Consumer complaint received 2023-11-17
Company: Mr. Cooper Group Inc.
State: NY
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Sub-issue: Escrow, taxes, or insurance

Complaint:
My problem is two fold. The first, being with the mismanagement of my escrow account. The second, being with my attempt to remove PMI. Focusing on the first problem, last year in XX/XX/XXXX, my mortgage company ( Home Point Financial ) did an auto analysis of my mortgage escrow account and refunded me money from my escrow account ( {$3100.00} ) and decreased my payment from {$2800.00} per month, to {$2600.00} per month ( {$240.00} less per month ) because they reported that my taxes had decreased which resulted in a surplus. This " surplus '' was due to the fact that I took advantage of a tax credit from the elderly prior owner which I would have to pay back the next year. I had no choice in receiving this refund and the bank issued a certified check with the XX/XX/XXXX analysis. When I bought the home in XX/XX/XXXX, the bank was aware of this tax credit and that I would have to pay this credit back the following tax year. Had I been managing my own account by myself, I would have made the same payment and kept the money in the escrow account. 

On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I received another escrow analysis now stating that there was a projected shortage of {$11000.00}, which used incorrect ( and inflated ) tax figures from the prior year when I paid back the tax credit I took advantage of my first year. As a result, the bank was increasing my payment from {$2600.00}, to {$4000.00} effective XX/XX/XXXX, for 12 months to recover the surplus. An amount I could not afford to pay. Following my receipt of the XX/XX/XXXX analysis, I called the bank several times and was filtered through several departments to see if this shortage could be recalculated to a more affordable rate. The bank refused to offer me the longest and most affordable term ( 48 months ) and would only offer me a term that was based on the most that I could afford ( 36 months ). The bank did another escrow analysis, this time with a correct figure for my school taxes, but still incorrect figure for my property taxes, which then decreased my payment from {$4000.00}, to {$3200.00} with an effective date of XX/XX/XXXX, not XX/XX/XXXX, as previously stated for the first notice, only giving me a few days to come up with an additional {$600.00} payment. This subsequent analysis now projected a shortage of {$8800.00}. I tried repeatedly with the bank to get them to change the effective date to XX/XX/XXXX, where I called practically every other day to speak to a different supervisor to try and get help. The bank refused to change the effective date to XX/XX/XXXX, and I had to make the payment. 

Since the inception of Home Point Financial 's management of my escrow account, they have grossly mismanaged my account thereby creating a catastrophic shortage and they refuse to offer me any other more affordable option to repay the shortage that they caused. 

Second, my mortgage company refused to give me any criteria for what meets their definition of " substantial improvements '' in order to remove PMI without a Broker Price Opinion. I am able to request PMI removal based upon valuation less than 80 % loan to value if I made improvements to the home prior to the loan being 2 years from the origination date of XX/XX/XXXX. I submitted my PMI removal request on XX/XX/XXXX, and outlined a list of improvements on XX/XX/XXXX, totaling over {$30000.00} since I bought the home. However, I failed to include the fact that during that period I also added a bedroom to my home brining it from a 3 bedroom to a 4 bedroom home because of their failure to provide me with criteria. The mortgage company rejected my listed of improvements on XX/XX/XXXX, because they did not " significantly impact the value or marketability of the subject property '' and made me proceed with obtaining a Broker Price Opinion at a cost of {$150.00} now that the loan was past the 2 year origination date which requires me to hit a 75 % loan to valuation. Following a Broker Price Opinion, it was determined that my house had a 77.5 % loan to valuation, which was insufficient to remove PMI from my loan. I submitted an appeal with XXXX comparable homes and a recent home sale in my neighborhood, but the lender refused to consider my appeal valuation even though the Broker Price Opinion inappropriately used 2 out of 3 home sales that were more than 6 months old to form the basis of their valuation, and when my appeal included 5 comparable home sales that were less than 6 months old.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation