The mortgage crisis

We pay our mortgage every month. On time. Some months it even arrives early. We pay in full. We bought this condo when we were both employed bringing home about 30percent more than we are now. Our mortgage payment now takes up more than half of our take home pay, which everyone says is a big no-no.

We have tried for more than a year to get Wells Fargo, who I HATE, to refinance or modify our loan. Each time we get rejected for reasons that escape me. We are not asking to pay less than is owed (although we would certainly take it). All I want is to get locked into a 30 year fixed, and if that means we are paying more than we are paying now, than so be it. We can't rent this place out until we refinance, and as I have noted many times, these 800 sf are driving me bonkers!

Each time they reject us they immediately ask us to start short sale proceedings! They called at 8 pm on New Years Eve to do this and I nearly lost it. We do not want to do short sale!!! And why would they? They would lose money. Why won't they help us to pay what is owed? We want to be fair. We are not asking for special treatment.

We have excellent credit, well north of 700 for both of us on all three credit tables. But when I read articles like this, I wonder, should we just stop paying? Would that finally get their attention?

This is what gauls me the most about this crisis. People who don't pay, who are falling behind and over extended and taking advantage of the system, they are the one's who get help. But us, the honest people, get nothing. A very good friend named Pat told us that in order to get the bank to pay attention, Pat stopped paying. Eventually the bank did pay attention, the loan was modified and while Pat still owes the same amount overall, the payments have actually gone down!!

I actually hate Wells Fargo. I am sure they are not alone in their inability or lack of a desire to help. While I don't want to do anything to hurt our credit, something I have to believe will help us in the long run to keep high, I also sometimes wonder if not paying is the way to go?