It would be one thing if this was one person who slipped through the cracks of what may otherwise be good customer service, but the truth is that it’s an all too familiar story. For a litany of reasons, banks are hard to work with on loan modifications.

As such, attorneys play an important role in the process. When you have representation, there is a different treatment associated with your file. It’s not just you, the homeowner, against the big, bad bank. Instead of spending hours and days trying to figure out what is going on, your legal representation is taking care of the problems and settling disputes.

We always welcome our prospective clients to try this on their own. Sometimes, it’s good to get a taste of the process on your own so you understand the difficulties involved. Most of our clients have the same story about trying on their own first, but you just can’t substitute the experience of a law firm that knows all the ins and outs.

We’ve often talked to homeowners about the difficulties they face with their lender when doing the modification on their own. And the long, muddled process explained in the article is probably reason number one so many people throw their hands up in the air and get representation to help battle their lender.

Some highlights from the article:

• In the beginning, the article describes a process that included “several rounds of mislaid paperwork and resubmitted forms.”
• Chase told the borrower she would not be reported to the credit agencies…she was.
• Chase approved her for a trial modification to become permanent after three on-time payments…she made 4 when no word came after three months. She eventually still got denied because of an income issue.
• After getting denied, she received a letter saying the modification was still under consideration. Then she got a call saying never mind, start over.
• She would call Chase and be told everything happening to her is common, then call again and be told it never happens.

Sounds like fun, huh? Would you believe, even with all that, a Chase spokesman said in the article that she’s better off for what the program has offered even though after a year, she’s barely any closer to a resolution?