Mortgage lenders and brokers were live and in-person when making home loans earlier this decade. But in fixing or resolving those now-troubled loans, nearly all mortgage servicers rely on impersonal call centers that have produced mixed results.
JPMorgan Chase is trying a different approach. It has opened a “homeownership” office in Westminster, one of 27 nationally where borrowers meet a loan-mitigation specialist.
“The concept of the center is to bring expertise and empathy into the market and work face to face with customers,” said Steve Stein, the bank’s senior vice president of homeownership preservation.
The centers are meant for borrowers delinquent on a Chase, Washington Mutual or EMC mortgage. The Westminster center’s staff of seven can handle up to 40 clients a day.
Among them: 65-year-old Inez Padilla of Commerce City, who sought Chase’s help to restructure her mortgage. Since her husband died 18 months ago, she has struggled to make house payments.
“I was very, very surprised because I’ve been trying to do something and everybody else I talked to turned me down, saying I don’t qualify,” Padilla said. “The people at Chase have been nice. It has lifted a lot of my stress and anxiety. They’re taking my situation into consideration.”
Borrowers who prefer dealing with a live person are avoiding call centers entirely, Stein said. Others pay hefty fees to debt negotiators who sometimes put consumers into a deeper financial hole.
“No one should have to pay a fee to get a loan modification,” Stein said.
Chase’s loan-mitigation specialists get a better sense of borrowers’ situations by talking to them in person.
Specialists can help with short sales, in which a home is sold for less than the amount owed, or situations in which a homeowner would prefer to hand the keys back to the bank.
“If customers want to retain their properties, we are going to . . . make sure that is the outcome,” Stein said.
Customers who lost a job can make arrangements to defer or reduce payments until they find work again, Stein said.
Meeting in person will never be as cost-efficient as using a call center, Stein said, but federal programs to standardize loan modifications promise to make the process smoother.
Chase believes the local centers will pay for themselves by producing better resolutions, preventing repeat delinquencies or costly foreclosures.
Staff writer Miles Moffeit contributed to this report.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
Some options for loan mitigation
Some options available for homeowners who have fallen behind on their Chase, Washington Mutual or EMC mortgage payments:
Repayment plan
Lets you repay a delinquency over time by including a portion of the delinquent amount with your monthly payment.
Loan modification
In certain hardship situations — e.g., job loss, death of a spouse — the bank may modify terms of the loan and reduce the monthly payment to an affordable amount.
Short refinance
Other lenders in your area might help you obtain a third-party loan to pay off your mortgage for less than the full amount owed.
Partial claims
For FHA loans only, Chase might obtain a one-time payment from the FHA Insurance fund to bring your mortgage current.
Pre-foreclosure sale
If you believe selling your property is your best choice, Chase might accept less than what’s owed.
Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure
A transfer of property to the lender for possible forgiveness of the debt. Chase might waive any amount you owe if the property is subsequently sold at a loss, and you avoid having a foreclosure on your credit history. However, a deed-in-lieu may be noted on your credit report.
What to bring with you
• Income documentation. Wage-earners must provide two current pay stubs. Self-employed people must provide four months of their most recent bank statements and their most recent tax return.
• An audited or reviewed year-to-date income statement is required for corporations and LLCs.
• Documents to support your hardship, known as a hardship letter.
• A signed and completed financial statement or monthly budget outline.
The JPMorgan Chase center is located at 7301 N. Federal Blvd. in Westminster. The office can be reached at 303-244-5225.
