Consumer complaint received 04/23/2016 about Mortgage (Conventional adjustable mortgage (ARM)) with Real Time Resolutions, Inc. (NJ).
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint: As a result of the financial crisis and housing market fluctuations our home is considered an upside loan. Which means for us that we owe more than what the house is worth. Unfortunately, we fell behind on our loan as a result of a loss of income and illness in our family. Our original mortgage was with XXXX ( XXXX split ), with their demise our loans were transferred to XXXX different banks : XXXX XXXX for XXXX mortgage and XXXX XXXX XXXX for the XXXX. Consequently, we were a victim of predatory lending with the original loan with XXXX.Fortunately, we were approved for the HAMP in XX/XX/XXXX with XXXX XXXX with the assistance of XXXX, at the same time applied for a loan modification for our XXXX with XXXX XXXX XXXX with their loss mitigation department. On a regular basis, we consistently completed the paperwork requested by XXXX XXXX XXXX to obtain a modification on our loan and advised that we were also in the process of receiving our HAMP on the first with XXXX XXXX. Once we received the signed HAMP documents in XXXX XXXX we sent it over to XXXX XXXX XXXX to complete the final stages of the ( XXXX ) XXXX Lien Modification created by Making Home Affordable. Per the guidelines set out by Making Home Affordable for XXXX the following were the eligibility criteria : Your first mortgage was modified under HAMP. You obtained your second lien on or before XXXX XXXX, XXXX. You owe {$5000.00} or more and pay {$100.00} or more per month toward the second lien. In addition to the criteria requested to qualify, your loan needed to be assigned with one of the participating banks : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX. Hence, our XXXX mortgage qualified for all the criteria listed per the program. Furthermore, the purpose of the ( XXXX ) program was to assistance homeowners in our situation by eradicating the imbalance of our home being upside down. The main purpose of this type of loan was to allow a more affordable mortgage payment by adjusting your interest rate, extending your term, and reducing or forbearing your principal on your XXXX and XXXX liens. We had hoped we were finally on our way to moving pass this situation with the approval of our HAMP and pending status of our XXXX with XXXX XXXX XXXX when we were taken by surprise in XXXX XXXX, XXXX when we received a letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX stating that our loan was being transferred to Real Time Resolutions, a debt collection agency. We were quite confused since we had sent the approved HAMP documentation several times to XXXX XXXX XXXX per their request in the months prior. In fact, in XXXX XXXX I faxed our approved HAMP document several times to the loss mitigation department as requested. We were consistently advised by customer service it would require some time in the review process. Shortly thereafter, on XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX had their huge settlement with mortgages and unfortunately we were now transferred to an unknown servicer/debt collector for a loan that had been written off by XXXX XXXX XXXX. Up until now we have submitted the requested documentation for a modification or settlement to close this loan. We recently were provided an approval for a short sale or settlement however the amount requested {$41.00} XXXX we are still in the midst of bouncing back from our adversity and can not afford to pay this lump sum amount. We wish closure with this situation, therefore, we are requesting a second lien mortgage debt extinguishment or more reasonable, lower settlement that will not put a strain our finances since we are trying to regain financial stability. To summarize, we wish to keep our home and short sale is not a viable option. Kindly advise if you require further documentation to substantiate our complaint. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation