Consumer complaint received 2025-11-27 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — An existing modification, forbearance plan, short sale, or other loss mitigation relief
Company: Rocket Mortgage, LLC
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
This complaint has to do with a forbearance / loan modification done by my lender on a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 
. 

When the forbearance process started I had a VA loan - 30 year fixed at 5.25 % interest rate with a monthly payment of XXXX ; Once the process was completed ( 9 months later ) I am now stuck with a 40 year mortgage fixed rate of 7.25 % and a monthly payment of {$3200.00}. 

The forbearance was necessary due to natural disaster ( hurricanes ) in XXXX of XXXX, which resulted in lost income. When I called my lender, they were very understanding and told me they would start the forbearance on a 3 month time line and not to worry, I was told that any missed payments would just roll onto the back of the loan. At the end of the 3 months, they asked if I was ready to resume making the regular mortgage payments and I said that it would be really tight, so they extended the forbearance for another 3 months which took us up to XXXX of XXXX. I told them that I could start making regular payments in XXXX of XXXX. Up until this time, I stayed in touch with the lender on an every other week schedule. They appointed a person as my " single point of contact '' which was a joke, because I work full time and had to get with them in the evening, and spoke with different people over the course of the 6 months.... they all told me that the process was like a " waterfall '' of possible solutions, starting with a lumpsum repayment of back payments ( which I certainly could not do ), next step in waterfall would be to pay back payments as an added amount to my regular mortgage payments ( which I could not do ), next step in waterfall would be a loan modification, which would be worked out by the lender and we could accept it if affordable or move to the last waterfall step, which was a VA program called XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX ) which would have the VA purchase the loan and I would pay them directly at a 5.25 % Interest Rate. Obviously, that would have been the best option for me.BUT .. the program expired on XX/XX/XXXX. 
The lender had a full month to get the paperwork done so I could take advantage of the XXXX option, but they were backed up on their paperwork .. actually took them an additional 3 months to get it done and ready for me to accept or reject it. During this entire process, I had been told by various people at the lenders office that paperwork for a loan modification took 30 days. If the lender had done it in 30 days, as previously indicated, then I could have done the XXXX option and been in good shape moving forward. All the while they were doing their paperwork, more months were going by and I was told that I could not start making my normal payments until the process was complete, as the adjusted monthy payment amount was yet to be determined. 

I am a XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. I fully expected the VA to oversee the process in such a fashion that would help me.. not bury me in 40 year mortgage at a payment more than {$600.00} more per month than when the process started. I now understand that the VA CAN NOT instruct a lender as to how structure a loan modification, as long as the lender stays in the guidelines for VA Loans. I thought that my VA people were there to make sure that my best interest was served in this process. I was wrong! Very disappointed. 

Lets look at some math : My Math that I expected : Total missed payments = XXXX = {$26000.00} If those XXXX payments were just moved to the end of the existing loan, like I was led to believe, then all would be ok. Interest Rate and Monthly Payment to remain the same. THIS IS WHAT IS CALLED HELPING OUT!! 

Their Math : Increase Interest Rate by XXXX full % points, which increased the monthly payment by {$520.00}. Increase Mortgage Term to 40 years from original 30 year term. My mortgage had been paid for XXXX years, so it had 28 years ( 336 months ) to run .. now it has 40 years to run ( 480 months ) at an additional {$520.00} per month 480 months 336 months = XXXX additional months @ {$520.00} additional per month = {$75000.00} .. In the banking world, this may be legal, but it is certainly not called helping out! 

BOTTOM LINE : Missed payments : {$26000.00} Added Payments : {$75000.00}. 
This is not what I was told would happen nor what I was expecting. This was supposed to be a way of helping out in a time of need due to a natural disaster. What this IS. Is an immoral and unrighteous way of doing business, in order to add extra profits for the banks investors by taking advantage of people that needed help in a bad situation. I also lost any equity I had accrued on the original loan.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation