my money back they took from me. Just wondering if anyone on here knows anything about these things or has experience with this..thanks

They were giving loans to anyone with a pulse. 104's (104%of equity) 107's... same. Criminal...

[Scott1975]

TweetWe are doing pretty good right now. You are right, the stress was crazy, it was on my mind night and day. It almost caused me and my wife to get a divorce. I was angry all the time, the little stuff ticked me off, every time they would call for a payment, I would lose it. Some one is making money off that crap, I know it wasn't us. The crazy thing is, at the time I wasn't even working, they said they called my work, but that is crap, I was working at a Nascar team, and got laid off that week when they were supposed to be doing the background checks. So I know they didn't call the team, because the team shut down. And firstenrgy is right, they were giving loans to anyone that walked and breathed. So now, I can't buy a house again for a while unless I want a crazy interest rate. It sucks to have bad credit now. My score was right around 715, now its 585. The foreclosure killed me.

[angryoldman]

TweetMy wife used to work for Countrywide up until the whole subprime mortgage crisis came into effect.Then, she was one of about a million who lost her job. So who cares what happens to them. As for you..... um.... fools (to put it nicely) who bought into the adjustables, shame on you.

[Scott1975]

TweetThe reason we got the adjustable was because we were first time home buyers. They said all first time home buyers get the adjustable rates. The thing is, they said it wouldn't go over 9%. When we applied for the loan application, I wasn't even working, they said they checked it, that is total shit. They don't care about people, all they want is the sale.

[cyberlegend1994]

Tweet

The reason we got the adjustable was because we were first time home buyers. They said all first time home buyers get the adjustable rates...

Interesting - I got a fixed rate last year (not with Countrywide) even though I was a first-time buyer.

[urladyswidme]

TweetAngryoldman:

Buying into an adjustable rate mortgage doesn't make people fools. Esp. the ones who are first time home buyers and had no experience with mortgages. I wish you would show a little sympathy because millions of people lost their homes. And for someone to call them fools doesn't make them feel any better. If anything they were victims of greedy mortgage brokers and real estate agents.

Anyhow, my friends and I used adjustable rate mortgages to maximize our investment opportunity when the market is on the upswing. Why pay the extra interest of fixed mortgages esp. if you are not staying in the house long term. What got people into trouble is that they weren't prepared for the homes to depreciate in value. If you had an ARM and had over 50% equity as most california home owners experienced between 1999 and 2005, there shouldn't be any problems. Simply refinance to a fixed rate mortgage.

Going back to Countrywide, they are being investigated for unfair lending practices. It seems they gave special incentives to push borrowers in risky mortgages and overlooked a lot of underwriting requirements (i.e. income and asset verification). Now they are a part of Bank of America and from what I understand, they have stopped subprime lending altogether.

I am in the process of buying another house right now and getting a loan is definitely tougher. They scrutinize everything and require plenty of cash reserves to insure you can pay off the loan. Gone are the days of 100% financing and no income verification. In order to get a loan today, you probably would need a FICO of over 750, 20% downpayment, and DTI no higher than 45%.

Sorry to all those who lost their homes. If its any consolation, at least the mortgage burden is no longer there. No more paycheck to paycheck living to keep a house that was losing value...

[angryoldman]

TweetYou can try to explain to me any way you want. I have been in the finance/Banking business for over 10 years. If someone offers to sell you a Rolex on the corner for $100, it falls under the "If it sounds to good to be true" motto. Adjustables are no different. If someone offers you a 4% mortgage, shame on you for thinking it's going to work in your advantage. It was people trying to live above and beyond their means. I see it 365 days a year. I'm sorry, but I don't sympathize with people anymore who make $50k a year, and live in a $200K house with 35K in credit card debt, student loans, and driving a Mercedes. If you know you're not going to be in the house long, do a balloon. If you didn't think the home that was worth $300K in 2005, that you paid $400K for in 2007, was never going to drop in value, then I want some of what they're smoking. Greed and ignorance my friends. You can't fault a liquor store for selling booze to an alcoholic. You can't fault a 7-11 for selling smokes to someone with lung cancer. And you can't fault a mortgage company for selling a horrible product to an ignorant person who wouldn't take an hour to look into the product first. If Countrywide lied, let them have it. Sue the pi$$ out of them. But the millions of people who lost their home due to stupidity, Sorry. As callus as it may sound, I'm not sympathetic.

[pigmeat]

Tweet

You can try to explain to me any way you want. I have been in the finance/Banking business for over 10 years. If someone offers to sell you a Rolex on the corner for $100, it falls under the "If it sounds to good to be true" motto. Adjustables are no different. If someone offers you a 4% mortgage, shame on you for thinking it's going to work in your advantage. It was people trying to live above and beyond their means. I see it 365 days a year. I'm sorry, but I don't sympathize with people anymore who make $50k a year, and live in a $200K house with 35K in credit card debt, student loans, and driving a Mercedes. If you know you're not going to be in the house long, do a balloon. If you didn't think the home that was worth $300K in 2005, that you paid $400K for in 2007, was never going to drop in value, then I want some of what they're smoking. Greed and ignorance my friends. You can't fault a liquor store for selling booze to an alcoholic. You can't fault a 7-11 for selling smokes to someone with lung cancer. And you can't fault a mortgage company for selling a horrible product to an ignorant person who wouldn't take an hour to look into the product first. If Countrywide lied, let them have it. Sue the pi$$ out of them. But the millions of people who lost their home due to stupidity, Sorry. As callus as it may sound, I'm not sympathetic.

reps to you my friend...i couldnt have said it better...

[angryoldman]

Tweet

reps to you my friend...i couldnt have said it better...

I'm still waiting for my reps **** it!! I need to get off that "666" number!!

[pigmeat]

Tweet

I'm still waiting for my reps **** it!! I need to get off that "666" number!!

had to spread some love,lol...gotcha now

[firstenrgy]

TweetAOM is right that the buyer should beware but there was aggressive selling techniques across the board with EVERY bank. These adjustables were given to people telling them that it couldn't go over X percentage but the cute banks had clauses in there which allowed them to run your credit every year and adjust based on that or even payment history, one late payment in a certain period, bye bye max rate. Buyer beware yes, This was fraud! The shame is, everone will join a class action suit, win it after 5 years and the laywers will take most of the award and each person will get a check for $30.00. Sad, very sad.