Consumer complaint received 2022-08-15
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: M&T BANK CORPORATION (VA)

I am again in the process of a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure on my house located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX DC . The home for this round has been vacant since XX/XX/XXXX. 

MT Bank contacted me on XXXX XXXX and informed me they are now in the process of foreclosing on the home, stating I am in default for unpaid monthly payments. This is false- the Bank has paused the required monthly payments due to being in the DIL process- they are threatening to foreclose my home without my knowledge and without informing me of issues in the DIL process. 

The DIL process has taken over a year since the application was submitted. The Bank has continuously dragged the process out, taking 2-3 months to send notary documents to an incorrect address several times, providing the wrong home address to the security company they hired to change the locks, and processing legal paperwork through their lawyers. I was informed in XXXX that the notary documents were received, and the last step was a final title check - which still has not been performed to close out the process. The Bank has failed to provide transparency or continuity in its statements about the process. 

Due to the lengthy time MT Bank has taken, the home has now been compromised, and my financial struggles have no defined end. On XX/XX/XXXX, my next-door neighbor informed me that the property was broken into and trashed. The neighbors, who are physically connected to the townhome, have repeatedly called the cops about squatters on the property and are concerned for their familys safety. They are outraged that the Bank has not finalized this process, causing undue XXXX and worry about the safety of their children. I notified MT Bank on XX/XX/XXXX with the Police Report Case Number and received no feedback, response, or acknowledgment. 

Their delay in closing out the DIL process has forced me to pay unnecessary utility costs, hundreds of dollars over the year, only made worse by the squatters who had broken into the home. They turned all the utilities back on and trashed the house. MT Bank continues to call me to cross-examine me about the home 's condition as part of their " process '' without finalizing the DIL in an acceptable timeframe, and despite the information I have repeatedly provided over the year. 

The Bank has, in writing, held me to pay utility and insurance costs and accept responsibility for the maintenance of the home, which I have not had physical access to since they hired XXXX XXXX to change the locks and secure the property. I can not even have my insurance company enter the home to accurately assess the damages ( which I should not be held responsible for as I have no physical access to the house ). The neighbors informed me that XXXX XXXX was well aware of the squatters and made no further attempts to inform interested stakeholders or secure the home appropriately. 

This is causing increased and unnecessary risk to the protection of the home, the neighborhood, and my financial costs- which I should no longer be obligated to since the Bank and XXXX XXXX have set the conditions for increased risk. I am concerned I will be held responsible for the effects of the Bank 's poor practices and further financially impacted by the surrounding issues. I have done my due diligence.