Impact 5: Best advice when contacting your lender about your mortgage

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - Piles of paperwork crowd Kathy Sorkin's home office. The Palm Beach Gardens resident is swamped. She is underwater on the mortgage for her five-bedroom three-bath house. She bought it for $549,000 in 2005 - it's now worth about $360,000.

"My house means everything to me. The thought of losing it is beyond comprehension," says Sorkin.

Sorkin once owned her own production company. Then she contracted Lyme disease and had to quit work. Disability payments don't come close to covering her monthly house payment. Now, her home is in foreclosure. Sorkin says trying to talk to her lender is a nightmare, because she can never speak with the same person twice.

"I feel that it's just been a total lack of communication. You can't have a real conversation, that's my frustration," says Sorkin.

Real Estate lawyer Dan Kaskel says the disconnect is all too common.

"Sometimes banks are foreclosing and trying to work out a mortgage because the two departments don't know they're working with the same borrower," says Kaskel.

Kaskel offers advice for homeowners trying to escape the runaround. He says when you're on the phone with your lender, always take notes about your discussion, get the name of the person you spoke with, and all of their including their email address. He says be proactive--make follow up calls. Don't wait for your lender to do it.

"Those who are persistent and keep records will get results," says Kaskel.

Sorkin hopes her persistence will pay off. she's waiting for  approval on a loan modification so she can stay in her home--hoping she can put her  mortgage mess behind her.

More Information:

For free legal advice you can contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing counselors can help you understand the laws and your options, as well as organize your finances. You can find a HUD-approved housing counselor near you by calling 1(800)569-4287.