Bay Area Homeowner Writes to Say Thank You to Mandelman Matters and Bank of America

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Tashakkur!

“Tashakkur.” It’s how you say “thank you” in Afghanistan. And it’s appropriate because the homeowner who wrote to me today to thank me for helping get his loan modified by Bank of America last month, is a family from Afghanistan.

Ahsan Kushkaki discovered Mandelman Matters for the very first time after Bank of America denied his loan modification and he was desperately searching online to find someone who might be able to help. After finding several thank you letters that homeowners have written to me in the past… he contacted me. His situation involved a co-borrower who was objecting to the loan being modified, and threatening to sue the bank if it was modified it against his wishes.

As it turned out, all he needed was someone to explain to Bank of America that Fannie Mae guidelines said it was okay to modify as long as the co-borrower signed a quit claim deed, which had been done in 2008 in this case. It really was not a big deal… I wrote up the facts of the situation and sent it to an exec at the servicer that I know and trust. Bank of America agreed with that assessment of Fannie’s rules, and permanently modified the loan about a month later.

Ahsan wanted to add his own thank you letter to the others in the hopes that another homeowner might find his letter one day, just as he had found the letters written by others, and save their home as a result. I couldn’t say no to that request, so below is the letter I received today from my new Afghani friend from the Bay Area… Ahsan Kushkiki.

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December 9, 2013

Hello Mandelman Matters Readers,

I was approved for Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) trial modification in April of 2013. My trial payments started on June 1, 2013 and would last three months. My lender is Fannie Mae and my servicer is Bank of America (BofA).

After successful completion of the three months trial payments, I received the HAMP permanent modification agreement on August 8, 2013, with an effective date of modification on September 1, 2013. My family and I were so happy for the $1600/month savings this modification provided.

But the story really starts here. I had a co-borrower (who was a good friend of mine at the time) who doesn’t live in the property and didn’t pay a penny towards the down payment on the house in June of 2008. On August 2008, he signed a Quit Claim deed and I took over responsibility for the loan and the home.

Due to my applying for the loan modification his credit was damaged and he got very mad at me. He hired an attorney and sent Bank of America a letter stating that he would not agree to the modification, would not sign it, and if BofA were to proceed with the modification, he would sue the bank.

As a result, on Friday August 16, 2013, I received a letter from BofA stating that I was being denied the modification due to my co-borrower’s refusal to sign off on it. I didn’t know whom to contact for help with this problem. I started searching the Internet, and luckily, I found the success stories written by homeowners about Martin Andelman on Mandelman Matters.

On Tuesday September 24, 2013, I emailed Mr. Andelman and described my situation in some detail. I also sent him a text message asking for his help. The very next day, on Wednesday at 2:45 AM, I received a text response from Mr. Andelman: “Okay…..got it. Yes, I will help you today,” he replied.

Mr. Andelman sent an email at 7:00 AM that same day to an executive he knew at Bank of America, and he got a response back 30 minutes later. He then contacted me and told me that Bank of America would escalate and review my file. He said he was confident that everything would be fine and we would get our permanent modification.

To make a long story short, because of Mr. Andelman’s help, just over a month later, on November 11, 2013, I received the executed HAMP agreement for a permanent modification from Bank of America… and WITHOUT my co-borrower’s signature being required. It felt like a miracle and I thanked him over and over again.

And Mr. Andelman didn’t charge me a penny for this million-dollar service. He wouldn’t accept any money even though I told him what he did was worth so much to me and my family. All he would accept as payment was my invitation to come for dinner.

So, I’m writing now like the other homeowners have to say thanks a million to Mr. Andelman. God bless him and his family. Without his help, I don’t know what we would have done, but I know it wouldn’t have gone as smoothly as it did without him.

If you have any question please contact me at (925) 864-0148.

Best regards,

Ahsan

Ahsan Kushkaki

Homeowner from Northern California

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Thank you Ahsan… I appreciate your kind words and I’m glad I could help get your situation resolved, but it was you much more than me that made it happen. All I did was bring the details of your situation to the attention of the right people at Bank of America and they took care of everything from that point forward.

And thank you for inviting me to your home for dinner, it was not necessary, but I’ll let you know the next time my wife and I are planning to spend time in Berkeley and we’ll make a plan to get together then. How could I pass up a chance to try some home cooked Afghani cuisine?

So, congratulations on getting your loan permanently modified, and again… thank you for writing to me… I’ve heard from other homeowners that letters like yours give them hope.

Mandelman out.