Amgen RIF and the Bridge Loan - Action Required

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Can we get back to the issue of Amgen's antics concerning their Bridge Loans? Or as they're now being called, "Bridge to Nowhere Loans."

I urge anyone involved, who can muster up the motivation, in spite of all the craziness and diversion, to write that letter to big media (and anyone else you think needs to know). This story needs to be heard, in a big way. Let's share how Amgen treat it's employees, once we're here. Keep talking.

Based on the daily news, there's no time like the present to continue the focus on Amgen. The big business, business model, filled with non-disclosure and minimal regulatory oversight is failing. Too much power=too much greed=less and less consumer protection. Not that many years ago we actually had agencies that protected consumers. I don't know how exactly, but they have virtually disappeared. I guess that's what deregulation means.
 












Talk to a real estate attorney and ask them to review the Loan Document for your mortgage loan and ask them to see if the GFE (Good Faith Estimates) were made.

One of the problem in California is realtors represent as "Attorney" for the buyer. That is a conflict of interest. When we were in the market , I spoke to a major realtor which start with letter "T", she tried to convince me that I dont need a attorney to review the loan documents....I just walked away...I knew Realtors and the lenders were involved in this "Ponzi" scheme.

Get a attorney.

I am not a attorney.
 






Re: News Article quoted from Ventura COunty Star

"Amgen's help now problem for some
Laid-off workers' home loans to end
By Allison Bruce (Contact)
Saturday, July 26, 2008

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To recruit top employees to Ventura County, Amgen Inc. took on the role of a bank, offering low-interest home loans.

But now that the housing market has taken a turn for the worse, employees the company laid off in the fall have watched their home values decline and are in a tight spot.

Take the case of one county resident who has been out of a job since the round of layoffs in October. He had been recruited from out of the state by Amgen and the company offered him a 3 percent second mortgage to buy a home.

When he lost his job, he was told he would have a year to pay it off. Meanwhile, the housing market was dropping.

Amgen tried to make adjustments for employees hit by the layoffs, said Sarah Rockwell, a company spokeswoman.

Rather than ask those with second mortgages with the company to pay them off within 30 days — the standard requirement for those who leave the company — Amgen told employees affected by the layoffs that they would have a year, she said.

"Because they weren't prepared to be leaving the company, we were trying to take that into consideration and give them additional time," she said.

But the tanking market created a situation the company had not encountered before. Even people who moved to land new jobs and who managed their money well were unable to sell their homes. They watched their credit spiral downward as their homes moved toward foreclosure.

Real estate agent Anthony Courchaine is representing the former employee in his attempts to sell his home. They had a buyer, but couldn't complete the deal because Amgen wouldn't sign off on a sale that got the company less than half the amount of the second mortgage. The buyers walked, and the housing market continued to fall.

Courchaine is an expert in "short sales," when clients sell homes for less than what they owe on the mortgage. Often lenders will agree to a short sale to avoid a foreclosure, forgiving the rest of what is owed. They don't have to, however.

The client was making headway with the lender behind the first mortgage toward a short sale, but Amgen wanted him to take an unsecured loan for the amount of the second mortgage, Courchaine said.

"In a nutshell, they acted as a bank lending money. Now, they're not willing to act as a bank when the times get tough, when all the other banks are taking their lumps," he said.

There have been other offers on the home since then, but each is lower than the first and the company still won't approve the sale, Courchaine said.

His client is not the only one running into the problem, he said.

Rockwell said she was not aware of any other company that offered second mortgage loans to employees below the executive level. That puts Amgen in a unique situation in the current market.

When asked why the company would not agree to a short sale, Rockwell said she did not have specific answers, but Amgen was looking for ways to help.

"In this market that we're facing, there are different options people can explore with their real estate agent or financial advisers," she said. "We continue to explore how the company might be able to help in these difficult times."

Courchaine said his client has made every effort to do the right thing and get Amgen back as much money as he can. In a short period of time, the client has been hit with unemployment, bad credit and now pending foreclosure.

A notice of default has not been filed on his home, but "that could happen any day," Courchaine said.

Foreclosures force down other home prices. That doesn't create a good situation for a local company that has a lot of employees in the area, he said.

"Each foreclosure out there really drops property values," he said. "For them to contribute to that is, I think, absurd"
 












Anonymous said:
Talk to a real estate attorney and ask them to review the Loan Document for your mortgage loan and ask them to see if the GFE (Good Faith Estimates) were made.

One of the problem in California is realtors represent as "Attorney" for the buyer. That is a conflict of interest. When we were in the market , I spoke to a major realtor which start with letter "T", she tried to convince me that I dont need a attorney to review the loan documents....I just walked away...I knew Realtors and the lenders were involved in this "Ponzi" scheme.

Get a attorney.

I am not a attorney.
Click to expand...

Can you recommend a real estate attorney in the TO area? Thx.
 






Amgen sent a letter giving notice that they have pushed back the 2nd mortgage repayment date from February 2 to March 15. BFD. We still won't have the money and will lose our house. I guess Kevin Sharer isn't satisfied with all the money he's making because he wants our house, too.

Hire us, relocate us, lay us off and take our house.

It's all about greed.
 






Re: News Article quoted from Ventura COunty Star

Foreclosed. December 2008. No bonus for him but he got boned alright.

Ex-Amgen staff, ARE YOU NEXT or do you have the money to pay the bridge loan back?




Anonymous said:
"Amgen's help now problem for some
Laid-off workers' home loans to end

But now that the housing market has taken a turn for the worse, employees the company laid off in the fall have watched their home values decline and are in a tight spot.

Real estate agent Anthony Courchaine is representing the former employee in his attempts to sell his home. They had a buyer, but couldn't complete the deal because Amgen wouldn't sign off on a sale that got the company less than half the amount of the second mortgage. The buyers walked, and the housing market continued to fall.

Courchaine is an expert in "short sales," when clients sell homes for less than what they owe on the mortgage. Often lenders will agree to a short sale to avoid a foreclosure, forgiving the rest of what is owed. They don't have to, however.

The client was making headway with the lender behind the first mortgage toward a short sale, but Amgen wanted him to take an unsecured loan for the amount of the second mortgage, Courchaine said.

"In a nutshell, they acted as a bank lending money. Now, they're not willing to act as a bank when the times get tough, when all the other banks are taking their lumps," he said.

There have been other offers on the home since then, but each is lower than the first and the company still won't approve the sale, Courchaine said.

His client is not the only one running into the problem, he said.

Courchaine said his client has made every effort to do the right thing and get Amgen back as much money as he can. In a short period of time, the client has been hit with unemployment, bad credit and now pending foreclosure.

A notice of default has not been filed on his home, but "that could happen any day," Courchaine said.
Click to expand...
 






Let's talk facts !

First, if Amgen holds a second trust deed and they foreclose on their position, they must first cover the first trust deed. That's a heck of a lot of money.

Does Amgen want this? NO ! It's better to lose the second. Write it off and let it hit the bottom line that will not make the shareholders happy. Let them buy the first trust deed and the bottom line really gets ugly. With all those homes they own, the state may ask them to get a real estate license.

Amgen, lose the second trust deed. It's a cheaper deal.
 






I received a letter extending the loan until May and an address to begin sending interest payments at my discretion.

I am at a point where I just may have to take the credit hit and walk on the first and the second. However, there are some tax issues I need to get resolved before taking this tact.

Amgen could forgive the loans, write off the debt, if they really cared. At the rate the market is moving, recovery to brek even may take 8 to ten years. My credit will ecover faster than that.
 






Anonymous said:
I received a letter extending the loan until May and an address to begin sending interest payments at my discretion.

I am at a point where I just may have to take the credit hit and walk on the first and the second. However, there are some tax issues I need to get resolved before taking this tact.

Amgen could forgive the loans, write off the debt, if they really cared. At the rate the market is moving, recovery to brek even may take 8 to ten years. My credit will ecover faster than that.
Click to expand...

The last BIG (California) housing plunge began in 1990 and lasted to about 2001. Yes, ten years is not unthinkable.
 












Anonymous said:
What did you decide to do? May is only a few months away. I am not sure I can rely on Obama's rescue plan?
Click to expand...

Let Amgen foreclose if they want to call it in much earlier than the original terms. I don't have the money to pay it back and I can't get financing during this credit crunch.

Do you think Amgen will go to Congress to ask for a bailout?
 












we've stopped making payments on the first and are letting the house go. My new job is not in the area and I'm more than $150k underwater on the home. my credit will recover before then. I'm going to see if I can leave the deed in lieu of foreclosure. I suppose it will depend on whether Amgen will foreclose when negotiating with the bank. The bank will get their money out of the house... Amgen won't.
 












I left two years ago, stopped paying, they rolled it into payments ahead later.
They know they have no choice but to get on line behind your primary note and try to help
 






Anonymous said:
we've stopped making payments on the first and are letting the house go. My new job is not in the area and I'm more than $150k underwater on the home. my credit will recover before then. I'm going to see if I can leave the deed in lieu of foreclosure. I suppose it will depend on whether Amgen will foreclose when negotiating with the bank. The bank will get their money out of the house... Amgen won't.
Click to expand...

They always RIF the ones that they gave a relocation package?

Average ATO package was $26000 in 2006

I think ATO like to make trouble?
 


















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