He and his office were extremely helpful. He sent a letter to Mr. John Hardage, Congressional Liaison Director in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Department of Treasury.
I'm not sure who John Hardage is or what his role is in all of this, but I was impressed with his extremely long title.
Dear Senator Levin,
I am hoping you will see the tragic irony in my situation after learning that I was turned down for a home loan modification. I was turned down for the HAMP modification because my income was deemed to be sufficient – I was turned down for a traditional loan modification because my income was deemed to be insufficient.
I listen to the news, so I
have some understanding of the appalling practices going on with Freddie Mac,which
owns my mortgage. I am including an excerpt below and the website source from
NPR:
Freddie’s
charter calls for the company to make home loans more accessible. Its chief
executive, Charles Haldeman
Jr., recently told Congress that his company is “helping financially strapped
families reduce their
mortgage costs through refinancing their mortgages.”
But
the trades, uncovered for the first time in an investigation by ProPublica and
NPR, give Freddie a powerful
incentive to do the opposite, highlighting a conflict of interest at the heart
of the company. In addition
to being an instrument of government policy dedicated to making home loans more
accessible, Freddie
also has giant investment portfolios and could lose substantial amounts of
money if too many borrowers
refinance.
“We
were actually shocked they did this,” says Scott Simon, who as the head of the
giant bond fund PIMCO’s
mortgage-backed securities team is one of the world’s biggest mortgage bond
traders. “It seemed
so out of line with their mission.” The
trades “put them squarely against the homeowner,” he says.
I am one of the taxpayers
who bailed out Freddie Mac, and now they won’t bail me out because they want
bigger profits for their investors. But as a taxpayer, I AM one of
their investors.
I believe I am one of the
homeowners President Obama refers to when he talks about hard-working citizens
who should be able to benefit from lower mortgage interest rates and loan
modifications.
I bought my house in 2004,
when home prices were inflated. I got a 30-year fixed loan at 5.75 percent. I was
not a reckless investor. I put 20 percent down on my home.
In 2009, I was laid off
from my job as communications manager. I couldn’t find a full-time job after months
and months of searching, so I started my own freelance communications business.
I also had to file for bankruptcy.
I have spent years working
two, three and four jobs at a time, 50 to 60 hours a week, to support myself and
stay current on my mortgage. I have never missed a mortgage
payment.
I chose not to sell my
house because it is the only investment I have, and I would lose all my equity
in it in the current economy. Even if I did sell it, I would never be able to buy
another, less expensive home because of my bankruptcy and because I am now
self-employed with an unstable income.
Most of my freelance work
is for nonprofit organizations. My biggest client recently cut back the work they
could give me, so my monthly income has now been reduced by $1,000 per month.
In my opinion, that puts me in imminent default on my mortgage loan. I am also
the volunteer editor of the street newspaper in Ann Arbor that helps homeless
people earn an income. I am proud to say that our newspaper has moved quite a
few homeless people into housing, yet it pays me only a tiny stipend for the
work I do. Another irony – the work I do to help homeless people get into
housing doesn’t pay enough to keep me in my house.
I have not missed a
mortgage payment, no matter what. I have already sold all my jewelry. I have
sold the family china. I have sold furniture and paintings. There is nothing
left to sell in my house.
I am 58 years old, living
alone in Michigan, and have resigned myself to the fact that no one wants to hire
someone of my advanced years in the area of my expertise, which is
communications, social media and web design. All companies prefer to have young
people doing that type of work at a lower salary.
Experience doesn’t count
for much in a bad economy.
I know that the only way I
can possibly be considered for a home loan modification now is if I miss a mortgage
payment, and the thought of that horrifies me. I’d rather be behind in my heat
and electric bills than miss a mortgage payment.
It seems that responsible
people like me are getting punished for doing everything we can to pay our mortgages.
There is something deeply
flawed in this nation when our lawmakers can’t correct this situation. It doesn’t
take a genius to see that extending loan modifications to people like me will
help the economy tremendously. Had I qualified for the loan modification, I
would have $700 extra income every month. Money I could spend on a plumber to
get the hot water working in my kitchen. Money I could use to hire a painter to
paint my home’s exterior, which is crumbling and peeling. Money I could use to
pay a carpenter to fix my front porch, and a mason to fix my chimney. And all
those workers, in turn, would have more money to spend as a result. The
multiplier effect would quickly pump much-needed money into the economy.
But that isn’t happening. Instead,
the top six executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earned $35.4 million in
2009-2010.
I can assure you I’m not
alone when I say that I am very seriously considering becoming an expatriate and
living in Central America if this type of flagrant abuse of the bottom 99
percent doesn’t change. It’s a very sad day when living in third world
countries like Honduras or Guatemala is more appealing than living in the
United States.
Sincerely,
Your hopeful constituent, Laurie
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