Homeowner Who Never Missed A Payment Threatened With Foreclosure; Another Mortgage Lender Screw-Up (Forced-Placed Insurance) To Blame

In a letter to The Miami Herald Action Line, a homeowner writes:

• Even though we've never missed -- or been late with -- a payment on our $78,000 mortgage, my wife and I are being threatened with default and foreclosure.
  The loan holder, EverHome, in Jacksonville, isn't telling us why; it simply says we owe $1,695.33. As best we can tell, EverHome is claiming that the money is owed for an escrow account. In August, it refused our September payment and, instead, sent us a default notice. Although we've called and sent it certified mail, it isn't responding. [...] If we can't sort this mess out, we could lose our home. Can Action Line assist us?

Action Line's response:

• We can; your home is safe. We asked EverHome to investigate; within a couple of hours of our e-mailing it, someone from its head office called you. ''EverHome is still working through the details,'' spokeswoman Kari Scott said via e-mail a few days later. EverHome had to go back to Crown Bank to figure things out.

• What it learned is that Crown Bank had forced-placed you with a flood insurance company. You never paid the premium because, first, Crown Bank never told you about it, and second, you don't live in a flood zone and had declined such insurance when you took out the loan. (Even if you had requested the insurance, it should have cost a fraction of $1,600.) When EverHome assumed the loan, it also assumed the nonexistent debt. In the end, it took EverHome less than two weeks to sort out what never should have happened in the first place.

Source: Mortgage payments never late, but foreclosure still looms (if link expires, try here).