The payments are part of a previously announced, $8.4 billion, multistate settlement with Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America. Connecticut’s piece of the $113 million installment comes to $1.27 million.

In October 2008 Bank of America initially agreed to settle the states’ suits for $8.4 billion, and a final deal was finally worked out in June, Blumenthal said.

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Wells Fargo and Saxon Mortgage were paid using their online websites on February 12, 2010. Wells Fargo did not charge for using this payment feature. Saxon Mortgage used Western Union to process their online payment and charged $2.50 for this service. The information from the previous article remained consistent regarding the fees charged and payment method.

I used First Class Postage and mailed the February payment to First Horizon / MetLife. Dancing Snoopy Dog did not get the extra $11.00 processing fee for online payment. I saved the fee and paid an $11.00 to principal reduction.

Everhome Mortgage surprised me with their fee. Based on their payment information:

“Pay Online – And make a one-time payment. There’s no fee when you submit your payment on or before the due date. There is a $12 fee for payments received after the due date. Payments received by 5:00 p.m., EST will be posted the same day. Payments received after that time will be credited the next business day.”

“Pay by Phone:
Call us toll-free at 800.669.9721. You’ll enter your loan number and then select option 6.”
The pay by phone option did not inlcude the information regarding the fee. That information is probably provided during the transactions via pre-recorded messages. I did not make the call to utilize the service.

I wrote a check (with my account on the information line) and mailed it with the EverHome Mortgage coupon via USPS Priority mail. The USPS services cost is $4.85 and provides delivery confirmation. I would rather pay the extra postage for enhanced processing to the United States Postal Service than what I consider an undeserved or unearned $12.00 to EverHome Mortgage. I thought First Horizon / MetLife was expensive for using their online service early or not, but the $12.00 fee charged by EverHome Mortgage really took the cake. To add insult to injury, the mortgage with EverHome is an FHA/HUD mortgage form 1996.

If I can “afford” to pay a late fee or voluntary $11.00 or $12.00 for online payment each month, I can afford “Feed my kitty”. I use their fees to make a higher payment and use it to reduce the principal. I pay myself first and a little more each month. By paying the fees to my own account then I feel that I am getting over on EverHome and Snoopy has less reason to dance.

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The winner in the statement category is Wells Fargo. The W/F statement paper uses bold font and contrasting colored background to draw the eye to the information I need at a glance. Their entire statement, complete with payment coupon, can be copied or faxed on standard sized paper. For the compact size, more customer information is readily available on the front of the statement. Updates for customer address and telephone number are on the reverse of the payment coupon. Update information is printed one character per box and forces the borrower to be neat an aid to accuracy.

A close second in the statement category is Saxon. The different categories of information is separated in chart type blocks and accented by print in contrasting color. Customer service contact was on the back page of the statement and did not include informtion for hearing impaired customers. The statement information is standard size, but with payment coupon attached it would not scan or fax to standard size paper. Customer update information is on the reverse of the payment coupon, in a line format instead of blocked per character.

First Horizon statements use color highlight only on their name and logo. The balance of the statement is in black print. The category of information is divided into chart-type format and headline information is in bold font. Customer service information on the front page is limited to one telephone number and web address. Customer update information is on the reverse of the statement header. To use the update portion the statement is mutilated for personal file use and mailed separately from the mortgage payment. Also with payment coupon attached, the statement will not scan or fax to standard sized paper.

Everhome uses a coupon book. Contact information is included in the pages of the booklet. The drawback of a coupon book is that it obviously can not contain any current information about when a payment is received and how the payment is distributed.

W/F and Everhome charged no fee for online payment. Saxon charged $2.50 because the payment was handled by Western Union Speed Pay. First Horizon/MetLife charged a whopping $11.00 for using their website and paying online.

W/F, First Horizon, and Everhome allowed a higher payment for additional principal reduction when paying online. Saxon did not. I was unable to increase the payment from their “payment due” + processing fee.

W/F, Everhome, and Saxon payment confirmations (print for your records) were the most clear. Loan number and bank information and payment amount were on separate lines in a block. First Horizon payment amount and banking information were lost in a paragraph format below the loan information. I highlighted First Horizon information before filing for that reason.

I checked on the account activity information the next day, December 31. W/F and First Horizon indicated the payment received and the way the payment was allocated. Saxon reflected that a payment was received, but until the next statement is printed no distribution of the payment is available. Everhome did not update until January 5, 2010, even though the payment was made on December 30.

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Sometimes it is hard for the borrower to tell the difference between a mortgage broker and a correspondent lender. One reader voiced frustration over the time it took to close his loan. “I know they have the money, so why don’t they just do it”, he asked. Near the start of the mortgage crisis, his lender was actually a mortgage broker with no money at all.

Banks such as HSBC exited correspondent lending in part because they could not trust the loans submitted from correspondents.

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Now Mortgage Blues gets to report on the aftermath. Lawsuits continue to see America in search of a single culprit. In one such suit by the SEC three former executives of Irvine California-based New Century Financial Corp were accused by regulators Monday of misleading investors as its subprime loan business faltered.

Shouting “Our company is doing well” while slipping into bankruptcy or facing lawsuits is nothing new. For example Household International Chairman William F. Aldinger told employees at an annual meeting that Household International was doing well. Charges of predatory lending, followed by depressed stock prices, were filed almost immediately thereafter.

In the New Centruy case it is interesting to note that the SEC took almost three years to file charges. New Century was the nation’s second-largest lender to borrowers with spotty credit before its demise in April 2007 signaled an unfolding crisis in the mortgage and housing markets that set off a deep global recession.

New Century was late getting out in front of problems. By contrast HSBC alerted everyone to problems in the summer of 2007. HSBC, thanks in part to the bank’s purchase of Household International, lost approximatley $45 billion before the debacle was over.

Shady lenders, shady practices, questionable loans, poor standards, and not government regulation allowed these rogue companies to ruin the United States. Job losses, falling home prices, and foreclosures followed.

The final result is a United States economy in shambles as unemployment reaches levels not seen since the Great Depression.

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Here is a detailed report from a Pennsylvania resident. Her opinions are her own:

I’ve contributed to Saxonwatch for almost a year now. It’s given me a place to feel that I wasn’t alone in this horrible fight with Saxon Mortgage. So, when I got the news I felt the need to contribute – as I do, good or bad, so that others can take from it what they will.

After almost 2 years of fighting with Saxon and 6 months in limbo not knowing what was going on, we were notified that our HAMP modification is in its final stages. We should be receiving our documents within the next week.

In a Nutshell:
Saxon has lost or shredded multiple papers we’ve sent. Faxed umpteen times and called more than I can remember. In the end – the fight was worth it. It was my home I was fighting for and I’ll be damned if I was willing to walk away without a good fight.

Advice for others:

• Photocopy everything with your name, address, loan number, and number all documents. Make a copy for your own records – just in case. Because we know that “just in case” always happens with Saxon.

• Keep a log of everything that happens, any errors, messages and issues you come across. You never know when you’re going to need it.

• Get a contact on the inside. This makes things go so much easier. We all know their fax systems are not the best way to do business. See if you can send the documents via email to your inside informant.

• Get an advisor. Many states have free help. I used Neighborhood Housing Services. It’s good to know you have someone on your side to answer your questions truthful and honestly.

• Be prepared for the worst case senario. It might happen. Have a fall back plan ready.

• Have faith that what your fighting for is worth it. People have died for centuries in order to obtain their little corner of this earth. Most cases – with nothing on it. This is your home and it’s worth fighting for. Be prepared to fight a hard fight. Find strength from somewhere and know your efforts aren’t for nothing.

• In all honesty – Saxon isn’t a good company. They take advantage of those who are down and manipulate things to benefit them. But it takes people like me, you and this site to fight back for the rights of the people. Never surrender your rights.

Good Luck

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One old boy said he considered buying new pick up truck when the cash for clunkers program was in full swing. “I didn’t really need a newer truck but looked anyway. The trucks that would do the work to replace the one I drive didn’t get very good gas mileage either. I don’t drive enough to save and pay difference to make a payment and increased insurance. A little regular maintenance goes a long way when you know the history of the truck. I decided to wait to buy a different truck. I figure I could save more by buying a repossessed truck after the novelty wore off and they stopped making payments.”

Supposedly the government spent $339,000,000,000 ($339 Billion) in stimulus funds and created / saved 640,000 jobs. We are betting that most of the jobs “created or saved” were to administer and distribute the stimulus funds. First from the federal, then to the state, then various local governments and administrations. According to my calculation, each job cost more than $500,000 or about what each executive at Citi received as their basic compensation.

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Your minimum credit card payment is $113. The distribution of the payment was $60.24 interest. Show that as a fraction (60.24/113) Then solve for percentage (60.24 divided by 113 =). If you only make the minimum payment, then 53.3% is interest you pay to the bank and 46.7% actually reduces the balance owed.

On a basic savings account, the interest rate paid is .24%. If you deposit $100 for a year, how much will the bank pay you? (The bank will pay TWENTY FOUR CENTS.) A one time reduction of $100 on your credit card balance, will save the interest rate percentage charged over one year. At 13.24% interest APR you will NOT pay the bank $13.24 over 12 months. At 29.99% interest you will NOT pay the bank $29.99. If you double the $100 payment, then the amount you do NOT pay the bank in interest will also double.

I will pay more than the minimum payment and attempt to make every dollar I spend more productive. Every dollar I save in interest is money I have NOT Paid some bank or rich executive.

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Interest rates are already low. The Fed cannot drop rates to stimulate the economy.

A false sense of reality from cash-for-clunkers and other stimulus programs let people pretend that the economy has recovered.

Ben Bernanke said, in late September, that the recession was over. Really?

The truth is very simple. The slowdown is now coming home to roost. Going into the winter Americans prepare for heating bills and the holidays. Reality is here today. Bank balances are dwindling. IRA and 401-K accounts have not recovered.

Will we see ten more years of this? Personally I did not take my eye off of the ball while focus shifted to America’s health care debate.

In previous years voters wanted to know which side of the abortion debate potential candidates would be on. Health care is the same. Pick a side. Make them squirm. But don’t lose focus on the recession.

It will only get worse. Just look at the jobs report. The unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September, the highest since June 1983, as employers cut far more jobs than expected. The report is evidence that the worst recession since the 1930s is still inflicting widespread pain.

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CIC’s latest swoop on U.S. assets comes after the state-owned investment vehicle lined up to invest up to $2 billion in U.S. mortgages under a U.S. Treasury-backed plan, Reuters reported in August.

CIC, established by China’s Communist government in late 2007, plans to invest $600-$700 million each in three distressed asset investment funds.

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