by Chris Arnold
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Debra Dahlmer, who is retired and legally blind, has spent more than a year and a half fighting to avoid foreclosure on her home in Gloucester, Mass.
April 11, 2011
If anyone is a poster child for people who should not be facing foreclosure, it's Debra Dahlmer.
Dahlmer, who is retired and legally blind, has never missed a mortgage payment on her home. She lives in Gloucester, Mass., in a modest house with her 80-year-old mother and several small, well-fed dogs.
But Dahlmer says that for a year and a half, her lender — Bank of America — has been losing her documents and dragging out a loan modification she qualified for. And lately, the bank has been threatening to foreclose.
"Are they going to take my house even though I've always made the payments?" she asks.
The nation's largest banks are under investigation in all 50 states. Prosecutors are looking into allegations that banks are improperly foreclosing on thousands of American homeowners. The banks acknowledge some paperwork problems but deny that they are foreclosing on people without justification.
A Tough Two Years
With her long white hair and easy smile, Dahlmer is the quintessential nice lady next-door.
NPR first reported on Dahlmer's case in December. After her husband died, she couldn't afford her mortgage. But she has guaranteed disability income that could cover her payments if she had a lower interest rate. She should qualify for a rate reduction through President Obama's foreclosure-prevention effort, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
A Broken Payment Program
Bank of America enrolled Dahlmer in a temporary plan for making reduced payments. And even though she is following the bank's instructions and has never missed a payment, the bank told her it considers her to be delinquent.
The bank told her that's because Dahlmer has been making smaller payments through the government-sponsored foreclosure-prevention program. And Bank of America told her that if she doesn't pay the difference by the end of July, it would start foreclosure proceedings.
Dahlmer says all of this scared her.
"I kind of dread waking up," she says. "I know that sounds awful. But I know my mind's going to start thinking of this and thinking of this."
And she says she doesn't know what she would do if she lost this home that has housed her family for nearly 50 years.
"What would I do? Where would I go? What would I do with my mom?" she says. "It just terrifies me."
Continuing Problems
When NPR first reported on Dahlmer's situation, Bank of America said it would review Dahlmer's case and that it hoped to resolve it within several weeks.
But three months later, her case still hadn't been resolved.
The bank did enroll Dahlmer in another temporary loan modification. But in what appears to be a mix-up, Bank of America also threatened to foreclose on her house.
The foreclosure letter from the bank is sitting on her coffee table.
"And I'm disabled," she says. "I stay in the house most of the time. ... I had to walk out of here the other day just to clear my head."
The Quest For A Lawyer
Despite the stress, Dahlmer hasn't just spent her time worrying. She searched for a housing advocate or a lawyer who could help her.
That led her to a prominent consumer rights lawyer, Gary Klein, who is suing Bank of America on behalf of homeowners like her.
"There's every reason to believe that there are tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of affected families," he says.
Klein is suing Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, CitiMortgage and others. He says the banks are required to approve a qualified homeowner for a loan modification within three months of an application.
"People are getting the runaround, people aren't getting access to a decision-maker, they're told their documents are lost, and in many cases what they're getting is a decision that makes no sense in light of their personal circumstances," Klein says.
He says he's hearing from people at all stages of the foreclosure process. "People are being foreclosed on when they shouldn't be," he adds.
A Permanent Loan Modification
All of the major banks deny this. Meanwhile, state prosecutors are negotiating a settlement that would change the banks' foreclosure practices. Federal regulators could come out with their own new foreclosure regulations as soon as this week.
And for Dahlmer, there might just be a happy ending: When NPR contacted Bank of America this time around, the bank said it has approved a permanent loan modification for her — and that her new paperwork was sent out over the weekend.
Related NPR Stories
Regulators Propose New Rules For Mortgage Market March 30, 2011
Faulty Paperwork May Slow Millions Of Foreclosures Jan. 18, 2011
Foreclosures Still Dragging Down Housing, Economy Dec. 27, 2010
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Arthur Burns (000000000000000000000) wrote:
Percents don;t change,dollars do.The banks are all about greed/Rape. You will the banks kill the golden goose, the middle class who made you what you are. I world rather ride the rails, then give you my dime! I will own a home only, If it is mobile, just like you. My game, is a not user. Wake up. You do not own me, because I owe you some money,Just like others/college for the Corps benefit. That;s what other share Croppers do. I have no home, like you Corp. A Free bird! I play todays game. It is what it is!
The Art of it !
4/11/2011 6:42:39 PM
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Joshua Roe (roeboat72) wrote:
The sad part about this is that nothing is going to change anytime soon.
4/11/2011 4:55:04 PM
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D P (Curmudgeon51) wrote:
I don't think there is a major banker or mortgage lender who has missed a paycheck or a bonus.
4/11/2011 4:09:06 PM
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D C (Diece) wrote:
"Can Ms. Dahlmer get a job, like telemarketing, to help pay her mortgage?"
Even those of us who have NOT been retired for years cannot get a job right now. Get serious! Telemarketing is no easier a job to obtain than any other even with experience! I will agree there should have been "foreclosure" insurance but I've never had any of that either.
4/11/2011 3:59:28 PM
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Mark Smiles (Really_happy) wrote:
Attilla,
"I think the talent stayed, but it's only talented of buying politicians to restrict citizens rights!"
---
Do both parties to a contract have the right to expect the terms of the contract to be upheld?
Should the terms of a contract vary according to who has political power in the government?
What rights are being restricted? The expectation of both parties to have the others side keep it's part of the bargain?
4/11/2011 3:51:00 PM
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Indy AZ (Indytuc) wrote:
I know if we didn't allow them to give themselves huge bonuses the talent might went to a different country!!! I think the talent stayed, but it's only talented of buying politicians to restrict citrizens rights!
********************
Oh please, "the talented" is a myth fed and fertilized by the corporations and the republicans who support them -- ever hear of the poem about the indispensable man -- fill a bucket with water and dip your hand in, then pull your hand out and the hole that is left is the measure of how you will be missed. There's always a crook waiting in the wings to replace a crook on his way out -- even a Bernie Madoff.
4/11/2011 3:47:58 PM
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Indy AZ (Indytuc) wrote:
The way this poor woman's luck is going, next she'll get a bill for the difference in her house payment while the modification was under process. This is what happens when deregulation is unleashed upon us. Regulations were put into place because big corporations and businesses were taking advantage, now the republicans are hell bent on doing away with all regulations and putting us right back where we started, while telling us we can't have a birth control clinic. Wake up to what you have sent to Washington, republicans!! Perhaps we should start a Drink Coffee Instead (DCI -- sounds better than TEA) party to offset the Koch brothers who are using the tea party for shills to destroy the weak and the poor.
4/11/2011 3:45:14 PM
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Al Par (RomeoUruguay) wrote:
I do not trust the banks. I applied for a loan modification through Wells Fargo, even though they are the servicing bank (Fannie May owns the mortgage). After several months of paperwork, it was approved and I was put in a three month of tryout during which I was called several times every week by different Wells Fargo employees to remind me of the payments, with a "courtesy call". Once the tryout period expired, I was sent documents to sign and send back. After a couple of weeks, I started calling to verify that all the documents were in order and that the payments were done as agreed. Their response was that the documents had arrived and that the bank was going to evaluate them and sing them to complete the approval cycle. This was 2 months ago and the papers did not arrive yet. I wonder if they are planning how to screw me. There's suppose to an underwriter looking at the papers to be approved. The payments I made with the modified interest rate were not deducted from the mortgage balance but put in an "escrow" until "the permanent modification is appoved". It is not surprise that the loan modif. petitioners are freaking out just like I am because we don't know what they are doing behind our backs. I don't trust them.
4/11/2011 3:31:31 PM
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Attila Csakberenyi (Papem) wrote:
Our great democracy!
Using taxpayer money to bail out the failed banks (How could you qualify to get a loan?) and complately forgets about representing the people at all!!!
I know if we didn't allow them to give themselves huge bonuses the talent might went to a different country!!! I think the talent stayed, but it's only talented of buying politicians to restrict citrizens rights!
4/11/2011 3:27:31 PM
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Mark Smiles (Really_happy) wrote:
BoA = Gussied up Pawn Shop.
4/11/2011 3:20:21 PM
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