3/7/2010 8:51 PM (PST)

You mention the word “trust” several times in your question. It’s a great question! And the question of “who did you trust” should be front and center when the history books are written whenever our nation emerges from the mortgage market meltdown and its aftermath (and that’s been a horrific confusion in and of itself). It’s probably a safe bet that history will not be kind to servicers because of all the times they proceeded with foreclosure sales and disregarded the review procedures under HAMP. But there’s lots of blame to go around in front of and behind the scenes. Behind the scenes who knows – maybe the “pool” that your mortgage is in has already maxed out on the number of modifications that are allowed under the investors’ rules that are laid out in the contracts with your servicer – making the servicer nervous about being sued. It’s a complicated mess.
At any rate, you said the holder of your mortgage doesn’t want to help and you also asked about Liberty Law. There are a few businesses by this name across the country and your profile doesn’t indicate what state you are in nor the location of the company. If you deal with an out of state company it will be hard to hold them accountable. Here’s a report on Liberty Law in So Cal:

http://www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/Liberty-Law-Firm-100091182
The firm’s length of time in business is minimal (since Sept 2009, according to our records) – a red flag in and of itself, so there hasn’t been enough time for complaints or other public feedback to accumulate. Effective October, 2009 in California, it is illegal to collect any fees, regardless of the form, for negotiating or attempting to negotiate a loan modification for a residential mortgage. All modification services must be fully completed before any money can be collected. It is also illegal to divide fees or services into components for the purpose of avoiding this law. HUD approved housing counseling agencies are exempt from this law and we generally recommend that homeowners start their loan mod journey by calling a HUD-approved nonprofit housing counselor (the nat’l hotline is 888-995-4673). They can evaluate your housing options, open lines of communication with mortgage lenders, negotiate a loan modification, and help you with household budgeting, all at no cost.
If you've read other loan mod questions in this forum, you'll know that state regulators and the FTC recommend that homeowners should never pay any up-front fees and be on the lookout for high-pressure sales tactics.
For more info on loan modification, check out the LABBB's Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BBB-of-the-Southland/117568537756?v=app_2347471856

Specifically, check out the "Notes" on various loan mod topics and info that can apply to homeowners anywhere.

I‘ve reached the text limits, so I’ll add something about BBB ratings in the next post. Good luck, the loan mod journey is not easy, by any means.

3/7/2010 8:51 PM (PST)

Some quick info on BBB ratings in general since you asked: the rating a Better Business Bureau assigns a company is determined by a scoring algorithm that includes such elements as its type of business, length of time in business, compliance with competency licensing requirements, complaint volume, complaint history, seriousness of complaints, complaint response behavior, whether or not the business has committed to our standards, and our experience with the industry that the business is in (some are more problematic than others). Complaint generation risk and companies' resolution behaviors have been tracked and scored by BBBs across the nation for the past one hundred years. Our perspective and methods still stand the test of time and are an important and valid tool and benchmark for both consumers and businesses for evaluating marketplace interactions.

3/26/2010 8:51 PM (PST)

Kept trying to find this company on the BBB using the above link, but it appears that the last few numbers in the address were wrong. Here is an updated address for Liberty Law on the BBB: http://www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/Liberty-Law-Firm-100078220 Hope that helps.

4/20/2010 7:13 PM (PST)

Has anyone heard of Principal Reduction Option Program (PROP)?
We can get your loan amount negotiated down to its current market value.

If you need more info, I can be reached at 909-816-5291 (Ian)

5/11/2010 6:58 PM (PST)

Also may want to check out the following news story which shows that Liberty's lawyer is getting disbarred for his actions: http://www.ktla.com/videobeta/94862462-4a2e-4316-bb6d-c929ffd378d2/News/State-Bar-Wants-to-Revoke-Home-Loan-Lawyer-s-License-After-Complaints

7/7/2010 8:12 AM (PST)

Paul,

The rating a Better Business Bureau assigns a company is determined by a scoring algorithm that includes such elements as its type of business, length of time in business, compliance with competency licensing requirements, complaint volume, complaint history, seriousness of complaints, complaint response behavior, whether or not the business has committed to our standards, and our experience with the industry that the business is in (some are more problematic than others). Complaint generation risk and companies' resolution behaviors have been tracked and scored by BBBs across the nation for the past one hundred years. Our perspective and methods still stand the test of time and are an important and valid tool and benchmark for both consumers and businesses for evaluating marketplace interactions.