Consumer complaint received 2020-07-22
Company: Home Point Financial Corporation
State: MO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
The correspondence below was emailed to Homepoint 's Borrower Assistance email address on XX/XX/2020 and again on XX/XX/XXXX, 2020.I also sent it via XXXX XX/XX/2020 and I have not received any response from them concerning the email correspondence I sent below. I have also attached a copy of the letter as well as the modification documents demonstrating that there was nothing included in the documents they sent me indicating they should be returned in 15 days or the process would be terminated or need to be restarted. 

On Friday XX/XX/2020 I called Homepoint Financial and spoke to XXXX ( XXXX ) in the Loss Litigation Department. I called in to inquire about a lower interest rate and to see if I had any relief options available to be under the Cares Act. XXXX informed me that there were no options available to me under the Cares Act because my mortgage was delinquent prior to Covid-19. XXXX only provided me with limited options and could not answer any questions regarding the two options he did provide because he was not my assigned loss mitigation contact. 
On XX/XX/2020 I called into Homepoint Financial and spoke with XXXX. I requested relief under the Cares Act and requested forbearance. XXXX informed me that I did not qualify and was not eligible for forbearance or any relief under the Cares Act. She stated that my delinquency was before Covid-19 and that I was ineligible for forbearance under the Cares Act. XXXX discouraged me from taking a forbearance stating that it would make me further delinquent and put me in an even worse position. I read the guidance from the Veteran Affairs website regarding federally back mortgage loans to XXXX that said the delinquency status on the account didnt matter and XXXX insisted that I was not eligible. XXXX stated that she would escalate the call to a supervisor. 
On XX/XX/2020 I called Homepoint Financial and spoke with XXXX ( XXXX ) ( who had an extremely unpleasant attitude with me from the very beginning of the call ) and requested forbearance under the Cares Act. XXXX told me that I was not eligible for relief under the Cares Act because my account was already delinquent before Covid-19. I explained to XXXX that I have been and I am currently being impacted by Covid 19 and that according to the Veteran Affairs Website and the Consumer Protection Board that my delinquency status didnt matter and I was eligible. XXXX became even more unpleasant, slightly rude, and continued to state that not only was I not eligible for a forbearance getting forbearance wouldnt be beneficial to me but if I wanted to get forbearance its my prerogative. 
On XX/XX/2020 XXXX from the Loss Mitigation Department at Homepoint contacted me as a follow up to the call that XXXX escalated on XX/XX/2020. XXXX informed me that the only option I had was to sign the mortgage modification documents that had been sent to me as a result of a financial hardship before Covid 19. I explained to him that I was experiencing further hardship due to Covid 19. I asked XXXX for a reduced interest rate and he said I was not eligible for one under Covid 19. I informed XXXX that I had spoken to my assigned representative at the Veteran Affairs and she had indicated that he could have given me the same XXXX interest rate that I previously had if he had sent a request to her for approval. XXXX did not send a request for approval to get me a lower interest rate and could not provide an explanation as to why despite the numerous amounts of times I had previously called in about it. I also requested to be granted relief under Covid 19 to include forbearance. XXXX explained to me that while he would be happy to give me forbearance it would not be under Covid 19 as my account was delinquent prior to Covid 19 and the delinquency was not due to Covid 19. When I informed him of the guidance from the Veteran Affairs and the Consumer Financial Protection bureau regarding federally backed loans he continued to insist that I was not eligible. I told him the guidance stated that the delinquency status didnt matter and he insisted that I sign the Modification documents as that was the best option for me. XXXX did not offer me any other information, resources, or options. I told XXXX that since I had no other options available to me that would allow me to keep my home I felt forced and would sign the documents and return them. According to the Cares Act SEC. 4022. FORECLOSURE MORATORIUM AND CONSUMER RIGHT TO REQUEST FORBEARANCE ( b ) FORBEARANCE : ( 1 ) IN GENERAL.During the covered period, a borrower with a Federally backed mortgage loan experiencing a financial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the COVID19 emergency may request forbearance on the Federally backed mortgage loan, regardless of delinquency status, by ( A ) submitting a request to the borrowers servicer ; and ( B ) affirming that the borrower is experiencing a financial hardship during the COVID19 emergency.

( 2 ) DURATION OF FORBEARANCE.Upon a request by a borrower for forbearance under paragraph ( 1 ), such forbearance shall be granted for up to 180 days, and shall be extended for an additional period of up to 180 days at the request of the borrower, provided that, at the borrowers request, either the initial or extended period of forbearance may be  shortened. 
ACCRUAL OF INTEREST OR FEES.During a period of forbearance described in this subsection, no fees, penalties, or interest beyond the amounts scheduled or calculated as if the borrower made all contractual payments on time and in full under the terms of the mortgage contract, shall accrue on the borrowers account. 
( c ) REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICERS. ( 1 ) IN GENERAL.Upon receiving a request for forbearance from a borrower under subsection ( b ), the servicer shall with no additional documentation required other than the borrowers attestation to a financial hardship caused by the COVID19 emergency and with no fees, penalties, or interest ( beyond the amounts scheduled or calculated as if the borrower made all contractual payments on time and in full under the terms of the mortgage contract ) charged to the borrower in connection with the forbearance, provide the forbearance for up to 180 days, which may be extended for an additional period of up to 180 days at the request of the borrower, provided that, the borrowers request for an extension is made during the covered period, and, at the borrowers request, either the initial or extended period of forbearance may be shortened. 
In addition the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provided further guidance indicating servicers should not discourage or require attestations from borrowers seeking forbearance under the Cares Act. It further states servicers who mislead borrowers concerning their rights under the Cares Act could be at risk of committing a legal violation or causing consumer harm. 
The representatives at Homepoint Financial have discouraged me from requesting a forbearance using scare tactics that would lead me to believe that taking forbearance would make my situation worse. The representatives failed to advise me of my rights or options to assist me during this very difficult time and forced me to sign modification documents. 
I did not request a suspension of the modification agreement that was pending as I realize the Cares Act provides that such a request would not be eligible under the Cares Act if the delinquency was not in the identified time period ( SEC. 4013. TEMPORARY RELIEF FROM TROUBLED DEBT RESTRUCTURINGS ( b ) SUSPENSION ( 2 ) APPLICABILITY ) I requested a forbearance which the Cares Act makes the distinction between the modification suspension and forbearance stating the forbearance request should be granted regardless of the delinquency status. I was denied this option as a matter of right and Homepoint did not disclose my rights or provide any resources or additional assistance for relief despite my repeated request. 
Lastly, I fulfilled the terms of the modification that I was in prior to Covid 19 to address my previous delinquency but because Homepoint failed to advise me that the documents should have been turned in 15 days after receipt they wanted me to start a new loss mitigation application. Although they later changed their minds about it they failed to acknowledge their error and did not acknowledge that page 5 section 3 states, If my representations and covenants in Section 1 continue to be true in all material respects and all preconditions to the modification set forth in Section 2 have been met, the Loan Documents will automatically become modified on XX/XX/2020 ( the " Modification Effective Date '' ) and all unpaid late charges that remain unpaid will be waived. I understand that if I have failed to make any payments as a precondition to this modification under a trial period plan, this modification will not take effect. The first modified payment will be due on XX/XX/2020. I fulfilled all of the preconditions/trial period payments to the modification and believed that my loan would automatically become modified on XX/XX/2020. While I did know the documents needed to be notarized and returned I thought it would be fine to turn them in prior to XX/XX/2020 since the correspondence that was mailed to me did not indicate that they needed to be returned within 15 days. When I asked XXXX what page of the documents that were mailed to me indicated that they must be returned in 15 days he never provided a response and he could not tell me how I was supposed to know that they needed to be returned within 15 days. When I asked XXXX how was I supposed to know the documents needed to be returned in 15 days she stated to me that information would not have been included in the correspondence that was mailed to me. She stated that XXXX was supposed to contact me and tell me. She later looked on her internal notes to find that XXXX had made one attempt to call me but did not make contact. 
Additionally, I am still unsure as to how this impacted my eligibility to receive forbearance as I had already met the conditions of this modification agreement that addressed my previous delinquency. XXXX and XXXX in the Loss Mitigation Department assured me that at the conclusion of this modification that my account would no longer be reported delinquent and would be brought current as outlined in the terms of the modification. 
I was and am still requesting a forbearance to mitigate further hardships associated with Covid 19 to assist me in getting my finances back on track. I understand that being granted forbearance does not relinquish me of paying back this portion of the loan. I understand that because this is a federally backed loan through the Veteran Affairs I will not be required to make a lump sum payment ( as XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX insisted ) at the conclusion of the forbearance period if the amount would equate to what would have been due if the forbearance was not in effect, unless : the lump sum payment is paid at the end of the loan term, or if I choose to make a lump sum payment. I agree to make a lump sum payment to be applied to the end of my current loan term. In addition, I am requesting to be provided with all possible options available to me at this time as well as any information/resources that would assist me in making informed decisions about my loan. 
If you should have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation