Consumer complaint received 2023-01-16
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC (VA)

I am filing this complaint due to the neglect, lack of communication and the nearly impossible position Carrington Mortgage Services has placed upon me and my family. 

During Covid we had a forbearance, once the forbearance stopped Carrington informed me and my wife the next steps would be to see if we could streamline the paperwork for a modification. Never had gone through anything like this, it appeared as if they knew what they were doing. They gave us a 90 day waiting period, as the underwriters were backed up, at least thats what we were told. During this 90 day waiting period we did not realize they were going to report to the credit companies that we are behind on mortgage. We did not understand why this was taking place if we were told we have to wait for the underwriters to make a decision. Nonetheless, it was beyond the 90 days, we kept calling they kept telling us the underwriters are backed up. After almost 5 months of waiting we were told we were not eligible for a streamline and we would need to submit paperwork. This paperwork they needed went on for almost a year. We would submit, they would reject, we would submit, they would reject. Meanwhile the payment for our home is going up and we were always told that while it is in the review process we can not pay our mortgage. We asked multiple employees of Carrington to help us, please walk through the paperwork with us or just tell us what we need. Sometimes we would get someone who we thought was leading us in the right direction, however never really getting clear answers and coming up short. They eventually told us that we should consider just foreclosing and they started the process to try and do just that. We were so confused! What originally set out to obtain assistance due to XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

Finally after my wife submitted a complaint and with many prayers the company decided to extend us an offer. It appeared as if it was an offer. Carrington stated that if we paid {$3100.00} for the next three months ( trial period ) they would then be able to provide us with a permanent modification. We were devastated because our normal mortgage is {$1800.00}, but felt as we had been backed into a corner. 

We struggled to make the first payment, especially since it was around the holidays, XX/XX/2022. Since taking on this extreme request from Carrington just to keep our home I have been unable to maintain my other bills such as car payments, utilities, the dogs medical bills and even my sons baseball cost that is needed at such a crucial point in his life as he is attempting to enter collage playing baseball. Not only has this position put my finical situation into a hardship but my mental health seems to be declining as well. As I was preparing to make the second payment, weeks prior, I noticed my interest to do anything has been declining, I have found it difficult to interact with others and I really just want to sleep all the time. Once the day comes to pay the {$3100.00} my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I am concerned that dealing with this agency will only worsen my symptoms. 

I am fully aware that we need to pay back what was not paid during the Covid forbearance, however I find it very difficult to believe that this is what you or anyone else had in mind when asking for help. As a veteran, it seems they appear to be a predatory company, as I have not seen any effort to help those that have taken out their loans under the VA as myself. 

Unfortunately, the idea to pay such a high amount of {$3100.00} is not working because as you can clearly see I believe that I am under XXXX and experiencing financial and emotional hardship. I am disappointed because the idea was to help us and what has happened thus far to try and do just that has actually done more harm than good. 

To resolve the problem, I would appreciate it if we could look to returning to our original monthly mortgage payment of {$1800.00} and putting the remainder of what we owe in the back end of the loan. 

I look forward to your reply and a resolution to our problem. 

Thank you!