I am trying to do a refi under the obama stimulus ...

Unfortunately you are another statistic of the game being played on homeowners. Appraisals can vary by 10% either way so there is approx. $30k variance in how your appraisal can come out.  The standards are subjective and subject to interpretation.

With that said if HSBC really wanted to do the refi they could find the other $10k needed.

Here's one better look at your mortgage or deed of trust depending on what state you are in.  Look at the first few pages for MERS as nominee...   

Then google "where's the note" and 'Kansas supreme court decision against MERS". 

It's not necessary to have MERS as nominee but suffice it to say they don't have your original note. No note means no claim, no claim means the bank defrauded you.  That means you can force a really good modification or rescind the mortgage for fraud.

I'm in this game every day, personally rescinding 5 mortgages for lender fraud and you need to take the gloves off to beat the crooked lenders at their own game.

You may not believe lenders are that nefarious, but they are illegally foreclosing on thousands of homeowners every day with no standing to do so.  That's a fact.

hope that helps

For a good majority of homeowners, loan modifications don't work.However, there are companies out there like American Homeowner Preservation that can make an impact on the housing market.

American Homeowner Preservation has a great concept. Most other programs help families by modifying loans to reduce the interest rate and payments temporarily. However, this does not rectify the underwater situation where families owe $100,000 on a house worth $70,000. AHP addresses this, providing a long-term solution for homeowners in trouble. My understanding is that AHP started a pilot program in Northeast Ohio to test their concept and then did not get the bond financing they anticipated, and that they are now using private investorsfinancing to buy the homes to keep the families from foreclosure. We should support AHP and similar programs: this is a solution which costs no taxpayer money and works because the losses are taken by the banks, which is the way it should be.

American Homeowner Preservation's plan makes some sense. For a change, this is not taxpayer-funded and the banks are taking the hits, which is the way it should be. We need more fresh ideas like this if we are going to get out of this mess. I wish Obama the best, but his mortgage modification plan is so cumbersome and does not go to the root of the problem: that many homeowners will not stay motivated to pay their mortgage when they owe significantly more than their houses are worth.

For more information, please visit American Homeowner Preservation's website at www.ahphelp.com

Is HSBC your lender or were you applying for a loan with them?  Are you having a hardship or close to having a hardship? If so you could apply for the HAMP program to modify your loan.

Anna Cuevas

www.askaloanmodguru.com