Saving their homes: Did Obama help?
In June, CNNMoney profiled homeowners hoping to qualify for President Obama's foreclosure-prevention plan. Four months later, we check in on our panel.
The father of five had been struggling since losing his job as a $63,000-a-year accountant at Bank of America in 2006. The only work he could find was as a customer service representative at Wachovia for less than $12 an hour.
Richmond sent in his Obama paperwork in April, only to spend months in limbo and be told that his application is still being processed. Then he learned he would receive a trial modification that would lower his payments to $786 from $1,600 a month.
The trial, which was originally supposed to last three months, dragged on for five. Every time he called his loan servicer, SunTrust, he got a different story about when he'd learn if he qualified for a permanent adjustment. Meanwhile, since he was still listed as delinquent, his credit was getting slammed.
A SunTrust spokesman declined to comment on Richmond's case. But a week after being contacted by CNNMoney.com, the bank sent him his final loan modification paperwork and told him he would now be listed as current on his credit report.
"I'm relieved the end is in sight, but it's not done until the loan has been changed," Richmond said.
NEXT: Dawn Porter: Didn't qualify
