Consumer complaint received 2018-08-21
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: MA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
The homeowners initially got a VA Loan and then refinanced with Chase. The loan borrower is a Veteran and went through a very difficult time trying to keep his job due to XXXX  issues that he went through after going abroad. He eventually lost his job and could not afford the mortgage any longer. When we first started to initiate the short sale,, well before the offer, we spoke to Chase and told them about the condition of the property that hindered the homeowner from keeping it. There were multitudes of issues regarding the electricity and plumbing, not to mention that the area where the house is where similar comparables are not readily surrounding the house. Because the house had been vacated, the condition of the house went from bad to worst. Multiple people have broken into the house and occupied it and feral animals are in and out of the house as well. The house is completely dirty and destroyed ( drywall has holes in it, the insulation is spilling out of the ceiling, the roof is in need of replacement and there is mold EVERYWHERE in the house, water damage in the ceilings ) and UNLIVABLE. We finally got an offer at {$90000.00} back in XX/XX/2018. Chase ordered an interior value that came back at {$170000.00} - almost twice the amount that the Buyer offered. The Buyers, instead of doing a value dispute, walked instead. The listing agent marketed the property heavily and even changed the listing price to the full value that Chase had in an attempt to get an offer that was {$170000.00} or near to that amount. Months passed and the ONLY offer that the listing agent received was one for {$100000.00} at XX/XX/2018. We called Chase and explained that we had a new offer but they stated that based on the last value of {$170000.00} ( from XX/XX/2018 ), the new offer looked to be too low and that they would not review it for a short sale - despite the fact that the value of {$170000.00} was inching to near expiration. Most values are only good for 90/120 days but despite us pointing this out to Chase, they refused to order a new value. Chase kept pressing us that in order to even open up as a short sale, they needed an offer nearer to {$170000.00}. After much escalation, I was able to speak to a contact named XXXX XXXX who helped me push this new valuation request through. The new value came in, at {$180000.00} which is {$8000.00} more than the previous value. We requested the BPO report and it was stunningly inaccurate - the repairs did not include the entirety what is needed in the house to make it livable. The BPO report did not include a roof replacement, new plumbing and new electricity and did not include the hazardous Mold issue that has spread throughout the house. The BPO report only included repairs that amounted to {$14000.00} when in actuality, the repairs are nearer to {$80000.00} just to make the house livable ( this estimate is from the Estimate Repair quote and itemization that the Buyer sent in with their offer - we have also sent this to Chase ). We have alerted Chase to this inaccurate BPO and have sent in a value dispute to the value. But apart from this value inaccuracy, Chase refuses to open the short sale review for the current offer of {$100000.00} UNTIL they get a higher offer price. Just recently, Chase assigned a foreclosure date to the house of XX/XX/18 and are insisting that unless they get an offer nearer to {$180000.00} - they will not even open the file for a short sale review and without opening the file for short sale review, the foreclosure date can not be postponed.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation