Consumer complaint received 2015-11-19
Product: Mortgage — Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure — 
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (NY)

My mother XXXX XXXX and I are co-owners of our primary residence, which we purchased in XXXX. Then, we had obtained a mortgage from lender Chase for a principal balance of {$380000.00}, and a monthly payment of {$4900.00}. 
In XXXX XXXX, for a number of personal and financial reasons, most of which were temporary, we fell behind on our payments and began the process of applying for a loan modification. ( A foreclosure action was filed against us, but the action was ultimately suspended, as our file was under review for a modification. ) We were finally offered a trial modification in XXXX XXXX and a final HAMP modification two days ago, on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. 
During a time period of almost 7 YEARS, from XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX, we were in the process of applying for the modification. We would call Chase, be told that our application was " under review, '' then be told that our documents expired because the 60-day time period had passed, and we were forced to submit documents all over again. This cycle happened repeatedly. There were also lengthy and numerous delays caused by Chase ( e.g. waiting for their appraiser, etc. ). Importantly, during this time, interest and fees were accruing. 
The final modification we are being offered is for a new principal balance of {$520000.00} and a monthly payment of {$4100.00}. 
Our complaints about Chase are as follows : ( 1 ) The loan modification process took the extraordinarily unreasonable time of 7 years because Chase was not undertaking the modification process in good faith. This is prejudicial to us because interest and fees were accruing on our account during the entire 7-year period. If Chase had shown good faith, including processing our application in a timely manner, we would not have been forced to accumulate the high amount of interest and fees. ( See recent XXXX XXXX, XXXX decision XXXX XXXX Bank, XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX NY Slip Op XXXX, Supreme Court, XXXX XXXX, NY XXXX finding that plaintiff lender failed to negotiate in good faith to reach a mutually agreeable resolution pursuant to CPLR XXXX ( f ), in part because lender repeatedly claimed that the modification application was not complete ]. ) ( 2 ) We are unable to afford the new offered monthly payment of {$4100.00}. Our original monthly payment was {$4900.00}, so this new monthly payment is only a savings of {$750.00}. Furthermore, about half of the new payment is to cover our monthly escrow fee, which would not be as high, had we not accumulated so many fees and charges during the 7-year processing period. 
( 3 ) We were not considered for any programs other than HAMP. Per Chase, we were only considered for HAMP, not for any of the XXXX modification programs. As our application showed, our income is relatively high but our documented expenses ( associated with tenants on said property, and with basic living expenses ) are also high and are equal to almost half the value of our income. Chase explained to us that other programs such as XXXX look at both income and expense, whereas HAMP only looks at income. Had we been considered for XXXX of the other programs, which takes into account expenses, we might have been offered a more affordable monthly payment. 
( 4 ) The new principal balance they offer is {$520000.00}, which is higher than the current estimated value of our home. We had sent over to Chase more than XXXX Comparative Market Analysis ( " CMA '' ) done by a licensed real estate broker that, as of XXXX, estimated the value of our home to be between {$380000.00} to {$400000.00}. 
( 5 ) We are not being given enough time to make a decision. We received the final modification offer on XXXX XXXX, XXXX and are told that a response is due on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. This 10-day period does not give us enough time to consult with an attorney or counselor about our options.