Consumer complaint received 2017-01-30
Company: Seterus, Inc.
State: MD
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure

Complaint:
I am writing to enlist your assistance involving mortgage lending rules that are designed to assist surviving family members. At issue is the mortgage company 's insistence- Seterus 's insistence- that as an heir, I must meet the Ability to Repay requirement. I know that your organization, CFPB under XXXX provides that I do not have to meet this requirement as I am legal heir to the property even though there is a mortgage. 

Seterus acquired the mortgage from XXXX, the mortgage servicer with which my mother-now deceased- originally entered an agreement. At that time because my name has been on the deed and still is, I was required also to sign the paperwork with her for the XXXX transaction. The transaction took place in XXXX XXXX. My mother passed away on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. Prior to her death my mother entered a payment arrangement with Seterus. On the XXXX of every month she was required to pay {$1500.00} per month. Her regular payment was approximately {$1000.00}. She fulfilled her obligation on the first payment. I made the second and third payments with great hardship. XXXX XXXX dollars per month is not a sustainable amount with my existing debt. Also she tried to XXXX separate occasions last year to get a modification but was denied : the banking statement appeared to have come from an on-line account and they required a paper statement. When the paper statement was faxed she was told it was too late and that she 'd have to resubmit. She did and was told the second time that she had too much equity. 

On Saturday, XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I attempted to explain to no avail that I did not have to meet the Ability to Repay requirement. I was first told I was told by the Seterus rep however that I needed a lawyer to establish legal interest in the property and that I failed to meet the Ability to Repay metric because of existing debt, and I could not qualify for a modification because my name was not on the mortgage, nor did I live at the residence. It was an exhausting and frustrating experience in bureaucratic ignorance. 

For clarification my name has been on the deed since I was a child, I signed the original paperwork along with my mother- who at the time had outright ownership before the second mortgage with XXXX and the present mortgage servicer Seterus did not require either of us to sign anything when they acquired the mortgage from XXXX. As I recall the only materials that were sent was a " welcome package '' that contained her new account number. 

My understanding of the mortgage lending rule to assist surviving family members is as follows : " A residential mortgage transaction does not arise where a successor takes on the debt obligation that is secured by property the successor previously acquired.XXXX In these situations, XXXX XXXX b ) does not apply when the successor agrees to be added as an obligor on an existing mortgage loan. Although these transactions are commonly referred to as assumptions, they are not assumptions under XXXX XXXX b ) because the transaction is not a residential mortgage transaction as to the successor. Accordingly, the XXXX XXXX in XXXX does not apply to a transaction in which a successor seeks to take on the debt secured by property that the successor previously acquired. '' Relevant Information Mortgage servicer : Seterus Ph : XXXX Account Number : XXXX Decedent 's name : XXXX XXXX XXXX Heir : XXXX XXXX XXXX Contact for me : XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation