Comments for CitiMortgage Road to Recovery Tour: An update.

CitiMortgage Road to Recovery Tour: An update.

2011-06-29T21:03:41Z

This month, CitiMortgage concluded a 10-city Road to Recovery Tour of cities nationwide aimed at helping struggling homeowners find much-needed, long-term mortgage solutions. I am pleased by our progress on this initiative.

At these open-to-the-public Road to Recovery events, we were able to connect approximately 1,000 homeowners having difficulty making their mortgage payments with customer assistance experts in one-to-one counseling sessions. Although the vast majority of these borrowers were CitiMortgage clients, we were able to offer direction to non-clients also facing these same problems.

In this outreach, in cities across the U.S. from Baltimore to Los Angeles, we determined that 58 percent of attendees qualified for loan modification programs. We were also able to begin helping many customers even in late stages of delinquency--89 percent of attendees were 60 days or more delinquent on their mortgage payments and 30 percent were already in the foreclosure process. These events also drew many customers facing financial challenges who had never contacted CitiMortgage; 31 percent of attendees were first-time responders. We were extremely encouraged that we were able to initiate this critical dialogue.

We surveyed attendees, with 96 percent indicating an "Excellent/Good rating on overall value" on the sessions, and 97 percent saying they are "very/very likely" to recommend the experience to a friend. We feel strongly about the importance of raising awareness of the assistance options available, so these results are promising.

Since 2007, Citi has worked with more than 1.1 million borrowers on modifications, extensions, repayment plans and other loss mitigation efforts. Helping homeowners in need is a continued and fundamental priority for Citi. Resolving these issues is key to economic recovery and we remain focused on what Citi as a company can do to move forward.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2012-03-19

2012-03-19T18:06:33Z

Christopher, I apologize for the experience. I forwarded your message to one of our managers. I understand Christy has been in touch with you and your loan is scheduled to close soon. We value your business and thank you for being such a loyal Citi customer.

Comment from Christopher Koltzan on 2012-02-23

2012-02-23T18:55:57Z

I have held a citimortgage for almost seven years. I refinanced once last year and I am doing so again with Citi. I have a home equity with Citi, my credit card is with Citi, and so are my bank accounts. I have been a police officer for almost 16 years, my wife is an elementary school teacher for almost 10 years. We pay our bills and we pay our taxes. I have gotten the run around on this refi like I can't explain. I asked for a direct number to my mortgage handler and got Snook's Catering some where in Michigan and then waited on hold again until I received someone who could give me the direct number. I have faxed AND mailed the same information several times to refi a loan I ALREADY HAVE and gave you all the paperwork one year ago. I am so disgusted at this point I am ready to cancel everything I have and go with Teachers Federal Credit Union. I am a loyal customer but I don't even want to bring my three kids to Citipark at this time. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2012-01-11

2012-01-11T17:41:25Z

Sourabh, thank you for contacting us. I've forwarded your email and comment to someone that can assist you. We will be in touch with you very soon.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2012-01-11

2012-01-11T17:32:11Z

Thank you for contacting us, Joe. I apologize for the experience. I have forwarded your comment and email address to one of our managers. I understand we have made contact with you and are working with you to resolve the issue.

Comment from Joe Madrid on 2011-12-27

2011-12-27T22:19:28Z

I sold my home (CitiMortgage Loan) in June of 2011 and just received a letter about my interest rates going down? I was thinking to myself why am I receiving this letter since I have already sold my house six months ago? I decided to give citi a call. Come to find out I still have an outside balance with citi and the mortgage is still active!!!! What do I do? I have called all day and got nothing but a bunch of hang ups and transfer that lead me nowhere with no help!! I even called a local branch and still no help! I am very frustrated and annoyed with citi's "customer service". Every citi staff person I have talked to states this is very strange but no one can help me! I NEED SOMEONE TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS AND NEED THIS RESOLVED!!! I SOLD MY HOME 6 MONTHS AGO AND NOW I AM SHOWING NO PAYMENTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS!!!!

Comment from Sourabh on 2011-12-23

2011-12-23T16:21:16Z

We have been working with Citimortgage since April 2011 to short sell our home. The good news is that we have had a buyer since April, and the second lien holder had been cooperative and had accepted the offer. All the pieces of the puzzle are well together and are cooperating except Citimortgage (primary lien holder)!

The initial offer was submitted in April and was later increased by the buyer. However, both offers were rejected. We were asked to bring a better offer which is not possible as the current offer is already slightly above the market value. Citimortgage seems to be out of touch with the reality. The property is not eligible for loans (less than 51% owners in the complex), resides in a apartment complex (not condominium complex), and has much higher HOA dues compared to similar properties. We were successful in disputing the BPO, and were told to re-submit the offer as the BPO and offer price were the same. After weeks of work of creating the updated paperwork, working with escrow and re-convincing the second lien holder, the offer was again rejected. The reason given was that the offer was too low, which is in direct contradiction to what we were told earlier!

We have been given four different BPO values at different times. Hypothetically, even if we find a buyer who offers at the current Citimortgage BPO value (despite of the adverse reasons given above), it seems that the offer will still be rejected as it was the last time. The entire short sale process with Citimortgage seems to have no relevance at all. A homeowner support specialist has already been assigned to the case, and we have had negotiators on this case since the beginning, but we have not been received any answers on how to move forward. We would appreciate if one of the supervisors can look into our case to see why this simple and straight-forward short-sale is not being approved. Thank you.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-12-19

2011-12-19T20:32:37Z

I apologize that you feel that way. I forwarded your comment and email to one of our specialists. Someone will be in touch with you soon. The HARP refinance program is restricted to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned loans. We are only able to apply the program to Fannie and Freddie loans that we service.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-12-02

2011-12-02T14:38:04Z

Josie, I apologize that you feel that way. I forwarded your comment and email to one of our specialists. Someone will be reaching out to you soon.

Comment from Nicole on 2011-12-01

2011-12-01T19:01:23Z

Dear Citi Mortgage, your HARP program is a joke. You really should make it known on your website that you will only help to reduce the interest rates and refinance to 125% of the current value. I have held two loans on two investment properties for 6 years blemish free and recently got led to believe there was hope in lowering my 6.5% interest rates. Have you looked at the home values in Florida lately? I put 30% down on one home and 20% down on the other (inheritence money, so I am even more reluctant to short sale or forclose), yet the current value unables me to refinance through this HARP program. It just shows that you want people to forclose and that these programs and events are all just ways to milk more "distress funds" from the government. I am truly disheartened by this, it is sad and unfortunate.

Comment from Josie on 2011-11-24

2011-11-24T06:51:32Z

It is absolutely discouraging to read these comments. I'm in the same boat as so many clients and the video, and support team all seem fantastical and completely out of touch with reality. I know how Elizabeth and jpom feel. We were advised to stop paying if we wanted help so we did as told. Soon we received "Sale of Trustee" notices and were told to make forbearance payments for six months when Citi would be ready to evaluate our case and work something out. We then heard from a "counselor" and the next week were told our home was officially foreclosed. After weeks of sending pay stubs, tax reports, etc., etc., we believed Citi would make a bona fide attempt in helping. Little did we know. We finally spoke to an attorney who is advising legal action against Citi. This is not what we want to do. We simply want to work with the bank and avoid a tangled mess!!! Help us find somebody who really cares.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-11-11

2011-11-11T22:04:15Z

Hi Keranen. I forwaded your comment to our Homeowner Support Team and understand that they made contact with you to discussed the options available. I apologize we are not able to provide the option you wanted. If you change your mind about the options that were discussed with you, please let us know. Thank you for your post.

Comment from Keranen on 2011-11-03

2011-11-03T17:17:10Z

Hi, We have not heard from anyone. Do you have a possible solution for us? I would also like to say that we have tried to make this house accessible for a handicapped person. We tried to refinance two years ago to fix some of the issues with the house but were told the house would not appraise for enough to cover the loan, so we put it up for sale. Then we added another bathroom on the main level so he would not be going in his pants, we thought he could at least have that dignity. The walls are cracking, the doors do not line up properly, the floors slop. I don't know what this means but I don't think it is good. The knob and tube wiring is frayed and spliced and diced together. How can the house be repaired and made handicapped accessible?

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-10-31

2011-10-31T21:15:11Z

Keranen, I have forwarded your information to one of our Homeowner Support Specialists so they can contact you directly. You should hear from someone soon, if you haven't already.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-10-26

2011-10-26T19:29:30Z

My apologies for your experience; I forwarded your information to someone who can address your questions. Thank you for contacting us.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-10-26

2011-10-26T19:17:40Z

I apologize for this experience; I forwarded your information to someone who should be able to help.

Comment from Keranen on 2011-10-19

2011-10-19T15:42:57Z

We bought this house 13 years ago; we've been trying to sell for the last two years. We'ld be lucky to get what we paid for it, although we've put at least twenty five thousand into it. My husband has Multiple Sclerosis and it is getting increasing difficult to live in a two story house with many sets of stairs to get in, out and around the house. We didn't cause this crisis with the housing market! We have always paid our mortgage and paid it on time; we've done the right thing. Now there is no solution for us. Even though we've put a lot of time and money into the house, we have no equity. The time is coming when the roof will need replacing, among other things. In addition, we can not make this house work for a handicapped person. Why should we ruin our credit to get out?! When we have done the right thing!
We reached out for a solution and received none. Citi reps contacted us asking what we want. We want someone to buy this burden from us! Send one of your investors to buy the house! The house is not safe for us anymore. He almost fell down the steps a few weeks ago!

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-08-29

2011-08-29T19:31:34Z

Hi Rick. I forwarded your information to someone that can assist you, but they have not been able to make contact with you using the email you provided. Please let me know if you still need assistance.

Comment from jpom on 2011-08-29

2011-08-29T18:59:23Z

I am very discouraged and disgruntled by your double talk. Last week I was told to complete the paperwork you had sent me and fax it in so that Citemortgage could examine ways to help us. I was also told to contact your attorneys who had sent paperwork. I was told that I was not in the foreclosure process. Today, the Monday mentioned above, I called to tell your company that I had the money and wanted to pay my back payments in full and take care of September. I was told I could not do that. They would no longer take any payments. I was told that they would request from the attorneys what their fee was, would add that to the mortgage then get back to me. It may take 2 weeks to 30 days. They said the foreclosure process would continue and if the house went up for sale in that time I could buy it. How horrible and rediculous is that!!??!! You won't take any money including the current due amount, when only four months are due, and yet if I want to buy it back later?????? I explained that we had been helping with my father-in-law and sister-in-law who had different health problems and died July 29 and August 7, respectfully. Somehow your statements that you want me in my home are empty.

I would appreciate a response the these questions.

Comment from Elizabeth Hunter Dixon on 2011-08-23

2011-08-23T17:14:42Z

PLEASE HELP US STAY IN OUR HOME! I cannot post all the info/details from the last 3 months trying to get Citi to discuss our options. I have 20+pages of documents that I have faxed and mailed to each dept as I was passed along during this "process". Only 2 times in 3 months have I even gotten to someone who sounded like they might be able to help or cared to help, and in the meantime, our house is about to be sold in foreclosure on 9/6. I am told each time, with each phone call and new rep and/or new dept that they couldn't talk to me without the proper legal documents. Which I understand. I have jumped through every hoop I've been asked to jump thru. Sending the pkg w/all the proper documents. My mother passed away in Apr. (so pwr of atty no longer valid). We are both on the Warranty Deed, "Joint Tenants w/Rights of Survivorship", which is ALL Citi needed to have in order to speak w/me re: the account. BUT, I was being told that they also needed a "letter of auth. from the courts", which is not accurate. FINALLY, on 8/18-19 a rep said that Citi could accept the Warranty Deed and "added me to the account". In the meantime, as another rep said, "the clock is ticking" on the foreclosure, but only NOW can someone talk to me to even discuss options. I've asked if I could make a payment of some kind to show good faith and to stall foreclosure until the next dept that Loss/Mitigation dept sends me to has time to look at our situation??? But I was told they could not take a pmt that wasn't the full amount until they could review MY financials and MORE forms I'm now being asked to send them...which takes days/weeks to review - time we don't have now. AND, as of yesterday, I was assigned a "counselor" to start that process. I tried to call today to see what see might need and if I could fax anything else to her and was told "she's no longer w/the company AND asked me to explain all over again who I am, have I sent in the proper legal docs because they still don't see me on the acct and would need that in order to find another counselor for me!!! But yesterday they could "see me" in the system and assigned this counselor who no long works there??? HELP! Please. I had to start all over again w/Loss Mitigation dept today and was told by that dept that "someone should be calling me soon". Please help us to get at least a temporary stop on the foreclosure proceedings. Short term repayment loan, perm modification, temp assistance??? A "downpmt" ?? PLEASE help. thank you for your consideration.

Comment from Rick Scott on 2011-08-18

2011-08-19T02:29:29Z

I am currently on a repayment program that somehow got turned around. I made a huge down payment in Dec 2010 and missed my payment last month do to an oversight on my part and now we have a sale date of Sept 7, 2011. I've called and spoken to at least 10 people since the 8th of this month. All I want is to resume the program we were on and remain on track to pay you guys back but I am getting nowhere. Our loan is a Citi owned loan. Help me please.

Comment from carolyn marshall on 2011-08-18

2011-08-18T20:58:55Z

Jim, thank you for the blog post. We constantly review and refine internal processes to make things as easy as we can for our clients, while also adhering to the rules and guidelines we are bound by. While Citi originates mortgages, we often sell them to investors such as the government-sponsored entities or pool loans into an investment security called a Mortgage Backed Security and sell the pool to private investors. Mortgage companies, such as Citi Mortgage, handle the servicing of these loans on behalf of investors. As the servicer of the loan, we must act under the guidelines established by the investor that owns the loan. In addition some loans have additional considerations such as VA, FHA and Ginnie Mae guaranteed loans, which have additional guidelines we must follow. As a result, the process and decision for a modification is not always up to us. If the loan belongs to an investor or has other guidelines, then we must follow their rules and processes. I've forwarded your information to someone that can address your concerns further. You should hear from us soon, if you haven't already.

Comment from jim on 2011-07-05

2011-07-05T16:26:50Z

Citi should look back to simpler times and offer a mortgage modification option to lower interest rates, rather than making us go through a full refinance. THAT would be true homeowner relief. Of course Citi wouldn't then collect all of the fees and points.