Consumer complaint received 2023-10-27
Company: MIDFIRST BANK
State: NC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage
Sub-issue: Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue related to modification, forbearance, short sale, deed-in-lieu, bankruptcy, or foreclosure

Complaint:
I am in foreclosure because Midland Mortgage as well as the former servicer XXXX XXXX have engaged in unethical servicing practices and have denied access to government programs that they were required to offer to borrowers who were impacted by Covid income loss. I was granted the government mandated CARES act forbearance because I have an FHA loan and was severely impacted by the pandemic. After the forbearance ended, XXXX XXXX and Midland Mortgage both failed to conduct any type of formal review of financial circumstances, ability to pay or provide access to any government programs that they are required to make available to struggling borrowers. Instead of conducting a review XXXX XXXX kicked the can down the road and sold the loan to Midland Mortgage. Instead of working with me to provide options to address the payments that had been set aside due to forbearance Midland told me there were no programs available and that I must pay full reinstatement to stop the loan from going into foreclosure. This is a violation of the CARES act that was mandated by the government, Midland is required as servicer to provide options to recapitalize or defer the missed payments or to consider a loan modification or repayment plan. This never happened. 

I have worked as a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for 10 years and my wife XXXX is a stay at home mom caring for our XXXX children ranging in age from XXXX to XXXX. Within a month or two of Covid outbreak in spring 2020 many of the workers caught covid and unable to work and it started infecting the entire crew. To date I have had it XXXX times and my wife XXXX times. When I first got sick they made me quarantine and would have to get a positive test then wait two weeks before I went back. When my wife was sick and there was no in person school I would have to stay home to take care of the kids because we could not afford day care. At that time I contacted previous lender XXXX XXXX and they told me about the CARES act forbearance which helped us out for XXXX months. I ended up having to renew the six month forbearance 3 times because I was still struggling financially due to the impact of XXXX. 

When the last forbearance ended in XXXX I asked XXXX XXXX about resuming payments, and they said that I should just hold off on payments and they were going to look at a loan modification that would roll the payments back into the balance of the loan. After several months I contacted XXXX XXXX again to ask if they needed to review my financial documents or if they needed anything to review me for assistance and they said no. They were not sending me delinquent notices or attempting collections and I trusted them and waited. They never requested financial information, they never gave me any answer or feedback on the review that was allegedly being conducted and instead next thing I knew was that the loan was being transferred to Midland. I tried to talk to Midland agents about looking at a loan modification. Instead of providing access to government homeowner assistance programs as required their agents obstructed the process and denied my family access to the government programs that should have been made available. I was told that the only option was full reinstatement, in direct violation of CARES act forbearance guidelines. Midland told me they were going to start foreclosure proceedings so I ended up filing XXXX  XXXX bankruptcy to fix the problem. Unfortunately while on the road at a job site my zoom meeting with creditors went offline and as a result the bankruptcy was dismissed. I am worried that Midland will foreclose on my home now

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