There are more opportunities--and challenges--in the mortgage industry than ever before. As a result, consumers are looking for a wide variety of mortgage information ranging from homeowner assistance to buying their first home at historically low interest rates. Many see today as the investment opportunity of a lifetime.
Whatever reason you're visiting our blog today, we want you to know that your questions, comments and concerns matter to us. Every single one. We'd like you to think of this as the place to start a conversation. Because we will respond to you; we just may not do it in the open forum of this blog, due to privacy concerns. After all, your personal information should remain private, shouldn't it? So feel free to raise any issue right here, and we'll be in touch. Just be sure that you provide a valid email address and check your email for our response.
When we post comments.
Often, our blog visitors are writing with a very specific question about their mortgage with us and sometimes even their personal circumstances. Information such as mortgage payments, loan balances, due dates and personal information are frequently included. Naturally, we can't share that information with the general public, so in those cases we typically just provide a general response notifying the commenter that someone will be in touch with them to address their question or comment. Although we don't post detailed responses for every comment, you can rest assured that the details are provided privately.
On the other hand, if someone posts a comment with a general question that we believe would be relevant to a lot of people then it becomes a good candidate for a public post. Some examples of a general question include options to avoid foreclosure or where to find a list of Citi's available foreclosure properties. Another scenario where we'll post a comment publicly is when we find we can remove personal information without distorting the intent of the comment.
Also, if we see a trend in questions on a specific topic or situation we'll often post a blog or in some cases a series of blogs to address the topic. This way the information can be seen by a wider audience than if we just posted it as a comment response. For example, we recently posted several blogs about the various options homeowners have to avoid foreclosure. For a list of topics, simply select the drop-down menu at the top of the home page where it says, "choose a subject." There, you'll find categories of information about foreclosures, information security, lending, online servicing, refinancing and much more. Select your category of interest and all of the blog posts pertaining to that category will display.
How we respond in private.
If your question or concern is too personal to post publicly, we pledge that we will respond to you directly. The most important thing you can do when you post on our blog is to provide a valid email address. And, obviously be sure to check your email for our response. When a comment comes in on the blog, it is routed to support specialists or managers that have expertise in the subject matter of that specific comment. Using the email provided, a response is sent directly to the commenter. Unfortunately, if the email address provided isn't accurate or a response to their email message is never received then we don't have any other way to make contact.
Got a gripe? We want to hear those too.
We've mentioned that we moderate visitor comments; because we want to be sure we don't divulge personal information in a public forum. But that doesn't mean we filter out negative comments. We want to hear those, too. And if the issue is broad enough, we'll post it for everyone to see.
Tell us what you want to talk about.
As we said from the beginning, our blog is all about having a conversation with the people who matter to us most: you. We believe it is important to share a wide variety of information that can help consumers and homeowners, whether our customers or not. So, tell us what you want to talk about. We're listening--and are continually evolving the content of this blog to be as relevant as possible to you.
So if you have a question for us, the answer you're looking for may be right here. We believe social media, such as this blog, will help us connect with our customers and the general public in a new ways. We look forward to starting the conversation.
We have been trying to get a modification loan for many months now due to my recent illness and inability to work. We have been told that our loan was given to underwriting a couple of weeks ago and that it was assigned to a specific person in the underwriting dept. and that that was a good sign we were close to approval. We have a sale date on our home that is less than 4 wks away. I was stressed before but after reading some of the comments about Citimortgage and the experiences other poor people have had with losing their homes and being misled I am absolutely terrified! All we need is to get our mortgage payments back on track and made current and we can make them on time. How can I believe what loss mitigation is telling me? How can I know that we are being told the truth? I have 2 small children and nowhere else to go. Please give me some reassurance that I will have approval soon and that we wont be out on the street.
Reply to this comment by Melanie on 01/23/2012
I am terribly sorry to hear about your situation and can appreciate your concerns. I forwarded your comment and email address to one of our managers. I understand Tony emailed your obtain your account information so he could reserach your account. I wish you all the best.
Reply to this comment by CitiMortgage on 02/23/2012 in response to Melanie
I have a family member who is looking to buy a home soon and they don't know where to start to get the finances together. They have an idea of the type of home they want to buy already and the price range for the home they want but they don't know where to start to get a mortgage loan or even if they qualify. How can they figure out if they qualify for a loan and if so, where must they go to receive the loan amount they desire?
Reply to this comment by Try Before You Buy on 01/11/2012
Thank you for the question. Buying a home is a big step, but you're asking all the right questions. There are calculators available on our website that can help determine how much your family member can afford, the down payment needed, and much more. I also asked one of our Lending Specialists to get in touch with you to see if you or your family member had any other questions.
Reply to this comment by CitiMortgage on 02/23/2012 in response to Try Before You Buy
We have been living in our home for over a year and a half and currently rent. The owner went into foreclosure on his second loan and now the property is owned by CitiMortgage. We love our neighborhood and the community. My family is devistated and we do not want to move and hope that their is someway we can continue to live in the home. Is it possible? Please advise as soon as possible as time is the essence.
Reply to this comment by Lisa Travis on 01/10/2012
Hi Lisa. I am very sorry to hear about the situation with your landlord. Sometimes there are some options to help renters in situations like yours, but there are several factors that must be considered. I have forwarded your email address and comment to someone that can assist you. We will be in touch soon.
Reply to this comment by CitiMortgage on 01/20/2012 in response to Lisa Travis
I agree with the first post, Chester, I have been in my house for 5 years and have never missed a mortgage payment but I can't refinance since my home value is down so much. I would like to see loan modification programs for people in good standing as well.
Reply to this comment by bh on 11/07/2011
Thank you for the post. Given the current market conditions, many homeowners are in similar situations. I understand the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will announce a new HARP program later this month that will lift the LTV cap, thereby allowing homeowners deeply underwater on their mortgages an opportunity to refinance. The FHFA has not yet released all the program specifics, but it may be an option for you. In the meantime, I have forwarded your information to our Sales team to see if they can offer any additional information or advice. Someone will be in touch soon.
Reply to this comment by CitiMortgage on 11/11/2011 in response to bh
I find it very disappointing that Citimortgage does not have a refinancing/loan modification option for the "good customers" who made the painful decision of moving out of their homes for employment reasons and have seen home values decline severely. I recently tried to re-finance with Citimortgage for the second time in 5 years. The first time the process failed because of inadequate personnel in charge of my loan application. The second time the process failed because there are no options available for customers in my current situation. There is no refinancing or loan modification option offered by your bank for good standing customers who had to make the painful choice of moving to a different location to find employment and have seen their homes decline in value such that the loan-to-value ratio is now too high to refinance or do anything for that matter. Like myself, there are millions of mortgage holders across this country who choose to move rather than risk default of their homes due to unemployment. What I consistently heard from your representatives is that a loan such as mine has to be in default before any action can be considered. This does not make economic sense to me because both parties (the bank and myself) end up losing in case of default.
I am asking is for your bank to offer options for good standing clients like myself who has made monthly payments complete and on-time for the last 5 years and is asking for an opportunity to continue doing the same.
Reply to this comment by Chester Rodriguez on 08/30/2011
Chester, thank you for your comments. I'm sorry that we were unable to provide the assistance you were looking for. I sent your information to one of our specialists so they could contact you directly.
Reply to this comment by CitiMortgage on 10/26/2011 in response to Chester Rodriguez