Ok, let me begin by saying that I'm probably the most gullable and down right dumbest man alive. I have gotten myself into a situation that could be down right fatal to my credit. Let me start from the beginning. I have been in the same line of work for over 15 years, and aside from an 10 month period back in 2001 when I was unemployed after a layoff, I have worked steadily and always been a "Corporate Man" - putting in my 60+ hours a week and always making sacrifices for the better of the company. I make a decent salary - around $150,000 after bonuses, etc and am two months into my company's Executive Training Program (estimate 12-18 months to complete), afterwhich my salary will increase rather substantially. My wife owns her own business and we have two small children. We had some credit problems back in 2001 after my layoff, but have had ZERO late payments in the past 3 years. My credit scores aren't great, but they have come a long ways since those credit problems in 2001. My current mid range score is 622. We owned our own home, but were interested in selling it and purchasing a new home. We had dealt with some problems with neighbors and felt a serious decline in the area where we were living and were looking for a more safe and quiet environment for our two children. We were contacted by a mortgage broker from the west coast in response to an online form that I filled out. He took down my information and called me back the next day indicating that he could definitely help us out. He sent me over a Preapproval letter that very same day and my wife and I contacted a realtor and put our house on the market. Our house sold literally before the realtor even had a chance to put a sign in the yard. Our previous home sold for $300,000. My wife and I began looking for a new home and were having a difficult time finding something suitable within the price range of our previous home. The pre-approval letter that my mortgage broker had sent me was for up to $550,000 but I was concerned about the mortgage payments that we would face with a $550,000 mortgage. After numerous phone conversations with my wife, myself, and our mortgage broker - he convinced my wife and I that we could get a "Quicken" type mortgage for $550,000 where our payments would be "minimal" for the first few years and then we could refinance this into a more traditional mortgage. I am currently earning an annual salary of $150,000 but have been selected to take part in our Executive Training program, which will take approximately 12-18 months, after which my salary will increase substantially. Anyway, our timeline for completing all of this was short to begin with and was shrinking every day that passed. We had to be out of our previous home, and we had found our "dream" home, which was listed at $549,000, but was being pursued by two other couples, therefore time was of the essence. I received a call from my mortgage broker and he explained that in order to get us closed on the new home within our short time frame that he was going to process the mortgage through a lender in California, and then as soon as we were closed he would start the process of getting the mortgage refinanced through a "Quicken" type loan where our payments would be much lower while I completed my Executive training. So, in my desperation, and faith in my mortgage broker, I agreed. My wife and I signed the closing papers and moved into our "dream" home approximately two months ago. However, now that we're in - I have not be able to get back in contact with my mortgage broker. I've left him COUNTLESS voicemails, emails, postal letters - and have tried every way imaginable to get in contact with him and he refuses to answer. My wife and I sat down and REALLY went through the loan documents for the mortgage that we've got and have found all kinds of things we weren't aware of - and that the lawyer skimmed through so fast during the closing that we didn't bother even reading (I know....one lesson I've learned about all of this is to ALWAYS read the fine print and never sign anything that I hadn't read). For instance...we didn't realize that the broker made over $15,000 between broker fees paid by us and "royalties" paid by the lender. We also weren't aware that there was a 2 Year PrePayment penalty - equal to 6 months payments on the first mortgage (this is spilt into a first and second mortgage). Now I don't know WHAT to do. My assumption is that the broker got his cash and now he's history. My wife and I have already paid one large mortgage payment and are getting ready to pay a second one. If we are unable to get our mortgage refinanced then I'm seriously worried about whether or not we can afford to keep up these payments until I get through my executive training program. Our broker made us all kinds of promises including helping us "consolidate" a handful of capital one/orchard bank credit cards into one card with a more reasonable interest rate - our current capital one/orchard bank cards have interest rates ranging from 27% to over 30%. He was also going to help us refinance both of our vehicles - one has an interest rate of 18% and the other 15%. I am so afraid of these payments overwhelming us and eventually causing us to become late and then killing my credit (i've had scores as low as 518 and will do literally anything from going back there again). My current mid score is 622 and I'm still working on it. PLEASE...anybody with any ideas, help me. I just got my family moved in and situated in our new house, and it will kill me (and them) to have to tell them that we have to move. I just need the next 12-18 months to breathe and then I will be more than able to afford these payments. Any ideas??? Some more background info - the house does have a full (unfinished) basement. I do some home remodeling/construction as a hobby and hope to finish it out soon, so I may be able to gain some equity by finishing the basement (bedroom w/2 exterior windows/egress points), full bathroom w/toilet, sink, tub-shower, and living area (approx 800-1000 sq feet of additional living space). The appraisal that was done for the purchase came in right at $549,000 and my current payments are $3,200 (9%)for the first and $1,100 (11.9%) for the second. Thanks in advance! russmabe@yahoo.com
