Couple Loses Home To Bank They Thought Was Helping Them
Editor’s Note: At Livinglies we have noticed a pattern of CitiMortgage deliberately providing inaccurate and conflicting information to homeowners to ensure a foreclosure will occur. The story below is representative of the typical CitiMortgage modification or attempt to stave off foreclosure that results in foreclosure.
GRAPEVINE (CBS11) – Elizabeth and David Ball have 21 years of memories at their Grapevine home. Elizabeth recalled the time her kids learned how to ride a bike or where they skateboarded. Every street corner has memories, but they don’t have their home.
The couple told CBS11 they lost their home to a bank they believed was helping them keep it. They said the whole process caught them by surprise.
In 2014, Mr. Ball lost his job. He took up a freelance job with an unsteady income. They decided to modify their mortgage loan which would lower their monthly payments. “We didn’t want to have to dip into our savings,” Elizabeth Ball said.
They called CitiMortgage, their mortgage company and started their loan modification process. “In one of the conversations, I was like should I make a house payment?” Elizabeth recalled asking the bank representative on the phone. “They were like no! Don’t do that because that will confuse the issue, that will really mess things up.”
As the couple started getting the documents together, they also started receiving foreclosure notices from CitiMortgage. Citi was working on their loan modification and their foreclosure.
They called the bank again. Elizabeth said the customer service rep told them not to worry, “She said, that department isn’t caught up with what we’re doing here in the modification department.”
Elizabeth and David say they trusted the service representatives they were speaking to.
“Never once did I truly believe that we were going to be foreclosed” Elizabeth said.
She believed everything was going to be take care of.
They recall the day when David received an eviction notice. Their home of 21 years was being foreclosed on and they had three days to get out of their home.
“I crumbled to the ground and sat there and cried and cried,” Elizabeth recalled.
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau said it receives thousands of consumer complaints related to loan modifications and foreclosure. From July 2001 to March 2016, it has logged 223,000 mortgage related complaints.
Consumers told CFPB that lenders drag out the process by repeated requests to submit the same documentation. The CFPB report also states that lenders sent consumers conflicting foreclosure notices while the homeowners were trying to get help.
Molly Rogers, an attorney with legal aid in Austin, handles mortgage and foreclosure related cases. She said sometimes consumers don’t really know why their loan modification applications get rejected or take too long to complete.
She said consumers have 37 days before any scheduled foreclosure sale. But it depends on if you have a completed application.
“Once that complete application is on file, the bank has to stop the foreclosure from going forward,” she said. But she said the bank decides when the application is complete.
Elizabeth and David Ball (CBS11)
The Balls also believe that Citi dual-tracked their loan. It happens when a mortgage company continues foreclosure proceedings while considering an application for a loan modification at the same time.
That’s illegal under federal regulations.
Citi told CBS11 “Citi works closely with financially distressed borrowers to help them avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes. We explore potential options which may include loan modifications, forbearance or other financial relief plans. If, however, there is no plan in place, and we do not receive a complete financial information package from the homeowner prior to the foreclosure sale, the foreclosure process moves forward. In such cases, dual tracking regulations do not apply to the loan. ”
The couple feel like they were taken advantage, “I trusted the mortgage company,” she said. “I worked with them in good faith.”
If you’re having trouble with loan modification. Rogers says you can seek advice from a certified HUD counselor or get an attorney to help you thorough the process. You can also file a complaint with the CFPB. She also says do not stop payment on your home, even if you hear conflicting information.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Filed under: foreclosure | Tagged: Citimortgage, citimortgage dual tracking, foreclosure fraud Citi |
CitiMortgage is corrupt and should be investigated by a qualified agency. They will find that CitiMortgage is stealing land with the help of
County Tax Appraisal Offices and District Judges.
Reblogged this on California Freelance Paralegal.
Just paid on check with borrowed money on one of three properties that nasty old Bank of America, Seterus, and Fannie Mae are trying to steal!!! All the above articles are true and correct and so sad that attorneys and states across our nation don’t have the balls to work together to help stamp out nationwide fraud and corruption.
Seems like attorneys and others quickly get bought out, like maybe in the Morrow Case in Montana where I thought the great state of Montana had set a precedent. The Morrows sure quickly settled out of court and got all the money they and their attorneys wanted!!! Greed, power, and money control unfortunately
Little wonder our once great country is in such a mess and headed down the totally wrong path!!! God help us all. Semper Fi
All very true unfortunately!!! They are all in on it from what I can see and tell. Fannie Mae is one of the big culprits and operating under the GSE that acquired them back in 2008!!! Everyone is doing their best to cover one another and our useless congress people are just as bad. Little wonder most Americans don’t trust our government!!!
The CFPB doesn’t do anything. They let the bank do their own investigation. And in nearly every case the bank responds with a statement that they have looked into the allegations and find no wrongdoing. The CFPB is doing nothing to stop horrendous fraud that is causing 9 million American fillies to lose their home to banks engaged in criminal racketeering. Consumer protection agencies should
Be investigating fraud especially when there are so many similar complaints. The CPFB needs to prove they can stop fraud or we need to stop finding this useless layer of bureaucracy . We need to take on a class action suit naming Wells Fargo, BofA and City bank in criminal racketeering charges against homeowners who applied for a loan modification and were wrongfully denied or foreclosed upon Neil. You’re a lawyer and we need representation for this EPIC CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINT BANK FRAUD
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I had a perfect payment record until Mellon Mortgage refused to post timely payments and added force place insurance (though I had an escrow account and they paid the home insurance out of that escrow). So, advice to keep making payments is meaningless when the lenders have your account blocked and refuse to accept and post them.
What I STILL cannot grasp is how many judges and attorneys still don’t see this as anyone’s fault but the homeowner. Makes me sick how many are still convinced that this is a ‘deadbeat’ issue, and that banks are in no way to blame.
Reblogged this on boglinwordpresscom.
Good luck with contacting CFPB. They are terrible and just as dysfunctional as nasty old Bank of America, Seterus, Urban Settlement Services and many others. It seems to be our government is in on all this-especially FNMA OIG, CFPB, and crooked states like Colorado. We are doomed unless drastic changes are forthcoming and very quickly in my humble opinion. Really sad that all these agencies and congress people that are supposed to be helping us are actually in on all this- or at least aware of it and run!!! God help us.