Where To Go From Here With PNC / National City

Where To Go From Here With
PNC / National City

by Tom Reale
(Somers Point, NJ)

I had previously asked "Why a 14% reduced payment with a 40% reduction in income" with PNC / National City.

Thanks for your answer and comments.

PNC has offered a 3 month trial, however, both the NACA and I had requested a more restructured payment based on "a tight and realistic budget".

PNC told me that since I am still active (after 2 trial payments made),with HAMP, I cannot be considered for other options with their Loss Mitigation Team until I'm out of the HAMP program.

Since I probably will not be able to make the 3rd payment, do you know if the other help offered by PNC is competitive with what is offered by the HAMP program?

Thank you

Mortgage Loan Modification Answer:

by Loan Modification Expert - Dan North

Your Welcome.

Since PNC just got back into the home mortgage loan business with its acquisition of National City there is not a lot of information on how willing they are on mortgage loan modifications outside of HAMP. On their Having Trouble Making Payments? website page they say they have a variety of assistance programs separate from Making Home Affordable and under the other Options to Keep Your Home they list Forbearance, Repayment Plan, Modification and Partial Claim.

Modification and possibly Partial Claim are the only options that would apply in your case. There are also the options to giving up your home if you can not afford the modification offered, listed on the same page.

This suggests that they will do loan modifications outside of the HAMP Guidelines. Just exactly what they are willing to do keep you in your home you will have to find out when you talk to them after the trial modification period is up.

I do not know the specifics of your situation but I will make some assumptions, you will have to let me know if I am wrong:

I will assume that the modified mortgage payment offered is 31% of your gross monthly income.

I will also assume that you have a valid hardship since you can not make the 3rd Trial Modification payment.

Since you took a 40% cut in pay I will also assume that you have other unsecured (credit cards, charge accounts) and secured debt (cars, home improvements/repairs) that you cannot pay and also pay your mortgage.

There could be other payments that are contributing to the hardship, alimony, child support, medical bills, student loans and other similar unavoidable obligations.

(If you need some professional help to get this done with no upfront fees Apply for No-Upfront Fee Hardship Loan Modification {Currently available in CA, OR & WA more states being added), don't worry there is no fee to get started)

PNC may be willing to work with you to come up with a payment outside of the HAMP guidelines.

If you are behind in payments a Partial Claim is a real option, if you have mortgage insurance. The partial claim they are referring to is having your mortgage insurer make you a no-interest loan for the amount you are delinquent, usually payable when you sell or refinance, this will bring your mortgage current.

Mortgage Insurance companies are willing to do this as it is cheaper for them than a foreclosure, short sale or deed-in-lieu of trust as they guarantee to pay PNC a percent of the outstanding home loan. If this is the case this will help to lower your mortgage loan modification payment.

PNC has several options on modifying your loan, they could go as low as 2% (they may have an in-house cut-off higher than 2%) on the interest, they can extend the loan to 40 years, they could do a principle forbearance lowering the principle amount, either until you sell, refinance or for a number of years.

Principal forbearance has the potential to considerably lower your monthly mortgage payment, you would still owe the principal in forbearance but would not pay interest on this amount during the forbearance.

A combination of all or any of these options plus the partial claim (if applicable) could lower your payment to something affordable as well as agreeable to PNC.

If you have an expectancy that in a number of years you will again be at your former pay level (before the 40% loss in income) you could do any of the above for a number of years and returning to the pre-modification payment level after the specified time period. This would be a forbearance and is a preferred handling by many lenders.

You have a lot more options outside of the HAMP program on how a mortgage loan modification can be done. It is possible to get your payments lower than 31% of your gross income and still present an option that PNC will agree to.

Your NACA counselor should be familiar with all your options. If not, ask to speak with a supervisor about someone who is more knowledgeable in all your options so that you can make a submission that will get approved. NACA does have provisions for bringing in a more experienced specialist if the case becomes complicated. You want to propose how it can be done.

You might ask your NACA counselor if you are a candidate for their refinance program. If your credit score is below 620 you are in their target group.