Mirror of Justice

Feldman Law Center – The Four Road Blocks That are Slowing Loan Modifications

July 17th, 2009 at 04:38am Under Estates Law

Hope and optimism emanating from the announcement of the Obama Administration’s “Making Home Affordable” plan have been replaced by the cold reality that the program has gotten off to start deemed by industry watchers as “anemic”. After almost four months since President Obama first announced the $75 billion mortgage rescue effort, the administration continues to tweak the program in an attempt to reach its originally stated objective of saving up to 5 million homeowners from foreclosure. Standing between the anemic start and lofty goals of the program are four roadblocks:

1) Overloaded loan modification processors – While the specifics of the plan were released in the first week of March, lenders couldn’t start handling applications until systems were re-programmed and processors were brought up to speed, which took an additional four to six weeks. Processors were immediately buried with stacks of applications that had been accumulating during the conversion to the new guidelines. Participants in the process report that servicers are still digging out from the initial rush as applications continue to flood their desks. Troubled borrowers, many backed up against the possibility of foreclosure, have become increasingly frustrated to the point where they have abandoned the process to retain their own legal assistance.  JP Morgan Chase spokesman Tom Kelly recently said of the ramp-up, “It’s an enormous task. We’re moving quickly, although not as quickly as an individual might wish.”

2) Investors – The massive sums of money that supported the real estate/mortgage boom came from investors on Wall Street, pensions, and other institutions. Servicers say those investors are now balking at some of the terms being presented when a loan needs to be modified. The net present value test, a little known aspect of the plan, allows for a calculation to determine whether the greater return for investors will be achieved via modification or foreclosure. In the modification versus foreclosure decision, investors have been threatening lawsuits against servicers when the servicers are deemed to not be acting in the best interests of their investors. The threatened legal action adds another layer to the home loan modification process and can draw out the approval process even more. The “safe harbor” bill recently passed by Congress was intended to alleviate that logjam by protecting servicers from investor lawsuits but it’s likely that lawsuits will arrive on the servicers doorsteps anyway, safe harbor or not.

3) Lenders – Lenders are caught in a three sided bind between the above mentioned borrowers/investors and their own capital structure. No longer required to mark their loans to market, they can carry the value of the loans in their own portfolios at values they can rationalize, whether factual or not. Loan modifications could generate reviews of portfolio values, and nobody wants to go there in the current environment.

4) Unemployment – According to John Taylor, head of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, “Unemployment is becoming a bigger factor than almost anything.” When sub-prime mortgages started blowing up it was attributed to the risks inherent in lending to lower quality borrowers. Increasing unemployment, in addition to taking down the lower quality borrowers, is now hitting prime mortgages. In fact, primes are now going into default at a much faster rate than sub-primes as previously solid borrowers are now being affected by the contracting economy.

Of the four roadblocks, the toughest barrier is unemployment due to the fact that, regardless of credit scores, if a homeowner doesn’t have a job a loan modification isn’t going to help. Short sales, cash for keys, or foreclosure become the next options. At that point every side of the three sided bind ends up on the losing end.

Feldman Law Center – Feldman Law Center Acquires Former Lending Tree V.P. To Head Up Expansion

July 15th, 2009 at 02:52pm Under Business Law

The Feldman Law Center, a Law Firm that provides nationwide loan modification and debt relief services announced the recent acquisition of former Lending Tree Vice President Mr. Jerry Koller to head up their expansion. Mr. Koller brings us a wealth of knowledge, says Mr. Steven C.Feldman as Koller has worked for Mr. Anthony Hsieh Former ETRADE Financial CEO who then founded HomeLoanCenter.com and sold it to Lending Tree in 2004 for an undisclosed sum. With over 20 years in the finance and mortgage industry Feldman feels the long awaited acquisition could not have come at a better time.

Feldman Law Center was one of the original loan modification attorneys providing loan modification services throughout the country and has grown at a record pace over the past year. Back in the day, homeowners facing foreclosure or immanent hardship due to interest rate adjustments didn’t know what a loan modification was and with the recent development of our Internal Management System Software and the acquisition of Mr. Koller we can structure our growth accordingly as to not adversely effect our day to day operation. The newly developed IMS system will improve the way we do business and allow us to process and negotiate over 5,000 loan modifications per month. Currently the Feldman Law Center manages a large case load and negotiates pools of loan modifications with the major loan servicers like Country Wide Home Loans, Chase and CITI Mortgage. The original staff of five has grown to over 65 in a year that most new nothing of loan modifications being used to stop foreclosure. The Law Offices occupies over 10,000 sq.’ in Mission Viejo, Ca. and is currently negotiating the lease of another 35,000 sq.’ in Irvine, Ca. Coincidently within a mile of the former Lending Tree campus Mr. Koller frequented. Feldman sees the rapid growth as the next “refi boom” and it should be smooth sailing with Koller aboard. “We couldn’t do it without a man of his caliber” says Feldman.

Mr. Koller went to every Loan Modification Company and Law Office that provides loan modification services in town before settling on the Feldman Law Center. When asked why Koller says, “He has the reputation and I want to work for the best”. When asked why loan modifications, Koller says “I like helping people and I miss the fast paced operations”.

Feldman Law Center – Foreclosures Overwhelming California Homeowners

July 11th, 2009 at 08:53pm Under Banking Law

Feldman Law Center – News by Feldman Law Center — Unfortunately, California homeowners are being overwhelmed by foreclosures, and many people feel there is no end in sight to the situation.  Legislation from California and the federal government has helped some people, but it is not enough.  Loan modification attorneys are working with people everyday who either do not have access to the right information, or who feel left to deal with lenders all by themselves.  While the legislation can be helpful, President Obama and the California legislature are not there to help make phone calls and negotiate loan modifications.Foreclosure sales in California rose about 32 percent in the month of May of 2009, and 35 percent in April of 2009.  Just the California foreclosures from the month of May represent more than $8 billion in total loan value.  That means $8 billion worth of homes were foreclosed upon.  However, the good news is that lenders continue to voluntarily postpone the majority of foreclosure sales.    Lenders, such as banks and mortgage companies, are doing everything possible to delay foreclosures, and that includes working with California loan modification attorneys and homeowners on loan modifications.In fact, of the foreclosures scheduled, lenders postponed 40 percent at their own request and another 33 percent at the mutual request of the lender and the borrower.  This means that lenders are absolutely willing to renegotiate the terms of mortgages, and homeowners who are in danger of (or are in the midst of) foreclosure proceedings still have hope.  Foreclosures often seem like the end of the world, and even with the new legislation, they can be overwhelming.  However, as evidenced by these statistics, lenders are not interested in taking over your home.  The Feldman Law Center has seen lenders take unique steps to negotiate with borrowers and homeowners in an attempt to keep the homeowner in their home, making affordable payments.Things are particularly tough for homeowners in southern California.  Researchers from Columbia Business School said that over 30 percent of borrowers in San Diego and San Bernardino counties owe more than the refinancing limit with Sallie Mae and Freddie Mac.  In Los Angeles county, there are 29 percent of borrowers who do not qualify for refinancing because of the less-than-5-percent restriction from those two major mortgage lenders.However, loan modification attorneys can help homeowners and borrowers overcome these restrictions.  Foreclosures seem to run up on people quicker than they think, in part because they are focusing on their immediate crisis (such as paying a car loan) and not the looming one of foreclosure.  However, it is never too late to contact a California loan modification attorney to help you keep your home and avoid foreclosure.  A qualified California loan modification attorney will know the laws, know the lenders, know the mortgage companies and be able to offer quality advice on a variety of subjects.  Trying to fight a foreclosure without a qualified loan modification attorney is a bad idea.Visit us at www.feldmanlawcenter.com or call 800-588-0425.

Feldman Law Center – Congress Modifies HOPE for Homeowners; CA Senate passes SB 94

July 11th, 2009 at 08:53am Under Banking Law

Feldman Law Center – News by Feldman Law Center — The U.S. Senate, as well as the California State Senate, are both at work to help homeowners avoid bankruptcy and foreclosure. The U.S. Senate and the California State Senate are also both at work to make lenders happy, balance budgets, and do any number of things that may or may not serve your best interests as a homeowner.What do you need to know? Why should you care? The Federal bill HOPE for Homeowners was passed in the summer of 2008 to help prevent foreclosures on the more than 400,000 homes that were facing it. In the first seven months that the law was enacted, the law helped exactly one family stay in their home. That’s right, one. Recently (May, 2009), Congress passed a bill that augments the original HOPE for Homeowners legislation to make it more effective. In April 2009, in California, State Bill 94 cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits approval by the Senate Appropriations Committee. State Bill 94 was proposed by Senator Calderon (D-Montebello) and was designed to crackdown on some of the dishonest, disreputable, and predatory firms that are popping up hoping to profit from the misfortune of others. The main focus of the bill is to prevent loan modification firms from requiring payment up front for their services.While it is possible to negotiate with the lender yourself or to hire a non-profit agencies, when it comes to staying in your home you should look for the most effective and efficient means possible. Hiring a loan modification attorney to help negotiate new terms on your loan can mean the difference between avoiding bankruptcy, foreclosure and a short sale and…not avoiding them. The important thing is that you are able to get out of your financial mess and stay in your home.Truth is, thousands of loan modifications are successfully negotiated by private sector firms in California and throughout the country. This is important to remember when considering your options. It would be foolish to trust someone who promises something they can’t deliver. It would also be foolish to ignore help from someone who is willing and able to assist. If you are drowning, and someone that has been standing on the bank pulling people out offers you a hand, shouldn’t you take it?We will continue to hear grumbling about the economy, and what “got us into this mess.” We will continue to hear proposed legislation to regulate, modify and change rules and regulations in the various industries directly linked to this financial crisis. And we will continue to hear pleas from senators, congressmen, banks, loan modification “experts,” and any number of people whose direct interests are involved. Think about what is best for you. Are you prepared to negotiate a loan modification directly with your lender? The Feldman Law Center is trustworthy, reputable, and ready to help you stay in your home. We specialize in loan modifications and have attorneys on staff who know the business. Call the Feldman Law Center today.Visit us at http://www.feldmanlawcenter.com or call 800-588-0425.

Resources:

Feldman Law Center: Profile – Business Exchange

Feldman Law Center – Loan Modification Video

Feldman Law Center – What Do Banks and Lenders Think of Loan Modifications?

July 11th, 2009 at 02:53am Under Banking Law

Feldman Law Center – News by Feldman Law CenterThe whole reason a loan modification becomes necessary is because the borrower needs the loan to be more manageable, so that he or she can continue to pay for it. The purpose of a loan modification is for the borrower, or someone on the borrower’s behalf, to negotiate a more feasible mortgage with the lender. At first glance, this deal seems like a good one for the borrower. And oftentimes it is. But what about the lender?

Because of the current financial crisis, many people are seeing loan modifications as a good deal. The negotiations are usually initiated by the borrowers, and allow them to keep their property, postpone payments, reduce or stabilize interest rates, and sometimes even get a better deal on the house they already live in. Their credit scores are not harmed like they would be by a foreclosure or bankruptcy. Most of all, they do not have to move from their houses, forcing upheaval on their families, during a time of financial hardship and stress.

Society seems to take the side of families and the personal stories broadcast on the nightly news shows. Stories about 50-year old, recently-laid off, single moms who can’t afford their mortgages tend to pull on people’s heartstrings, winning the allegiance of many members of the public. And since so many people are being affected by the mortgage crisis, public outcry seems to be against banks and lenders, who are being blamed for offering such ludicrous loans in the first place.

The government, and specifically groups such as the FDIC, are also increasingly supportive of loan modification programs. The FDIC has even built a “Mod in a Box” loan modification program guide, in order to encourage more and more lenders to offer loan modifications. Obama has plans that involve modifying home loans to keep families in their homes, and countless nonprofits and support groups seem to be cropping up to help people with distressed finances.

So, borrowers, the government, and society at large are supporting the numerous loan modification programs available. One still has to wonder what banks think about home loan modifications.

Although much less loudly proclaimed, many lenders are in support of home loan modifications too. Lenders’ motivations for modifying a loan can vary. If a home is sold in a short sale, the bank agrees to write off the amount the borrower still owes, sells the property, and takes a loss. Foreclosures are much the same. When a bank forecloses on a home, they often make less profit on the property than they would have made through a mortgage, even a mortgage modified through a loan modification. Simply put, banks have a business motivation to modify your loan: they stand to make more profit if you stay in your house. Not to mention the fact that loan modifications make them look better in the eyes of the community and the government, and could potentially help the world’s economy in the long run.

If you need a home loan modification, contact the attorneys of the Feldman Law Center. Consultations are free, and they can help you benefit from staying in your home.

Loan Modification Companies – Information For Consumers

July 10th, 2009 at 08:56pm Under Consumer Law

It’s like the “perfect storm” for ex- mortgage brokers and ex-cons alike. All of a sudden we have thousands of “loan modification experts” hitting the internet. The truth is these guys have absolutely no clue and no leverage with your lender. The best most of them can hope for is an unaffordable forbearance agreement or a loan mod under a government or FDIC backed program that you can probably do yourself. The truth is most of these struggling homeowners end up losing their home to foreclosure because they fell for some gimmicky website, a smooth talking ex- loan officer promising a super low interest rate, and a promise of principal reduction and no payments for 6 months or your money back ( minus a small processing fee of course). At the end of the day they have divulged all of your financial information to the lender, only to get turned down and unfortunately lose their home. The truth is most of these guys who boast “attorneys” and whatever else they can throw at you, are nothing more than beat up loan originators running around town trying to find someone… anyone cheap…,,(usually an ex-loan processor)  to send your file to the bank and see what they’ll do. Common sense should tell you to pick up the phone and call your lender or mortgage loan servicing company and if you don’t like what you hear, then hire an attorney! Yes, when you are in trouble hiring an attorney to fight for you is what one does for the best possible results.

Do NOT buy a “do it yourself book” and do not trust a loan modification company or send them any money to negotiate with your lender. There are about 10 mortgage shops in all of California (most loan mod shops are in California) that have advance fee agreements, see http://www.dre.ca.gov/mlb_adv_fees.html for details. The California Department of Real Estate does not endorse these companies; they only try to regulate them. The rep from these companies must be licensed as well.  Also, you should take note that these companies have been doing loan modifications for less than 6 months, but of course, they are all experts. Yes, I believe some mean well, but the truth is even if they have an attorney on staff, he is not your attorney… and he does NOT represent you at all. Look, you can put a Ferrari emblem on a Ford and it’s still a Ford with a Ferrari emblem. There are just way too many loan mod companies using words like legal and law in their name or boasting they have “in house attorneys”.

You can expect to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,000 to $5,000 with these companies which is general the same amount you will pay to an attorney. If you are in default or foreclosure, only an attorney may collect upfront fees to help stop a foreclosure and save your home. If you don’t have all the money the lender wants to reinstate your loan, an attorney can usually negotiate with the lender to modify the loan, waive the arrearages, and even modify the principal balance to make the loan affordable. There are several laws in place that make it difficult for a mortgage loan servicing company to foreclose on you and have the investor take a huge loss through foreclosure. A good attorney understands how to work with the lender to stop a foreclosure and the lenders… recognizing when someone ‘knows their stuff’… will generally respond to reasonable offers made by a law office for their client. I am confident in saying that as a law firm, we have secured modifications for our clients that neither a loan mod company or homeowner dealing direct, would have been able to secure   For more information on loan modifications go to www.feldmanlawcenter.com or call Mr. Steven C. Feldman at (800) 527-8497.

Feldman Law Center – The New York Times gets it About Half Right

July 10th, 2009 at 05:38am Under Administrative Law

Feldman Law Center – A recent New York Times editorial indicates that the Obama honeymoon may be coming to end as the faltering economy continues to eliminate jobs and a tidal wave of foreclosures grows by the month. Through May foreclosure filings reached the one million mark with estimates for the whole of 2009 coming in at 2.4 million. The foreclosure issue, as large as it is presently, could easily exceed the current yearend estimates if job losses stay at their current pace of over 600,000 per month. As it stands, 15.4 homes are currently underwater with mortgage balances that exceed home values. Additionally, 5.4 million homes are currently delinquent or at some stage of the foreclosure process.

The New York Times concludes that “The Obama administration needs to step up its efforts to aid the middle class — or the financial crisis will have no end in sight.” The Times proposes a two part solution to the foreclosure crisis; the first being economic stimulus to stem job losses, an argument that holds obvious merit. Their second proposal concludes that “Loan modification programs that reduce monthly payments may not be effective, because the bigger problem is negative equity.” They fault the administration for building a plan that centers on lower monthly mortgage payments while only recommending principle reductions instead of somehow making them mandatory. The Times also criticizes the administration’s anti-foreclosure plan which was recently gutted by the large banks and mortgage lenders.

The cure-all proposed by The New York Times appears to be focused on principle reductions across the board which would be steep enough to restore some equity to borrowers, giving them additional motivation to stay in their homes and allow them to borrow against their new-found equity should a hardship such as the loss of a job or illness occur.    

By the end of the editorial, the Times is calling for home equity to be restored to homeowners, jobs to be added to the economy, and steady paychecks for all. How banks remain solvent, who pays for job stimulus, and how regular pay checks are covered in this grand plan is left for someone else to answer. The Times does get it half right in that it’s fixing the economy that will finally curb the foreclosure crisis. The big questions again are how and how much will it take?

Ms. Ulery and Her Do it Yourself Loan Modification with BankAmerica – Feldman Law Center

July 9th, 2009 at 05:38pm Under Administrative Law

Feldman Law Center – Eileen Ulery wasn’t a real estate speculator. She was an executive assistant at Arizona State University that bought a condo in Mesa, Arizona for $77,000 in 1997 where she had lived ever since. Several years and a couple of refi’s later, her mortgage balance was up to $140,000 and then the bottom fell out. University budget cuts resulted in the elimination of her job, which she had held for over twenty years. With some severance pay and social security she was able to keep up but once the severance ran out, her mortgage payment was more than she could handle.After hearing about the Obama Administration’s new “Making Home Affordable” plan she went to the CountryWide (now part of Bank of America) website which directed her to the official government site for the program, makinghomeaffordable.gov. After taking a test at the site to determine her eligibility she was informed that she might qualify for a loan modification.    Calling the bank in April to start the loan modification process, the bank’s representative said that the bank was not doing loan modifications for “people like her”. The rep then countered with something the bank could do for her; if she could write them a check for $18,000, they would raise her interest rate slightly, and she could save $77 dollars per month. $13,000 would go toward her loan balance and $5,000 would go to the bank as fees to re-do the loan. The monthly savings would come from the reduction of her loan balance.Jenni Engebretsen, spokesperson for the Treasury, confirmed that homeowners like Ms. Ulery who are current on their mortgages but struggling with the loss of a job are eligible for loan modifications under the program. Eligibility, however, does not mean anything in terms of getting a loan modification done if the lenders are dismissing every do it yourself borrower that is not on the brink of imminent foreclosure. Rick Simon a spokesman for Bank of America Home Loans, confirmed as much when he said “The bank is now focusing on modifications only for those borrowers who are already in severe threat of foreclosure.” After acknowledging that Ms. Ulery had been offered a refi instead of a loan modification he said, “We’re still putting the systems in place to handle people who are current on their loans. It’s still very, very early in the program.”Ms. Ulery’s experience in attempting to modify her own loan is not unusual. In fact it’s quite common that lenders will counter a loan modification request with either an offer to refinance or to set up a payment plan requiring higher monthly payments. Both types of offers do nothing for the borrower while providing the lender with higher interest, fees, and higher principle payments.Asked whether she took the bank up on its offer to refinance her home Ms. Ulery said, “I just laughed. It was a really good deal for them.”

“We’re still putting the systems in place to handle people who are current on their loans,” Mr. Simon said, declining to say how many loans Bank of America had modified. “It’s still very, very early in the program President Obama promise that help was on the way for homeowners like her, people who had lost jobs and could no longer make their mortgage payments.Yes, she was teetering toward delinquency. She was among millions of homeowners rapidly sliding toward danger for whom the Obama administration had devised an aid program — some already in foreclosure proceedings, others headed that way as they ran out of means to make their payments. But unlike those in imminent peril of losing their homes, Ms. Ulery had never missed a paymentMore than three months after the Obama administration outlined a new program aimed at rescuing millions of distressed homeowners by compensating banks that modify mortgages, Ms. Ulery’s experience illustrates the mixture of confusion, frustration and limited assistance that now reigns.Through many months of wrangling over the fate of the financial system, with hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars dispensed on bailouts, distressed homeowners have waited for their own rescue amid talk that it was finally on the way. Modifications of so-called subprime and Alt-A mortgages — those made to people with tarnished credit — actually fell by 11 percent in May from April, according to research by Alan M. White at Valparaiso University School of Law. The bank is now focusing on modifications only for those borrowers “who are already in severe threat of foreclosure,” he said. “I just laughed,” Ms. Ulery said. “It was a really good deal for them.”

MESA, Ariz. — She had seen the advertisements for the new government program offering relief. She had heard President Obama promise that help was on the way for homeowners like her, people who had lost jobs and could no longer make their mortgage payments.But when Eileen Ulery called her mortgage company — Countrywide, now part of Bank of America — the bank did not offer to alter her mortgage. Rather, the bank tried to sell her a new loan with a slightly lower monthly payment while asking her to pay $13,000 toward the principal and a fresh $5,000 in fees. Her problem was that she did not yet present a big enough problem to merit aid. Yes, she was teetering toward delinquency. She was among millions of homeowners rapidly sliding toward danger for whom the Obama administration had devised an aid program — some already in foreclosure proceedings, others headed that way as they ran out of means to make their payments. But unlike those in imminent peril of losing their homes, Ms. Ulery had never missed a payment.“I don’t know who this bailout is helping,” she said. “We’ve given these banks all this money and they’re not doing what they say they’re doing. Something’s not working right. They keep saying they’re doing all this, but we don’t see it down here at this level.”More than three months after the Obama administration outlined a new program aimed at rescuing millions of distressed homeowners by compensating banks that modify mortgages, Ms. Ulery’s experience illustrates the mixture of confusion, frustration and limited assistance that now reigns.Through many months of wrangling over the fate of the financial system, with hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars dispensed on bailouts, distressed homeowners have waited for their own rescue amid talk that it was finally on the way. Modifications of so-called subprime and Alt-A mortgages — those made to people with tarnished credit — actually fell by 11 percent in May from April, according to research by Alan M. White at Valparaiso University School of Law. A Treasury spokeswoman, Jenni Engebretsen, confirmed that homeowners like Ms. Ulery — current on their mortgages yet grappling with a hardship like unemployment — were eligible for loan modifications under the program. She said mortgage servicers had offered to modify more than 100,000 loans since the department announced the program.But how many loans have been modified? Ms. Engebretsen declined to say, noting that the Treasury was working with mortgage companies to “fine-tune reporting systems.” A spokesman for Bank of America Home Loans, Rick Simon, confirmed that the bank offered Ms. Ulery refinancing and not loan modification. The bank is now focusing on modifications only for those borrowers “who are already in severe threat of foreclosure,” he said.“We’re still putting the systems in place to handle people who are current on their loans,” Mr. Simon said, declining to say how many loans Bank of America had modified. “It’s still very, very early in the program.”Ms. Ulery, 63, is the face of the latest wave of troubled American homeowners, a surge of people in financial danger not because of reckless gambling on real estate, but because of lost income.Far from being one of those who used easy-money loans to speculate on homes proliferating across the desert soil of greater Phoenix, she has lived in the same modest, stucco-sided condo in suburban Mesa for a dozen years. She bought the two-bedroom home in 1997 for $77,500.For two decades, she worked as an executive assistant at nearby Arizona State University, bringing home more than $1,000 every other week — enough to pay the bills.Round-faced, wry and given to staccato bursts of laughter, Ms. Ulery regularly visits yard sales, seeking out plates and patchwork quilts for her collections. She takes pleasure in her two grandchildren and her beagle. She enjoys an occasional glass of wine, favoring a $6 merlot that comes in a screw-top bottle.“I’m not an extravagant-type person,” she said. “I see these big houses all around, and they’re beautiful, but I’m comfortable in my little condo.”Like tens of millions of other American homeowners, she added to her mortgage balance as the value of her condo swelled, at one point exceeding $200,000. She refinanced to pay off some credit cards and settle into a 30-year, fixed-rate loan. Later, she took out a home equity line of credit to buy a new Hyundai. She refinanced again in 2007, borrowing $20,000, mostly for a new roof. Over the years, her monthly payment swelled from about $600 to more than $1,000. With planning and self-control — she tracks her monthly expenses on a color-coded spreadsheet — she always came up with the money. “I’ve never been late,” she said.But the equation broke down last year, when she lost her job in university budget cuts. Ms. Ulery received six months of severance. She arranged a monthly $1,500 Social Security check. But when the severance ran out in October, her mortgage finally exceeded her limited means.With so many people out of work, and with her doctor counseling rest for a stress-related illness, she did not pursue another paycheck, negotiating to have her university pension begin earlier. She has been leaning on credit cards.Across the country, millions of homeowners in similar straits have been sliding into delinquency. Some owe more than their houses are worth. Ms. Ulery is among that unhappy cohort — her house is worth about $122,000, and she owes $143,000 — but walking away is not for her.“In my family, we don’t do that,” she said. “You pay your bills. And I wanted my home.”In March, she heard about the Obama administration program. The Countrywide Web site directed her to a government site, makinghomeaffordable.gov, she said. There, she took a test to determine her eligibility for a loan modification.Was her home her primary residence? Check. Was she having trouble paying her mortgage? Check again, and so on until the screen told her that she might qualify.In April, she called the bank. The representative said the bank was not doing modifications for people like her, she recalled. He shifted the conversation: if she handed over $18,000, he could lower her payment to $967 from $1,046. Her interest rate would actually increase slightly, with the drop largely because she was putting down more money.“I just laughed,” Ms. Ulery said. “It was a really good deal for them.”To which she poses her own question: What sort of deal is it for the American taxpayer? As she sees it, the same banks that generated the mortgage crisis are now getting public money to fix it, while doing little more than seeking new fees.“I don’t think the government gets it,” she said. “These are the same people you couldn’t trust before.”