Consumer complaint received 2026-06-11 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — An existing modification, forbearance plan, short sale, or other loss mitigation relief
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX I received a written email from NewRez LLC stating that my mortgage payment was " paused '' due to a XXXX forbearance plan. The email used the word " paused '' in quotation marks and made no mention of any XXXX, secondary mortgage, new debt instrument, or any amount becoming due upon sale or refinance of my property. I was out of work due to XXXX and had not missed any payments prior to entering the forbearance. In a subsequent email from Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing operating as the servicing arm of NewRez LLC I was told my forbearance was ending and was directed to a personalized video to understand my repayment options. The email stated : " The payments you didn't make during the forbearance period will soon be due '' and directed me to click a personalized video link to learn about my options. That video link is now completely dead the page loads with unfilled template placeholders including literal text reading XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with no actual content. The sole explanation of my repayment options no longer exists. I then received a third email from Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing with the subject line " Congratulations we've approved your partial claim! '' This email framed the partial claim as positive news, used celebratory language, and pressured me to sign and return documents quickly via XXXX by a stated deadline, warning that failure to return documents would result in cancellation of the agreement. At no point in this email was it explained in plain language that I was signing a new {$11000.00} secondary mortgage XXXX against my property that would become due in full upon the sale, refinance, or payoff of my primary mortgage. The only disclosure instruction was a single line buried in notarization logistics saying " carefully read every document '' while the entire tone of the communication was celebratory and urgent. In XX/XX/XXXX I signed a XXXX XXXX XXXX Claim Note ( Secondary XXXX ) dated XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of {$11000.00} and a XXXX XXXX Mortgage, both in favor of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, loan number XXXX. These documents were processed remotely by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I signed and had the documents notarized locally and returned them via XXXX as instructed. I signed these documents believing based on all prior communications that I was simply completing a formality to finish the forbearance process not that I was creating a new {$11000.00} debt secured by a mortgage XXXX against my property due in full upon sale. The mortgage was recorded on XX/XX/XXXX in XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX under instrument number XXXX. I was never informed that a new mortgage had been recorded against my property. I sold the property at XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXX/XX/XXXX. I had no knowledge of the secondary XXXX at closing. The debt was not paid at closing and was subsequently referred to HUD 's XXXX XXXX XXXX for collection. I was contacted by HUD Debt Servicing via mail XXXX YEARS LATER. I received a notice in XXXX of XXXX at which time I assumed it was a scam. I then received a second notice at which time I contacted the Representative XXXX XXXX who was listed as the contact person, as well as my Real Estate Attorney 's office that I used in XXXX for my house closing. XXXX informed me for the first time in detail what I had actually signed in XX/XX/XXXX. The debt was transferred to the Department of Treasury on or about XX/XX/XXXX. The original amount of {$11000.00} has now grown to approximately {$15000.00} due to accumulating interest at 4 % and Treasury fees. I had also contacted Shellpoint/NewRez after speaking with XXXX and XXXX the paralegal told me there was nothing they could do, to dispute this debt directly with the mortgage company on the grounds that I was never properly informed that the forbearance would result in a secondary mortgage lien on my property. I was told by Shellpoint customer service that they had no idea how this happened and seemed to not know whether the debt was valid and no resolution was offered. The complete sequence of communications from NewRez LLC and Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing constitutes a pattern of misrepresentation and failure to provide meaningful disclosure : payments were described as " paused '' with no mention of a XXXX being created ; repayment options were explained only through a personalized video that no longer exists ; and the partial claim documents were presented with celebratory and urgent language designed to encourage quick signing without full understanding of the legal and financial consequences. This conduct violates the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, RESPA 's disclosure requirements, and HUD 's own guidelines requiring that borrowers receive clear and plain language explanation of loss mitigation options before signing. NewRez LLC XXXX Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing has XXXX XXXX XXXX of similar conduct as evidenced by prior CFPB enforcement actions and class action settlements including a {$500000.00} settlement for misleading CARES Act forbearance statements and a {$2.00} XXXX CFPB XXXX for misrepresenting loan modification terms. I want to provide additional context regarding the impact of this debt. I am currently facing bankruptcy due to a work injury that has significantly reduced my income, as well as the loss of approximately {$20000.00} from my house sale proceeds through subsequent court proceedings. Having an additional {$15000.00} debt one I should not owe based on the misrepresentation described above hanging over me from a property I sold nearly XXXX years ago is causing serious and ongoing financial harm. I pursued an appeal with HUD and the Department of Treasury last year due to having no income, and while wage garnishment was temporarily stopped, my entire {$2500.00} federal tax return was seized, which directly caused me to be unable to pay rent on time. I have tried every XXXX XXXX to resolve this debt through proper channels and am now turning to the CFPB as a last resort.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response