Consumer complaint received 2023-08-22
Product: Mortgage — Reverse mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: South River Mortgage, LLC (CA)

Background Im the sole caretaker for my XXXX  ( age ) mother, who is currently battling XXXX. I was laid off in XXXX of XXXX  We have two loans 1 ) to XXXX XXXX in the amount of $ XXXX ( approximate ) 2 ) to XXXX in the amount of {$130000.00} XXXX South River Mortgage called us about a loan. We researched the company and were satisfied that this might be a good solution. 

XX/XX/XXXX After speaking with XXXX XXXX on the phone to discuss options, we sent various documents that were requested and also paid {$140.00} for the mandatory counseling. 

XXXX XXXX A notary was sent to the house with documents to be signed. After that XXXX said that he needed a pic of Moms social security card. He was told several times that the social security card could not be found but we had an old ID issued by the Department of Defense that listed her SSN. He said to send that to him. 

XXXX We received a delivery from XXXX from XXXX. The XXXX envelope contained another XXXX  envelope pre-addressed to him. I asked XXXX about it but he never addressed it. 

XX/XX/XXXX We received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  stating that the loan offer would be withdrawn/inactive if we couldnt get them the missing documents by XX/XX/XXXX. I emailed XXXX about this along with photos of her expired DL and the military ID that showed her SSN. 

XXXX said that it was impossible to move forward without a copy of the SSN card, despite his earlier statements. He did say that he would send the disclosure docs to be e-signed to extend the loan and give us time to make an appointment with the social security office to try and get a new card mailed out. 


XX/XX/XXXX XXXX emailed to say that he could get the loan proposal extended without having the documents re-signed and that we could just sign Form SSA-89 ( Social Security Verification ). I printed the form and mailed it back to XXXX and never heard from him again. He never responded to emails or texts that were sent to him. Follow-up calls to the company about him were also not fruitful. 

XXXX when the loan was scheduled to close XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX I heard from XXXX XXXX because he wanted me to call XXXX XXXX about their lien which had already been released via bankruptcy proceedings. I forwarded him copies of the Order pertaining to that judgment. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX emailed me an authorization to get payoffs from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I printed them and mailed them back along with sending him a photo of the signed form. 

He then asked for a 24 month payment history from XXXX XXXX. By this time XXXX XXXX had removed online access to the home equity account so I called their customer service to request the 24 month payment history. They agreed to email it. 

XXXX XXXX I finally received this 24 month payment history because XXXX XXXX mailed it instead of emailing it as I had requested. I texted photos of the 24 month payment history to XXXX the same day I received it, and never heard anything from him again. 

Also on XXXX, XXXX initiated legal action to foreclose per a letter they sent to XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX will be going to XXXX XXXX soon on their loan. 

Week of XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX informed us the lender wanted us to pay for the appraisal, which was estimated to be $ XXXX, because the payoffs were higher than expected. The payoffs are higher because of mounting interest and late fees- this was supposed to have closed around XX/XX/XXXX. The house will now have to appraise at more than {$500000.00} ( in XXXX when we first spoke to XXXX he asked what we thought the value of the home was and I told him about {$350000.00} ). 

I explained to him that we can not afford to pay for the appraisal ( we only went for the reverse mortgage because XXXX said XXXX XXXX would pay for the appraisal and all fees except for the counseling ). I explained to him what was going on with XXXX medical condition as well as my own circumstances of being unemployed and sent him all of the supporting documents. 

XX/XX/XXXX I received email confirmation from XXXX that he had received the documents and was working on a letter to the lender to get an exception. 

XX/XX/XXXX We were informed that XXXX XXXX is now handling our case. He said that he had finished the letter to the lender and when he heard back by the end of that week he would let us know so they could order the appraisal. 

XXXX XXXX I texted XXXX back to see if there was any word from the lender. 

XXXX He texted to say that the lender wants clarification and documentation why two mortgage payments were received late in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. We have documentation to support that the checks were mailed on the XXXX of each month. XXXX deliveries were delayed because of the pandemic, as was widely reported in the news. 

XX/XX/XXXX He texted asking for the 24 month history that had been requested by XXXX. I sent it to him on XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX I texted XXXX to ask if there was any movement and he said that the lender again rejected the request for extenuating circumstances. 



Currently : On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX initiated legal action to foreclose per a letter they sent to XXXX XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX will be going to Trustees Sale soon on their loan and we are no closer to getting this reverse mortgage and getting the house out of foreclosure than we were nearly five months ago when this started in XXXX. 

We have promptly provided every requested document, responded in a timely fashion, and have dealt with the numerous changes in employees weve interacted with, all while dealing with my mothers serious health issues. 

I do not believe that this is in any way how this should have been handled by South River Mortgage or the lender, XXXX XXXX XXXX, and the comments by various employees have been fraudulent. I believe they were stringing us along for months with the goal of getting us to pay for the appraisals. 

We should not be the ones ending up homeless because of what appears now to been incompetence or fraudulent business practices. 

The process has been unnecessarily complicated and with every new employee, weve had to start over from the beginning instead of progressing towards the goal of a reverse mortgage. 

This has been unduly stressful and has had a negative effect on my mothers health, as well as my own. I desperately want to return to a time where we are again able to pay our mortgage in a timely manner and can focus on overcoming XXXX for my mother.