Consumer complaint received 2023-03-05
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company
State: GA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Last year in XXXX I went out on a medical leave and prior to not being able to make a payment I called freedom to see what options we had because we knew I would be out of work and not getting paid. When I made the call technically we were not behind and was told we had to wait until we were in default which I didnt want to do because of the issue of credit reporting. So when I went out on leave and was not getting paid and defaulted on the mortgage we called to see what the options were then and pretty much was advised that unless it was covid related there wasnt really anything that could be done. As a consumer I just thought this can not be the case there has to be something that can be done but this company did not want to assist so they started sending loss mitigations packets in the mail. I made sure I kept in contact and spoke with different people to see how we could resolve the issue. Fast forward I went back to work in XXXX and was trying to get caught up with bills and was in contact with Freedom letting them know I was back working and wanted to see if we could do a payment arrangement so we could get caught up and get back on track. I was told we had to fill out the loss mitigation packet to even even be considered for any assistance, which we did only for them to say the docs were not filled out correctly. Then we were told to resubmit them again, which was more time wasted, so we spoke with a few representatives and got clarity and a request was submitted for just a repayment plan which is what we wanted all along since we had a significant amount to put down. In the mist of all this going on we reached out to the VA for assistance because freedom was telling us we didnt qualify for a payment arrangement which we didnt understand. We also had an issue with dual tracking because they started the foreclosure process prior to a decision. We sent letters advising them we didnt want to modify the loan because it would change the payment as well as the interest but it seems they were more geared to us doing a modification. Paperwork that was sent over to the VA rep indicated our net income is {$11000.00} and our expenses including our current mortgage payment are {$7900.00} and we have a monthly surplus of {$3800.00} which would qualify us for a 6 or 12 month repay plan. We have {$10000.00} to pay now but for some reason they still want to do a modification which I feel they are forcing borrowers to do. From the last letter that was sent with figures of reinstatement showed a balance of about {$16000.00}. Per the proposal letter sent to the VA they were requesting a pre approval to increase the current interest rate from XXXX to XXXX with a monthly payment of {$2400.00}, but that means the payment will be going up by {$1000.00} so how is it that we can afford to pay {$2400.00} a month but not enough to do a repayment plan. They have all these options listed for assistance but the only one they want to assist with is a modification and thats all. I spoke with someone last week and advised them of the amount we have to put down to get started and was told no only option is to pay the total reinstatement or modification which I do not feel is fair.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation