Consumer complaint received 2016-02-07
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure

Complaint:
My father is XXXX years old and XXXX. When he was XXXX, he mortgaged his primary residence with a home equity loan for $ XXXX for 30 years at 5.99 % interest with interest only payment for 10 years. Now that the time has come to start paying down the principal on the loan, his payments have jumped from $ XXXX/m to $ XXXX/m. He also has an HOA monthly fee of $ XXXX/m. His income consist of Social Security and VA pension which together comes to $ XXXX/m. 

He would like to stay in his home but ca n't afford to pay 66 % of his monthly income on housing. He either did not understand the terms of the loan or did not XXXX because he is XXXX, and that makes it difficult for him to negotiate new terms on the mortgage. Chase bank did not qualify him for the payments in 10 years, only for the payments for the 1st 10 years, so this is predatory lending, as they knew he would not be able to afford to live there when he would be XXXX. So far he has paid over $ XXXX and not made a dent in the principal. Now that they know he is having trouble paying, they are denying him any help even though they act like they want to help. 
They sent an undervalued appraisal in order to deny him a refinance, but I was able to use that appraisal for Florida 's Hardest Hit and he qualified for $ XXXX - contingent on Chase accepting that paydown on the mortgage, but Chase will not accept it, even though they were the ones who sent me to Florida 's hardest hit! I have been doing paperwork for Chase and XXXX for 5 months, sending and resending documents. I have over XXXX documents in a file on my computer which they requested, and another drawer full of mail from Chase. As soon as I asked about a refinance or a loan modification, they started sending me paperwork to agree to a short sale. I never asked for a short sale. My father is a XXXX year old XXXX veteran of XXXX who has no where to go. He needs to stay in his home. I would like someone to force Chase Bank to accept the government help that my father is entitled to. They are doing everything in their power not to help. When they realized that he was eligible to receive gov't help according to their own appraisal, they immediately sent a new appraisal for XXXX more. The condo did n't go up in value $ XXXX in 5 months. Does anyone oversee this bank or are they allowed to get away with this kind of business practice? They said they denied the acceptance of the help because my father could still borrow against it, and that is n't true because this line of credit was closed as soon as the market started to go down 3 years after he took the loan, and every mortgage statement says that the " available credit is XXXX " If I call them, the put me in a loop of " customer service '' - patronizing people who " understand my frustration '' but offer no help. 
Is there someone who can force Chase Bank to accept the help from Florida 's Hardest Hit? Or how can I get a free lawyer to prove this was a predatory loan. He has nothing to show for that money- he made bad investments and essentially gambled the money away, and the bank is just as much at fault for their greed at the time of the loan their continued greed at trying to take his house away where they can sell it below market value and still make a profit since he has already paid $ XXXX in interest.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation