Consumer complaint received 2023-12-03
Product: Mortgage — Other type of mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Foreclosure
Company: CrossCountry Mortgage LLC (CO)

My wife and I are the victims of a fraudulent and predatory mortgage loan. 

In early XXXX  our friends in XXXX, CO found a house in the area for sale that they thought we would like.  We were already in love with the area and had discussed moving at some point in the future.  It was at a good price point, and we decided to see what it would take to purchase it.  We were currently living in XXXX  CO in a house we purchased in XXXX   We knew we would need to sell our house in XXXX to purchase the house in XXXX.  My mother-in-law was working with a realtor from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and we decided to work with him.  We explained that we wanted to sell our house in XXXX to buy the house in XXXX and move to XXXX  as a primary residence.  He informed us that the current owners of the XXXX house would not do a contingency sale but that he had a lender that would be able to get us into the XXXX house prior to us selling the XXXX house.  This is when we were introduced, via phone, to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX informed us that they could do what he called, a sniper loan to get us into the XXXX  house.  He stated that this would be a high interest loan but that we could refinance it once we sold the XXXX house to have a lower rate with lower payments.  After about roughly a week of working with XXXX he sent us over to XXXX XXXX, another member of the XXXX XXXX, whom XXXX stated did these loans all the time and would be the best person for us to work with.  Everything seemed to be going great.  Our offer for the XXXX house was accepted and we began getting our Aurora house ready to sell.  Just prior to closing on the XXXX  house, XXXX XXXX  advised us to request XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXX to put in new flooring and paint in the XXXX house so it would sell for moreXXXX XXXX agreed that it would be a good idea to add these things to the XXXX  house to increase the value and stated that we would receive the XXXX  upon closing on the XXXX  house; it would be tacked onto the loan.  We closed on the XXXX  house on XXXX XXXX XXXX and began moving our belongings from XXXX XXXX XXXX.  My wife works XXXX full time, so we decided to have her stay in XXXX with the dogs and cats while I stayed in XXXX to get to house ready to sell asap.  My parents also stayed with me in XXXX  to help it go faster.  I hired people to replace the floors and paint the interior.  Per XXXX advisement, I also replaced all the lighting fixtures, went with his recommendations on paint and flooring colors and flooring types, and installed sod in the backyard.  On the weekends, my wife would drive the three hours from XXXX to help with anything she could to get the XXXX house ready to be placed on the market.  After some hiccups with the paint, flooring, and sod taking longer than expected, we were finally able to put the XXXX  house on the market in XXXXXXXX XXXX informed us that we needed to sell the house at a minimum of XXXX to pay off the over XXXX in debt we had and have at least XXXX to put down to refinance the XXXX house.  Sam knew of this and advised us to price the XXXX house at XXXX to get the people who are looking for houses under XXXX.  He did this against what we had wanted, which was for him to price it at XXXX.  A couple of weeks went by with few showingsXXXX XXXX advised we raise the price of the house to just above XXXX to get the people with a minimum of XXXX so we did.  Then the interest rates went up a few days later and we got even less showings.  He lowered the price to XXXX  Still not many showings and when we would call him to ask any sort of question, we would find out that he was on vacation.  We even had to request that he reword the listing, as at one point he made it sound like we were dead.  August came around with no real interest and we felt that XXXX just wasnt in our corner.  We fired him and went with the daughter of our old neighbor in XXXX  She was in constant communication with us and explained how the market was being affected by the rising interest rates.  She also explained that, aside from a deep clean, we hadnt needed to do all the extra cosmetic work and she would have never advised us to take out the XXXX.  She was able to get the house sold foXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX all the new owner wanted was for the roof and gutters to be replaced, which was covered by our homeowners insurance.  As soon as the XXXX house was sold, we started receiving call after call from XXXX  He stated that the money from the sale of the XXXX house was supposed to have gone to him, not to us, and sounded upset.  He demanded to know how much we received and what we spent it on.  I explained that we did exactly as promised and spent it on paying down our debt as much as possible to refinance into a lower interest rate (it is currently at 10%) and lower payments (we currently pay XXXX).  He then went on to inform me that my wife would no longer qualify on her own due to the spike in interest rates and that I would need to find a job paying at least XXXX a year.  I began putting in 100s of applications; I was laid off in XXXX due to covid.  We paid our mortgage, I put in applications, and my wife worked.  We started our lives here, started a homestead with goats and ducks, and figured that, since we were paying our mortgage on time, had heat and food on the table, that we were ok.  I found a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  in town; it didnt count as a real job to refinance, but it paid for our phones, car insurance, and other smaller bills that my wife's paycheck couldnt cover; she pays for the mortgage and our truck.  We began looking to our future; what fencing we would eventually like, fixing the duck coup and goat barn, making a dog run, hosting family events like XXXX  and XXXX  We were happy.  Then, XXXX started calling again.  He would ask about how the job search was going.  I would tell him the truth; not well.  No matter how many applications I have put in, nor how many interviews I had, for whatever reason I just wasnt getting hired.  He was adamant that I needed a job for us to refinance.  I informed him that we were doing our best, we were never late with the mortgage, so I would call him the second I had an offer letter.  Then no calls.  We went back to living our best lives not knowing that we were about to receive the biggest shock of our lives.  Fast forward to XXXX XXXX XXXX.  My wife and I were making plans for her upcoming vacation in XXXX  for our XXXX anniversary.  Deciding how much time she would take off and looking up things to do.  We would normally go camping for a week, but since we now live in the mountains, we were thinking of doing something different this year.  Then XXXX called and dropped a bomb.  He stated that they were going to start the foreclosure process.  We were shocked.  We didnt miss any of the mortgage payments.  We were current.  He stated that that didnt matter.  That the note we were under was only good for a year.  I expressed that we were never told that.  That it was only described as a high interest loan and that we were only ever told that we needed to refinance to get into a lower interest loan with lower payments.  He stated that he was sorry if it wasnt explained properly, but that this is where we are and that if we didnt refinance now, they would foreclose on us.  He then stated that they could do a six-month extension to give us more time, but they could only do that this one time.  We agreed.  We didnt think we had a choice.  We didnt want to lose the house, and we didnt see any alternative.  He had XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  send us the amendment in XXXX  The first one she sent only extended the note to XXXX XXXX XXXX  I replied and informed them that it should be extended to XXXX XXXX XXXX, as that was six months from when we were informed of this.  They sent us the updated paperwork, which we notarized and signed and sent back via XXXX   We didnt know that this would be our biggest mistake.  During all of this I also found out that our property taxes hadnt been paid.  When we signed up with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX we had told them that we wanted the property taxes and homeowners insurance to be paid from the escrow like we had with our XXXX  mortgage.  They said that would be fine which is another reason our payment was a little higher, or so we thought.  Come to find out our taxes werent paid, and neither was our homeowners insurance.  At some point during the process the name of whom owned our mortgage was changed from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX which caused our homeowners insurance company to think that it was now owned by a different company, although both of these company names are essentially the same company.  I tried explaining this to our broker, but she said that it was too late as we were now in default, and she would not be able to reinsure us but to try XXXX XXXX  So now not only are we afraid of losing our house, but our house is no longer insured.  We went to the courthouse and paid the taxes out of pocket right away.  We are still searching for a company to insure the house.  At this point we also started trying to not only refinance, but to come up with as much money as possible because they lent us more than the house was worth so we must come up with the difference in cash for what the house appraises for and what the difference in the loan will be.  That amount can be anywhere from XXXX XXXX XXXX  I had started a hobby during covid that I was hoping to start a small business with that utilized a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX   I sold my machine to come up with extra cash.  I started looking into selling my XXXX XXXX XXXX  for cash.  My boss at the XXXX XXXX offered to co-borrow for us to be able to refinance; unfortunately, business is slow, and his debt-to-income ratio kept him from being able to assist us.  My wife started looking into selling the gold coins left to her by her grandfather when he passed away.  We wanted to save the house.  Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be moving fast enough or making us enough, so we decided to try and sell the house for as much as possible, buy an RV, and live out of that.  We re-homed three of our six goats; the larger breeds but decided to keep our smaller breeds as they are inside goats, and we love them too much.  That is when we found XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  We set up an appointment for her to come over, look at the house, and get it on the market.  This was the best thing to happen to us.  She listened to our story and offered to look over all the paperwork to help us in any way she could.  Once her and her team looked over everything, it was determined that the extension that they had us sign had changed our note from maturing in XXXX  to maturing in XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX had lied to us.  They had used fear tactics and intimidation to have us sign this in order to take our house from us.  XXXX  had lenders, processors, and lawyers look over the paperwork and all agreed that this extension that they had us sign null and voided the maturity date and made it possible for them to foreclose on us.  None of them had ever seen a loan like this and all of them felt it was predatory and fraudulent.  XXXX  gave me the contact information for XXXX XXXX with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  I sent all of the paperwork to him, and he also agrees that this was a predatory loan, and that fear tactics and intimidation methods were used in order to have us sign that extension.  They lent us more than the house was worth.  Something that is unheard of since the housing collapse in XXXX.  They lied to us about the note only being good for a year and preyed on us to have us sign an extension thinking that was our only option.  Our marriage is strained, we have gained back all the weight, and then some that we had lost in the months prior to the looming foreclosure, we are stressed beyond belief.  We just want our home, tranquility, and happiness back.