Financially Strapped California Couple Gets Rewritten Countrywide Mortgage At 1% For Five Years

In Fullerton, California, The Orange County Register reports:

• John and Grayce Coffman got a killer deal on their Fullerton home's mortgage – just 1 percent interest for five years. That's a rate any homeowner can envy. But it came after six months of complex, sometimes contradictory, negotiations with the nation's largest home lender to avoid foreclosure. They couldn't afford their previous loan.

***

• Most borrowers probably can't get as sweet a deal as the Coffmans. The reason: it was a mistake. Countywide Financial wanted to help, but not with 1 percent interest for five years. It meant to offer 1 percent for the first year, with the rate increasing one percentage point for each of the next four years. It later decided to honor the error.

For more, see Loan modification saves home (Fullerton couple benefits from lender's mistake. Experts say most struggling homeowners aren't so lucky).