Anyone been in this situation?

Question

hello,
I bought a house in the Detroit area 4 years ago and got roped into a silly option arm. well this last year my payment went up 4 times and i was screwed, i looked at refinancing my home to a fixed but the problem i owed more now then the home was worth. by like 30k i could not refinance with anyone. I was shocked and talked to a friend in the banking business, he looked at my loan documents and noticed they almost stated my income double then what it actually was. He then told me to file a complaint with the attorney generals office, the company did some research and found that they were in the wrong and agreed to refinance to a fixed rate and the diffrence of 35k they ate. I am much happier now, but is this a fluke? or has there been more people in this situation.

Answer 1

You were smart - and lucky. Thousands of people have been suckered by unscrupulous mortgage brokers and mortgage companies and have lost their homes. In my little county, hundreds of homes are on the market and there should only be a dozen or so. What a shame.
-MM

Answer 2

My advice is to stay with a fixed mortgage. anyone who has an arm has no control. I like to know when, where and how. I won't even touch a credit card unless it is a fixed rate.

Answer 3

Those dam option ARMs. That happens everyday. You were lucky that the lender wrongly doubled your income or otherwise you would have been SOL.

Answer 4

That's the first I've heard of such a situation. Good for you that it worked out, but I'd think it pretty rare.

Answer 5

Darin, you are one lucky person. Most are finding themselves in this same possession and are losing thier homes. My sister n law is one of them.

I'm sure you will pay close attention to details next time.

Answer 6

That's awesome to hear! Can you share your story to my group? www.MichiganInvestorNetwork.com