4 1/2 years ago, my mother approached me about helping her purchase a manufactured home in South Carolina. As she has poor credit, she wanted me to buy the house for her as I had good credit. Unfortunately, the dealership where we purchased this house had a contract with Clayton Vanderbilt mortgage.
My mother is responsible for paying this mortgage, even though the loan is in my name. For about two years, the mortgage was reasonable. However, two years ago, the mortgage went from about $530 a month to nearly $700 a month. We were told that the increase was due to the increase in our home insurance rate.
My mother contacted the insurance company and they advised her that they didn't raise their rates but that Vanderbilt did. A few months ago, the mortgage was jacked up again-this time to $880 a month. The reason for the current increase is that Vanderbilt took it upon themselves to pay my mother's property taxes-something we just found out that they can legally do.
We have to pay them back for the tax money they shelled out. Mind you, my mother has since lost her previous job and now has a job that pays her less money, so she cannot afford this increase. I cannot help her pay this mortgage either since I live in New York and my rent is about the same as the current mortgage. I cannot afford over $1600 a month for two residences.
Since I am the legal owner of this house, whenever we are even 1 day late (which in the last year has been about every month), I get harrassing phone calls from Vanderbilt nearly every day at both home and at my job. I have been told by a Leslie and numerous other rude and nasty people that they will beging foreclosure proceedings-even though we may have been only 15 days late.
At the time we purchased this house, I was lead to believe that the mortgage payment was fixed-meaning it would not change during the life of the loan. They are deceitful and prey on poor and working class people who are vulnerable and have few options. I am trying to refinance this mortgage with another lender, but it's impossible since many lenders won't touch manufactured homes. The ones that do have advised me that my debt to income ratio is too high.
My mother desperately wants to keep the house, but we cannot afford this astronomical mortgage and I cannot take Vanderbilt's harrassment. I don't know if this will do any good but I really need to vent.
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