"It was really stressful," Mike Kahara, 34, recalled. "We kept asking our creditors what we could do to work things out. They just said we should make more money."
The couple received a notice of default on their mortgage from Wells Fargo in August 2009. But a bank rep said there might be some hope. The Kaharas were advised to seek assistance through the Home Affordable Modification Program, a federal program intended to help homeowners by modifying loan terms.
In December, they were notified by Wells that they were eligible for a three-month trial loan modification that would lower their monthly payments to about $1,400. The Kaharas managed to make all subsequent payments in full.
After the three months were up, Ellen Kahara said, they were told by Wells that their case was still under review and that they should keep making the $1,400 payments. They did.
The bank continued requesting paperwork as part of its review process. Ellen said she called Wells on Aug. 9 and for days afterward to check on the status of their loan modification but never got a call back.
The Kaharas received a letter from Wells dated Aug. 11 saying that their application for a permanent loan modification had been rejected. The letter said the Kaharas would have 30 days to discuss other options available to them.
"No foreclosure sale will be conducted and you will not lose your home during this 30-day period," the letter said.
But on Aug. 18 there was a knock at the door around 8 in the morning. Mike Kahara said a young man wearing a white polo shirt and dark slacks introduced himself as Sebastian Cruz of the investment firm Pacifica Cos.
Cruz said his firm had purchased the house and that he would offer the Kaharas $1,500 if they'd agree to vacate the property within two weeks.
He produced a document with Pacifica letterhead informing the Kaharas that their home "has changed ownership through the foreclosure process." It threatened legal action if the couple didn't move out.
"I thought it was a scam at first," Mike Kahara said. "Then I realized he was serious."
Dead serious. HAMP has failed totally, only allowing a small fraction of Americans to keep their homes and just making things easier for the banks to get theirs the other 99% of the time. HAMP is absolutely something that needs to be hung on this President's neck. And strangely, he seems to be making no effort to alleviate the massive economic problem that is millions of Americans losing their homes despite a program specifically designed to keep them there. The folks behind it? Tim Geithner and Larry Summers.
So unless the hiring of Austan Goolsbee is to replace both men (which it's not) then we're still in a crapload of serious trouble.
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