Am writing this letter to explain why I believe that I am a victim of a predatory lending company (HSBC, and Accredited home lenders Inc).
In October during my mortgage loan closing process I was told of last minute changes to the loan package. I never received a Good Faith Estimate from my loan officer to review the changes; therefore I was not aware of all the terms and conditions of the loan until the day of settlement.
During closing, I was shocked and distressed to learn of the new conditions of the loan including: loan amount, interest rate, amount of monthly payment, pay back period, the cost for any buy down points, balloon payments, and closing cost. I started to cry and felt bewildered about what was transpiring at the table during closing. I refused to sign the documents to close the transaction. But I was quickly pressured into signing because the settlement company and my loan officer stated that if I refuse to close the transaction I will cause the forfeit of my earnest money deposit of ten thousand dollars; also the seller will take me to court for additional damages.
I informed the lender and settlement company that I cannot afford to pay the monthly mortgage and I did not have all of the $20,301 that I needed to close. My loan office indicated to me on the phone that I only needed about $1400 for settlement.
The settlement company told me that they would allow me to sign the document to close the transaction and then accompany me to the bank to get the rest of the money. Again I told the loan office and the settlement company that I cannot afford the loan and I do not have the rest of the closing cost. I was convinced not to worry, and that my loan would be refinanced within six months.
For almost two years I was forced to work two jobs and rented some of the rooms to be able to pay a mortgage of $3300 when my monthly gross income before tax then was $2600. I have tried to refinance the house and I was told that I owed more than the current value of my home. I also learned that my house was over priced by $16000 during the time of purchase. I have consulted a lawyer and he advised me that I was charged excessive fees during closing. The Home Owner Equity Protection. Act sive fees during closing, they violated the Truth in Lending Act and also
I have not been able to pay the mortgage; my roommates were giving me a hard time about meeting their payments for the rent. I was forced to ask them to leave. The little money that I have now is being spent on utilities that is almost $600 a month and up keeping the house. The house has flooded twice in two years and there is always something that goes broke in the house. Also my mortgage went up this year by $300, currently my monthly payment is $3700
I have come to understand the legal impact of the mortgage loan document that I was pressured into signing. I also learned that on the application my gross income was falsely stated as $9000 when at the time it was $2600. I have spent over $21,000 in closing cost and $83,200 for the past 26 months in monthly payments
I believe that I was pried on and also taken advantage of due to the fact that I am a woman, and at that time I did not fully understand the process.
The past nine months have been very stressful, I was hospitalized at Holy Cross Hospital for 3 days and was told by my doctor that all of my medical test results carried out on me during the course of my stay at the hospital returned a negative prognosis on all major illnesses and that the problem was noted to be stress related. I have lost all of my savings and the American dream that I have worked so hard for in the past years. I now have bad credit that I worked so hard to accomplish and maintain as well no savings.
0 comments