Consumer complaint received 2023-04-14
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company
State: TN
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
My father, XXXX XXXX XXXX, was hospitalized and passed away on XX/XX/XXXX. I am the XXXX XXXX XXXX and the named Administrator of his estate. I have been making the payment on the mortgage since XXXX. I contacted Freedom Mortgage via phone ( on XX/XX/XXXX ) once I received my Letter of Administration ( Exhibit A ) from the court to inquire about the process to name me as Successor in Interest ( SII ) for this property ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX TN XXXX ). In this conversation it was not clear what the next steps were, but I was told what documentation would be needed and I provided that via Freedoms online message portal on XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit B ). These documents were my Drivers License ( Exhibit C ), the Letter of Administration ( Exhibit A ) and my fathers death certificate ( Exhibit D ). 

Freedom Mortgage responded on XX/XX/XXXX, via the online portal ( Exhibit E ), in which they attached a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit F ). In this letter, they acknowledge that I am acting as the Executor for the XXXX XXXX property. They also have language in the letter that states If you are aware of any potential successors in interest, please inform us at your earliest convenience in writing etc. I realized weeks later that what they meant was I was REQUIRED to respond to this poorly worded and misleading request and that I tell them in writing what I had already discussed in detail and confirmed both verbally in my phone conversations and in my initial request ( Exhibit B ). In response to this realization, I drafted a formal letter of request ( Exhibit G ) and attached this to a new message that I sent via the online portal ( Exhibit H ). I was extremely clear in this letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, as to my intent and that I was the only person who can be named the SII for my fathers property. 

Freedom Mortgage responded on the online portal on XX/XX/XXXX, via an attached letter dated XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit I ). This letter requested additional information in the form of one of two documents Recorded deed or court order transferring the property to you, OR Affidavit of intestate succession In response to this additional request, I worked with my attorney to petition the court to deed the home into mine and my husbands name. This was successfully completed and the property at XXXX XXXX was deeded to myself and my husband on XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit J ). 

While I was struggling through this SII process with Freedom Mortgage, I was also working to ensure that the property had appropriate homeowners insurance. In my conversations with my attorney and the insurance agency that was covering the home at the time my dad passed away, they both indicated that I should not do anything and let the existing policy renew in XX/XX/XXXX as scheduled. This was due to the fact that the property was not deeded to me as of yet and I was just XXXX on the estate. Once I had the home deeded in mine and my husbands name to satisfy the Freedom Mortgage requirement, I was told I had to IMMEDIATELY obtain a new policy in our name as the new owners of the home. I contacted Freedom to let them know what I was doing, that I would pay the policy in full. This conversation occurred on XX/XX/XXXX, and I obtained the new policy effective XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit K ). Then on XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a message to Freedom via the online message system to include both a copy of the proof of insurance ( Exhibit K ) as well as a copy of the new deed ( Exhibit J ). 

It is my understanding that under RESPA, at this point ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I had provided Freedom with everything needed to name me SII on mine and my husbands property. 

Freedom responded on XX/XX/XXXX via the portal ( Exhibit L ). Please note that they reference the insurance information, but do not acknowledge the actual proof of a paid policy. Additionally, there is no acknowledgement of the SII document or any clear information about what research is being done nor what concern they are addressing. I found this letter also to be misleading and a bit deceptive as to exactly what they were doing to address my very direct request to name SII as well as the work I was required to do to make sure the home was insured. 

I received another message from Freedom via their online message portal on XX/XX/XXXX, where they finally acknowledge the paid policy with XXXX with the policy number and date ( Exhibit M ). Despite this message that should indicate that Freedom noted in their system that I had provided proof of a PAID homeowners policy, on XX/XX/XXXX, they went and paid for hazard insurance AGAIN to XXXX. This is evident from the recent account payment history ( Exhibit N ) from Freedoms website. It is important to mention that on XX/XX/XXXX, the day I called XXXX to obtain this new policy, I also contacted Freedom and talked to someone in their insurance department to inform them I was obtaining and paying in full for this policy so that it would affect my escrow and increase my overall mortgage payment. 

Additionally, once Freedom erroneously paid the policy again, they were very difficult to deal with and instead of requesting the refund from XXXX for their mistake they forced me to request the refund from XXXX ( Exhibit O ). Freedom told me that because this was a batch process on their end that I would have to deal with it. This should not have been my problem to solve, and it ultimately affected my escrow balance and my payment. 

The impact on my escrow was evident in the XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX that Freedom sent me ( Exhibit P ). Please note the escrow shortage noted in the amount of {$460.00}. So, I was in a shortage situation after Freedoms mistake in XXXX, which I remedied the first time with an additional escrow shortage payment of {$640.00} ( Exhibit Q ) which I paid on XX/XX/XXXX. Then I received the escrow statement that suggests if I pay this second escrow shortage of {$460.00}, they will remove the shortage portion of my monthly payment for the XX/XX/XXXX payment. So, I paid the second escrow shortage of {$460.00} on XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit R ). But even though I made BOTH shortage payments well in advance of the XXXX installment, as you can see from the payment history, there was no adjustment made as I had to pay the full, new escrow of {$170.00} ( Exhibit S ), which ties back to the XXXX escrow statement ( Exhibit P ) that claims in the FAQs that if I made these shortage payments ( online was offered ) and I identify them as escrow payments, then my payment would no longer have the overage portion of {$38.00} in my payment. To date, Freedom has not offered me very much accurate or reliable information about anything, but I find this situation especially frustrating as I have done everything they have required and several things I should not have to but can not seem to get them to service this loan appropriately. 

Switching back to the XXXX process. To recap, I had sent Freedom the deed on XX/XX/XXXX and as of XX/XX/XXXX, I had not heard an update or been notified that I was named XXXX, so I sent a follow-up message requesting an update on my status as XXXX via the online message portal ( Exhibit T ). The response on XX/XX/XXXX, from Freedom via the online message portal ( Exhibit U ) indicated that the request had been forwarded to their Successor in Interest department. Which was a very interesting response as I had been told during several previous phone conversations that this had happened MONTHS ago. Today, XX/XX/XXXX, I received two pieces of paper correspondence in the mail ( not on the online portal ) from Freedom Mortgage ( Exhibit V ). In one letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, they simply state that we have received your correspondence and appreciate your patience while reviewing your inquiry. In the second letter, dated XX/XX/XXXX, they have AGAIN asked for the following - Affidavit of intestate succession Recorded deed/court order transferring the property to you In this version of the letter, there is no use of the word OR and I have already provided the deed transferring the property to me and my husband. It is my understanding from discussing with my attorney that you either obtain the deed OR the affidavit but NOT both. Another deceptive and misleading document and communication from Freedom that is trying to continue to delay this process. Not to mention they have had the deed I provided to them for seven weeks and I had to follow up to find out what my status is. 

In summary, I have been out of the mortgage industry for a decade but spent a career working in this field and I have reached the point where I need to bring this to the Bureau. I am fortunate that I can afford to make up for the mistakes this servicer has made in the administration of this account. The average consumer would have given up on this process, or been put in financial distress over the escrow issues, or worse, they would have been strongarmed into refinancing a low interest, low balance loan so that Freedom could make more profit or at least made enough interest to justify the cost of servicing. Its clear to me that this servicer is delaying and distracting me from taking advantage of a legal right I have under RESPA, and many of their tactics run contrary to the principles of XXXX. I am asking for the Bureaus assistance in helping me to resolve this. All I wish to do is pay this mortgage and keep my fathers home in my family so that I can honor his memory. And I have had to deal with all of this nonsense while I am grieving and doing my best to move forward. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing the response on this matter.

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