An Ongoing Home Owners Nightmare
I am responding to the Home Mortgage Acceleration letter sent to Darian and Shay Morgan, 2431 Stadium Place, Arlington, Texas 76006, financed by GMAC Mortgage.
The past few years Darian and I have had a tremendous amount of trouble with our home mortgage loan.
I have done my best to note the correct dates in the following letter. I have provided to the best of my ability accurate and correct information. I have records of all events in the following explanation, all letters written to GMAC and with maybe the exception of a few phone calls, phone records and attempts to contact representative. I have kept detail records of events and have a clear recollection of all events that have taken place to date.
The original problems with our GMAC mortgage started when I, Shay Morgan had an auto accident in January or 2004 and I was unable to work. My husband, Darian and I contacted GMAC explaining the situation and asking for assistance.
Darian and I requested many times to speak with the loss and litigation department or someone other than customer service or the collections department to work out our mortgage issues. I made several phone calls to loss and litigation and was told until the file came to their department they were unable to help with our issues. I explained to customer service and collections that we need to work out some other type of payment plan to help with the payments that were going to become late. We could never get passed customer service or the basic collections department. I asked to speak with supervisors, left messages 17 different individuals voicemails. I went so far as to just pushing in extension numbers and leaving messages on voicemails of people that I didn't even know the department in hopes for some type of help and response. The time I finally was able to speak to someone other than the two departments mentioned was when our mortgage became drastically late.
Getting no response or help from GMAC, I began researching on the computer and calling many different types of agencies to see what type of options were available. Chapter 13 was not an option for Darian and me. I do not believe in not paying my debt and did not want to lose our home. We had perfect credit and we were faced with our credit being drastically hindered.
Finally I was put in contact with a representative at GMAC by the name of Kerri in the Payment and Loss Division, because our home was set now for foreclosure on Tuesday, April 5th. Kerry explained we could work out a repayment plan which would raise our mortgage payment for a number of months and when the past due amount was satisfied, our mortgage payment would resume to the original amount. Kerri asks for Darian and me to send in an explanation letter about our circumstances. She asks if I had resumed working and I had. She ask for Darian and I to send in a proposal with the explanation letter, giving details of the amount we could send upfront toward the repayment plan, our budget, pay stubs, financials, and home owners insurance verification. I immediately did all she had asked. She gave me an amount or would have to immediately send in to her and ask me what amount Darian and I could send toward the payment plan upfront. I mailed to GMAC cashiers check, estimate amount of $19000.00. Not having the copy of the check in my possession at this time, I am unsure of the exact monies, but the estimate is close. She then worked out the additional balance to be repaid in the repayment plan. We signed the documentation and mailed all information and money to her at GMAC. Kerri explained that our mortgage payments would not be sent to our original mortgage address and she noted the address on the documents Darian and I signed and mailed.
The second payment became due on the repayment plan. From the time of the first payment to Kerri and the second payment due, we were mailed a payment slip with a different mortgage amount than the original mortgage amount and different that the amount that Kerri had set up with Darian and I. The notice also had a different address noted on the mortgage slip. Not only were we in question to the mortgage slip we received, we were receiving collection calls from the GMAC collection department on a daily continuous basis asking us where our mortgage payment were and telling us we were late, asking why we were late, and when were we going to sent money, telling us if we didn't pay that we would be put into foreclosure and risked loosing our home. Many times we received several calls from different representatives in a 24 hour period. Each time I explained that we were on a repayment plan, gave the information, gave Kerri the representatives name, number and extension and gave the address and amount we were set up to pay GMAC. I was told on a number of occasions that we were avoiding the calls by collections, told we were stalling on making our payments, told we didn't have a payment plan, told they had nothing in their computer noting any information that I explained, told by two representative that I was a liar, and one representative told me that if we couldn't afford our home and we were this late that we should be thinking of different options as to where our family was going to being living in the near future because our home would be taken in foreclosure and we would have no other choice but to move. She then said and I quote, "So you should start packing your possessions or they would go with the home to make up for what we obviously couldn't afford to pay." She then ask me why we would buy a home we couldn't afford that we should have planned our future expenses more appropriately and that she would never put herself in the situation to get a mortgage as high as Darian and I had gotten ourselves into. I was so angry that instead of saying what I wanted to say, I just said that she was a representative at GMAC and she crossed the line with her opinion and not to call my home ever again and I hung up in tears.
The day I received the statement with the unfamiliar mortgage amount and address, I immediately opening the letter called GMAC. I gave the representative the information on the statement, explained the situation and gave her Kerri's information. She told me that the address to mail my payment to on the slip mailed to us was correct and to mail our payment into the noted location. She also explained that our file had been transferred and that a gentleman by the name of Mike Dian would now be our new representative handling our file. The customer service representative gave me his extension and number and advised me that if I had any concerns in the future to contact him. After our conversation, I called and received Mike Dian's telephone number and ask if there were any problems, explained the situation of our repayment plan, and explained we had received notice of payment from GMAC and the address was different. I gave detailed information on the voicemail and even had to call back in because the voicemail system cut me off because the message was too long for the system. I called again the following day and ask if a problem could he please call me and if not, I would assume there was not a problem. Even though he did not return calls, I did call once more and again received voicemail and left message. After 3 phone calls, I figured there must not be any problems. I had asked him to call if there were any issues on our mortgage acct; beside the repayment plan we had agreed to with Kerri, the original representative and leaving 3 detailed voicemails, he did not return calls. I made one additional phone call to customer service, explained that I left several voicemails and she said that if he had anything that he needed or if things had changed that he would have notified Darian and I.
J
The July repayment plan amount came due and I mailed the cashiers check to the same location as the June repayment plan cashiers check.
On July 25, I received a letter from GMAC returning our payment for June and the letter noted to contact the following attorney offices of Barrett Burke, Wilson Castle Doffing & Frappier, and L.L.P.
Immediately I called the attorney office. I was only able to speak with the attorney's office team of collection representatives and not the actual attorney. The representative for the law firm told me to contact Mike Dian and they were acting for GMAC and I would have to contact Mr. Dian to get further information.
Mr. Mike Dian was the representative I explained previously in the letter to call me if we had a problem on our repayment plan, with no return calls.
I again called Mike Dian on Monday, July 26. Mr. Dian returned the telephone call, I was not home and my daughter took the message. 10 minutes later I returned his phone call. I explained to him the confusion and not understanding why we were not notified of the changes, I could get not any information from anyone, and that due to GMAC sending a statement, and even though I verified with customer service and left him 3 detailed messages, not one individual notified Darian and I, gave no type of response their was an address error; that matter a fact we were told the address was correct, and we were not notified that he was our new representative. I explained that only after calling myself out of concern and confusion did I find he was the representative and now our check were being sent back and our repayment plan was broken due to not being received in the proper location. I explained that I could not understand why GMAC would not forward the check to the proper location if it was incorrect and notify us of the error so that we could correct for the July payment. I also explained that not only were we not notified, we did not receive the June payment back until the end of July and we had already mailed the July payment and it still had not been returned to date. I explained now that we were being sent a letter from an attorney office saying our payments would not be accepted. And of course we were daily being charged interest on the higher mortgage balance due to not excepting payments. I added also that now we were being charged an attorney fee for something that was not our error. We had already previously been charged attorney fees from this firm when we started the repayment plan due to possible foreclosure and worked very hard and sent in a large some of money up front to enter the repayment plan. We were told the repayment plan was our only option and now again we are facing foreclosure, just a couple of month later. Mike said he would have to get with Kerri and he did not have details to our file. He did not get back with me and being very nervous and extremely frustrated, I called Kerri and typed and faxed a letter explaining all the issues and details to date. She was very willing to help and said she would get our file and that she would refer our file to the GMAC Connecticut office. She explained that we had send in a large amount of money upfront and that she would refer to a gentleman for a loan restructuring Relieved that finally someone was helping to get things resolved I waited as she instructed for a response. She said it would take about a week to get all the information to this department.
Well, this did not take a week. When I finally got hold of the gentleman named Rick it was August 1. He told me he would have to look through the file and figure out a plan. Calling several times, Rick and I spoke at the end of August. He explained that we were not eligible for a loan restructure or a loan modification because now our payments were late. He had to do some further work on file and get back with me.
Now the date was September 1. I wrote a letter to Rick, Kerri, and the Loan modification or repayment plan department. Rick wanted us to send an additional 10,000. I told him we were not late, it was not our error and that if I was going to send in another 10,000, that I could have taken the $18000 originally send, the $10.000 and the payments from the repayment plan from Jan to date and I would be caught up on loan and would not have to being do another repayment plan. Due to GMAC error in all departments our repayment plan was noted broken, 2 repayment plans and the whole reason he had our file was to do a loan remobilization and now that he kept file for a whole month, he was saying not eligible. We wanted a loan modification the first time and told the repayment plan was the only way. Not thinking we would get some correct help, again not our error from Rick sitting on the file, we are shown in error and interest calculating daily, and attorneys fees, and our repayment plan would have been completed completely by date is was at this time. We did not want to loose our home and trying desperately to handle, we signed another payment plan and mailed the check for the monies requested after more time he delayed in getting plan out to us.
After we sent the next large sum on money and repayment plan started, the next month our home flooded and had water coming out the smoke detectors, ruined the white carpet in all areas of the home, shorted out appliances, and caused extensive water damage. We were standing in water. We were experience all of the very large oak trees on the north end of our home dying one of the trees limbs collapse into our roof. Our pool was rising out of the ground, cracking and flooded the land behind us the day after the water came out of the smoke detectors or before, cant recall exactly which order, and our home owners insurance deductible was $4000.00 plus the water extraction, and the fee to remove the large tree limbs hanging out on our roof.
The dying trees on the north end of our home were and our pool. We had an Engineering report done and found out our home was falling inward, a soil sample was not performed, and we were desperately trying to get our builder to fix our home; along with the pool builder.
I called Rick and ask him if could send in our payment 5 days late because of the insurance deductible and fees associated with the mess we had going on. He agreed and said that would be fine. I also notified another individual prior to Rick. I could not get a hold of him and was worried I would not be able to reach and wanted to get someone notified. Well, I sent in payment and it was returned and again we were facing foreclosure. We were served with foreclosure papers the Tuesday following the new year of 2006. Frantic I called Rick asking what in the world was going on and our situation is unreal.
I have never heard a mortgage person say to me, "Shay, why don't you let this house go with all these problems and file Chapter 13. I was in amazement. I expressed, well maybe because Darian and I spent nine years paying of two lots we bought to total $90,000, we paid them off in 9 years, he and I had our house drawn and designed how we had planned since the day we were married. I was 21years and he was 25years. We worked very hard on our credit and the two of us individually had high 700 beacon scores. We had never been late on bills and put everything that we worked for into building a home we were very proud to call ours. The two of us came from low income families and our families worked hard and we appreciated everything given to us. Darian and I have done everything possible to structure our lives so that we could provide things for our girls and enjoy having a home that we worked hard for. I understand that it is not GMAC fault that I was involved in an auto accident and that our home is having structural problems, but for you to so easily ask me why we don't file Chapter 13 or walk away from our home after how hard we are trying with nothing but every dept in GMAC in error disgusts me. And even though to GMAC it may look as we don't pay our bills, well we did at one time but now GMAC is taking everything we have and playing with our lives as nothing and dramatically effecting not just Darian and my life, but our children's. GMAC is a large company and I guess they see us as a number at the end of the year on their bottom line. The difference is that some will walk away and give a home back and leave a company with a large debt, and we were not brought up that you walk away from your commitments. With all do respect, I think I have answered your question.
Rick was silent for about 10minutes and I was in tears. His response was he would find a way to help and see what he could do.
Well, he came up with a plan. Again GMAC wanted a larger amount of money than the past amounts and several individuals in his department became involved in our home issues. Finally his Department Manager spoke with me after I made call after call getting no response from Rick. I explained the conversation I had with him and when I explained his suggestion of foreclosure, she became furious and was as amazed as I was. She said she could not believe he would suggest Bankruptcy. She had he and she on speaker phone or conference call and asks him with me present on the phone what his reasoning was to suggest such an option? I was again told they would work an amount so we could keep our home. I ask again for a loan modification and she told me that she would not do one and that now we would have to pay all the past do amount.
Ok, I ask how much. Well, GMAC foreclosed on our home the day of foreclosure I still was not giving up. I was on the phone with every attorney possible and selling items in our home to come up with the large amount of money they requested. I was hysterical and went to the extreme of sending Darian to the foreclosure sell in Downtown Fort Worth and for him to not let them sell our home. He was on the cell phone with me, asking Shay what you want me to do? I said that I wanted him to locate the attorneys representing GMAC and not to allow them to sell our home without the facts of our home issues. He said they are busy talking. I was frantic saying, I don't care interrupt them, they are about to sell our home. So he did. The attorney told him the house probably would not sell for the amount, it would revert back to GMAC owning and we could come to their office and work something out about getting our home back.
So again Rick was to work on the amount we owed GMAC. He said it would take him some time because their was not anyone in their office that was familiar with a reversal of foreclosure and GMAC had added single interest insurance or home owners insurance to the home and it was an estimate of $9000 to $11000.00 and he needed to get figures to adjust. I explained we never did not have home owners insurance and mailed and faxed him the information and explaining the company, Farmers had always been the provider.
Well two months later and 39 phone calls, no communication or Rick figuring out amount, we again received foreclosure papers on our home and again fees and interest accruing. I called and finally reached the new person working on the file. She explained that they were foreclosing because we had never sent back in the new revised repayment plan. I told her furiously. We worked out a reversal of foreclosure with the attorney's office. I took the attorney two cashiers checks, and the remaining was to be worked out in a repayment plan, yes that is true. But GMAC never sent a new repayment plan and I noted 39 phone calls to RICK and your office and the only response Rick gave me was it was not settled yet, and the last one when I asked why he didn't return my calls was that he had so many voice messages that came him on his phone so he never checked them or he wouldn't get anything done and I would never reach him that way.
The new lady verified that a repayment plan was never sent. Then the manager of the office told me it was my responsibility to make sure I paid my mortgage, gave me a large sum, said It was my responsibility to try harder to reach someone and if whole rears were not paid by date of foreclosure, they were not stopping the foreclosure.
Result - 2 hours before the foreclosure sale, we were forced to file Rick suggestion-Chapter 13. With a 100% payback. Our credit destroyed and we were still fighting to keep our home.
During the mess of all the events, GMAC had our Mortgage noted and titled as a home equity loan. At one point they could not foreclose because Texas bank was shown as first lien holder for the pool. Texas Bank was going to foreclose but instead the escrowed our taxes in and did everything to try to help. When they found the pool was non usable, that we had only had use of pool for one 3month since built, home with extreme structural damage and foreclosure, the charged the pool note off. We had to sign new title work showing that they were not the first lien holder on the note and new title work was done.
We did not finish the Chapter 13 and began paying our bills on our own and never missing a home mortgage payment. We came out of Chapter 13 in July and continued to pay home mortgage. Not one collection notice, until last month we again received paperwork from an attorney in California representing GMAC saying they were going to accelerate our mortgage note for our home equity note of over $400,000.
I wish we had that much equity. We don't even have a home equity note. I contacted the attorney and he is in as much of confusion as Darian and I are. He said he had no idea what was going on. I have spoken with him 4 times to date with no resolution to what is going on. He has told me each time he would call me back and no return calls. I have called him every 5 to 6 days. He says right now he is doing nothing on the mortgage acceleration because he does not understand what GMAC is doing.
We have to date received approval from the TRCC to file suit on our home and pool builder. We have extreme structural damage. Our builder dug up our home last year and the home a foot and above the 48 piers put under the home when built. Every wall is separating, cracking, balcony falling off, rock falling off, windows cracking, doors wont open and close correctly, tile all lifted, interior unfinished by builder and left unpainted, all carpet ruined, water damage, roof leaks, infestation of insects getting in, floor creaking, you name it - we have it. Our pool is a hazard swamp out back. It is snake infested many days. We have large holes around home. Trees are dead, soil separation, pool pumps burned up. Water was over flowing on one side and water was under skimmers on other side. Appliances burned out, no heat down stairs, air conditioner upstairs unit had to be replaced, and ceilings have separation. You name it we have it. Sure we will win the suit, but if we have not a home do to another foreclosure, we don't have a suit.
We don't know what else to do and still trying and praying for just to keep what we built, our home.
Truthfully
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