Saturday, April 10, 2010

Homeowner Hit With Foreclosure Notice Despite Being Current On Loan Modification Workout; Was Encouraged By Lender's Employees To Keep Making Payments

In Portgage, Indiana, cbs2chicago reports:
  • [Angela] Dixon was shocked because she thought she was on track to get a loan modification from her mortgage company, Texas-based Nationstar. "It just completely blindsided us," she said. "I cried, I was angry, I didn't know what happened."

  • Dixon's husband, Brian, had lost his job and they had fallen two months behind on their mortgage. Nationstar called them to arrange a modification that would lower their payments from $1,431 to $929 a month, which the Dixons paid for nine months. Then the foreclosure notice turned up.

  • Angela called Nationstar and was told not to worry about going to court. They would make a notation in the computer that this foreclosure action would be suspended. But it wasn't. "Everybody told me my account was fine, everything is going good, just keep making your payments," she said. But in March, Dixon said she was notified that the family's request for loan modification was denied and they owed $14,000 in back payments and penalties. Her modification agreement clearly stated that her lender would "suspend any scheduled foreclosure." "In the best light, what was happening here is the right hand of the company didn't know what the left hand was doing?" [Channel 2 investigative reporter Pam] Zekman asked the homeowner. "Absolutely," Angela Dixon replied. "And I'm getting lost in the shuffle, when I've done everything right."

For the story, see Family Nearly Evicted When Mortgage Firm Goofs (The Dixon Family Got Foreclosure Notice, Even Though Company Agreed To Modify Their Debt).