HOPE NOW.......OFFERS LITTLE HOPE AT ALL!!!

In a recent article it was published that there are 187 companies that are currently being investigated by the FTC, and various state's agencies and AG offices. This investigation has been labeled "Operation Loan Lies". In the article, it was very good to point out that their are legitimate companies that are getting caught in the crossfire between them, and the "bad guys". What these agencies don't understand is that the legitimate companies have EVERY interest in helping you identify, and dispose of the "bad guys". Unfortunately, many of these legitimate companies are running into a spot where it is nearly impossible to actually comply and operate in more than one state. What if you told GM or Ford that they could only sell vehicles in Ohio and Michigan? What if you told Bill Gates that he could only distribute his products to people in California? I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, but that's just plain UN-AMERICAN. California and Florida have been the highlighted states that need the most assistance, yet they also house more than 90% of the companies that have been labeled "scams" and are currently under investigation. So aside from being un-american, it's been clearly demonstrated that it just doesn't work.

"If I can't/shouldn't use a modification company to help me, who can I use?" This is a common question asked by residents in states that don't allow any assistance for profit. This is actually a question that the majority of people have asked themselves and others when even considering a modification, and hearing all of the bad publicity. The common response from the above mentioned agencies is " Find a HUD Approved Housing Counselor, Contact NACA, Contact Hope Now, Contact Your lender Directly". Unfortunately, regardless of which one you try, you'll eventually end up at option #4. We've showed in previous posts about trying to get assistance through HUD and through NACA. Maxine Waters did a great job showing the frustrations of attempting to contact the lender yourself, and was quoted as saying, " It is impossible for the average homeowner to negotiate their own modification". Recently one of the State AG's said, "he wanted to remind homeowners that there is free assistance out there, and encouraged his states residents to contact Hope Now for assistance. So I did. This is what I got.

You go to Hope Now's website and it gives you a few options. You can scroll through their list of lenders and find your lender and their contact information. You can call for assistance, which gives you your lenders contact information. You can Submit a Request, I did. I filled out all of my information, and got a confirmation email saying: Thank you. If you have not received a response from the mortgage servicer(s) you selected within 5-7 business days after submitting this information, please contact your servicer directly. Alternatively, you may contact a counselor at the Homeowners HOPE Hotline at 888-995-HOPE.
First of all, to paint me with the expectation that my lender is supposed to contact me within 7 business days is unrealistic. So the 7 days goes by with no contact from my lender, so I call them. On their recording it says, " If it has not been 45 days since you've submitted your documents, then there is no need to call, if it has been more than 45 days since you've submitted, please contact the home retention department". So I tried to call them, got "disconnected" three times. I just want to answer a few questions: "Can I confirm that you've received all of my documents? Was my package complete? Can I talk directly to the person that is approving/denying my modification application?" If you try and talk to customer service about it, they tell you that it's with the home retention department and that they don't have ANY information.

Being that contacting my lender myself wasn't working out so well, I explored their other option which was to FIND A LOCAL COUNSELOR. Guess where it put me? It put me right back at the HUD approved counselors. I already tried that, it didn't work, that's why I'm looking to Hope Now for assistance. They referred me back to HUD. HUD, referred me to contact my lender directly. So EVERY agency that I have been referred to by the FTC and the AG's offices, has referred me to a different agency and/or told me to contact my lender directly.

So now we've established who the bad and the ugly are, who's the good? The idea that a modification company shouldn't/can't charge a homeowner until their modification is complete is absurd. ALL companies have some type of costs involved to operate. If I'm a non-profit, I'm still getting money from someone. If I'm trying to make a legitimate yet profitable (I think that's still allowed in this country.....) business, then it has to make sense for both parties. Let's take basic costs for any company: LEASE (monthly, biannual, or annual), Electricity (monthly), Taxes and Unemployment insurance for employees (monthly), Internet Service (monthly), Website Design (one time large charge, monthly service fees), Customer Management System (large one time charge, a ton of planning, and monthly service fees), Phone Service (monthly, HUGE expense especially with a toll free number), Water (monthly), Hourly Wages/and or Salaries (Bi Weekly). Oh, and COFFEE!!!!!
Let's say the average modification takes 30-90 days. What company do you know of that can operate on a 30-90 days accounts receivable? I'd like to know how much that hair that company's account has left......... This is why PMC has been doing progression payments since inception. NO upfront fees, we send you the application first to see if we even have a chance at helping. If we do, we'll send you out all the documents that we need returned BEFORE you pay your application fee. Good business, we work for you, you pay, we work for you, you pay, we work for you, you pay. We don't work for you, you get refunded. This seems to be a more than reasonable process that protects both the company, and the clients.

Many AG offices are asking companies for their comments on what are "reasonable and customary" fees, and for work to be performed before the client has to pay. They are also asking for comments on what is a fair "cancellation fee". Hopefully they realize that if we've dumped 2 months worth of work into a client and they decide that they just don't want their house anymore, the company must have some type of compensation for the work provided. This is why PMC offers the ability to cancel your agreement with us at ANYTIME before the work is completed, and offers you a refund should you decide to cancel. Furthermore, the cancellation fee's are more than reasonable ($250 and $500, depending on where you are in the process). Washington State officials deemed that $1500 was a "reasonable" fee for loan modification services. So the facts that PMC has never charged more than $1500 for our services, offers a cancellation at any time with refund, and doesn't ask you for anything up front should be the clear identifying things that differentiate PMC from the rest.