Consumer complaint received 2025-02-28 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — USDA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue related to modification, forbearance, short sale, deed-in-lieu, bankruptcy, or foreclosure
Company: NBT BANCORP INC.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
We are contacting your office due to problems we are having with the servicer of our USDA loan, NBT Bank. We had issues during XXXX resulting in loss of income and tried to get help from them in XXXX but they did not offer any assistance through CARES forbearance program, and we had to take out XXXX loan to catch up on the past due payments. This put us in a hole and we were still struggling with the mortgage payments. We believe this was a clear violation of the CARES mandate from Congress that NBT was obligated to offer at that time since this is a USDA loan. In early XXXX we were still struggling and falling behind and applied for a modification and were eventually approved for a program and began making the payments in XX/XX/XXXX. We were making the payment but falling behind on other bills and our electricity got turned off in XX/XX/XXXX and then one of our cars blew a head gasket. In order for us both to work, we needed to get the car situation handled and ended up buying a used XXXX vehicle so we could both work. The problem is, we could not make the XXXX mortgage payment. We were trying to get caught up but I was not getting enough hours as a substitute teacher so I took a graveyard shift at a bakery from XXXX to XXXX to try and get back on track financially. By XXXX our hardship was resolved and our income was stable and we began trying to engage with NBT Bank. We applied for a new loan modification but were told that there were no options available by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX of contact. We believe that NBT Bank is denying access to USDA and government programs that should be made available to distressed borrowers. The USDA allows for the bank to combine programs ( mortgage recovery advance, modification, special forbearance or repayment plan ) in order to find a solution that works. We feel that NBT has written us off and put our family into foreclosure without completing due diligence to determine what options are truly available. 

My husband and I bought our home with a USDA loan in XXXX and live here with our XXXX boys, ages XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. We were very grateful to get help through NBT Bank and XXXX XXXX who handled our case in XXXX. We were struggling but kept up with the mortgage payment while putting off other bills and car repairs until the situation blew up when the electricity got turned off and we had to pay the full past due amount to get it back on, followed by the car engine issue. We did everything we could to get back on our feet but it took a few months. I took the full time graveyard shift job and as soon as the hardship was resolved we reached out to try and get NBT to work with us. I understand that since we defaulted on a recent modification that could complicate things, but I have also been made aware that the USDA has multiple programs available to help distressed borrowers with a true hardship, and that they allow the servicer to combine these programs in order to present a solution that works for all parties. We felt that we were being stonewalled by NBT and briefly worked with an Attorney to try and break through the red tape but this was not successful. At this time we are being told the only option is to come in with a lump sum payment of the full past due amount of {$15000.00} plus but that is not something we can afford at this time.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation