[PaulandMichelle]

We had refinanced our home 2 years ago. The person in charge of our account put us in an adjustable rate that was VERY high telling us to refi in 2 to 3 years before the adjustment kicked in. He then slid a VERY HIGH appraisal of our house at us, we did not want to take out the whole amount like he was telling us to do because we did not want to get in over our heads. It turned out that he used houses that were WAY over our homes pricing, the appraisal of the homes were much nicer and larger than ours in his internet search. We started to look to refi and when appraisers came out (3 different ones) all appraised our house for $91,000, when 2 years ago his internet appraised or our house for $125,000. We are now locked into high rate and no way to refi because of his dishonest practice. Is there anything we can do??? HELP!!!

[merit1sje]

There may not be much that you can do at this time, but you could submit a letter of complaint to the Attorney State General and you could also submit a letter of complaint to the Federal Trade Commission at: http://www.ftc.gov/bld/online/edcams/credit/coninfo_loans.htm (broken link)
Describe to them your situation. It's possible that the loan officer acted in an irresponsible manner that resulted in you signing an agreement. There are laws that protect against these kinds of practice.

[Frankawitz]

Or you can do like so many in your postion just let it go back to the bank and start over, move to another State that has a Governor who knows what they are doing cause the one we have has her head up her ass.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by Frankawitz

Or you can do like so many in your postion just let it go back to the bank and start over, move to another State that has a Governor who knows what they are doing cause the one we have has her head up her ass.

FYI PaulandMichelle:

Talk to an attorney before you walk away from your mortgage. Even moving to another state might be difficult with a mortgage default on your credit record (same as a bankruptcy I believe).

Follow merit1jse's advice. You might be stuck though. It's difficult to prove criminal intent in these situations.

[Jswee]

If you are willing to sell your house without retaining any equity, you may want to contact your lender concerning a short sale. If they are presented with a viable sale at a slight loss as an alternative to foreclosure, they may be willing to work with you.

[hsubon]

I read this type of posting on another post.
People think that an appraisal is some kind of value for your home.
In a perfect world it is, but there are many factors here.
For those not use to or understanding of the finance market. look at it this way, you go to a bank, the banker is working for.......... himself. the more he closes the more he makes.
The banker wants to get you into a loan like a car salesmen wants to get you into a car. once you drive off the lot they do not give a rip if you make the payments or not.
The bankers hire appraisers to value your home, the more they value the home for vs the loan amount the easier it is to push through a loan.
Now the appraiser if he/she keeps pushing values that are low, the banker does not hire this so called indipendent person.
The appraiser knows where his bread is buttered.
No in a hot market you may get a good appraisal, but in this market I bet you get an appraisal that is not in line with what you can sell for.
If you want a true appraisal hire your own not liked to a loan dept. appraiser.
Then bankers will do what is called an 80/20 loan, the standard 80% loan and then tack on a 20% home equity loan to have a 100% loan on a home.
This is just one of the areas that are putting people in the forclosure line.

[Gordy M]

PaulandMichelle, If what you say can be proved, you should report your problem to the FTC. More than likely your paperwork was sold through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, government sponsored mortages. If so, the mortgage banker and appraiser could be guilty of fraud which is a federal offense with fines up to $1,000,000 and/or 30 prison term.

One of the problems in the early 2000's was the bank rate was extremely low, which caused bankers to become very generous with there guidelines which sold lots of homes. As the industry grew, mortgage bankers were hired by the tens of thousands and there training was to fill out a mortgage application. When prices were rising 5-10 percent a year, the 0 down loans, ARM/home equity financeing, etc real estate became a growth industry. Some of those in the game early were able to buy a home and then get a bigger home within a few years. However, most did not have any equity built up and were buying with 95-100% financing. Today we are paying for that practice.

If you have a $125,000 mortgage and a $90,000 house then you are upside down in equity. Your choices are not good, foreclosure will give you a bad credit score for several years, a "Short Sale", where the bank agrees to let you sell for less than the mortgage price, is an option, and the last is to call you lender and try to get them to renogiate the rate. Sometimes they are willing to compromise because the last thing a bank wants to do is own another home. If you "short sale", there are some pitfalls, you will receive a 1099 IRS form for the difference between the sale price and the loan. This means you will be paying income tax in that amount...a little salt to the wound. There is currently several members of congress supporting a bill to eliminate this practice but it has not yet been allowed to come out of the committee. HTH

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by PaulandMichelle

We had refinanced our home 2 years ago. The person in charge of our account put us in an adjustable rate that was VERY high telling us to refi in 2 to 3 years before the adjustment kicked in. He then slid a VERY HIGH appraisal of our house at us, we did not want to take out the whole amount like he was telling us to do because we did not want to get in over our heads. It turned out that he used houses that were WAY over our homes pricing, the appraisal of the homes were much nicer and larger than ours in his internet search. We started to look to refi and when appraisers came out (3 different ones) all appraised our house for $91,000, when 2 years ago his internet appraised or our house for $125,000. We are now locked into high rate and no way to refi because of his dishonest practice. Is there anything we can do??? HELP!!!

So you took out more cash than you wanted to??? And the loan officer "put" you into an ARM???

I don't mean this as harsh but, you the borrower have the power to determine how high you want your loan amount to be and whether you take a fixed or adjustable interest rate.

I am trying to let as many people out there as I can know this!

[TimtheGuy]

The banker wants to get you into a loan like a car salesmen wants to get you into a car. once you drive off the lot they do not give a rip if you make the payments or not.

There are a few bad apples out there but...Please! You obviously have not been working with the right mortgage lender if that is what you think.

More than likely your paperwork was sold through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac,

Sounds more to me like it was some kind of subprime product...not Fannie/Freddie.

Lastly I will add...You people do realize that home values HAVE GONE DOWN IN THE LAST 2 YEARS RIGHT??? I am not necessarily saying $125k to $91k but....

I highly doubt 3 different appraisers all came up with the same value either ($91k). Who paid to have 3 appraisals done???? Also sounds like 2 years ago when

2 years ago his internet appraised or our house for $125,000

that an AVM (automated valuation model) was done which is not really an appriasal anyway.