Consumer complaint received 2026-03-11 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue while managing or servicing your loan
Company: AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD MORTGAGE
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I closed on an FHA 203 ( k ) renovation loan with American Neighborhood Mortgage XXXX XXXX XXXX ( AnnieMac Home Mortgage ), XXXX # XXXX. The contractor began work but stopped entirely in XX/XX/XXXX, leaving the property uninhabitable, including a missing exterior wall providing no weather or security protection for the home or its occupants. Under HUD Handbook 4000.1, the lender is required to take corrective action when construction stops for 30 consecutive days. The lender took no action. Instead, on XX/XX/XXXX, when I asked about securing the open exterior of the home, a lender representative responded that " you should be making sure that the property is secure at all times since this is your home '' and told me to fix it myself while the lender decided whether to reimburse me, withholding construction funds that were already escrowed for this purpose. The lender then went completely silent for months. On XX/XX/XXXX, after I escalated, the lender responded : " We are actually waiting on you for next steps. You have to finish the termination process with the contractor in order for us to proceed. '' The lender placed the burden of contractor termination on the borrower, the consumer, despite the lender 's obligations as the 203 ( k ) program administrator. In a later communication the lender stated : " I did not know that you were waiting for a response from us. '' During this entire period, I continued making full mortgage payments of approximately $ XXXXmonth on an uninhabitable home. The loan has never been placed in default. No remediation plan has been issued. The contractor engaged in fraud, misappropriated construction funds, and made death threats against me and my family. Despite documented evidence of this misconduct, the lender took no action to enforce the contractor 's obligations or protect the borrower. Three independent professionals have documented the contractor 's fraud and defective work : a HUD Consultant Termination and Closeout Letter ( XX/XX/XXXX ) citing 24 specific deficiencies ; a licensed engineering forensic report by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX ) documenting the defective workmanship ; and a formal HUD Consultant Determination of Required Corrective Work ( XX/XX/XXXX ) placing Mortgagee responsibility squarely on AnnieMac under HUD Handbook 4000.1 II.A.8.a. My out-of-pocket losses are documented at {$9800.00} minimum. The lender acknowledged none of these reports and took no action on any of them. The loan was sold or transferred to another company, XXXX XXXX, without my being provided adequate contact information. I am now unable to determine who holds jurisdiction over the construction escrow or has authority to remedy the situation. At closing, I signed an FHA 203K Mortgage Payment Escrow Option form, a federal protection allowing mortgage payments to be financed into the loan during construction, but all material terms were left blank : the escrow amount, number of payments, and deadlines were empty. The lender has cited this blank form to deny payment relief. Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, the lender engaged in a deliberate pattern of cyclical documentation demands : requiring the same reports from the HUD Consultant repeatedly, failing to act when received, then demanding them again. The lender asked the HUD Consultant to review a contractor bid on XX/XX/XXXX, then asked again on XX/XX/XXXX, and received a formal HUD determination on XX/XX/XXXX. Rather than acting on it, the lender sent a lien threat 13 days later. On XX/XX/XXXX, the lender claimed a mechanics lien was blocking loan completion and demanded a {$38000.00} holdback. The cited document is the lender 's own closing security instrument, not an independent contractor lien, mischaracterized to justify continued inaction. This lien claim was made just 13 days after the lender received a formal HUD determination placing Mortgagee responsibility on AnnieMac and was used to justify continued inaction instead of remediation. I have been unable to obtain resolution despite months of written communication.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation