Our Personal Story With HSBC

[Debra]

I would like to share more information about my situation to get advice, and also to help others. We are parents and grandparents. My husband is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War who fought for this country to provide us with the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted. He has been working at the same company for over 35 years now and is old enough to retire. I work two jobs, seven days a week to help keep us afloat.

We are a loving family that was placed in a predatory loan (30-year, adjustable rate, caps at 14%, designed to default) and we have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get a permanent, fixed rate, affordable loan modification since August 2007. Our lender is HSBC Mortgage Services. They have been playing with us for nearly three years, offering minor temporary fixes and then adjusting our payments upwards.

It is now April 2010. HSBC has chosen not to help Americans stay in their homes by opting out of the President’s home loan modification program and creating reasons for denial or new temporary fixes that continue this nightmare, making it extremely difficult for us to keep our home. We have also requested help from our senators, regulatory agencies and others, and we are not quitting. We are now behind in our mortgage payments again, and absolutely struggle with that every day. We have every intention of repaying our obligation. If our predatory loan is modified to include reasonable terms and an affordable payment, we will be able to do so. It was never our intention to be behind. We have always paid our way in this world. We are stretched financially (loss of income, increased expenses) and emotionally (medical needs and the stress of loan modification hell) to the max, and we need relief. We need an affordable, permanent, fixed rate loan modification, and we want to stay in our home.

When we bought our home six years ago, we made a 20% down payment, and we had a very affordable fixed rate mortgage loan. 1½ years later, during a time when family members were experiencing financial hardship and we were aching to help them, a mortgage broker from American Funding contacted us by telephone (unsolicited). That was the beginning of our downward spiral financially. We trusted someone who we thought was a professional in the real estate business, and relied on his ethics since we had no knowledge of the financial industry. Our loan was re-financed by M & I Bank, and our primary loan was apparently sold to HSBC (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) shortly thereafter. We now have an unaffordable adjustable rate mortgage with payments that will skyrocket well beyond our control. We owe more on the home than it is worth, so refinancing is out of the question. And we continue to be puzzled as to why we cannot get a mortgage modification.

We firmly believe the mortgage broker, in conjunction with M & I Bank and HSBC, preyed upon us because of our limited financial skills, mature ages, and the emotional distress we were experiencing. Abusive, unfair, and deceptive lending practices led us into two mortgage loans that we would not have chosen if we knew what the ramifications would be. We traded in an affordable fixed rate mortgage loan for an adjustable-rate primary mortgage and a secondary mortgage, with nothing to show for it. Furthermore, despite promises that they would refinance our mortgages to a lower fixed rate prior to the rate re-set, and waive all fees, the mortgage company declined to do that, and our interest rate skyrocketed.

Ultimately, we accept responsibility for the situation we are now in, because we signed the forms, and we are determined to overcome these obstacles, continue to pay our bills on time, and keep our home. However, we will not take responsibility for the bahavior of Wall Street and the regulators who have brought this economy to its knees. We have been struggling to get a permanent loan modification for the past two years because we want to keep our home. We are working as many hours as we physically can and are still struggling. We have cut all discretionary spending. We are unable to help anyone, including close family, and we are still going further in debt. We suffered loss of income in the past two years due to paycuts at both of our jobs, and I took on a second job a year ago to try to make up the difference. We have sold personal possessions, cancelled insurance, eliminated vacations, eating out and entertainment, eliminated all but absolutely necessary medical expenses, and we are still struggling.

During this nightmare we have contacted HSBC more times than we can count. We have also contacted NACA, ACORN, HUD, and worked with the Hope Hotline. With their assistance, we were able to work out a 6-month adjustment to our interest rate, which resulted in a $125 per month decrease in our payment. We then worked closely with Iowa Mortgage Help, who was able to negotiate one more 6-month rate adjustment. That helped a bit, but the temporary fix expired, and since then, HSBC Mortgage Services has denied the multiple requests for assistance that we have submitted.

We do not understand why this is continuing. We absolutely qualify for a loan modification, and we can afford payments based on current market interest rates. A measure as extreme as abandoning our home and other financial obligations is unthinkable to us, as it always has been. There is a way to make this work. Our number one goal at this point in our lives is to keep our home for us, our children, and our grandchildren. We, along with millions of other middle-class Americans are victims of the fraud of global proportions the financial industry created. We did not act irresponsibly when we signed our loan documents, and we are not acting irresponsibly now. We are not asking for this home for free. Give us a fixed, permanent, affordable modification. It is time for HSBC to do their part to fix this mess.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story. If any of you have advice, please speak up. Thanks again!

[Lori Kelly]

Hi Debra.
Have you sent in a formal application for HAMP?
Maybe you can give that a try.

Act like this is your first attempt.

I am trying to find the HAMP application online.
When I get some time, I will put together a step by step process to apply for HAMP.

You can complete the information, include all the required paperwork and send it to HSBC.

I have heard some people have success when they ask freddie to get involved.
Although freddie does not seem to be doing much, it is the overseer of the program.
An email to them asking that they audit your file at HSBC might also help.

[Debra]

Lori, thank you for the suggestion. I haven't applied for HAMP, because HSBC has told me repeatedly they are not participating in the program. I have asked them about it many times. In fact, when I was on a 3-way call with HSBC and a HUD counselor last Fall, the HSBC representative told the HUD counselor they don't have to participate in any government programs because they did not take bailout money. That's exactly how she worded it. Are you suggesting a should make a formal application for HAMP despite that? I am willing to try it.

[Lori Kelly]

Deb - sorry I forgot HSBC was not participating in HAMP. They stink.
Nice HSBC rep to tell you they don't have to participate in helping people.

I've been thinking about your situation...... I will do some research to see what other people are able to do.

So I guess they will not work with you on an in house mod, right?

[Debra]

Lori, you're correct. A couple of times in the past 3 years, they have lowered our payment by around $100 per month for six months at a time. Since then, we have been repeatedly denied. In fact, they do not do permanent interest rate reductions at all. The only plan they have in place is the temporary hardship 6-month plan.

I just registered to attend the Help for Homeowners Community Event in Kansas City next week. I'm anxious to meet with one of the HSBC banksters in person.

[Lori Kelly]

Debra, $100 is their tip at their Friday night dinner.
F them.
For a mortgage company to have a band-aid fix of $100 reduction in payments and no permanent interest rate reduction is ludicrous.
They have participated in predatory lending and if they had the homeowners interest at heart and the tenacity to change the housing crisis, they would be behaving different.

But no, they are a banksta.
Only difference is they don't have a machine gun.

I am so happy to hear you are going to the event in Kansas City.
I wish I could go with you.
I tend to be a beatch and love a challenge.

I would strongly suggest you have all of your paperwork ready.

Have copies of:
- Total monthly net income (since HSBC Sucks does not participate in HAMP and will use NET figures instead of gross)
- monthly mortgage (does it include taxes and insurance, any homeowner or property owner dues)
- monthly credit card debt (get this from your credit report)
- estimate of other monthly living expenses, itemized

W-2s for each borrower (husband and wife)
Signed IRS Form 4506-T http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf
copies of last two years tax returns (just for them, you won't need a copy in your binder)
copies of last three months bank statements
copies of last four paystubs (they ask for 2 but we're going above and beyond)

copy of statement from HSBC showing unpaid principal balance (UPB)
Current interest rate - and if you loan adjusts, the terms of your loan
copy of annual taxes - you can get this from your county tax assessor
copy of homeowners insurance - might not be a bad idea to have an invoice or something from your insurance company reflecting annual amount

Go prepared.
Control the conversation.
I understand HSBC does not consider essential living expenses i.e. gas, food, home repair, etc. as a "necessary expense". Rather, they consider you have disposable income when it comes to these categories.
Disposable my toilet.

Let us help you get some figures together to show that you cannot afford the home unless the loan is modified.

I am glad you are going.
I am sad I can't go with you.

Please, keep us posted.

[Debra]

I attended the Help For Homeowners Community Event in Kansas City last week. I first met with two housing counselors, who happened to be volunteers from Missouri Legal Aid and were unhelpful. Following that meeting, I met with a representative from HSBC Mortgage Services. Although he didn't commit to permanently modify my loan, he did give me some hope that it is probable that we will be able to get another temporary 6-month modification, followed by a temporary 18-month modification, followed by a permanent modification. Following is the letter I sent to HSBC upon my return home. This email goes into more detail than what I just explained.

Thank you for meeting with me on Wednesday at the Help for Homeowners Community Event in Kansas City. You will recall that I drove for eight hours round-trip and took the day off from work to talk to you about the loan that my husband and I have been trying to get modified for several years now.

You were kind and forthcoming. However, it was extremely disconcerting that HSBC, unlike most banks, is not making permanent modifications/restructures, especially in extreme hardship situations like ours. It makes no sense to me how you might think our financial situation could improve, given the impending retirement of my 66 year old husband and with my earnings as a middle-aged unskilled office worker and temporary part-time convenience store clerk with a dependent child.

My husband is a disabled Vietnam combat veteran. He fought for the very freedom you enjoy: capitalism. We are not asking for a reduction of principal, even though the value of our home has decreased dramatically. We are simply asking for an affordable monthly payment. As we discussed and you agreed, ours is a predatory loan made by an unscrupulous broker which HSBC subsequently purchased. The packaging and selling of mortgage-backed securities allowed banks like HSBC to buy loans you knew were going to be unsustainable and uncollectable. In fact, HSBC acknowledges that its ARMs that were originated in the second half of 2005 were indeed impaired.

I have a better understanding than I used to about the ways in which these predatory loans were made, the effects of Pooling and Servicing Agreements, the responsibility of servicers, and the many problems HSBC has been having in recent months with lawsuits regarding similar loans. The corporate procedures adopted by HSBC and its agents, including MERS, are inadequate to survive judicial scrutiny in Iowa. My US Senators and others know of my husband's and my plight, also. We have discussed Mr. McDonagh's hollow commitment to modify loans to create longterm affordability at the Homeownership Preservation Summit at the US Capitol in May 2007.

I look forward to a reconsideration of our loan modification before my husband retires in July. You said that you can do a lot better than the temporary $100 reduction we qualified for a couple of years ago. I would also like to confirm that you agreed to extend the due date of our May payment until June 15th. It is my understanding that this will not result in any action on HSBC's part as far as accelerating the loan. Since our situation has no chance of improving, I hope that within the next few weeks HSBC is in the position to make permanent modifications. The stress of this situation is detrimental to both me and my husband.

Likewise, I truly believe you want to help homeowners by keeping them in their homes. If our payment is modified, we will be able to continue making our payments, and you will enjoy the benefit of a performing asset in your portfolio.

[Lori Kelly]

WHAT A GREAT LETTER!

I know who to ask when I need help writing a letter.

I wish you the best of luck Deb.

Please keep us posted.
And let us know if we can do anything for you.

[eaglett1111]

Isn't HSBC a foreign-owned bank? Is it British?

Hmmmm. With all of the issues on the oil spill and it being BP that caused it I wonder if now would be a good time to bend some politicians' ears and say - hey, did you know there is a British bank that has chosen not to participate in HAMP?

[Enigma]

From wikipedia:

HSBC
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the history of the HSBC Group prior to the founding of HSBC Holdings in 1990, see The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
HSBC Holdings plc
滙豐控股有限公司 HSBC Holdings PLC logo
Type Public
LSE: HSBA
SEHK: 005
NYSE: HBC
Euronext: HSB
BSX: 1077223879
Industry Banking
Financial services
Investment services
Founded Hong Kong (1865 (1865))
Founder(s) Thomas Sutherland
Headquarters London, United Kingdom[1]
Number of locations 9,500 offices in 88 countries & territories
Area served Worldwide
Key people Stephen Green
(Group Chairman)
Michael Geoghegan
(Group CEO)
Products Finance and insurance
Consumer Banking
Corporate Banking
Investment Banking
Investment Management
Global Wealth Management
Private Equity
Mortgages
Credit Cards
Revenue ▼ $103.74 billion (2009)[2]
Operating income ▼ $7.079 billion (2009)[2]
Profit ▼ $5.834 billion (2009)[2]
Total assets ▼ $2.364 trillion (2009)[2]
Total equity ▲ $128.299 billion (2009)[2]
Employees 302,000 (2009)[2]
Subsidiaries HSBC Bank plc
HSBC GLT India
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
HSBC Bank USA
HSBC Bank Middle East
HSBC Mexico
HSBC Bank Brazil
HSBC Finance
Website HSBC.com

HSBC Holdings plc (traditional Chinese: 滙豐控股有限公司) is a financial services corporation incorporated in the United Kingdom in 1990 following its name change from The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and headquartered in London, United Kingdom since 1993.[1] As of 2010, it is both the world's largest banking and financial services group and the world's 8th largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine.[3][4] Hong Kong served as the bank's headquarters until 1992 when it moved to London as a condition of completing the acquisition of Midland Bank and as the handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty approached.[5] Today, whilst no single geographical area dominates the group's earnings, Hong Kong still continues to be a significant source of its income. Recent acquisitions and expansion in China are returning HSBC to part of its roots.[6] HSBC has an enormous operational base in Asia and significant lending, investment, and insurance activities around the world. The company has a global reach and financial fundamentals matched by few other banking or financial multinationals.[7]

HSBC is listed on the London, New York, Hong Kong, Paris and Bermuda Stock Exchanges, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index and the Hang Seng Index.