Complaint Review: Mountain Commerce Bank - Johnson City Tennessee

In 2009, my family purchased a new home from a developer who had funded building and still owed the money to Mountain Commerce Bank. Due to the status of his loans, the bank was helping buyers with special deals, all of which were balloon rates. Before going to sign, we advised our realtor we had pretty rough credit and may not qualify for the home. He told us not to worry, the bank needed to unload the homes, the process was all smoke and mirrors and they probably would not even run our credit. 

We were approved with no problem, and from what they said at signing, they had no idea (even though we told them) about any of our outstanding bad debt. This was a three year balloon rate, and we needed a home for our family, so we took the offer. They told us they would mail us copies of the loan paperwork, and never did. Additionally, our payment book provided did not even have the correct address listed. 

In three years, we went to resign our loan. They forced us to escrow in other debts, and increased our payment. With the increase in mortgage payment and the forced escrow, our payment went from $672 to nearly $1100 per month. Again, they advised us they would send us the paperwork, this time loan modification paperwork, and again they failed to do so. 

We began requesting paperwork from our original loan, and all notifications. The whole situation was beginning to seem increasingly shady (if it wasn't already from the beginning). Three months after the modification, they had not sent us a single mortgage statement or payment book. After the request, they sent copies of some of our original loan paperwork, and copies of the two page modification, still no copies of any notifications. 

After looking at the paperwork, I realized things were most likely worse than I had thought. The original loan paperwork had a falsified signing location (a brank we had never been to and were not aware existed), the address was listed wrong in a couple places, and names were spelled wrong in a couple places. Additionally, THESE WERE NEW REPRINTS! There was not a single signature on one document by either Mountain Commerce Bank or ourselves. The loan modification papers had our signatures, but NOWHERE was the address OR the loan number listed. It has been over 60 days and the bank is in violation of RESPA laws, and still refuses to send all requested paperwork (that does not include violations from not providing original or modification paperwork in a timely manner). 

Go a few months down the road. I let our loan officer (I assumed he was our loan officer, as he always e-mailed us about the loan) know specifically why we were going to be late, noting underworked and medical bills. He did not mention anything about a hardship program/dept, etc. We hit thirty days late for the first time since the inception of our loan. At this point, he stopped contacting myself and my wife, and stopped responding to contacts. On the 18th of November, he sent me an e-mail asking if we wished to sell our home, that he had customers looking. I told him I would speak with my wife. 

A few days later, we received a letter from the bank's lawyers stating we would need to pay the full balance of the note plus fees, $144,000, within 30 days or they would fore close. The letter was post marked the same day Mountain Commerce Bank employee Brad Pollock asked me if we wanted to sell. 

Brad later e-mail me letter me know I had till the middle to end of January to give them the keys so the new owners could move in. Now, I am no banker, but anyone with even an elementary school education could see Brad had presold our home before going to the lawyers. Additionally, the bank's own records will prove it is not business as usual to demand a full note on the first time thirty days past due, especially when they have been notified before hand of hardship. 

Their lawyers, Shults and Shults appear just as shady. They have been refusing to respond to e-mails, as e-mails are generally only considered legal notification if you respond. Therefore, if they do not respond, they can claim I did not dispute the foreclosure. DO NOT do business with Mountain Commerce Bank. DO NOT do business with Shults ad Shults, either, unless you actually did commit the crime.