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Loancare LLC Filed for Foreclosure, but refused adjusted payment (returned check) Virginia Beach Virginia
I know right now everything is about Coronavirus-19, but I hope I find a “empathetic ear” as I feel that my story is the same for a lot of American people.
We are fighting against foreclosure because of a minor mistake committed by the Tax Assessor’s Office, which they corrected immediately when discovered.
The company administrating our real estate loan with Movement Mortgage is Loan Care/Lakeview out of Florida. Loan Care/Lakeview is the company that filed the foreclosure.
In June when I checked our checking account, I found I was totally overdrawn. Loan Care has deducted $1540.34 instead of the normal $699.83 in April and May, 2018 which put my account into overdraft. My husband immediately called Loan Care and was advised not to make remittance until the error was corrected. After he called Richland County’s Tax Office the error in the tax assessment did not reflect the Residential and Homestead discounts bringing my tax bill up to $5195.05 from $1717.05. The County immediately refunded the difference to Loan Care. He, my husband, promptly advised Loan Care of the refund and tax adjustment.
Again we were told by Loan Care to hold off on payments until the refund was logged and adjustments made.
Until October, 2018, my husband dealt with all of this, but on October 15, 2018 he had a heart attack and had open-heart surgery followed by a 5-day coma. I didn’t know if he was going to get through this or not! All of a sudden I was alone and helpless with all of this. I went through all the paperwork from Loan Care as I wanted to fix the problem as quick as possible.
In October I received a bill for $9358.84 due on November 1st with a monthly premium of $1540.34 (no adjustments to tax change). I didn’t understand what was going on so I called Loan Care. Actually 4-5 times a day ‘til mid-November, but got a different person every time that told me something different which was no help. They said a lot, but didn’t say anything!
Not knowing what to do, I sent Loan Care a check for $1818. 13 which I calculated I owed. They returned my check without statement or instructions on how to proceed. So I started again my phone campaign of multiple calls daily to try and get some help. On Oct.30,2018 I was told via phone that my case had gone to their attorney, Bell Carrington, for foreclosure so I started to phone the attorney for help.
Besides phone calls I went to Richland County Tax Office twice where I received the most information. They told me they had refunded the overage and showed me proof that Loan Care had received the monies, and that they had remedied the error promptly. They couldn’t understand what’s going on.
After multiple phone calls Bell Carrington told me they couldn’t help me as they were Loan Care’s attorney and that there was nothing they could do for me. All this was done while my husband was still in a coma! I feared that I might loose my husband and my home! I almost had a nervous breakdown so I sought medical help and was prescribed a anti-depressant.
After a long search I found an attorney that was halfway affordable. I was advised to save the normal monthly payments, which I have, and just to wait ‘til Loan Care made the next move. We were finally served with a Foreclosure Suit on August 9, 2019 and have been awaiting procedures since then.
My attorney has advised me that the outcome of the trial could result in me having to pay their attorney, paying ALL erroneous penalties with interest, and court costs. Through no fault of my own, the County admitted their error and corrected it, and because of the unethical business practices of Loan Care/Lakeview I am in the nerve-wracking situation!
But it doesn’t end here. On Halloween, 2019, a water line broke in the upstairs bathroom which damaged the entire upstairs, penetrated the downstairs ceiling and wall, warped the hardwood flooring, and soaked the insulation in the crawlspace. Total estimated costs to restore our home to a safe and former condition might be close to $30,000.
It is the insurance policy to include both parties, Richard Y Lung AND Loan Care/Lakeview, when payment exceeds $6000. Loan Care refuses to counter sign the checks. So we sit here with open walls and ceilings in a airborne and surface mold infested environment since Halloween, 2019!!
My question is how is a company like this permitted to operate as they do without government control or public attention? Though many, many homes are lost through unethical foreclosure because of unaffordable legal representation or people get so frustrated that they give up; why don’t we hear about this? When you google Loancare/Lakeview, you find out that way to many people have to deal with the same or similar problems like us.
I am 58 years old and my husband is 75 years; thank you Loan Care/Lakeview so very, very much for ruining our retirement!!
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Flint
Rolla,Afghanistan
Escrow
#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, April 19, 2020
Unfortunately, you might be up a creek here, and it sounds like you got some very poor advice from the attorney. The likely problem is that the erroneous bill from the tax department caused your escrow payment to be recalculated. At that point, it does not matter if the payment is returned by the tax office -- you still have to pay into the escrow at the new rate until the servicer recalculates the escrow again and returns the excess account balance. And unfortunately, it's not a mistake, it's how mortgage escrow works.
The best option would have been to keep making payments at the higher rate while trying to convince the servicer to recalculate the escrow payment sooner. If they were not cooperative, seeking loan modification or refinancing the loan with another lender would have been other good options.
Not making the payment only exacerbated the situation, since at that point it makes sense for the servicer to foreclose, especially if you have a lot of equity in the house. You should have immediately filed for a mortgage modification, which would have delayed the foreclosure process. The insurance situation is equally unfortunate, but it is normal practice to not give the check to a borrower who is in the middle of a foreclosure proceeding.
It sounds like your attorney is trying to fight the foreclosure. This is very risky -- it doesn't sound to me like the servicer did anything illegal, they were just being uncooperative. At this point, I think you need to find a different attorney, one that specializes in bankruptcy. You would want to file for bankruptcy, which would stop the foreclosure process. The judge would then figure out how to get you back on track. Since there is not actually an issue with solvency, you should be able to keep the house.