Consumer complaint received 2018-03-17
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: BMO Bank, N.A. (IL)

I bought this house in XX/XX/XXXX, it was at the peak of the housing bubble. When it collapsed, my house purchased for {$310000.00} was worth {$210000.00}. I signed the documents, I take responsibility. I took a pay cut at work and couldn't afford the house. I almost lost it. I got behind. I was saddened when many neighbors got help thru HARP and principle reductions thru their lender, and homes around mine sold in foreclosure which dramatically reduced the price of comparable homes. The values of homes in this area of XXXX XXXX IL. have yet to recover fully. BMO is not a U.S. Bank and therefore didn't qualify for any assistance being offered thru FHA or HARP. I begged for help but it fell on deaf ears at BMO Harris. I took my plea to the United States Comptroller of the Currencies, and complained that BMO Harris wasn't willing to do anything to help me avoid foreclosure. I was contacted by the VP of BMO Harris who offered to help. Her " help '' was a 40yr mortgage with andjustable rate. I was XXXX old at the time which would make the pay off date beyond the normal life span of a male in the US. The VP of BMO I spoke to as well as the loan person said that if the rate increased in the future, I could refinance it and they " would gladly work with me again if necessary ''. I had no choice but to sign it or have my credit further ruined as they threatened to take my home. They lied and their lies amount to deceptive mortgage practices. The rate has now increased by {$160.00} a month ( effective XXXX ) and I filled out their extensive paperwork asking for the adjustable rate to be converted to a fixed rate. I received a denial letter and I spoke to XXXX who told me my income was sufficient to pay more. They refused to help. This amounts to a lie on the part of the lender and it's employees which i believe was intentional to deceive me and get me to continue to pay a mortgage that the lender clearly knows will never be paid off in my lifetime and most likely would result in foreclosure and their taking the home back in the future. The bank told me to try and get conventional refinancing at another place which they also know can not be done because the current value is approx {$260000.00} and the amount I owe is more than that. I asked the bank to refi the loan without the formality of the appraisal. They refused this option as well. Banks that loan in the USA should be required to live up to the laws of the United States and that includes the benefits that other banks with FHA backed loans extended to their customers with HARP refi and other government assistance. 

I really can not afford another penny. Although the bank says I can. I owe a considerable debt on a XXXX ( {$23000.00} ) and recently lost my renter due the basement of the house flooding. The flood cost me approx {$1200.00}. 

The bank made it clear to me that the 40yr mortgage, which they used strong arm tactics to get me to sign while threatening to take the home I had already paid over {$40000.00} into, could and would be modified again if/when the rate began to rise. Now they will not make it a fixed rate and will not refinance it without an appraisal which they know will not work either because the amount I owe is more than the current value. The bank made it seem like they were working with underwater lenders to avoid additional government oversite during the housing bubble but their assistance to those customers amounted to lies. Again, I believe this amounts to deceptive loan practices and this bank should be forced to either : a ) change the adjustable rate i've been on the last year to a fixed rate allowing me to continue to pay and stay in the property b ) return all money that I have so far paid into this deceptive loan and I'll vacate the property in 90 days. 

Another reason I believe their practices are deceptive is that on XX/XX/XXXX I spoke to XXXX XXXX of the BMO loss mitigation department by phone. I asked her about the Dispute and Appeal process. XXXX advised me ( despite what the letter she sent me states ) that there is no point in appeal because although a new underwriter would look at my appeal, the same manager would receive my packet and would again deny my request.