Tina and Rick Bright are feeling nervous, anxious and excited as they wait to meet with a Chase Bank counselor.
They want to see what can be done about lowering their monthly payments on the home they bought in Lathrop, near Tracy last November, just before the family income dropped dramatically.
"My husband was in concrete work for 25 years and now he is unemployed. He started working again for a landscaping company, but he is only working two days a week," Tina Bright said.
"By far the No. 1 reason we are seeing for modification is unemployment. Folks were employed when they took out the loan and either both or at least one of the borrowers have been impacted by employment," Chase Bank Vice President Tai Mamea said.
Chase customers turn over their income documentation to counselors. Two weeks later those homeowners have an answer as to whether they qualify for a modification.
That answer is based mostly on the ratio of customer's debt to the customers' income.
"So in some cases we are seeing folks that are 60 percent their housing debt ratio and with their income to the housing debt ratio, we are able to bring down that we are hoping to bring down 31 percent," Mamea said.
Some homeowners are angry. Earlier this week, a coalition of Contra Costa County families, labor and community allies converged on a Chase Bank in Richmond to present it with a $16 billion bill for its role in the foreclosure mess.
Another protest also took place in San Francisco earlier in the week.
Not all of those looking for a modification are in danger of losing their home. Rick bright would like a modification to make life a little more bearable.
"Beans as a meal more nice a week than we would like and we will get through it," Rick Bright said.
On Thursday, 400 people came to the event to get loan modifications and about 2,000 more are expected today.
