I left off by telling you to document, document, document! But, what's the point in having documents if you can't find them? One of the biggest problems I had in the beginning was finding all of the important papers the mortgage company needed for my loan modification application. This included [for me]: proof of income in the form of last year's federal tax forms and a paycheck stub, a letter from me stating my hardship, a copy of the bill from the roofers, and a myriad of other things [many which had been destroyed by water damage to a file cabinet].
Where are your taxes? Are they buried away in a file cabinet? Or, shoved in a dresser drawer? What about 2008? It is not uncommon in this economy for banks, mortgage lenders - even potential employers - to request two prior years' income tax records. So, maybe now would be a good time to clean out your clutter.
A good rule of thumb is to keep seven years of tax records. To be safe, I keep ten years worth of taxes because it costs $57.00 for each year requested! [see: how to get a copy of a prior year tax form] When you think about the money you could save as opposed to the amount of space a few tax forms would fill ... well, it just makes cents!
After you've organized your filing cabinet, find yourself one of your old [or your child's] school 3-ring binders and invest in a 3 hole punch [if you don't have one already]. The Dollar Store has them for - you guessed it -$1.00!
Whenever you get a notice/statement/ruling/etc. make use of your 3-hole punch and put the communication in the binder according to date. Record what you received and how you responded [whether you made a call, sent an email], and make sure to mark the time and date this was done.
As you create your timeline, keep a small amount of space between each date that you enter. [I enter my info on my computer, so I hit enter 5 times.] That way, in the future, if anything happens related to that particular date, you can go back and make a notation. For example:
Today I was entering data into my timeline and realized that, despite six emails and numerous phone calls, I still have not received a document that was promised to me back on May 7th. So, I went back to that date [I have printed off a hard copy for the binder] and wrote, HAVE NOT RECEIVED AS OF 6/28/10. Priceless. And, invaluable in court proceedings!
Over time, documenting what you say and hear will become second nature. More importantly, it will allow you to take control of a stressful situation in a way that "big business" doesn't understand and that is, consistency. Be consistent with your timeline and documentation and commit to follow through. If you truly meet loan modification guidelines and you make your trial payments on time, you win!
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