Consumer complaint received 2019-09-10
Company: Mr. Cooper Group Inc.
State: KY
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
I would like to request you look into NationStar LLC dba Mr. Cooper 's policy of cancelling private mortgage insurance. Even when there is no penalty for paying ahead on a mortgage they refuse to cancel the premium mortgage insurance until the scheduled amortization rate where it reaches 78 %.

Don't they have to automatically cancel it when that LTV is reached, regardless of when? Instead they say on their website that you can not move up the date at all without a request and an appraisal. And not just for 80 % but the 78 %.

Aren't they legally obligated to cancel the pmi as soon as 78 % LTT is reached regardless of it is earlier than scheduled with the length of the loan? There is no penalty on my mortgage for paying ahead so why should we have to pay for an appraisal even when reaching 78 %?

Here is the direct statement from their website : https : //www.mrcooper.com/XXXX   HOW DO I REMOVE PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE ( PMI )?

... .Note that this projected date for automatic cancellation is fixed and cant be moved up. However, if you believe your loan qualifies for PMI cancellation before the projected date, you can submit a cancellation request.

You need at least 20 % equity in your home to request cancellation, and some other conditions may apply. Here are the main ones : Your loan must be current.

In the last twelve months, you cant have been more than thirty days late on any payment.

In the last twenty-four months, you cant have been more than sixty days late on any payment.

We may need to order a professional appraisal of your property to verify its current value. The appraisal needs to happen within ninety days of your PMI cancellation request.

To discuss your specific requirements for requesting PMI cancellation, please contact us.

You can send PMI cancellation requests to : Mr. Cooper Attn : Escrow Research XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX   Cancellation requests by mail must include an explicit request to cancel PMI, your loan number, the date, and the signatures of all borrowers.

....

I am currently at 80 % with my loan and was considering whether to have an appraisal done or just continue paying down the loan when I found this out. To add further insult to injury of requiring an appraisal, they keep contacting me about the possibility of canceling PMI ( that is apparently the only way I can get out of it ).

They also send me multiple marketing pieces a month about how much my property is worth now and how I should refinance. If they are so sure the value has gone up why won't they cancel the pmi then?

I never chose this company as my mortgage company. They simply bought my mortgage after a few short months with my original mortgage company. It is my understanding this is not the practice of other mortgage companies.

Please let me know if they can legally withhold canceling the PMI once the LTV reaches 78 % simply because it was ahead of the original amortization schedule and if, we the consumers, who are trapped in this contractual relationship have any further recourse than paying hundreds of dollars to their cronies to be able to get something dropped that should be done automatically.

Thank you, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation