You won’t get a loan modification by waiting in line. It’s just too long. Get “out-of-line” by following my advice.
The line for Loan Modifications wraps around the block!It makes the line for Laker’s tickets seem short. Hundreds of thousands are in the queue ahead of you with more than 50,000 added per week. Banks can’t staff and train nearly fast enough and the systems and procedures are insufficient as well. Add to that the fact that the banks are only begrudgingly modifying to begin with – and you have a formula for homeowner frustration and failure. Though it seems rude, you have to “take cuts” to get to the front of the line.
The answer is to copy the winners, that 4% of applicants who get the good modifications. How do they do it? They step out-of-line and do extraordinary things. In previous articles I’ve described the way winners craft their applications and follow-up on their files to use what I call File Inertia. Now I will describe the way they escalate problems.
The broken process for evaluating loan modifications always produces problems. Erroneous rejections, incorrect assessments, unnecessary and redundant information, etc. I advise my clients to: 1. Ask 5 Times, 2. Escalate Well and 3. Escalate Well Beyond.
Ask 5 times The common problems are not too tough. Replace a lost document, sign one sent w/o signature, update bank statements or paystubs, etc. Just breath deeply, hold your tongue and provide exactly the information they request. But, there are times when you just cannot get agreement or get a clear explanation, or other such frustration, when you simply need to take my advice. Thank the agent and then call back one day, one hour or one minute later and try the same question on a new agent. I always do this 5 times before I give up. You see, many of the agents in the Loss Mitigation Department are scantily trained and sorely inexperienced. Very often they just can’t understand you or the system.
Escalation means going up the chain of command. It means requesting that a manager or supervisor review the situation with you. Be sure to do this politely to minimize the snub to the agent but be firm. Simply say (to the 5th agent) “Please connect me to your supervisor, will you? This matter is just too important to me to let this go. I want to hear it from a supervisor”. Sometimes the agent will oblige and other times the agent will argue with you. I believe that sometimes too, agents will ask their co-worker to pose as a manager for the call. It may happen that the manager will have to call you back. Don’t hold your breath. Occasionally you will get lucky and a well trained and well informed manager will get on the line and provide some real value.
Escalate Well Beyond means taking your problem beyond the Loss Mitigation Department to seek assistance and support from other departments, or from bank executives, regulatory agencies, politicians, trade associations and even the press. Don’t think that your situation is too small for any of these entities to care about or to take action on. The secret to getting their support is to request it in a manner that indicates that you 1) have used all the correct channels already, 2) understand their role and have appropriate expectations for what they can do on your behalf, 3) know exactly what you want them to do and by when and 4) that you are the sort of person who will escalate right past them if they do not respond.
Escalations Well Beyond are effective. I’m amazed at the results. It seems that such interventions are always successful and the trick is in convincing the person to get involved.
So many people are impacted by the housing market meltdown that most are sympathetic and will be interested in helping if they can. So, ask well and you will likely get support.
Learn more details about effective problem escalation – and get examples of successes.? Visit Rockwood’s site about DIY Loan Modification at Home Loan Modification
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