Joe Dye Culik

Joe Culik

I really appreciate this individual taking the time to connect with us by submitting a review. We consider any review of the work we do important since we constantly seek to improve the quality of work we offer clients. I have carefully reviewed our client records and cannot find anything that correlates to the events described in this review. I would, however, warmly welcome this individual to contact me directly so I can better understand and address their frustrations. In the meantime, I will explain a little about how the modification process and our firm operates. We definitely understand the frustration with how long the legal process can take. In cases of loan modifications, we are often required to “hurry up and wait,” that is, to provide information and make demands on the bank, and then wait for a period of time that is mandated under the loan-modification guidelines or other applicable laws. Because of this, from the client’s perspective, it may feel like there is very little happening. This is natural -- after all, when it’s your house, any amount of time can feel like an eternity. We make every effort during this period to keep the client updated and I have very qualified associate attorneys who work with me to continually push cases forward and ensure that clients are connected to the process and get very timely responses to any question or concern. Even with an attorney involved, the companies we go up against sometimes cause delays or fail to resolve issues in a timely manner. This, after all, is what they’re good at. But even if the issue can’t always be resolved immediately, going up against those companies is what we’re good at, and why we’re here. Other times, a change in the client’s circumstances, such as a change in income, may make it necessary to take additional steps in the process. It sounds as if one of these issues may have arisen in this particular case. Legal outcomes can be predicted, but they can’t be guaranteed. We try to make this clear from the start so that clients’ expectations are both optimistic and realistic. Rather than making impossible claims about what we can do, we try to keep expectations reasonable -- not all cases end the same because of the number of loan modification programs and variations in guidelines between them. We can guarantee, however, that we have the expertise to make sure our clients get the best chance possible to save their homes. We do try to be flexible by offering payment plans and other accommodations so that the client can afford legal representations. This makes it so that clients can afford to hire us, and so that we can afford to perform the work we do for our clients. But just as with a doctor, accountant, or other professional engaged to perform a service, our capacity to perform legal services depends in part on the client’s participation in the representation including timely responses, document submission, and payment. Our record shows that we have worked extremely hard to push the banks to do what we believe is right, which is to protect consumers and keep homeowners in their homes whenever possible. Sometimes we do this with a lawsuit against the banks, sometimes with a bankruptcy, and sometimes with a loan modification. We have stopped foreclosures on the eve of the sale with restraining orders and injunctions, eliminated debts in bankruptcies, gone after abusive banks and debt collectors, and even rescinded foreclosure sales for clients who contacted us after a foreclosure already took place. I hope that this person will take advantage of our commitment to clients by contacting me directly with any concerns so that I can address them to their satisfaction. As you can see from some of the other reviews on here, we work very hard to get our clients the results they want against all odds.