QUESTION
What can I do if my lender has refused to accept my payments?
Asked on Jul 31st, 2013 on Foreclosures - California
More details to this question:
Since my loan was sold to a new lender, my new lender has refused and sent back my monthly payments. This has been going on for almost 10 months now. They are trying to force me into a loan modification. While I was willing to do this to take advantage of new lower interest rates; they have done nothing but drag their feet. Every week, I need to give them something new and then the next week I need to give them another bank statement because the one I gave them 3 months ago is too old. Month after month after month, I am fed up with the games. To make matters worse, they have reported me to the credit agencies for nonpayment. My credit score has gone from the mid 700s to barely over 500. Since high school, I never missed any bill payment, not even when I was on deployment to the Middle East. This infuriates me! I have tried to get legal assistance but mortgage lawyers want close to 5,000 just to save my house. I have continued to make my mortgage payment to a savings account but I do not want to take any of it because I am afraid that the bank will ask for all the payments due at once. Is what they are doing legal? Should I just spend the money on a lawyer? Will they then force me to pay all of the monthly payments that they refused? The state is Nevada in the wonderful City of Sparks.
1 ANSWER
You have posted a question about a Nevada property on the California site. Without knowing more, I would say that the bank is only allowed to refuse to accept your payments if you were in default at any point. What reason has the lender given you for refusing your payments? A lender cannot legally refuse to accept payments for the purpose of putting you in default so that it can foreclose. You are doing the right thing by depositing your payments into a separate bank account. Some lenders do try to pressure borrowers to seek a modification because they make money from the federal HAMP program for every application they process, whether or not they grant the modification. Your problem of getting the runaround on your modification application is unfortunately very common. Despite the HAMP program, only a small percentage of loans are actually getting modified. This is not an question that can be easily answered in this type of forum. You should be able to find a local attorney who will meet with you for a half hour for little or no fee and answer your questions so you know what your options are. Check with your county bar association to see if it has a lawyer referral program. Or search on line for lawyers who specialize in real estate and foreclosure law and ask for a free consultation. You can't make a decision about what to do without giving all the facts to a qualified expert who can answer your questions.
Answered on Aug 01st, 2013 at 4:44 PM