Please bear with me, I am a reader not a writer but I wanted to share my refi story. I hope that maybe this could work for those who are in a similar situation.
The best thing about today, I must admit, has been saying goodbye to Wells Fargo - courtesy of my local credit union.
We have (had!) our first mortgage with Wells Fargo. We purchased the house nine years ago. We had our second with my local credit union where I have been a member since I was 18 - I'm now 40. (We wanted the 1st to be with the cu but at the time they could not come close to the rate Wells Fargo offered us.)
Our second was due to balloon in May, so I contacted the cu to see what we would need to do with it. I figured it would be refinanced but still remain a 2nd mortgage. They asked if I was open to various ideas and I said yes I was open to whatever would work best for us both. After a couple days I received a call back from them asking me if it would be okay if the cu bought out our 1st from Wells Fargo and the two mortgages would be combined and thus owned by the cu. The interest rate was low, combining the two would save us quite a bit each month and this way the cu would be better off as the only holder of the mortgage. I was psyched but skeptical as I knew we were slightly under water. No worries she said, she had taken a couple days to call back because the proposal had already been seen and approved by the board who were aware that there isn't equity in the house.
Long story short, we closed today. We were very lucky. Yes, we have decent credit and and steady income which I know helped but ultimately I credit the credit union. It is a win-win for us both.
I am sure there are those in my Kos family that are in similar situations. Please, member or not, contact your local credit union and see if they can be of help.