Consumer complaint received 2018-07-11
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC (CA)

In XX/XX/XXXX, my wife and I purchased our 1st home in XXXX XXXX, California. This was my very first mortgage and being a United States XXXX XXXX Veteran of XXXX and XXXX rated with a XXXX XXXX XXXX due to XXXX XXXX, I was told about the Tax Exemption for Veterans in California who are XXXX. I requested this document from California after I submitted all my paperwork stating that I am XXXX XXXX XXXX and in return I was given a certificate which was to be given to my loan servicer, Amerihome. I had no knowledge of how this exemption worked, except that, exemption means you pay nothing. I believe Amerihome was under the same impression because after I sent them my certificate, they no longer collected taxes from my mortgage. At the time it seemed like a blessing until the winter of XX/XX/XXXX and into spring XX/XX/XXXX when the state of California was demanding their payment for taxes. In the spring of XX/XX/XXXX, I reached out to Amerihome to see if there were any programs or anything they could do to help me in this situation so that I didn't have to skip a mortgage payment ( s ) in order to pay a tax bill that was XXXX. No help or advice was given so my wife and I decided to skip a month mortgage in XX/XX/XXXX to pay down the Tax bill. At the sometime, I just graduated my XXXX degree from XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX and unexpectedly lost XXXX a month that was supposed to be extended an extra 2 months while looking for work from the Chapter XXXX Vocational Rehabilitation program offered by the VA. However, VA did not explain that one must request for an additional two months of educational stipends, it is not automatically enrolled by the VA. That error in my calculations and life caused me great grief because Now my family and I are down XXXX a month and a XXXX tax bill. I was consistent with asking Amerihome what options did I have and was told by their monthly literature as well as customer service representatives that they had programs either to repay slowly or modify my current home loan. Then, when things could not get any worse, my grandmother whom raised me became very I'll with XXXX that required my assistance throughout XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, and all the way through XX/XX/XXXX as her primary care taker. I was able to make a payment or two over the summer in XX/XX/XXXX but me living in XXXX XXXX and XXXX in XXXX XXXX, I found myself taking multiple leave days away from my XXXX XXXX job and taking leave without pay for XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. I finally, at the end of XX/XX/XXXX and early XX/XX/XXXX applied for any programs that Amerihome had available that I would qualify for. Keep in mind, now I am the XXXX XXXX who now has his grandma in XXXX XXXX living in my house as my wife and I care for her XXXX. I am still working for the XXXX but frequently taking days off to care for my ailing grandmother. I sent in all my pay stubs, doctor notes, and everything else Amerihome asked for as they decided on if they could help with my past monies owed to them. In this malay, Amerihome paid my outstanding tax bill and now that is factored into what I owe them. After numerous files, papers, hardship letters, and other pertinent papers were faxed to Amerihome, they never called to ask for additional papers or questions but rather sent a letter stating that they needed another copy of a paper I had already sent. Finally, they denied my loss mitigation claim due to not enough evidence sent which was not true. I sent every form asked for and then some. Round two, I apply again and the same thing continues on their part. I never heard back from them and only to find out that they only communicate via mail in the loss mitigation department, customer service could never give me any insight into what was the matter. The second time they denied me to the same reason as the first, unsupported documents!?!!? Now, it is XX/XX/XXXX and customer service at Amerihome said they could not accept any payments unless it was the lump sum which now was Almost XXXX. I then take my last resource which was keep your home California. They were very communicatve and timely however, I was denied a loan modification through them because they said Amerihome did not want to work out a deal. Now, I am without a job because care taking for my grandmother forced me to resign in XX/XX/XXXX. I had to place her in a facility XX/XX/XXXX because I was afraid of foreclosure. I am now with money monthly. I have requested a 3rd loan modification with Amerihome and awaiting their decision however ; they have started the foreclosure process but no sale date. I never went without any monies throughout this last year, only lost more than what we planned due to family illness. I receive XXXX from my VA XXXX, XXXX from Social security XXXX and my wife receives XXXX for educational benefits through chapter XXXX from the VA. We make enough for a loan modification but we feel we have not been given any chance for this to happen. I still have every document faced from last summer and this could have easily been avoided by Amerihome but I feel we were not given a chance from the very beginning. Our situation was life, it wasn't due to us partying and blowing our money. We were forced to adjust to care for the ones who cared for us as children. I feel Amerihome did not take any of that into mind or even gave us alternatives or even a phone call. We just want a second chance to make things right now that we are back in the position to make more and more money. Please please help, California is horrifying to try and find suitable housing. I do want to accept blame as well in this matter, never have I should of expected automatic replies or calls to help me for a situation I found myself in. I take a well lesson learned and I believe if given another opportunity with XXXX 's mercy, my family and I shall repay our indebtedness. I also want to make this clear, Amerihome has been very pleasant and professional when on the phone and with allowing the mortgage get this car unpaid. However ; I am very dissatisfied with my multiple previous attempts with trying to find a solution with their loss mitigation section. I read their literature and listen to customer service continuously stating ; " we want to help, there are programs for you, We want you to stay in your home ''. It reminds me of when I was getting out of the XXXX and every corporation was all about hiring Veterans, true, but only as XXXX. I feel they never gave my multiple packages a look or chance and being told no payments unless it's the whole payment has put me deeper than I should have been. Thank you and Semper Fi!