Consumer complaint received 2023-08-07
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — 
Company: Selene Holdings LLC (NY)

Attention : CFPB For almost 24 years I have had the pleasure of serving as a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX operating under the umbrella of integrity and upholding the law. I have given my best to this city and put my utmost faith into the city. I have faithfully paid my taxes on time, and was living the ultimate American dream of homeownership for many years, experiencing not a single issue. To my dismay, in return I have been met with inexplicable struggles with my mortgage on the same property with multiple lenders and servicing companies. My original mortgage started off with XXXX  XXXX XXXX. I had some financial difficulties in XXXX that ultimately led to XXXX  XXXX XXXX starting the foreclosure process on my home. During this time, I was doing everything that I could to save my home. I had previously applied for a loan modification after being directed by senior leadership at XXXX  XXXX XXXX to not make my payment, which would increase my chances of being eligible for a loan modification. My original modification was denied even after following the advice given by the managers at XXXX XXXX XXXX. I did not receive details nor an explanation as to why my request was denied. Several months later XXXX  XXXX XXXX began the foreclosure process. Once the foreclosure process started I applied for a loan modification with XXXX XXXX XXXX again around XX/XX/XXXX. I never received any response, nor answer to my last modification request. I was only informed that the foreclosure process was stopped in XX/XX/XXXX. 

Additionally, my life was turned completely upside down in XX/XX/XXXX, when I had a fire at my home and I lost everything that I owned. The house was completely destroyed in the fire as well. During this time I was forced to move in with relatives and to bounce around house to house to keep a roof over my head. I was already having financial difficulties due to helping my elderly parents. My family was still grieving the loss of my step father during this time. This was an incredibly difficult time for my family and I.I did the best that I could to work and to focus on stopping the foreclosure process so that I could rebuild and return normalcy to my life. I knew my home was covered with the home insurance that I was paying and that would be the path I could take to rebuilding my home. I struggled to get any information from XXXX  XXXX XXXX as to the status of the foreclosure. Despite everything I remained steadfast on rebuilding the home and on getting myself back together. It wasn't until XX/XX/XXXX that I was told the foreclosure process had been stopped by XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX. I began inquiring about a loan modification and continued to pour every cent I received from the insurance company back into rebuilding the home. I wasn't ever able to get anywhere with the loan modification requests with XXXX  XXXX XXXX, nor was I able to live in the home at all. The process of rebuilding was also a very slow process with XXXX  XXXX XXXX. My insurance company thought I would be displaced for a short time, but this turned out to be the start of a nightmare that I could never imagine. 

I received communication in early XXXX that my mortgage was sold to XXXX Mortgage. I continued to rebuild the home. The insurance money that I received to replace my personal belongings such as clothing and furniture, I used 95 % of the reimbursement to rebuild my home. I wanted nothing more than to restore order to my life. My career depends on order and structure and since XXXX I have had nothing close to that. Once my mortgage was moved to XXXX, I tried everything I could to connect with this company to show them what my life once was and what it had become after the fire in XX/XX/XXXX. I tried many times for a restart on my mortgage. I informed XXXX that I could withdraw some monies from my XXXX pension. I offered to use this money as a down payment on a loan modification agreement. I just desperately wanted to get back on track. I continued to rebuild the house without any idea on what I was going to be able or allowed to do with the mortgage. XXXX advised that once the house was finished and a value could be placed on the home, they would figure out a path to move forward. So I kept working on the home and tried to be patient with the mortgage details. Meanwhile I was also living frugally and following a tight budget as best as I could given my circumstances. 

My home was finished with the rebuild in late XXXX. In XXXX XXXX started the foreclosure process again. This seems like an ill-timed, one sided decision that was solely for their benefit. My home was an older home prior to the fire. As a matter of fact, it was the faulty and old wiring that caused the fire in XXXX. However, the home that XXXX started the foreclosure process on, was the fully rebuilt home with everything brand new. As mentioned the majority of the insurance money for the home structure and reimbursement of my personal belongings, was put back into the home. All the while I was still displaced and living with my mother. 

Once again my mortgage was sold by XXXX to Selene Finance in the later part of XXXX/early XXXX. Besides still not being able to live in my home and the worry of losing my home, my concern was what the loan balance, the amount that was considered delinquent, what my payment would be, and the new value of the home etc. Once Selene acquired the loan, I began to ask all of these questions. At the start of this situation with XXXX XXXX XXXX my balance was around $ XXXX. Once Selene Finance received my loan they informed me that my balance was actually more than double the amount of what I knew my balance to be. In XXXX Selene estimated the value of my home to be around $ XXXX and they were saying I owed almost the same amount on the mortgage. I asked repeatedly to see the itemization of all fees, interest amount due, as well as the principal balance. I did not receive this information. 

Further, the Selene Finance representatives advised me to apply for a loan modification. As I have done in the past, I took their advice and applied for the loan modification. This time I received approval for the loan modification. However, the problem was the loan balance that Selene came up with was going to make the new loan payment {$5500.00} per month. I submitted a rebuttal to the approved loan modification as it wasn't possible for me to be able to pay {$5500.00} per month, and it was not clear how the balance was determined. Again, I say it was ironic to hear I now owed the same amount as the value of the home. Selene Finance would not lower the amount of the mortgage payment under the loan modification and they moved in the direction of restarting the foreclosure process again. 

I felt like none of the options were beneficial to me. Since XXXX I have been desperately working to save my home. I had not been able, nor was I allowed to occupy the home since the fire in XXXX. I poured the insurance money back into the home as previously stated. In addition, I also put the bulk of my income into the home. I decided to sell my home because it seemed to be a losing battle for me in every instance. At this time Selene Finance listed the amount of interest owed on my loan as $ XXXX. Supposedly this amount accumulated over the years due to several delays at no fault of my own. Selene had my loan for less than a year, but felt they were entitled to collect $ XXXX of interest on my loan. I wasn't in agreement with paying Selene $ XXXX in interest, so I got an attorney to assist me with this. I am a man of my word and have no problem paying for the debts that I truly owe, but to have to pay $ XXXX to Selene Finance when they had the loan for a very short time, didn't seem fair nor ethical. In XX/XX/XXXX my attorney submitted the request to a referee who determined the $ XXXX was excessive and not my true debt. The referee ruled in my favor. Based on this decision I placed my home on the market. 

In between the time I was able to get my home under contract with buyer and the home sold, Selene Finance fought the ruling from the referee. Selene was able to get an independent referee to side in their favor. I sold my home in XX/XX/XXXX and had to pay Selene {$180000.00} in interest. It took longer than expected to find a buyer for home, so I felt like I had no choice but to sell the house as I did not have an infinite amount of time to complete the sell of the home. This is why I am submitting this complaint today. I am still trying to rebuild my life and restore order. I netted approximately $ XXXX from the sell of my home. The sales price of my home was $ XXXX and per previous loan documentation, the balance of my loan was approximately $ XXXX. As I previously stated I lost everything I had in the fire and never was I able to live in my home since XXXX. I owned this home for a decade before having the issues that are referenced in this complaint. I have spent over 23 years serving XXXX XXXX  XXXX, but I have had nothing but chaos, heartache, and endured severe losses while attempting to work with XXXX  XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX and Selene Finance. I am asking this body for help in recovering the {$180000.00} that I was forced to pay Selene Finance. I am asking this body to help me restore order to my life. My family has helped me since my fire, almost a decade ago. My mother is advancing in age and her health is not as great as it used to be due to the assistance she had to provide to me along with all of the worry and strife. This entire situation has impacted me and my household, as well as my mother and her household. I thank you in advance for any assistance or guidance you are able to provide me. I sincerely hope to work toward a resolution to this unethical situation. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX