Consumer complaint received 2017-04-18
Company: Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc.
State: TX
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Reverse mortgage
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure

Complaint:
Several years ago, my father ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, property address is XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX Tx XXXX ) entered into an agreement with RMS ( Reversed Mortgage Solutions ). He received a lump sum payment on the equity in his home. My father passed away XX/XX/XXXXI contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX ( I assume XXXX XXXX XXXX matches borrowers with reverse loan companies ) and was transferred to RMS. I notified the company of my father 's death. The representative advised I had three months to mail in the following documents : death certificate, affidavit of heirship, and a letter of intent. He also stated that we had a year to resolve this issue ( something my father also told me when he entered into this contract ). During the phone call, he also confirmed that he had my name, address, and phone number as the person of contact on this record. Prior to the deadline, I mailed a death certificate, the affidavit of heirship, and a letter of intent. In the letter, I advised that it was our intention to purchase the house ; however, because of a financial situation, I would not be able to do so until XX/XX/XXXX. I also stated in the letter that the asking price was excessive as there is much damage to the house ( it has termites and damage caused by termites and will likely need a new roof soon ). The death certificate had the wrong date of birth on it and the funeral home was working to correct this issue. I ended the letter with, should you have any questions, contact XXXX XXXX and I put my address and phone number again. Naively, I assumed that I had completed my part of the bargain. I received no follow up requests. I thought all I had to do is contact the company in XXXX XXXX to follow through with purchasing my father 's home. To my surprise, the first correspondence that I received from this company was a certified letter from attorneys advising they were going to auction of my father 's house to the highest bidder onXX/XX/XXXX. I immediately contacted RMS and asked why they were doing this. I stated I sent the letters advising that I could not buy the house until XX/XX/XXXX I also asked why they had not contacted prior to this drastic step. The agent stated that it was not the company 's responsibility to contact me. I also stated that I thought I had a year to purchase the house back. The agent again stated it was my responsibility to follow up with the company regarding my intentions. I asked her what we could do to purchase the house back now, she states you can send us {$78.00},??? .00 ( I ca n't remember the exact amount ) before the auction date or purchase the house at the auction. As I have my own home and responsibilities, I could not afford the price asked by RMS ( especially considering the money that I would have to put into the house for repairs needed ). A family friend ( who was going to assist me with purchasing the house ) and I went to the auction. To our surprise, it was not a true auction. We were prepared to bid on the house, but the opening bid was {$68000.00} ( or somewhere in that area ). I told the auctioneer, the letter that we received stated the house would be sold to the highest bidder. She stated that the mortgage company had a base rate and would not go below that amount. She also stated the mortgage company would retain ownership of the home.
The week after the auction, I contacted RMS again and asked what I had to do to get the house at this point. I was given the name and phone number of a local realtor. I asked why I had to call this person and the representative stated she 's the person that handling the sale of the house. I contacted the realtor and she states, what has to happen is the house has to be put on the market before I can even begin the process or buying the house.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation