Consumer complaint received 2024-01-24
Product: Mortgage — FHA 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: EQUITY LOANS LLC (CO)

We are contacting you regarding the way that Equity Prime Mortgage has handled our mortgage loan. We have found out that they are not following FHA guidelines and are not allowing us a chance to resolve our delinquent payments. My husband XXXX and I bought our home in XXXX CO in XX/XX/XXXX with a {$90000.00} down payment and an FHA loan obtained through XXXX. About six months later my husband and I BOTH lost our jobs and it became difficult to keep up with the mortgage payments. We have attempted several times to get EPM to work with us and provide access to government programs for distressed homeowners but have been denied access to these options. Our loan is backed by HUD and there are multiple homeowner assistance programs that they should be offering as a servicer of FHA loans. Instead their agents and supervisor have pushed us aside and told us there is nothing that can be done other than reinstate and if we want help we should call a homeowner counselor line. This is not the way this is supposed to work, we feel that EPM is obstructing and denying access to programs that they are required to offer such as partial claim, loan modification, recapitalization and restructure or repayment plan. We are now in the beginning stages of foreclosure because of these servicing practices. 

I have worked in the XXXX industry for several years and had been offering supplemental insurance policies. As business slowed down I became concerned and made arrangements to apply for a XXXX license. Before that could happen I lost my job in XX/XX/XXXX. My husband XXXX had been working for an XXXX XXXX  company in XXXX XXXX but he also lost his job in XXXX. We were in a difficult situation and did not have funds to make the XXXX mortgage payment. XXXX filed for XXXX  but his company challenged this and he had to fight them to get approved ( which just happened in XXXX ). This was an embarrassing situation for our family, I had never missed a mortgage payment before and wanted to try and fix this myself. I submitted a partial payment of {$1200.00} in XXXX which EPM accepted. I sent in a check for {$2500.00} in XXXX and then again in XXXX. These checks were never deposited. 

I was able to get approved as an XXXX XXXX a couple of months after I lost my job and have slowly been building up my clientele and income. My husband XXXX was able to start his own XXXX business in XXXX. We attempted to resume making our mortgage payments but EPM would not accept our payment and the agents told us they could not help us. In XXXX we were finally able to speak with a supervisor at EPM about our situation. We were told that there were no options other than full reinstatement and that the loan was going into foreclosure status. The supervisor told us to contact a HUD counselor or try and apply for the state mortgage assistance program, which is set up for XXXX related hardship assistance. Since our hardship was not related to XXXX we would not qualify for this program. The supervisor did not offer any other options. 

We did find out through HUD that Equity Prime Mortgage is REQUIRED as a servicer of FHA loans to provide access to programs such as partial claim, loan modification, recapitalization of delinquent payments or repayment plan. EPM has consistently denied access to these programs and has failed to even acknowledge that these are viable options. Our hardship is resolved, and we are more than capable of making our mortgage payment. We need help to address the delinquent payments that accrued due to our simultaneous loss of employment.