Consumer complaint received 2024-04-29
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue related to modification, forbearance, short sale, deed-in-lieu, bankruptcy, or foreclosure
Company: NEW YORK COMMUNITY BANCORP INC (MI)

I am a victim of wrongful foreclosure due to Flagstars refusal to offer me the CARES forbearance program when I asked for help in XXXX. I XXXX XXXX am the borrower who took out a VA loan to purchase my home in XXXX, MI that was serviced by Flagstar. When my income and job were negatively impacted due to Covid 19 I reached out to Flagstar to request help multiple times. I was directed to fill out an application for a loan modification and hardship request. I submitted this paperwork multiple times but was never actually reviewed. I have now found out that Flagstar was REQUIRED as a servicer of a VA loan to offer me the CARES act forbearance. This was a government program and it applied to my loan, but Flagstar never offered this option as required and it started a snowball effect that led to my house being sold at foreclosure auction. The unethical servicing practices of Flagstar led to this wrongful foreclosure auction on XX/XX/XXXX. Now that I understand what Flagstar did I am contacting the VA and regulatory agencies to report their actions because I should not be in this situation. 

I XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and I was out of work from my job in XXXX XXXX  for a few weeks, and my hours got cut also. It took me a few months to recover because I had some XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I missed my first payment in XX/XX/XXXX and I did not contact Flagstar at first because I thought I could get caught up on my own. When I realized I could not come up with the past due payments in one large payment I called into Flagstar and they said I need to fill out this paperwork for a hardship request -- -- it was multiple pages -- -8-12 pages form, it was not a form for CARES forbearance, and I have learned that Flagstar should have offered me the forbearance over the phone based on my statement that I was having a hardship related to Covid. The forms they gave me were complicated and I had trouble uploading it into their online portal. I would submit the documents multiple times but then the system would still say they were not received. So then I mailed the paperwork in to their office several times -- -same situation, told they were not received. It was impossible and it is so wrong because they were supposed to offer me the Covid CARES forbearance program instead of making me jump through these hoops.

I XXXX XXXX a second time during XXXX in XXXX and had long term effects that made me weak so I switched from my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX which led to a massive pay cut. And then I XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and had to replace my vehicle for work. I tried to contact Flagstar AGAIN for help but got the same runaround. So I knew they were never going to help me so I filed XXXX XXXX bankruptcy to stop the foreclosure process. After six months of payments the bankruptcy was dismissed and I contacted Flagstar and tried to start making payments but they would not accept the payments. I tried to start the application for hardship request paperwork but could not get anywhere. My bankruptcy attorney told me not to worry about the foreclosure because he was going to get the bankruptcy re-opened. I did not even know about the foreclosure sale date until I got a sheriffs notice on my door the day before. I called into Flagstar and found out I had a sale the next day. I called my Attorney and he said it was too late to file bankruptcy again, but dont worry about it because there is a redemption period in Michigan . What he did not say was that the full amount of the mortgage loan has to be paid to redeem the loan, not just the amount you are behind. I never should have been in this position. Flagstar violated the VA servicing guidelines and denied me access to a government program they were mandated to offer to me, and now I have lost my home