It feels like a scene from “It’s A Wonderful Life” when Old Man Potter tries to take over the town of Bedford Falls by collapsing the local building and loan, but to Herb and Christine Will it’s not a moment in a Hollywood classic that’s at stake, but their home.
The Wills are the owners of Herb’s Soup and Such, 827 High St., and are currently involved in a battle over their home and business loans with Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank. On March 9 this year, the Wills received a letter from a law firm employed by PNC notifying the family that they had two weeks from the date of the letter to pay the remaining amount on their loans, plus interest and legal fees – despite the fact that the Wills have never missed a loan payment.
“We’re trying to do the right thing. It’s hard to explain to your kids that you can work really hard and pay your bills on time and you can still lose your business and house,” said Herb Will on Sunday.
Under Maryland’s new foreclosure law a lender must send notice of intent to foreclose to the homeowner at least 45 days before filling foreclosure action in court. A foreclosure action cannot be filed until at least 90 days after the homeowner defaults on their loan. In 2010, the Maryland General Assembly gave homeowners the legal right to ask for court-supervised mediation with the lender. The 2010 bill also requires lenders to provide information about loan modification programs.
The Wills, however, do not qualify for any government loan modification programs because they are not technically in default or foreclosure.
“We’re not behind on our bills, we’re not in foreclosure, nothing can help us,” said Christine Will. The family did contact Congressman Frank Kratovil’s office last year, who sent a letter of complaint to PNC, but received no response.
It all started when the Wills went to what was then Mercantile Bank for a mortgage. They qualified for a three year mortgage with a loan review at the end of three years.
“The way it was explained to us was that at the end of three years the bank would either request a balloon payment for the remainder of the loan or would review your loan and, if you had made all your payments on time and were in good standing, would issue you a new loan at current interest rates,” said Christine.
“We never expected to have a balloon payment due …,” added Herb. “I would have never signed up for that.”
In 2008 PNC bought Mercantile, which meant that PNC thereby became the Wills’ new lender. A PNC representative, who spoke on background and not for attribution, noted that a bank loan can be called at any time based on the parameters of the contract.
Over a year ago, the Wills received notice from PNC that their home loan was up for review. They provided the bank with all the personal and financial information that was requested, and received an extension because the current year’s taxes weren’t filed yet, Christine said on Sunday.
In April of 2010 the couple received a bill from PNC with the total amount of the home mortgage due, plus interest, and a late fee. Christine called the bank “right away” and was granted a three-month extension while the bank finished its review. In the meantime she was advised by PNC “to just keep making your payments.”
Then over the summer, PNC contacted the Wills for more information for the loan review.
“They didn’t just want the year end information for the shop, they wanted the year-to-date numbers,” she said.
When the Wills would contact PNC about their loan review they would be given business advice, Herb said.
“We’d be discussing the home loan and they’d tell me ‘you should take credit cards at your shop’ and I’d say ‘hold on here, we’re talking about my home loan, don’t tell me how to run my business,’” he said. “With the cost of things being what they are it leaves us a little window for wiggle room. I’m not going to pay someone 15 to 20 percent to put a credit card machine in here. There’s not that much money coming into this place. We have been making it and paying our bills on time.”
However, PNC says that when people take out loans, there is a bank department that monitors the ‘robustness of the business’ – the business’s creditors, inventory levels, the business’s turnover, assets, etc. – all of which is taken into consideration when a review is conducted.
“There are performance requirements in loans that go beyond making payments,” said Fred Solomon, a corporate spokesman for PNC in Pittsburg. “For example, if property values go down, or if the property value drops over the course of the loan…”
The Wills said that whenever they would try to contact PNC about their loan they would be passed on to a series of people and “couldn’t talk to anyone.” Over the summer they say a representative from PNC told the couple that they were lucky the bank hadn’t decided to call their business and home loans.
In October 2010, Christine says she received a call from a representative at the Chestertown branch of PNC notifying her that “our loans are not a good fit for the bank, and we need to seek funding elsewhere. We had 30 days. When I asked [if they would give us] until the end of the year, he laughed and said ‘that’s an eternity in my business.’”
At this point the Wills decided to meet with a lawyer, who recommended they seek financing elsewhere, but due to the economy and declining property values they were unable to refinance. In January 2011 the family went back to PNC to see if the lender would work with them.
“We said: ‘Look we can’t get refinanced how can you help us out?” said Christine. She said the bank sent two appraisers out to their home on Cannon Street in February, but the family has not heard anything back from the bank or the appraisers.
“Basically all PNC has told us is, we’re not a good fit for their business,” she said.
“We make our decisions according to our practices and policies, and they are proprietary,” Solomon said, when asked for comment on what makes ‘a good fit’ for PNC’s loan business.
Since receiving the March 9 letter threatening foreclosure, the Wills have contacted a law firm and filed a grievance with the Office of the Controller of the Currency, a subsidiary of the Department of the U.S. Department of Treasury, which charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks.
“We were holding back on doing this stuff because we thought maybe they’d want to work with us,” said Herb.
In the meantime the couple is in limbo. Herb and Christine are doing their best to explain what is happening to their 9-year-old daughter.
“We tell her the bank didn’t really want to do business with us anymore and we’re trying to take our loans elsewhere. But when we say they could take everything, she thinks they are going to come in and take her toys,” said Christine.
“If we’re going to lose anything, chances are we’re going to lose our home,” said Herb. This is a bitter pill to swallow for the couple, because when they opened their own sandwich shop it was to have a better quality of life for their family. “We made this move for our family. We worked holidays, weekends and evenings at our old job. Who was going to raise our kids?”
If the home and business go it won’t just be the Wills who lose. Currently Herb’s Soup and Such employs one full-time and one part-time employee. They also make a point to give back to the community through donations of food and gift certificates and have worked with Kent Center and Shared Opportunity Services.
“They pulled the rug out from under us,” Herb said of PNC. “The local employees at the bank should have stood up for us. They should have said ‘Hey, you don’t want to do this. The Wills are good people; they have a nice place here.”
Nancy Taylor Robson and Dave Wheelan contributed to this story.
Warrior Bob Kramer says
“Basically all PNC has told us is, we’re not a good fit for their business,” she said.
Maybe PNC isn’t a good fit for Chestertown and CofK.
Daniel Menefee says
Great job Chestertown Spy!
This is not the only business PNC is trying to force into liquidation in our community. We all in the community need to stand up for people like Herb and Christine; they are our neighbors and or friends, and represent what is good about C-town. They invested in the renovation of their shop, increased the tax base, hired employees, and paid their loans on time. What is wrong with this picture?
None of any of this makes financial, ethical, or moral sense. Our community should not put up with it. All of PNC’s depositers, and even non customers, in Kent County should call the bank and protest this abhorant and cruel decision. We need to lose our fear, and remember that an injustice to one, is an injustice to all.
Everyone will be at risk of banking abuse, until the collective community says “No More!”
The phone number at PNC in C-town is (410) 778-7520. I’m making the first call.
Keith Thompson says
There are two things that seem to be in play here…
#1. This appears to be a case of bad corporate ethics. What PNC is doing is likely legal but as Daniel points out, really doesn’t seem to make financial, ethical or moral sense; at least not ethical and moral sense in my view. As for financial sense that brings me to…
#2. This may be a sign that the town’s economy is more fragile than we imagined. According to the article; “There are performance requirements in loans that go beyond making payments,” said Fred Solomon, a corporate spokesman for PNC in Pittsburg. “For example, if property values go down, or if the property value drops over the course of the loan…”. This tells me that PNC views investment into Chestertown as risky which doesn’t bode well for the financial future of the town, especially if other financial institutions follow suit.
Daniel Menefee says
Keith,
But PNC is more than willing to take depositer’s money here in Kent County. This tells me they are cherry picking the business they want.
And before TARP, banks never made loans on real estate fluctuations. Loans were based on the initial sale and the good faith and credit of the borrower. With their logic, everyone’s home loan is subject to market fluctuations and therefore subject to calls. Poeple need to be safe in their homes, especially if they’re paying their bills on time.
Our home loans should not be treated like stocks on the ticker. And if a bank made the mistake of lending more money on a home than it was worth, then too bad. They should be stuck with it until the borrower defaults, and the Wills have not defaulted.
Andrea says
This is just terrible! As Daniel said above, Herb & Christine have invested in their business AND their community.
I am very disappointed that none of our local PNC bankers tried to help them out.
I guess this is what happens with out-of-town banks.
I am an account holder at PNC, and beginning today I am going to start preparing to transfer my money ELSEWHERE — somewhere LOCAL.
John says
I can understand that PNC may be more cautious/conservative than Mercantile when it comes to issuing loans, however if a borrower is making all their payments on time, how is that NOT a good fit for your business?
This is nothing like “Its a Wonderful Life” because Old Man Potter wasn’t a faceless corporation based thousands of miles away. As a community, we turned away a Wal-Mart to protect our local businesses. Has PNC become the Wal-Mart of banks?
Keith Thompson says
Daniel, I don’t really disagree with you. Just because PNC likely CAN do this, I don’t think they SHOULD do this. This is horrible for the Will family and any pressure the Chestertown community puts on PNC to change their minds is completely justified. Enough public pressure on PNC can make this a public relations disaster and could make them reconsider. What shouldn’t get brushed aside though is that this may not turn out to be an isolated incident and that Chestertown may well be seen as a bad investment. If so, how will the town and the community fix the problem?
Daniel Menefee says
The practice of not re-setting good loans at balloon maturity is relatively new and being forced on banks by regulators- based on loan-to-value ratios that are rigged on the current value of real estate, which has plummted since the sub-prime mess of 2008. My mother did business with Mercantile for nearly 40 years in Baltimore; it was always understood that no borrower could pay off a three or five-year balloon- and as long as you paid your bills on time- your loan would be re-set at the going market interest rate. Forcing people into foreclosure was never good for any one.
I believe the banks do this so coldly now because TARP reimburses the bank for any shortfalls at liquidation. They can’t lose, so they’re getting rid of any minor trace of risk. They want a perfect world!
It is the taxpayer funded TARP program that is being turned inward against borrowers, and the intent was for it to do the opposite.
Mailman Jack says
Does anyone from one of the LOCAL banks see the opportunity here? People’s Bank, Centreville National, Chesapeake Bank. Hello??? Step up and show the big banks what community means. It would be a public relations coup.
This is not an isolated incident; it’s how big corporations operate these days. Herb and Christine are part of the community, PNC is not.
Local people work at the local branches but have no say in how it’s run. PNC recently closed the Rock Hall branch. The local banks have all opened branches in the recent past.
Daniel Menefee says
Hi Andrea,
I’m a little bias, but we’ve been dealing with Chesapeake Bank and Trust for five years now, and they have been wonderful to us. Their board members and President live and work in the community and they have a vested interest in their customers’ success.
Keith Thompson says
@ Mailman Jack,
That’s precisely one of the things I’m talking about when I asked the question about how the community can fix the problem. John brought up saying no to Wal-Mart to protect local business. This is a problem looking for a local solution.
Chestertown citizen says
Per the article: “At this point the Wills decided to meet with a lawyer, who recommended they seek financing elsewhere, but due to the economy and declining property values they were unable to refinance.” I assume they tried the local banks. Maybe it isn’t a “local bank” versus “national bank” issue, but rather no bank will provide a loan for more than the underlying property value.
Bill Parks says
Why every state needs a state-owned bank.
Following the example of North Dakota, Maryland can establish its own bank. The State would hire professionally trained bankers to organize and operate the bank, depositing all tax revenues in the bank to serve as the bank’s initial reserve capital. Following standard banking procedures and fractional reserve ratios established by the Federal Reserve for commercial bank, the bank could lend nine dollars for every one dollar on deposit with the profits going to the state treasury as revenue. It could even lend money to itself. By encouraging public employees to do their banking with the state’s bank, their opening accounts, depositing money and making loans would increase the capital reserves and provide additional revenue. Offering a public banking option, the bank would open its doors to the public.
In addition to supporting instate business, a state owned bank would be a blessing to local and state government. Tax time is an appropriate time to consider the benefit of having a government option in banking.
As things are now without a government-owned bank, if a county resident owns a nice house, and claims $2,500 in real estate taxes, and $7,500 mortgage interest on his itemized federal income tax return, the state government gets just the $2500 real estate tax money as revenue. On the other hand, if our home owner used a government-owned bank, having an identical mortgage, the government would also receive both the tax levy and the interest payment as revenue, bring the total tax revenue to $10,000, four times the current revenue. With no increase in taxes nor mortgage costs, Many homeowners would rather have the interest on their mortgages go to lowering taxes and provide improved public services like police and fire protection, education, improvement in infrastructures, health care for county residents and the like, rather than their payments going to profit private banks.
Daniel Menefee says
How about a simple law that states banks must re-set loans at balloon maturity if the customer is current on their loans and has a good payment history. It seems there is a more accessible array of alternatives if you’re in default.
Laws were written to give second and third chances for those facing foreclosure, but few laws were written to protect borrowers with a flawless payment history. I guess no one ever imagined responsible borrowers would get in this kind of fix.
Steve Payne says
There is a new program to refi for situations like this. It only applies to some loans though. It’s worth checking into though. In the meantime it’s worth continuing to work with the bank and keep up the public pressure.
https://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/programs/lower-rates/Pages/harp.aspx
Mr. Menefee, The current reason we are in this current economic situation is the banks and wall street lenders stopped making loans based on the full faith and credit of the borrowers. This was 10 years before TARP. They were betting on the constant rise in home values only and after awhile stopped underwriting the loans completely.
Courtney Phelps says
WOW- What a crappy thing PNC is doing to Herb & Christine. Seriously, the person or persons involved with this bull$@$@ decision should be fired. It’s not to late PNC to do the right thing.
Courtney Phelps says
And until then PNC- ”NO SOUP FOR YOU!”
Steve Payne says
“The practice of not re-setting good loans at balloon maturity is relatively new and being forced on banks by regulators- based on loan-to-value ratios that are rigged on the current value of real estate, which has plummted since the sub-prime mess of 2008.”
This is not true. What is true is the TARP program has allowed the banks to sell the bad loans to the gov. This gave the banks no incentive to keep the loans on their books. The idea that banks are making any effort to help homeowners and the gov is the problem is false. HAMP specificly ignores LTV. I am personaly involved in short sales and loan mods all the time and many of the banks just jerk people around until they go away or FNMA or Freddie buy the loan from them.
“It is the taxpayer funded TARP program that is being turned inward against borrowers, and the intent was for it to do the opposite.”
This is partly true. TARP gave the banks a negative incentive to do work outs since they buy many bad loans.
“How about a simple law that states banks must re-set loans at balloon maturity if the customer is current on their loans and has a good payment history”
100% true. When the banks came crying to the gov back in 2008 the gov just said OK fine, how much was that again? They didn’t ask for anything in return at all! At least in the GM bailout they said OK fine but I want 30% of your company.
Larry Schroth says
So much for PNC’s extension of corporate good will to a fine local business. Guess I’ll be taking my banking business elsewhere.
Joyce Benton says
This makes me sick! Christine and Herb are great people and have worked very hard for years. I have worked for them and know how hard they have worked. My employer closed their account with PNC a few months ago because of “big bank policies and excess fees” and will not deal with any bank but community banks! I hope everyone else does the same. PNC does not want to have these small banks and I am sure very soon the Chestertown and Sudlersville banks will disappear! Good…let them move on and the community banks take over. I certainly hope a local bank does come to their rescue and stands up for them. I have no doubt they will pay what they owe! I will call PNC! Hang in there Christine and Herb!
Daniel says
Steve,
“This is not true. What is true is the TARP program has allowed the banks to sell the bad loans to the gov. This gave the banks no incentive to keep the loans on their books. The idea that banks are making any effort to help homeowners and the gov is the problem is false. HAMP specificly ignores LTV. I am personaly involved in short sales and loan mods all the time and many of the banks just jerk people around until they go away or FNMA or Freddie buy the loan from them.”
Six and one half, Steve! By calling the loan, PNC is forcing a default and therefore making the loan a “bad loan,” and can then seek to be made whole by the government for what the Will’s can’t pay. Either way, the bank can ruin the Will’s life and benefit financially. PNC is in a “no lose” situation by forcing this default. Why else would PNC do this if there weren’t benefiting?
And if you’re so close to this in your line of work, maybe you can help the Will’s keep there business and their home.
Daniel Menefee says
I don’t know why another local bank isn’t jumping in to finance the Wills. The Wills have been fully vetted as responsible borrowers over their years with Mercantile and PNC, they have assetts to colateralize their loans, and their work ethic alone is the best mitigator of risk.
Steve Payne says
Daniel,
The only thing I pointed out that was untrue was the assertion the the government was making the banks do this. The banks are choosing to do this.
I would be happy to help the Wills work on this if they and their attorney want me to.
I can be contacted at stevep AT hogans DOT com.
I am a realtor and not a housing counselor. I deal with the banks and some of my sellers end up going with mods instead of short sales. I help them with the paperwork which can be daunting. Even the banks are only now getting their arms around this mess.
It sounds like they do need a local bank. Local banks are more willing to work with self employed people. Big banks like to have loans fit in a nice clean cubbyhole.
Steve Payne says
Here’s a good place to get info and find a counselor if trouble is coming:
https://www.mdhope.org/HelpforHomeowners.aspx
Our state government has really done a great job on this serious issue.
jenifer says
Fie on PNC! Herb and Christine are the victims of corporate greed. They’ve done nothing wrong and everything right. They’ve worked very hard all these years. They’re just looking for a good quality of life. They are fully responsible and they are great neighbors. This is another example of how far down the tubes this country is going. God bless Herb and Christine. I’m calling PNC now too. Thank goodness for Peoples Bank.
Daniel Menefee says
Steve, Sorry, but you are a little uninformed here. Below is how a CPA/Lawyer, who follows the banking industry and the fed, has explained it. This is being forced upon banks by Federal regulators to get their ratios right-side-up. I also talked to someone at the Comptroller of the Currency who confirms that regulators are forcing banks to buffer themselves against risk
” Bank regulations are now more heavily risk-weighting loan assets held by Banks. This causes asset/equity ratios to go out of balance. Banks have two options to correct their ratios, either raising capital or convert loans to cash… of course the banks would like to start with the riskiest loans, but bad loans can’t be collected, so they are forced to call-in good loans. And there you are, minding your own business with a perfectly performing loan. But the bank needs your cash – not your good loan.”
jenifer says
I called the local PNC. After 6+ minutes on [and off] hold with a very nice young woman, I got a number to call, viz., 888-762-2265. She also said we could write to Danielle Cavey, a regional person, at 120 South Piney Road in Chester, MD 21619, to register complaints. I called that 888 number and was confronted with so many menu options that I was interrupted before I could listen to them all. I’ll try again however.
Andrea says
@Daniel Menefee: I have accounts at CBT as well, and have nothing but great things to say about their service. They also helped my husband & me secure a home loan when a national bank would have laughed us right on out of the lobby …. because, they said, they wanted to encourage young families to put down roots and contribute to the local economy. Now that’s a community banking PLUS!!! Honestly my PNC account is a holdover from my days of yore in Anne Arundel county, where Mercantile BTs were everywhere.
@Jenifer: Thanks for the address, I will be writing to Ms Cavey and explaining my decision to take my business elsewhere.
A.
Steve Payne says
Daniel,
I think were in agreement. For over 10 years prior to the bailouts/TARP the government reduced the regs on banks and overlooked even the remaining regs. Now after the bank and quasi bank crisis they have started to enforce the regulations and require more capital held against their loans. At the same time, they are trying to get banks to modify loans that are in or facing default. But they didn’t require them to extend loans that are in technical default. So there’s a big gap and banks are often choosing to try and get out of deals.
Again, my only problem was with your statement that the fed is telling banks to call in loans etc. They are trying to get the banks and wall street quasi banks to increase capital and they left them a big gap in how to do that.
So everything you said in your last post is right. Banks are choosing how to get to where they need to be, but the government is not telling them how to do it or making new laws regarding handling existing loans.
I’m not defending the gov. or PNC. I think PNC would be smart to extend the loan and show some personal interest in their customers and community.
Daniel Menefee says
Steve,
“Again, my only problem was with your statement that the fed is telling banks to call in loans etc. They are trying to get the banks and wall street quasi banks to increase capital and they left them a big gap in how to do that.”
Regulations that give banks only two choices is essentially telling the banks to call loans.
What don’t you get about this? If you read what the expert said and what I was told by someone at the Comptroller of the Curreny, the regulations force upon banks only two choices to get their loan-to-value-ratios to certain level . Either way it is regulatory action that makes folks like the WIlls easy pray- because they have not abandoned their loans.
Adina Lavoie says
When my sister and brother-in-law moved from Annapolis to the Eastern Shore, Suddlersville to be exact, all I could do was cringe and watch the mile markers go by every time I drove out there for a dinner, cook out, sleep over or just to hold my niece when she was a little peanut. I realized over the years that they were a little different than I, but I understood why they loved it so much. We would watch the shooting stars, drink wine by the fire place or visit the local farms and fairs. They loved the darkness at night and peace and quiet of it all. They loved being close to nature, composting, having a yard you could let the dogs run around in and having room to plant a tree. They loved the feeling that they were not adding to the burden on our Earth, but making it a little easier for the generations to come.
I have watched them mature into business owners, fighting for their dreams and a way of life that is, perhaps, as far gone as the days of listening to baseball games on the radio and walking to church on Sunday mornings. I have always been the one who moved to the “big” cities of Pittsburgh, Ft. Lauderdale, and now Bowie, where I reside and fight to build my own business. I have personally suported all their endeavors and many of the same local businesses which they still patronize. They are still fighting for that break that will come when maybe they can breathe a little bit easier. They are not asking to make a million dollars a year, or to live in the biggest house, or to never have to work again. They are just asking for a fair shake. Why shouldn’t they?
I shutter to think of my niece wondering where she will sleep tonight because she is worried the bank will come and take their home. It breaks my heart that she even understands what it all means. Why would they want to ruin the American Dream!? The big banks know all the rules to the money game and they sure as hell don’t want us to win that one, now do they?
I believe that there will be a solution that keeps Herb’s Soups and Such going another day and my family in their home they have worked so hard for over the last few years. What I will never understand is the lack of morality and good conscience with which some people do business. It is unfortunate that Mercantile could not stand up to the big, bad, PNC. However, I also believe that maybe just for a second, we all have made the fight a little bit easier for Christine and Herb.
Love,
Dee
Martha Wefelmeyer says
Christine and Will are two of my favorite people – and my favorite place to have lunch, and occasionally dinner. Our girls are grown and living elsewhere; but when they come home they always want lunch from Herb’s. The service, the food, the friendship is excellent.
My husband and I had our home mortgage with Chestertown Bank and then with Mercantile. When it became PNC and we could no longer get answers to our questions locally, we paid off the mortgage completely. We have no money there either. If we did, IT WOULD BE GONE!
For a bank to treat two decent people this way, is beyond belief. It smacks of “big city”. And thankfully, Chestertown is not that.
Edward E. Maxcy says
I find PNC ‘s lack of support for a viable, local business to be disappointing, at the least, bad business for certain and a good cause for me to switch banks.
Steve Payne says
Daniel,
I’m glad we agree. The banks have a choice. I don’t think that having regulations enforced on banks is a bad thing though. If it was up to me I would have even more regs and one of them would be to not foreclose on people who could make payments while this problem works itself out. I would make them raise some real capital too.
I hope the bank chooses to extend the Wills loan.
Steve Payne says
Adina,
I moved from Bowie 5 years ago. Small world.
It is a sad situation especially for the kids. I go into preforeclosure vacant homes sometimes and all the trophies and pictures are still there. The bad public opinion seems to have convinced the really big banks to get their workout programs going. BOA, Chase, HSBC, etc, all have large active modification and short sale depts.
Maybe it will get better. I sure hope so.
Ford says
What a great community we share. It’s heart warming to read all this genuine concern for Herb & Christine. I hope our community will somehow create a good solution, enhancing our community’s value even more.
Daniel Menefee says
The Wills have been our friends and neighbors on Cannon Street for five years now. They bought the home of the late Ginny Gough, who before her death in 2006, said she wanted her home to go to a family, not an investor/landlord. She would be nothing short of ecstatic with the Wills.
Every Sunday I see the Wills pass by my window on their way to church, I hear the pitter patter of little foot steps trying to keep in stride with Herb and Christine. They are great family, and one this community cannot afford to lose..
Let’s keep putting pressure on the bank. AnI hope this story is not the last of what we hear from the Spy on the Will’s struggles to keep their business and their home.
How does another foreclosed property in our community help anyone? Regulations should prohibit this kind of banking abuse, and I’m wondering where state regulators are in this whole mess?
jenifer says
What Daniel Menefee said.
Adina Lavoie says
Steve,
I live in the “T” section of Bowie. I moved here from Annapolis when I took ownership of the Outback Steakhouse. In hindsight, I wish I had stayed in my split foyer on the hill closer to the Bay Bridge and my
family, especially given the last few years and the effect of the “boom” on housing prices.
I am a personal finance expert and I work with families every day that don’t qualify for the HAMP, MDHOPE,
Making Home Affordable and the like. I have found that it is very subjective and totally up to the discretion of the lender. Even though the big banks are saying they are still processing modifications and refinances, it has slowed significantly and it will take alot more pressure, in my opinion, to keep the majority from losing their homes. It is hard for me when I sit with a family and cannot offer them any options other than working with an uncooperative lender, as is the situation with Christine and Herb. I cannot help them and that is extrremely frustrating.
The bottom line is It should never have come to this. Now we have to work together as a community and fix this for them and the good of Chestertown.
Mike Johnson says
Andy Harris voted to end the programs that try to keep people victimized by falling property values in their homes. Nice guy !
Instead of bitching about the inequities of the situation, how ’bout we put our money where our mouths are. We could create an entity that would provide the necessary down payment for refinancing. If 50 of us joined such a venture we would receive better interest than we can get anywhere else and the risk would be minimal.
Daniel Menefee says
Steve,
Maybe realtors in our community should not participate in the foreclosure market and stop trading in the misery of others. When the banks see there’s no cooperation in making people homeless, they may put more effort into keeping people IN THEIR HOMES. Our community needs to stand up for people like the Wills- who pay their bills, as well fellow citizens who’ve fallen on hard times through no fault of their own. It will benefit everyone to include, the public treasury, homeoweners, and our small busnesses. And if PNC doesn’t want to participate in our prosperity, they can pack up their “you-know-what” and leave the Kent County for good.
I have never seen such cruelty from a large institution.
Steve Payne says
Daniel,
My deals have been short sales which are desired by the owners, I also do valuations and inspections for servicing companies. These are usually related to short sales or loan mods. I think many banks are starting to realize that it is better to keep people in their own homes. Now that they own so many they are beginning to realize that owning it is worse than working with someone who wants to own it. The gov incentives are starting to get understood better now also.
Adina,
I lived in the C section, over by Ogle Elementary, and I really miss the Outback, Especially the Onion Loaf.
If the Wills have an attorney now maybe they can go in and work this out.
Karla says
Complimenting the journalists at the Spy. One major bank estimated in November of 2010 that they would have 45K foreclosures in December alone, nationwide. Can you imagine how many total homeowners were impacted by ALL the bank’s foreclosures!?! AND they are not loaning money on housing because the lowered interest rates means they don’t really make a lot on those loans.
It is a culture of greed, plain and simple that is at the base of all this. “The Wills are good people” – at one time, a community bank or credit union would pull out all the stops for the Wills, knowing the enrichment and prosperity they bring to the entire community, make it even a better environment for those who live, work, shop and bank there. High tide raises all boats. But NO ! And it was proven during the near toppling of our financial system that a greed-based system is not a sustainable system.
At the suggestion of CitiMortgage my husband and I applied for a program that was supposed to lower our interest rates and catch us up the 30 to 60 days we had been consistently behind for the previous 6 years – paying them additional late fees and other “special fees” every month. After 6 months of being dragged through every department in every country and state where they have “customer service” operations, over 250 phone calls and hundreds of requested pieces of documentation – we found out in December last year that our home had been put into foreclosure. CitiMortgage didn’t bother to tell us they had taken this action even as they were supposedly processing our loan papers. We had to come up with $14K plus legal fees to get our house off the auction block.
By then — your credit is ruined and no one wants to write a loan for you – even though we owe only about 1/4th the value of the property. It amazes me how far we’ve come from our organizing principles. It is disturbing. But we need to pull together and support businesses, like the Wills’ who share the same ideals we do – stay away from major national corporations who fund the politicians that support deregulating their fat-cat cronies on Wall Street.
Karla
Steve Payne says
Karla,
If your house is in MD and this happened after July, 2010 then you should be able to get your money back and credit fixed since it would have been illegal. See http://www.mdhope.org