Consumer complaint received 2016-07-08
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: OR
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure

Complaint:
My loan has been modified by Chase Bank into terms that are unreasonable, unaffordable, and based on race. 
XXXX XXXX, XXXX - Complaint to XXXX Re : Chase Mortgage Modification ... ..One of the most heinous of these policies was introduced by the creation of the Federal Housing Administration in XXXX, and lasted until XXXX. Otherwise celebrated for making homeownership accessible to white people by guaranteeing their loans, the FHA explicitly refused to back loans to XXXX people or even other people who lived near XXXX people. As XXXX puts it, " Redlining destroyed the possibility of investment wherever XXXX people lived. " - from The Racist Policy that Made Your Neighborhood, The XXXX XXXX XXXX I 'm writing to file a formal complaint about the outcome of the latest of two mortgage modifications I received from Chase Bank. My mortgage has been modified twice, but I am writing about the current modification which has been in process since the summer months of XXXX ; the process lasted about 8 months, I was offered a single Chase in-house product ; my payment would double, and the interest rate currently at 5.75 % would not be reduced. My mortgage has increased by over {$100000.00} since being in Chase 's portfolio ; my mortgage is growing, not shrinking as I had hoped when I put {$60000.00} cash down and purchased the home as newly divorced mom of XXXX kids in XXXX. 
The first payment on the current modification was in XXXX of XXXX. My payments have been on time since the current modification, but it is getting increasingly difficult to do so. My payments consume 56 % percent of my take home pay and close to 40 % of my gross income. I realize now that the modification was designed for me to fail, and this is the basis of my complaint. My specific complaint is that Chase Bank is contributing to the rapid decrease of XXXX in my neighborhood by offering me ( and others ) a modification with unreasonable terms. The terms I had to agree to in order to keep my family home are not sustainable and have set me up to fail. Chase offered me this sole, in-house product based on my race. Additionally, when I set out to complain directly to Chase, the bank matched me with one, and then finally a second, " race matched '' analyst who was XXXX, to help me through the complaint process. At the end of the complaint process, Chase did not admit guilt, but offered me the chance to re-apply for a new modification. I received the first modification in XXXX. I had just lost a job, and was supporting XXXX children on my own. The terms of the modification were fair ; in exchange for making on-time payments for five years, I would receive a principal reduction of {$91000.00}. At the time, this sounded like a great trade off, and it was. It was also an obligation I thought I would be able to meet. This would ultimately help my little family to get ahead ; to save for college, to be able to leave a legacy of homeownership for my children, to be able to retire at XXXX, and to be able to provide for my children where my parents, homeless for a time, could not for me. The remedy offered to me by Chase for the current modification did not include any governmental sponsored programs or other remedies that would help me get back on solid financial ground as modification programs promise. Rather, in order to remain in my home, I was offered a single in-house remedy ; my payment would double, and there would be no reduction of the interest rate which is currently higher than market, at 5.75 %. Chase representatives encouraged me to consider selling my home in my rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Chase Bank solutions were ultimately punitive, and not restorative ; hurtful, and not helpful. And I know of other families, XXXX families, who were offered better terms with Chase modifications, promised better outcomes, including the chance to get on their feet.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation