I, Deadbeat

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is on message! Here's part of a conversation I had with a very helpful and courteous phone rep last night:

Rep: I see you are eligible for refinancing through the Making Home Affordable program of the Obama Administration's 2009 Recovery Act. Right now we have a rate of 4.375 percent. You would pay no closing costs. The only cost would be your recording fee which would probably come to about $50.

Tim: That's terrific! Can I ask: My loan is not in any distress. Why is it eligible for Recovery Act benefits?

Rep: If we can get you a loan with a lower interest rate that will stimulate spending in the economy.

Is my bank that civic-minded? Are TARP funds now being used to print and distribute DNC talking points at participating banks? Either way, I'd like to thank Chairman Bernanke for the low interest rate and President Obama for covering my closing costs. But I'm a little angry at you, the taxpayers, for not taking care of that recording fee.

Comments

[Fluffy]

The rep's comment was extemporaneous.

He's ultimately a salesperson. I've done inbound mortgage sales, and I lost count of how many sales I got after I shot the shit with somebody about interest rate policy or leading economic indicators or the history of Fannie Mae or whatever. Some people like to chit-chat. If you can entertain them with some IBD patter, they like it.

[waffles]

So Fluffy, you Fluff them, Fluffer?

I don't own a home. How do I take advantage of this stimulating excercise in wasting my money.

[-]

Fluffy|9.28.10 @ 2:28PM|#
"He's ultimately a salesperson."

I think the point here is that, in the real world, it's OK to betray one's values, so long as you reassert them later in a political blog. I may be wrong.

[Fluffy]

Absolutely.

Although you can just as easily use libertarian patter to hook the fish. People eat that shit up. Or at least they used to; maybe these days there's a bigger hopey/changey contingent that would not respond as well.

[johnl]

Cavanaugh is this for the ?VA? place you are underwater on? Because if this is for a place where you have equity maybe it's just a sales call with jibba jabba. But if it's for the VA place that is insane.

[MikeP]

I'm a little angry at you, the taxpayers, for not taking care of that recording fee.

The multiplier has to multiply something. Do you think money grows on trees?

[Mango Punch]

Do you think money grows on trees?

No, greenbacks are made out of cotton.

[DADIODADDY]

so more like...money grows on bushes?

[DADIODADDY]

get it...bush...snigger, snicker

[bendover]

"snigger" ... racist!

[Anonymous Coward]

Trees and bushes don't make money.

Machines do.

[Restoras]

I got the recording fee. Are we all good, now?

[Mango Punch]

Tim, looks like you're an AT RISK borrower (you don't have to be delinquent).

[Tim Cavanaugh]

That would make sense, given the trouble I seen in the last two years. But according to Zillow I'm above water by $150,000, and have paid additional principal on almost every monthly payment since the mortgage started. In a logical world, WFHM's only response to me would be, "This fucking idiot's going to keep paying no matter what happens to him. We don't have to worry about this one."

[johnl]

If they sold the loan to investors, you have been paying them, not WF. They have an incentive to get you to refi, so they can sell it to them again, or get your payments for themselves. There will be prohibitions on doing this but if you fit into an exception then it's like taking candy from a baby.

[fresno dan]

I have a Wells Fargo loan. I am moving in about a year and a half, so refinancing doesn't make any sense, unless total cost is 50 bucks.
So details young man - what is the interest rate?
And who do I call to get the gubermint swagg?

[Tman]

I'm about to take advantage of this for my mortgage if all goes through as planned.

I'm sick and tired of listening to friends of mine brag about the First Time homeowners check they got or the C4C car they are driving.

The hell with this, if theyre handing out some of my tax money I should probably try and get some of it back.

[kc]

you do know, don't you, Tman, that, unless you're missing mortgage payments, it's not really part of the "government" program, it's just marketing pander? Many of these so-called "Obama" plans aren't even competitive interest rates, let alone lower-than-market, gov't subsidized rates. So make sure the rates are the best you can do and don't fool yourself into thinking you're somehow getting some of your tax dollars back.

[Fluffy]

No, actually you can be eligible for HAMP even if you aren't currently late. You just have to be able to demonstrate "hardship", which is defined as anyone whose mortgage payment including taxes and insurance is higher than 31% of their gross income.

So not only can you get some of those sweet taxpayer tears for your lender in the form of lender subsidies, but they will pay you a bonus of $1000 a year for keeping your payment current - straight out of the taxpayer's pocket. Yay!

[Tman]

As far as I know, I'm eligible under HAMP even though I've never been behind or late on my mortgage payments. I'm right on the line as far the 31% of gross income, and if the raise goes through I'm supposed to see in a few months I will no longer be eligible if the 31% rule follows. Basically I'm trying to get this done now so I can get some of my damn money back from the government.

[Fatty Bolger]

HAMP will screw your credit, and could quite possibly end up costing you more in the long run. If you aren't having financial problems I wouldn't even consider it.

[kc]

thanks for the clarification, Fluffy -- I've had 6 clients try to refinance under HAMP, all qualified based on the basic calculations, but only two clients ever actually had their mortgage payments and interest rate reduced. The rest found that the mortgage companies kept "losing" the paperwork, "forgetting" to transfer the application along to the next department, etc., and finally gave up, after 8 or more months of getting the run around. Just anecdotal, but still indicates problems with these programs.

[kinnath]

so having at PITI at 17% of gross is not gonna cut it

[Tman]

Oh, I have no illusions that I'm doing anything other than using this to get a lower interest rate. I don't expect the government to cut me a fatter tax-rebate check or anything, unlike what they did for C4C and 1st time Homebuyers credit. But going from a 5.5% loan to a 4.35% is a nice enough chunk of interest savings so it's worth it.

[sage]

I'm sick and tired of listening to friends of mine brag

Then just punch them in the face and tell them to quit talking. Works most of the time.

[P Brooks]

If we can get you a loan with a lower interest rate that will stimulate spending in the economy.

You know what else would stimulate spending in the economy? If we burned down every house on which the mortgage was "at risk". Why fiddle around?

[EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy]

No, no, no!

You just have to break all the windows in the homes that are "at risk".

Sheesh! People don't even know their gedankenexperiments these days...

[T]

We're gonna have to put this on video if we expect to make any headway at all, and fire looks better on the TV. I'm with PB on this one. A few matches and some gasoline and we'll have a recovery in no time.

[nobody]

When Howard Roark blew up the Cortlandt housing project, it was just a display of his Keynesianism, right?

[Dead Milkmen]

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I were to say to you
I didn't set your house on fire
But it's just the way I am
You'll have to take it for a fact
Life can really burn you up
When you're a pyromaniac

If you love somebody
Better set them on fire

I went to your house last night
Your dad called me the human torch
Got a little pissed at him
so I burned down your front porch
Now I feel a little bad
About pouring gas on your dad
But you know it's hard to quit
And besides he started it

CHORUS

I just bought a brand new lighter
And I cannot wait to use it
Oily rags are special things
You know to me they're diamond rings
Maybe we can have some fun
Maybe we can burn someone

CHORUS

[kc]

I'm sick and tired of mortgage companies, debt consolidators, debt settlement companies, et al, advertising "Obama's Plan", such as: "The credit card companies got lots of money from the federal government, call us to get your share!" What a bunch of bull, and just reinforces that "Obama's gonna pay my rent/car payment/debts!" crap. I'm a financial counselor (part of what I do is help people get out of debt the old fashioned way, you know, stop borrowing, learn to live below your means and pay down your debt) and I get calls everyday from people who want to know if President Obama's Plan will help them.

[Fatty Bolger]

Obama's Plan:

1. Bailouts
2. Stimulus
3. ?
4. Profit!

[&sand;]

FTFY

Obama's Plan:

1. Bailouts
2. Stimulus
3. ?
4. Power!

[Gilbert Martin]

"I'd like to thank Chairman Bernanke for the low interest rate"

You can thank all the savers out there that Bernanke is ripping off with low rates to bail out the irresponsible folks.

[Rujith de Silva]

Well, you don't have to buy the 0.1% Treasuries if you don't want to. The
real problem is that so few are willing to borrow money to start or expand
businesses in this current economic/policy climate.

[R C Dean]

Not that simple. Bernanke's policies depress interest rates across the board. You cannot find a decent return on any savings vehicle, not in CDs, money market accounts, etc.

[Enough About Palin]

I get 4.5% APR on my checking account.

[Pro Libertate]

Are you with the mob?

[joshua Corning]

If we can get you a loan with a lower interest rate that will stimulate spending in the economy.

This is code for "you pay back loans so we make more money off of you if we get your business"

This is no different then when Home builders build "green to save the planet" By "green" they mean that they figured out how to build cheaper using new materials.

[William Walsh]

I paid cash for my house. What do I get?

Oh yeah. I get fucked.

[rac]

Especially since those dollars were worth something. As opposed to what your dollars will be worth in a few years. But think of all the exercise we'll get rolling our wheelbarrows around!

[Helpful Latin-clich? Guy]

Caveat emptor.

[prolefeed]

Paying $0 a month in interest is not getting fucked.

[SugarFree]

But paying for other people's foolishness is...

[kc]

and Tim - make sure that they really are not charging you closing costs - many times the rep will say that, but when the disclosure docs finally come out, several thousand dollars of closing costs are rolled into the loan amount. "You pay no closing costs" -- well, maybe not at closing.......

[Brett L]

They are rolling them into the refi. I got the same offer. Wells Fargo means no out of pocket closing cost except the $50 fee, which probably cannot be financed by statute.

[Ken Shultz]

Your tax dollars at work!

[Ken Shultz]

"If we can get you a loan with a lower interest rate that will stimulate spending in the economy."

So why don't you tell us, Mr. Cavanaugh, what do you plan to do with all the money you save?

[J sub D]

Kudos for the graphic.

[Fatty Bolger]

Note that Tim was being offered a HARP mod, not a HAMP mod. Not that it changes the point of his post.

[P Brooks]

So why don't you tell us, Mr. Cavanaugh, what do you plan to do with all the money you save?

As a card-carrying America-hater, he'll probably do something unpatriotic, like bury it in the back yard.

[ReasonSucks]

Ahhh..I knew when I saw "Deadbeat" in the title that this would be dickless Timmy's article. You really need to find a new word for people who got behind on their mortgages for things that were (usually) out of their control. Using the same word over and over again is getting old.

Tim is a washed up blogger loser who contributes nothing to the economy except for to slob on the cocks of libertarians in their early 20's who haven't yet fully grown up, or the teaparty crowd.

[R C Dean]

You really need to find a new word for people who got behind on their mortgages for things that were (usually) out of their control.

No, I think "deadbeat" fits the bill just fine, thanks.

[mrmagoo]

So Deano,

You've never, not once, gotten any form of government assistance? If you have, you're a deadbeat.

[SugarFree]

I've never gotten assistance over what they've already stolen from me. I doubt anyone productive ever has.

When a mugger takes $80 bucks from your wallet, but lets you keep $20 for a cab home, it's not a loan, a donation or charity.

[Fatty Bolger]

Librarians use Rhodes! Hyper crits!

[Fluffy]

You really need to find a new word for people who got behind on their mortgages

Sounds like a contest has been born.

I choose "Democrats".

[Spartacus]

Deadocrats

Demobeats

Deadmobeatcrats

Corn Packers

[SugarFree]

Yawn.

[Pro Libertate]

Loser?

[alan]

Yawning there with you. I had jury duty yesterday and it wasn't as boring as Reasonsucks, and I spent the day in a room with two monitors tuned to CNN (affirming that getting rid of cable years ago was the right choice) where they spent an entire hour chest beating and garment rending over the sea memorial vandalism (funny how they have ready made opinions on matters before any news is actually digested) and two seventy year old ladies sitting beside me trading cancer horror stories in a vicious and fast monotone (not there own -- acquaintances.) Southern dialect is supposedly slow but pleasing to the ear, but when the elderly enter DiseaseTalk, it is anything but.

[sr7]

You are under the impression that libertarians invented the expression 'deadbeat' as Tim used it. That is incredibly parochial of you. Get off campus much?

[Paul]

Tim, you discovered the metric for a successful government program: The more people we "get in the program" the more successful it is.

Anyone remember the Seattle (Nisqually) Earthquake back in 2001? Yeah, did some damage in Seattle, some people got hurt. Freaked a lot of people out. But the damage was centered in Western Washington, particularly in the I5 corridor.

Enter FEMA: Months after the earthquake, I'm doing some I.T. work for the Ellensburg Fire Department. A woman walks in, asks to speak to the Chief. He talks to her for about ten minutes, comes back shaking his head.

"What was that about?", I ask

"Woman from FEMA?", said the chief.

"FEMA? What are they looking for?"

"Wants to know where a local radio station is. Needs to get information out that they're giving out money 'cause of the earthquake. I mean, we felt it, but there wasn't any damage."

For the uninitiated, Ellensberg is in Eastern Washington, across the Cascade Mountains. This would be like someone in Rhode Island claiming damages from an earthquake happening in Philidelphia.

The point: Get people in the program, who cares if they deserve it. The program will be judged by the number of dollars handed out, not by the effect of those dollars.

[Stretchy]

The more people you can get into the program, the more people will complain when it comes time to cut spending.

You can't cut this program, there are too many people dependent on it. You can't cut that program....

[R Sweeney]

Wells Fargo called me and asked if we would like to take out a mortgage on our owned-free-and-clear home.

I asked them why I should borrow money, they replied that a world vacation or a boat would be good uses.

I told the idiot that THEY were the reason for the housing loan bubble.

[Johnitalia]

Just called Wells Fargo since they are my mortgage holder (or at least servicer). I am not elegible for this deal right now.

I can only assume it's because Obama is the devil.

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