Consumer complaint received 2017-04-09
Company: Alabama Housing Finance Authority
State: NC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure

Complaint:
We signed a mortgage on XX/XX/XXXX and moved into our new home that weekend. In XX/XX/XXXX, my husband was XXXX and was released. Then in XX/XX/XXXX he was injured on the job. He went out on injury leave and our true hardship began immediately as he had no remaining sick time. After months of back and forth, an XXXX was finally done and it was determined that he had a XXXX that would require XXXX at some point. In XX/XX/XXXX, he was let go from his job and we hired an attorney to help us seek a " lost wages '' settlement since NC law states that all work injuries must be slip and fall or vehicle related in order to qualify for workers compensation. After 4 months with no income, we finally received a settlement check for {$1500.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. We had notified our Mortgage company, Alabama Finance Housing Authority, that we were likely going to need some assistance to get back on track. In XX/XX/XXXX, we spoke with a supervisor in loss mitigation who told us that if we paid {$2200.00} of the {$3000.00} we owed by XX/XX/XXXX, foreclosure would not be pursued over the remaining {$800.00}. We made that payment on time and on XX/XX/XXXX we received letters stating that the foreclosure was going through. We contacted our lender and we were told that this supervisor " had no authority to make such an agreement ''. We contacted the FHA and we were instructed to contact loss mitigation for assistance with loan modification. We did that and we were sent one brochure that gave use very vague information about how to apply for a modification on our own and each statement we received kept stating they would not receive any partial payments from us. We were not comfortable doing this on our own so we sought advice from a XXXX friend. We were referred to a third party non profit HUD approved agency called XXXX to assist us with the modification. Attempts to bring this loan into modification we made 4 times between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. Each time we contacted our lender, they stated they had not received the package. The final time I we sent the package, as well as the XXXX representative. On XX/XX/XXXX the lender finally agreed that they had received the package and it was under review. At this point, we had a hearing scheduled before the clerk of court on XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX we received work from the lender that they would not recognize XXXX and that we would need to use a HUD approved counseling agency. We scheduled an appointment with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and discussed that with the clerk of court at our hearing. We were granted a 60 day extension and go back before the clerk on XX/XX/XXXX. We received a letter from our lender in XX/XX/XXXX stating that because our loan was partially purchased with state bond monies, they were not able to offer below market interest rates and our loan could not be modified. We were contacted by our XXXX representative very shortly after the hearing and we received documentation stating that the are indeed HUD approved and that our lender is trying everything they can to get us out of our home. We contacted Legal Aid of NC at the end of XXXX and we have now been referred to the local XXXX office to push this modification through. It was explained to us by legal aid that there are other types of modifications that do not require the interest rate to be changed. We are hoping to pursue this avenue first and then if the lender will not work with us, we 'll try for a loan from the NC foreclosure prevention fund through XXXX XXXX. This lender has been nothing but a nightmare to deal with. They have lied to us, declined and dismissed us and they seem to want nothing more than to force us out of our home. 2 weeks after we moved in construction began in our back yard. This was never disclosed to us.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed