Consumer complaint received 2015-07-30
Product: Mortgage — Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure — 
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (AL)

I bought a house about 10 years ago right before the bubble burst. I was young at the time and overpaid for the house. In addition to overpaying for the house I had an XXXX/XXXX mortgage and the XXXX % with Chase was interest only giving me no equity in the house. I lived in the house for about 5 years and it has been a rental for approx. 5 years. I have really struggled to keep the house up and pay the mortgage while the neighborhood went downhill. Right now, the mortgage is current but I ca n't afford it going forward. I am unable to rent it for enough money to cover the mortgage. Instead of just letting the property go into foreclosure I contacted both lenders for the property to see what options may be available.. 

XXXX who holds the XXXX mortgage agreed to a Deed in Lieu. They advised me I would need to contact Chase and see what my options were with them. They also advised me they would need a settlement letter from Chase in order to proceed with the DIL. 
I called Chase and got the runaround with everyone I spoke with. I started out calling the main # XXXX. I explained my situation to the rep and advised I wanted to discuss my options or a settlement. I was advised by that rep that " they stopped doing settlements last week. '' I asked what my options were as I was trying to make this right instead of letting the property go into foreclosure. I was told that I could pay the loan in full or they would foreclose. I was also told that since my account was current they would not be able to do anything. After speaking with this rep more he said he was not in the right department to handle my call. He transferred me to XXXX different people who all basically told me the same thing and passed me around from department to department for approximately 1.5 hours. I was then sent to XXXX in the Recovery department. She confirmed they do not do settlements and refused to provide me with any other options. I was then sent to XXXX in the Collections Department. She told me to ask XXXX to do a DIL with an unsecured mortgage but still did not offer any other solutions. Basically, they have told me since my account was in good standing and my credit is not yet ruined there were no options. 

Today I tried again and spoke with XXXX who answered the # I was provided for the Collections Department. I asked to speak with a Collections or Recovery manager and was sent to XXXX XXXX ( Escalations Manager. ) I again explained my situation to her and was told they would not approve a DIL. Again I asked for options and she said I would have to go through their assistance program. I asked what that entails. She said they require I do a short sale first even though they would not approve any offer received for a short sale. I explained to her that I did not see the point in going through the process if they are already telling me they would deny any offer. I asked to speak with a manager who had the authority to make decisions. She said that I would receive the same answer no matter how high I went. I asked for a manager anyways and she advised me they were all not available but did provide me with the name and phone number for her manager. 

I called XXXX back to let them know the situation with Chase. They were dumbfounded that Chase was unwilling to work with me. At this point I feel like my hands are tied and I am out of options. In good faith I contacted both lenders while my accounts were still in good standing. I have tried to prevent foreclosure but Chase is leaving me with no options.