Consumer complaint received 2020-04-09
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: Fay Servicing, LLC (NM)

In XXXX, I purchased a house in XXXX XXXX, NY, which I believed would be my home for the rest of my life. The trouble began in XXXX when the economy crashed, I lost three jobs within a few months and I had to finance all medical payments for my brother in XXXX after a 'plane crash. The following is a timeline of the events occurring during my 12-YEAR ATTEMPT AND FAILURE TO GET A LOAN MODIFICATION. 

MY COMPLAINT IS AGAINST FAY SERVICING, which took over the loan after XXXX, then XXXX XXXX. 

MY COMPLAINT : On XX/XX/XXXX, the judge in XXXX County ordered the foreclosure and sale of the property. It had taken Fay Servicing an entire year to set the auction date, mainly because they had neglected to meet deadlines for properly advertising the property in local newspapers in XXXX. Meanwhile, they charged me all the extra interest and fees for an entire year, when the delay was due to their own incompetence, not mine. 

1. I have resided at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, NY XXXX since XXXX. My efforts to come to some sort of resolution with XXXX/XXXX XXXX began in XXXX, XXXX and have continued since then with little or no progress whatsoever. For the purposes of this document, since XXXX was taken over by XXXX XXXX, I refer only to the Bank, which is understood to be XXXX at the start of this procedure, and XXXX XXXX as of XX/XX/XXXX. 

2. I have been asked to submit the same documents ( proof of income, profit and loss statements, proof of employment, hardship letters, utilities bills, rental leases, bank statements, tax returns, and more ) over and over and over again, and during the last court session with a referee in XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX, realized that the banks attorney and the banks representative, both of whom were present, had still been unable to correctly calculate my income, despite the fact that I had sent every document they requested time and time again. 

3. In XX/XX/XXXX I took a XXXX jumbo mortgage for {$940000.00} on XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX. It was a 4-arm balloon mortgage and I was paying interest only for 4 years. I was told by the broker that the value of my house would always shoot up and I could always refinance when the 4-year period was up. 

4. In XXXX I lost two jobs and I had to pay for my brothers medical expenses after a plane crash ; I had to support my daughter who had XXXX problems ; and I had tenants who disappeared without paying rent. At this time I was paying the mortgage. 

5. On XX/XX/XXXX, I attempted to refinance my loan with a special deal offered by the Bank and sent all the documents they requested, including a hardship letter outlining the events of my life in XXXX. 

6. Instead of refinancing my loan, I was told I could apply for a modification and was asked to send documents to XXXX XXXX, applying for the modification with a reduction in principal to {$720000.00} and the remainder interest-free for 3 years. I was denied the modification. 

7. In XX/XX/XXXX I put my house at XXXX XXXX XXXX up for sale for {$950000.00} which was the amount of the loan at that time. Its value had plummeted from {$1.00} XXXX. 

8. I was in arrears on the mortgage for XXXX and XXXX. I wrote to the Bank with a hardship letter and asked for a loan deferment for those months only. I was denied the deferment, but I CONTINUED TO PAY THE MORTGAGE. 

9. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was told by the Bank to send in another application. I requested a 3-month deferral of the 2 months arrears and sent documents again. Yet again, even after being told to send in the application, I was DENIED. 

10. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was again asked to send in another application. I sent a new hardship letter and a request for deferral, along with all the documents. Once again I was DENIED. 
11. In XX/XX/XXXX I hired XXXX XXXX  XXXX, CA, for help, and paid them {$3500.00}. They assured me that they could get the modification. 

12. By XX/XX/XXXX I was still paying regular mortgage payments on my XXXX XXXX property. I applied again for a deferral of the outstanding 2 months mortgage payments. I also applied again for the loan modification program. I sent another hardship letter and sent the same documents again. I was again DENIED the deferral. 

13. On XX/XX/XXXX, after trying in vain to reach XXXX XXXX   XXXX, I learned that it was a scam, and the company was being sued by the State Attorney General in CA. Of course, they had done nothing at all about my modification. 

14. In XX/XX/XXXX one of the loan counselors at the Bank told me to make a payment of {$4000.00} which I did. I then received a phone call from that counselor stating that it was not enough and I needed to pay another {$320.00}. I paid immediately. 

15. On XX/XX/XXXX, in a lengthy phone conversation with a Bank counselor, I was told that since I was three months in arrears, I was now eligible for the LOAN MITIGATION MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE PLAN. The loan counselor TOLD ME NOT TO MAKE ANY FURTHER PAYMENTS because I was already in pre-foreclosure and making payments would make me ineligible for the modification. I stopped all further payments just as I was told to do by the Banks counselor.

16. XX/XX/XXXX I sent a letter to the Bank and another complete set of documents, as requested by the loan counselor. 

17. At the end of XXXX the Bank returned the checks for {$4000.00} and {$320.00} to me with no explanation. 

18. In XX/XX/XXXX I took XXXX XXXX XXXX off the market. Although the property was listed with a major realtor in the area, in 9 months, there had been not a single offer. 

19. On XX/XX/XXXX, unable to deal with the Bank on my own, I hired attorney XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. XXXX. Who has been the Attorney of Record since then.

20. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from the Bank stating that they had never received documents from me and I appeared to be uninterested in a loan modification. They asked for more documents, which I sent. 

21. In XXXX, I had a conversation with XXXX XXXX, HAMP, at XXXX XXXX, who requested more documents. He explained to me that the bank has a new deadline every month, and that if no one at the bank has looked at my documents within that month, they become obsolete, and I must resend them with up-to-date bank account statements. 
22. On XX/XX/XXXX, I forwarded all my documents to my attorney who then forwarded all of these documents to XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX. 

23. On XX/XX/XXXX, despite sending all of the documents requested by the Bank several times over, I received a letter from them stating that my file had been closed due to non-receipt of documents. 

24. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from the Bank denying my HAMP modification with the statement that my loan was too large for the HAMP program. 

25. On XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, although I had been denied the HAMP program, I received a letter from the Bank asking for the same documents again, which again were sent to the Bank for review. 

26. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from Loan Counseling at XXXX XXXX stating that their records indicated that I was not interested in any payment assistance a remarkable statement considering the number of phone calls I made and the number of times I sent large packets of documentation. At no point have I ever stated or indicated in any way whatsoever that I was and am not interested in mortgage relief and assistance. 

27. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent all of my documents again to the Bank to show that I was interested in assistance and a modification. 

28. On XX/XX/XXXX, right after sending them a whole package, I was sent a letter claiming that XXXX XXXX had not received all the documents I had sent, so I once again sent them everything they requested. 

29. In XXXX, XXXX, in addition to the false statements made by the bank, they served foreclosure papers to my residence ay XXXX XXXX XXXX. A s I was not present, the papers were delivered to my tenants despite the fact that they had already been instructed to send all correspondence to my attorney and not to my residence. My personal financial information was thus revealed to a third unrelated party, who then used this information to break their existing lease, causing me a huge loss of income. 

30. In XXXX, XXXX, I was out of the country on a working trip and had arranged to have all mail forwarded to a friend who would look out for anything from the Bank. She did not receive any mail at all from the Bank. On my return on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from the Bank stating that they had been unable to reach me and were proceeding with the foreclosure. They took this measure although they had been instructed to send all correspondence to the Attorney of Record and not to me. I also learned that the Post office will not forward official mail from any bank, so the letter had been returned to the Bank. They interpreted this as being a lack of interest on my part. 
31. Even though I once again sent documents to the Bank as requested, I received yet another letter at the end of XXXX that the file had been closed because no documents had been received. 

32. On XX/XX/XXXX the Bank sent me another letter requesting more documents. I was asked to send the Profit and Loss statement for XXXX XXXX, which I did, although I had already sent it to the Bank numerous times. 

33. On XX/XX/XXXX, the Bank claimed that they had not received any documents, although they had been sent through counsel, as requested. 

34. On XX/XX/XXXX, although I had already been denied HAMP several months before, I received another letter from the Bank denying a HAMP modification for which I was no longer applying! 

35. On XX/XX/XXXX, I wrote again to the Bank requesting them to stop sending any correspondence to me and to direct everything to my counsel XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. XXXX. I confirmed that she was and still is - my attorney of record. 

36. Through counsel, I provided the Bank with the profit and loss statement for all my properties. 

37. At the end of XXXX/early XX/XX/XXXX, my counsel spoke to the loan counselor who confirmed that they had received all of my documents and everything was in order and the modification was ready to go to forward. 

38. In XXXX, XXXX I received a call from the Bank stating that I had been approved for a three ( 3 ) -month trial period, but had been not approved for the modification. They stated that I had to complete an interview over the phone to show eligibility for a new program that had just come into place. 

39. My Counsel conducted the interview for me as I was suffering from acute stress and didnt feel able to handle it properly. 

40. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was admitted to the emergency room at XXXX Hospital for XXXX  XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX XXXX due to the XXXX  Ive been experiencing for years as a result of this foreclosure issue. 

41. In XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from the Town of  XXXX informing me that, although required to pay the property taxes during this process, the bank had failed to pay the second half of the property taxes for the year. I was forced to spend long hours on the phone with the bank to get them to pay the taxes. 

42. On XX/XX/XXXX the Bank sent me a letter requesting documents ; I sent everything that was requested, including rental leases as proof of income. 
43. Despite the fact that the Bank had known for months that XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. XXXX had been retained as my attorney since XX/XX/XXXX, and they have been directed to correspond only with her, they continued to send correspondence to me. Yet again, I had to send the bank a letter explaining that all correspondence must go through my counsel, and that they can not send any mail to my address. 

44. In XX/XX/XXXX, I received a Class Action document against XXXX stating that as a Member of Class C, I am eligible for a permanent loan modification and a financial settlement, which must be granted by law. Nothing ever happened about this action and I received no further information. 

45. In XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from XXXX XXXX at the Bank requesting more updated documents. 

46. On XX/XX/XXXX I sent a new hardship letter along with every document requested. 

47. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a letter to XXXX XXXX explaining my sources of income and why, as a XXXX XXXX  and XXXX XXXXXXXX, those sources often change as jobs and tenants change, but that my net income remains fairly stable. 

48. On XX/XX/XXXX, through counsel I sent more letters to the Bank as requested : Confirming that I pay tenants utilities bills at XXXX XXXX myself ; explaining that XXXX XXXX XXXX is based at my home office, XXXX XXXX XXXX ; Explaining continued hardship but improved finances. 

49. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX, representing XXXX XXXX, attempting to collect the full debt of {>= $1,000,000}. 

50. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent the Bank my documents again including but not limited to my profit and loss statement for XXXX XXXX and all the requested documents from my tenants, confirming their leases, as requested. 

51. On XX/XX/XXXX, I followed up with the Bank, confirming that my tenants reimburse me their share of my utilities bills. 

52. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent letters to the Bank confirming my employment at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX XXXX, XXXX, as requested. 

53. Throughout this whole process, I continued to send copies of all deposits made to my bank account with a full explanation for each deposit, as requested. 

54. In XX/XX/XXXX, the Bank requested yet again that I send another Profit and Loss statement for XXXX XXXX, which I complied with and sent. 

55. In XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX sent me a letter asking for {$250000.00} to cure the default. 

56. In XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX yet again requested documents, which I sent through my counsel, including but not limited to : Social Security Award letter, XXXX XXXX  Award Letter ; Proof of Income for XXXX XXXX ; Profit and Loss for XXXX XXXX ; Proof of Income for XXXX XXXX XXXX ; 2 Months Bank Statements showing Social Security and Rental received ; Proof of Occupancy for Tenants and all leases. 

57. In XX/XX/XXXX, while I was out of the country, XXXX XXXX once again served my tenants with foreclosure papers, which included all my personal private financial information. For the second time, my tenants then used this to cease paying rent and I was forced to move forward with an eviction, suffering a loss of {$8000.00} in rent and {$2500.00} in legal costs. XXXX XXXX had been instructed multiple times not to serve me or my tenants at my residence, but to serve my Attorney on file. XXXX XXXX continued to ignore my requests to have all correspondence sent to my attorney. 

58. On XX/XX/XXXX, my attorney XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. XXXX   received a stipulation for discontinuing the first foreclosure action. 

59. For this foreclosure action I complied and sent all the documents yet again to XXXX XXXX immediately. 

60. On XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX, following another request from the Bank, I sent all the requested documents including but not limited to : XXXX pension award with letter of explanation TWICE in the same month ; 2 most recent bank statements, all pages ; XXXX tax return with certified profit and loss from the accountant for the rental income ; real estate owned ; schedule E for all properties ; profit and loss for film company 61. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent an explanation of expected total income in XXXX, as requested. 

62. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a corrected interpretation of my bank statement and an updated hardship letter, as requested. 

63. In late XX/XX/XXXX, I was requested to send the same documents that I had already provided in XXXX. Once again, I sent, as requested : leases, bank statements, XXXX tax return, etc. 

64. In XXXX, XXXX, the tax assessment of XXXX XXXX XXXX showed the assessed value had been reduced from {>= $1,000,000} to {$850000.00}. 

65. On XX/XX/XXXX, as requested, I again sent all details of expenses for my properties, such as insurance and taxes for each property ; latest bank statements with XXXX XXXX  and Social Security deposits ; Profit & Loss for XXXX XXXX XXXX from XXXX XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ; Schedule of Real Estate Owned ; Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance along with Gross Monthly Rental received and mortgage loan balances. 
66. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent the schedule for XXXX XXXX, XXXX as requested by the Bank. ( One property is owned by this LLC,  which is in turned owned by the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ). 

67. On XX/XX/XXXX, the first foreclosure settlement conference took place, which I attended with my counsel. 

68. During that conference my counsel and I were again asked to submit a whole package of documents. 

69. On XX/XX/XXXX, my Counsel submitted all the documents requested. 

70. On XX/XX/XXXX I was informed by Plaintiffs counsel they had all the documents. 

71. After submission of all the documents, on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX once again requested the exact same documents that had just been submitted with explanations. 

72. XX/XX/XXXX, my counsel sent an email explaining everything, pointing out those documents that had already been sent, and re-sending some documents as well. 

73. The Bank blatantly ignored the documents which had been sent along with full explanations by my counsel ; they continued to request the same documents yet again, including documents for a property that I did not own and were informed accordingly by my counsel. 

74. On XX/XX/XXXX, the second conference in this matter took place. The referee stated that the bank could not request any further documents and set a date for a third conference, ordering a bank representative to be present. The referee was disturbed by the banks failure to review the documents sent, and their failure to even review the letter sent by my counsel. 

75. On XX/XX/XXXX, at a third conference, the banks attorney was present, but the banks representative did not attend, although he had been ordered to appear. The bank requested more documents and in an act of good faith, I consented to provide a few more documents so that my case could finally reach a decision on the modification. 

76. The referee ordered a fourth and last conference at which the banks representative was ordered to be present. 

77. On XX/XX/XXXX, we held the fourth and final conference. The attorney and banks representative were both present. 

78. Before we even entered the conference room, the banks representative informed me that they could not give me a modification because my income is too low. 

79. During the conference, I learned that the Bank had based their calculations on the income from only one property, instead of using the total income from three properties ( and other sundry income ), which I had provided to the bank multiple times. They had not calculated the income correctly, despite the hundreds of documents that they had requested and received over a period of more than FIVE YEARS.

80. I informed the Bank representative that they had calculated my income incorrectly. He confirmed this by showing me the income statement for only THREE MONTHS for ONLY ONE PROPERTY, which I had previously sent among all the other documents, on which he had based his calculations. He was not even aware that I have three income-producing properties, or he was deliberately ignoring this fact. It is absolutely evident from every document they have requested, and from all tax returns of the past 5 years. 

We appealed the case. It was denied again because the judge stated that we had brought no new information to the proceedings. Our argument was that the original information had not been properly assessed. 
The Judge did observe that the bank had not issued me with the correct 90-day warning re foreclosure, and a hearing about this is scheduled for XX/XX/XXXX. 

81. A trial was set for XX/XX/XXXX, to address the issue of an INCORRECT 90-DAY NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE LETTER from XXXX XXXX, which came directly from the bank instead of from their attorney and which was not delivered to me correctly. At the court, however, two ladies appeared as representatives of XXXX XXXX one a direct link to the bank, the other a representative of the banks attorneys, XXXX XXXX. Both ladies seemed eager to cooperate and promised to ensure that the bank would react in good faith. The Judge set a series of deadlines for compliance, as follows : XX/XX/XXXX I was to send in all requested documents for a full modification package, as listed by the banks representatives. Plaintiff was to review and request missing documents by XXXX. Defendant to provide missing documents by XX/XX/XXXX. Plaintiff to make decision re modification by XX/XX/XXXX. Defendant will contribute escrow advance amount XXXX to cover property taxes paid by the bank ). Loss mitigation package to be submitted by Defense counsel to Plaintiffs counsel, XXXX XXXX. Hearing and compliance conference set for XXXX. 

82. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent all documents requested by the bank to XXXX XXXX via a XXXX  link. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent the remaining documents via XXXX. XXXX forward these docs to XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, and was directed to send them to a XXXX XXXX. XXXX received confirmation of receipt. 

83. On XX/XX/XXXX, one day after the courts deadline, XXXX received an email from XXXX XXXX at XXXX stating : I just wanted to give you an heads up that I know our MDL was due yesterday but there was an oversight by my previous clerk and we are working feverishly today to get an update. Ill have a MDL as soon as possible, and since we do not have to be back until XXXX, would be fine with extending our stipulation if need be. 
84. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX sent a MISSING DOCUMENTS letter indicating that they had not received ANY of the documents I had submitted to XXXX and that she had submitted to XXXX in a timely manner. 

85. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX responded : XXXX, i have a huge problem with the attached missing documents letter. It indicates no package was submitted and all of the documents marked not yet received were in fact included in the original submission, sent on time. Not only has your client not complied with the deadline to review the documents and issue a missing documents letter, when they finally do send a missing documents letter, it clearly indicates they did not review the package submitted as it shows every single document is missing and not yet received. I will need to bring all of this to the courts attention and I must say I am extremely disappointed as it was my understanding your office and the bank representative assured us you would actually stay on top of this review. 
85. On XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX I sent emails to XXXX XXXX asking her to find out when docs were sent from XXXX to XXXX XXXX. I also sent XXXX my response to the Missing Documents letter asking her to forward it to XXXX. Despite several phone calls to her office to ensure that she had received my response, I finally learned that XXXX was absent due to the death of her father. I tried to reach an assistant to no avail. Twice, I also tried to reach both XXXX XXXX at XXXX ( as XXXX XXXX was absent and he had forwarded the Missing Docs letter ) and XXXX XXXX, my case worker at XXXX XXXX Home Preservation Division who had signed the Missing Docs letter. I never received any response from either person. 
A few days later, I received a reprimand from XXXX XXXX for having tried to reach him directly. 
86. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent my response to the Missing Docs letter with an explanation and details of the XXXX folder containing the requested updated documents to the following : XXXX XXXX ; XXXX XXXX ; XXXX XXXX XXXX ; XXXX XXXX ; XXXX XXXX all at XXXX. 

Updated docs included : Updated tenant leases ; updated tax award letter ; updated XXXX XXXX  award letter ; Deed and Title for XXXX XXXX ; invoices addressed to XXXX XXXX as proof of residence ; my letter of response to the Missing Docs document, with signature page. 

87. On XX/XX/XXXX, I attended court with XXXX XXXX. The banks representative and attorney were present, but the judge was absent. We had a conference in which I was able to state my case. I gave both representatives this timeline as proof of the number of years and incidents that have been recorded to date. The banks representatives admitted that THEY ARE UNABLE TO DEAL WITH XXXX  AS THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE IT but they neglected to inform XXXX XXXX, choosing instead to make ME guilty of not sending the requested documents. We again agreed to a series of deadlines as follows : The bank requested further documents which I was to provide by XX/XX/XXXX. They were to review and I was to send further documents if requested by XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, the bank was to reach a decision. We are to appear in Court on XX/XX/XXXX. 

88. On XX/XX/XXXX ( a few days late as I was not aware of the deadline on the XXXX ) I sent documents to XXXX XXXX as requested, via XXXX : 4506-T More bank statements Letter explaining that XXXX XXXX XXXX was purchased with cash no mortgage 89. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent the same documents to XXXX XXXX as email attachments. 

90. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent documents requested by the bank after review as follows : P and L for XXXX XXXX, XXXX Revised 4506 T Letter explaining why there is no 44506-T for XXXX XXXX, only for XXXX XXXX XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, the deadline for a decision, no communication was received from the bank, nor on any day afterwards. 

91. On XX/XX/XXXX, we received a HAMP application from XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX the exact same application that I had submitted in XXXX, for which I was deemed ineligible. More documents were requested. XXXX responded to the banks attorney re the HAMP application, asking if this was a joke 92. At XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX was in her car preparing to drive to Court in XXXX  when she received a phone call from the banks representative, who was ALREADY AT COURT, even though our date was for XXXX. He had already requested a further postponement of the case. 

93. On XX/XX/XXXX, I asked XXXX if we could press the bank for a decision since they had received all the documentation, and would have had to provide a decision by XX/XX/XXXX in any case. However, the courts were closed for two weeks for XXXX and the date of XX/XX/XXXX was the earliest that could be obtained. 

94. A few days before the Court date, we again received notice that it had been postponed to XX/XX/XXXX. 

95. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a statement from XXXX XXXX outlining the outstanding debts. 

96. Since XX/XX/XXXX, the saga has continued. The mortgage was taken over by FAY SERVICING in XXXX. I continued to try to receive a loan modification to no avail. 

97. My partner, Mr. XXXX XXXX, offered to be a co-borrower on a refinance and was refused because he was not actually resident on the premises. 

98. In a further court hearing, it was determined that I was just {$400.00} a month short of the required amount for a loan modification. 

99. In XX/XX/XXXX, I put the property up for sale with two top realtors. After 18 months there were no offers at all, although the property is in the XXXX  and in an excellent location and in great condition. I did not want to lower the sales price below the debt owed so that I could pay off the debt. 

100. On XX/XX/XXXX the judge ordered foreclosure and sale, but Fay servicing neglected to follow proper procedure for the sale. 

101.Since the property did not sell, I offered Fay Servicing a very reasonable short sale of {>= $1,000,000} when the debt was {>= $1,000,000}. They refused the offer. 

101. The property was set for auction on XX/XX/XXXX. I attended and was perplexed as there seemed to be no officials and no buyers. The auction had been postponed but no one had thought it necessary to let me know. 

102. On XX/XX/XXXX, my home of 33 years was auctioned off and sold for {>= $1,000,000}, ie LESS THAN THE SHORTSALE AMOUNT I HAD OFFERED. Not one single person was present at the auction, and I am convinced that the buyer had INSIDE INFORMATION as he is just another investor. So in fact, the bank DID take a short sale. That investor now has the property back on the market for the exact same price that I had in XXXX. It was not bought as a home for a family but ONLY as an investment with a quick turnover.