Question from Suri S. on Yahoo Answers:

I have been working with my Loan provider America Servicing Company for a Loan Modification. It is a total frustration. For about almost a year back and forth, sending docs, phone calls etc. today I just found out that my house was sold on a foreclosure in October. Weirdly, in October, I have spoken to the one of their agents and was told that my loan modification is still under revision and if there is any foreclosure activity, it will be postponed till December. I was asked to call back in 2 weeks to check on the loan mod status, again.
2 weeks went by and I tried calling, once again, it is a merry go round. 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, I managed to speak to an agent and was told to resubmit the paperwork again (the 4th time through out the process) And I did. 2 days later, I called and was told that I need to sign and date at the bottom of the docs and resent it again. This was just last Friday after Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, I called again and was told that my house has actually gone through foreclosure and they do not know if it has been sold. I was given the number of their attorney to call and check. I found out that my house was sold in Oct 09 without any notice given to me at all. All these while, I was told that the loan mod is still under revision.
I checked with the county tax and the deed still have my name on it. The homeowners association file still has my name on it. Infact, I just paid one year of the HOA fees.
Is this legal? Can they sell your house while you are in process of loan modification? Can they sell your house without giving you any notice?

What can I do to get my house back?

Answer:

Yes, unfortunately.

Here’s the rub on this…. until a loan modification is granted by the bank they can enforce the original terms of your mortgage which include as a remedy for failure to make your payments – foreclosure.

It sounds like you received a foreclosure notice – or a notice of default. If you’re home had been sold you would have received a certified letter with a definite sale date. You would have had to sign for that document just like you did when you received your notice of default. If you’ve checked your county recorders office and they say you’re still on title (assuming they aren’t using paper and pencil to keep the books) you still own the place.

A request for loan modification does not guarantee that your bank will stop the foreclosure process. It’s their choice – if you don’t make your payments – and your bank is not co-operating they can proceed all the way to foreclosure – even while you’re loan modification is still in review.

Here’s my recommendation. Understand this is your house… if you want to keep it you need to consult a good Real Estate Attorney – you need some professional help at this point. Foreclosure is not a do it yourself project – find a well versed real estate attorney in your area and pay them to find out what’s really going on in your situation – they’ll advise you as to what your options are. If you can’t find the help you need get in touch with me and I’ll point you the right direction.

I would also like to mention here that your situation is another example of why I strongly recommend that people choose a professional service to help them modify their mortgages. Look, this is your home, this is where you live, if you want to keep it paying a good solid company for their services is worth the money. They’ll get you a quality loan modification that will really benefit you long term and you won’t have all of this stress that you’re experiencing right now. A good company will be armed with the knowledge and skill set to handle these types of issues or better yet avoid getting into them in the first place.

I hope this gives you some direction. Best of luck to you. If you’re interested, I maintain a blog called “All About Loan Modifications” stop on by if you’d like: https://surefast.wordpress.com.  You can also check out surefastloanmodification.com.

Best of luck to you!