Consumer complaint received 2023-03-14
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: Selene Holdings LLC (FL)

Selene Finance sent us a Loan Modification Agreement dated XX/XX/XXXX. The Agreement reflects an Unpaid Principal Balance of {$450000.00}. We believe this amount is erroneous, as set forth below. Supporting documents are attached. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we entered into a Loan Modification Agreement with the previous lender, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Pursuant to this agreement, the Principal Balance of the loan was {$410000.00}. Of that amount, {$54000.00} was moved to the Deferred Principal Balance. The Principal Balance was reduced from {$410000.00} to {$360000.00}, with a Deferred Balance of {$540000.00}. 

Due to our income being reduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we entered into a Pandemic Relief Plan offered by XXXX XXXX. Pursuant to this plan, our monthly payments, including principal, interest, and escrow, were paused from XX/XX/XXXX, through XX/XX/XXXX, for a total of XXXX payments. Pursuant to the Pandemic Relief Plan, these payments, in their entirety, including principal, interest, and escrow, were moved to the end of the loan. Thus, these payments, totaling {$45000.00}, were moved to the Deferred Balance. 

From XX/XX/XXXX, through XX/XX/XXXX, we made a total of three payments, in XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX. We also made four payments of {$3900.00} to Selene, in XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, which were the trial payments related to the loan modification. The total of these XXXX payments is {$23000.00}. The rest of the payments from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX were deferred under the Pandemic Relief Plan. All of the missed payments, including principal, interest, and escrow, were simply moved to the end of the loan. Thus, the total balance should not have increased. We did not receive any new money. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, our total balance owed was {$410000.00}. We made seven payments totaling {$23000.00} ( three payments of {$2400.00}, and four payments of {$3900.00} ), and 18 payments were moved to the end of the loan, and thus are still included in the {$410000.00}. Yet, as of XX/XX/XXXX, Selene is telling us our total balance is now {$450000.00}. Thats an increase of {$43000.00}, with no explanation. That amount is not interest, because the interest payments we missed during COVID are included in the Deferred Balance. Further, Selene concedes, in its letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, that amounts in the Deferred Balance do not accrue interest. 

We sent a Qualified Written Request to Selene dated XX/XX/XXXX, outlining this and other errors by Selene. Selene responded by letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, received by us on XX/XX/XXXX. Selene conceded this response was late. With respect to the above error, Selene stated that it is under no obligation to respond to certain inquires [ sic ] contained in the letter, and thus did not explain the additional amounts charged. Selene can not be allowed to charge us {$43000.00}, and then claim they are under no obligation to tell us what those charges are. 

Additionally, we have requested, on multiple occasions ( including XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX ), a copy of the original note for this loan, front and back. Selene will only send us a copy of the front. This loan has been sold twice, and the endorsements are on the back. We believe we are entitled to see the back of the note. 

Selenes stated deadline to execute the Loan Modification Agreement was XX/XX/XXXX. We were told by a Selene representative, by telephone, that Selene would work with us on that deadline. However, we did not receive the response to our QWR until XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, we requested an extension of time to execute the Loan Modification Agreement, as we were reviewing the response to our QWR, and Selene had told us they would work with us on the deadline. However, by letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, Selene denied our request for an extension, telling us the documents must be returned by XX/XX/XXXX, which is of course impossible, as that date had already passed. 

It must be noted that we began the process of applying for a loan modification in XX/XX/XXXX, when we were three payments behind. Selene continued to request more documents from us, or would call without leaving a message, so we did not know they wanted more documents. When they claimed our loan modification application package was incomplete, on multiple occasions, they would deny it, and we would have to start over. We sent a total of four full application packages before Selene would finally review it and approve it, in XX/XX/XXXX. Since our understanding was that our monthly payments were paused during the application process, we did not make payments, believing, each time we sent an application, that our application was being reviewed. Because of this delay in Selene reviewing our loan modification application, we fell further behind in our monthly payments. 

It should also be noted that we had to send our QWR twice because the address on the Selene website is wrong. We did not know for weeks that it was not received. We also had to resend our first loan modification trial payment because that address on the Selene website also was wrong. The first payment was by cashier 's check, so we had to withdraw the money from our account twice in order to pay Selene ( both payments were properly credited ). 

In sum, Selene has committed the following errors with respect to our loan : XXXX. They did not timely respond to our QWR, in violation of RESPA. 
2. When they did respond, they did not explain the {$43000.00} in additional money charged to our account, claiming they are under no obligation to do so.

3. They refused to extend the deadline for executing the Loan Modification Agreement, despite telling us they would work with us in that regard. 
3. They have failed, after multiple requests, to send us a copy of the back of our original note, showing the endorsements.

We are requesting that Selene : ( 1 ) remove the excess charges from our account balance, up to and including {$43000.00}. To the extent any additional charges are reasonable and allowed by law, Selene should itemize and explain those charges, as we are entitled to know what we are being charged for. 

( 2 ) provide us a copy of the back of the original note related to this loan.

( 3 ) revise the Loan Modification Agreement in accordance with the above, and resend the documents to us for execution. 

( 4 ) update their website to remove erroneous addresses and any other erroneous information relied upon by borrowers.