Consumer complaint received 2023-05-23
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: NY
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
We are facing foreclosure on our home that was purchased in XXXX with an FHA loan. Covid, job loss and divorce have all contributed to this situation but these hardships have been resolved and I have been trying to fix things with our lender Citizens Bank but they are making things very difficult. I am in better financial position and have the ability to pay but have never been reviewed for any homeowner assistance programs that are supposed to be available for FHA homeowners who are in trouble. I am now getting contacted by the Citizens Bank Attorney demanding I pay all past due amounts to them or they are going to take my house. I can afford my regular payment but can't come up with $ XXXX in past due payments all at once. I know there should be options for help, but feel that Citizens Bank has obstructed this process and denied access. 

When we bought our home my wife at the time was working as a XXXX and I worked in the XXXX XXXX and expected promotions did not come through so I transitioned and attended the XXXX XXXX  and became a XXXX XXXX in XXXX. During that time in XXXX we struggled and fell behind and we were given a plan where they put the late payments we had missed back into the balance of the loan. My wife and I both lost hours and income starting in XXXX due to Covid and things went downhill from there. In XX/XX/XXXX my wife moved out and stopped helping with the mortgage and filed for divorce, and not long after I got XXXX and was unable to work for several months and could not afford the payments. 

At that time I contacted Citizens Bank to see if there were any programs to help us with our mortgage since I was affected by Covid but their agents did not offer the CARES forbearance. I later found out that this was supposed to be available and offered to all FHA homeowners who were struggling due to Covid. At that time no one told us that we could be considered for loan modification or partial claim or the CARES forbearance. Due to our divorce my ex-wife and I decided that we should just sell the house and get out of the whole deal. We got a firm offer on the house in late XXXX and waited for the deal to close. Since Citizens would no longer accept a regular mortgage payment from me, the only option was to wait for the sale to be finalized. However in XX/XX/XXXX the whole sale fell apart and the buyer backed out. 

At that time I tried again to get Citizens to work with me or consider assistance programs for FHA homeowners. I was told that since I was divorced and my ex-wife was still listed as a co-borrower it would be a problem to qualify and that the home was going into foreclosure. 

I live in the home with my XXXX XXXX XXXX daughter and my XXXX XXXX XXXX son who has XXXX  He considers this his " safe place '' after going through Covid and divorce. I have been working for the XXXX XXXX for several months and my income has increased. I also have started my own XXXX XXXX XXXX on the side to supplement my income and that business is slowly growing. I have sufficient income to pay the mortgage payment on my own, and I am the legal and rightful owner of the house at this time. My ex-wife does not live here and does not contribute financially and I have enough income to qualify for FHA programs to help homeowners on my own. My hardship is resolved, I can afford my payment, but I am not able to pay back the full past due amount of XXXX XXXX in one payment to save the house

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation