Consumer complaint received 2019-03-05
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: SELECT PORTFOLIO SERVICING, INC. (FL)

My husband lost his job in XX/XX/XXXX. He was XXXX. This was his 4th job since turning XXXX after being steadily employed for over 15 years by each of his 2 previous employers. Each job was approximately {$10.00} - {$15000.00} less annually than the one before. As we aged, we learned to get by on less and less. 
On XX/XX/XXXX or XXXX I spoke with a mortgage representative and told her we were not going to be able to pay our XXXX payment. She asked if we could pay the principal and interest as NOT going behind on our payments would be in our best interest in obtaining any kind of mortgage assistance or modification. She was pleasant, full of information, and my husband gave her the {$750.00} she said she needed. We were compliant and expedient on all requests presented to us by the mortgage company. As XXXX progressed and we still did not have an answer, we amped up calling for updates. It wasn't until XXXX that we were able to finally be told that it would go to the next process. During these months we continued to make our {$750.00} as recommended and through XXXX maintained my husband 's credit cards. Due to failing health and inability to work long hours standing, at the recommendation of his primary care physician, my husband filed retirement paperwork and ceased paying his credit cards as we waited for some kind of news from Select Portfolio Services. We had at that point exhausted our savings and learned that his first retirement check would not arrive until the end of XXXX - essentially leaving us a month without that money coming in. Had we been told it was in the BEST interest of assistance to cease paying the mortgage, we would have been able to stretch our resources considerably further. So yesterday I get the final decision. 1 ) we are being denied due to our credit report. My husband 's credit was XXXX in XXXX. It only derailed when he stopped paying our credit cards mid-XXXX. Had this been done on a timely 30-45 day turn around, his credit score would not have been an issue at all. 2 ) We are being denied 3 other programs because our  account is NOT in default. WHAT??? We are also being denied under a program that multiplies our GROSS income times 1.25 % and says we can afford the current payment of {$1200.00} ( which includes property tax and insurance ). How can they multiply our GROSS ( they have a copy of every paycheck, letter of declaration, income tax paperwork, etc that they requested. Those are real numbers, factual. Why in the world would real numbers be multiplied by 1.25 %? Our total income is {$4400.00} between us and SPS declares {$5800.00}? 
I am beyond confused and frightfully angry. We did as we were directed to do. We were denied one program because he was never totally unemployed because he has worked 2 jobs for the past 12 plus months and having some employment disqualified him from unemployment compensation. My husband was encouraged to use my income and my credit score. He has never given either to the mortgage company in the past. My money is absorbed monthly with groceries, XXXX and medicine, as well as our life insurance policies. There is not one penny left from my account monthly. Ever. My credit went south when my daughter had a XXXX XXXX and she and her XXXX children became dependent on us in XXXX - shown in our XXXX tax return. This is my home. Has been since XXXX. During this process - somehow information was released for a short sale as that is the mortgage companies recommendation and I have already received 2 offers in the mail. One before the mortgage companies notice yesterday. Short sale? This is MY HOME. The only home my 13 year old grandson has ever known. We put down roots here to retire. We can not go out and live anywhere any cheaper. I am well aware. I am also aware of our age and the opportunities that SPS has not provided us information on or option on. Bottom line, there is no resolution with SPS ... but lots of excuses. I could write a book on the excuses I heard about missing paperwork over the past 90 days. The bad advice we received, continued to receive as we were ALWAYS encouraged to continue to make the {$750.00} payments, has destroyed my husbands credit, drained our savings, and left us with a recommendation to do a short sale. Someone should be held accountable. When we first talked to the consultant at the end of XXXX this should have all been resolved by XXXX. When we still had a little bit in savings, when we still had credit, when we were in good faith making our {$750.00} mortgage payments. Please, please ... .help. 
Attached in the file is all personal information. Their response. And our checking account that shows we rarely splurge and when we stopped paying our credit cards ... that our mortgage was paid, etc ...