Complaint Review: GMAC Mortgage Homecomings Financial - Internet Internet

After nearly 1 year of negotiations with Homecomings Financial/GMAC Mortgage, I was blindsided by a Trustee Sale.

One year ago I asked my mortgage company, Homecomings Financial if they would work with me. My income had dropped and after several months I could see that it was going to become more difficult to stay current on my payments to them.

I had an elevated/inflated escrow payment to pay on current and past due property taxes. This house sat empty for 15 months while trying to sell it. I was able to make my mortgage payments, and planned to pay taxes out of proceeds of the sale. When it did not sell and I rented it out, I was able to come up with one year of taxes, but still owed for another year. Homecomings set up an escrow to cover the past due plus the current year. I paid this inflated amount for at least 18 months, and then my income dropped.

I was in need of 3 months of interest payments to be deferred so that I could become current on my property taxes. The county adjusted my 2008/09 taxes based on the drop in the value of the home, so my new escrow payment plus a drop in my interest rate was going to solve the monthly deficit I was experiencing because of my drop in income. But only if I could bring my escrow account to a zero balance.

Homecomings told me they could not work with me because my account was current and in good standing. I needed to default on my loan for them to work with me. After much contemplation, and pretty much no choice, I defaulted by missing my December 2008, January 2009 and February 2009 payments. In those 3 months I brought my escrow to a zero balance and then in March I resumed my payments and have not missed a payment since.

During those 3 months and the months following I wrote to Homecomings asking them to add the 3 months of interest payments I missed on to my principal loan balance as my modification. In the meantime my interest dropped again, now saving me an extra 400.00 per month. Everything was looking good until out of the blue after having my March and April payments accepted by Homecomings - I receive my May payment (check) back in the mail with a letter stating that this payment did not cover the total balance owed. Within days of getting the check back in the mail, I was also served with a notice of foreclosure.

I immediately call Homecomings (which by the way was transferring all of its loans to their parent company GMAC Mortgage as of July 1, 2009) and speak with the Loss Mitigation department whereby they set me up on a payment plan for 4 months while they review my financial/work-out package. This work out package was completed by me and submitted to them in July 2009.

During that phone conversation with Homecomings I was examining my March, April and May statements. I noticed that my escrow balance was significantly less on my May statement. Exactly $1562.25 less than the balance owed in April. They applied my April interest to escrow. When I noticed this I called it to the representatives attention and she told me that it would have to be reviewed. It was clear to me that misapplying this payment made me look like I was 4 months behind, not just 3, and now with them sending back my May payment it made me look like I was 5 months behind. I was very suspicious then that something very crooked was going on.

I disputed this misapplied payment every month I sent in a payment. My April interest was clearly coded on the check as an interest payment. According to Homecomings with my escrow current I didnt owe the next escrow installment until May 1, 2009. I heard back from GMAC regarding my dispute only to have them verify and admit that yes they had applied that payment towards escrow, not interest. They refused to correct it.

In good faith I continued to make my payments on time while waiting to hear from GMAC about my loan modification.

In the months that followed, I continued to make my payments in full and on time. I was even asked to re-submit my workout package because as of November 1, 2009 I still had not heard anything about my loan modification. I did so. I also had a new payment arrangement while being promised that I should know something in 45-60 days (mid-December early January). Then on December 2, 2009 I was blindsided by a Trustee Sale.

I have disputed and argued this all the way up to the President and CEO of GMAC Mortgage and they are standing by the sale as legal stating that I didnt make sufficient payments and I did not make them on time.

I have proof by USPS tracking that the payments were received on time and I actually paid them more than they were asking so as to keep my escrow current. Paying what they asked would have put me behind in my taxes again and I didnt want this.

I have talked to an attorney who says I have a case; however, I do not have endless amounts of money to fight this. And this would take at least a year. I have clearly been wronged here. When I researched GMAC fraud, I was referred to complaints filed on the RipOff Report, so I am hoping that my plight gets read by the right people. Along with the others I have read about that have been wronged by this company there should be a Class Action Lawsuit started.

I hope someone reading this is the right person to help me. I stand to lose at least $225,000.00 in this illegal Trustee Sale.