Consumer complaint received 2024-08-14 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Applying for or obtaining a modification, forbearance plan, short sale, or deed-in-lieu
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: ID

Complaint narrative:
- We originally began the Mortgage Assistance/Loss Mitigation process in XXXX of this year. During our initial application process, US Bank ordered an appraisal on our house that exhibited several significant flaws on the final appraisal report and appeared to be geared toward positioning US Bank to offer a Short Sale. The appraisal recorded our home purchase transaction as the amount recorded when we closed on the purchase of the house but did not include the amount we paid for the lot itself prior to beginning home construction using a construction loan program through your bank. The appraisal completed in XX/XX/XXXX also valued the home significantly lower ( {$500000.00} ) than the value established by an appraisal completed as part of the application and Underwriting process for our second mortgage. That appraisal, completed in XX/XX/XXXX, also did not include the added value of completed landscaping, and in addition to being completed as part of the Underwriting purpose of establishing lending limits, represented a conservative estimate of the property value. 
- On XX/XX/XXXX, I called in to the Mortgage Assistance/Loss Mitigation department to ask for guidance regarding my pending XXXX payment that was due for the month. I spoke to XXXX, US Bank Representative ID # : XXXX, and I was instructed to send a letter cancelling my pending application for mortgage assistance so that I could call in once my application had been withdrawn to ask for a forbearance, which I was told could be approved over thephone. 
- I called in to the Mortgage Assistance/Loss Mitigation department again on XX/XX/XXXX to request the forbearance option and was told that a forbearance option could not be approved over the phone for my accounts, and that I must begin the mortgage assistance application process all over again so our situation could be reviewed before a forbearance period could be considered and approved. 
- I then resubmitted a new application and supporting documentation on both loan accounts on XX/XX/XXXX. I called in on XX/XX/XXXX to check on the progress of my application and was told that since our payments were current and our accounts were not in default, we were unlikely to be offered any mortgage assistance solutions. I was told that we needed to miss a payment to put our account in default before any solutions could be considered or offered. This is contrary to the guidance provided on the US Bank website, which encourages borrowers to contact US Bank for solutions before they miss a payment. 
- As a result of the advice from the US Bank Mortgage Assistance/Loss Mitigation team , we chose to skip our XXXX payments, putting our accounts in default, and significantly negatively impacting our credit score.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief