Mortgage servicers regularly make errors and break the rules of the government's mortgage modification program, according to hundreds of homeowners who responded to a ProPublica questionnaire.
For example, all homeowners who are rejected are supposed to receive a formal denial from their mortgage servicer, according to the program's rules. But 136 homeowners reported that they had been rejected from the program without receiving a formal denial. Additionally, homeowners reported more than 1,000 instances of mortgage servicer errors, including losing documents and giving false information.
ProPublica received detailed responses from 373 homeowners -- all of whom applied to get a modification through the administration's foreclosure prevention program -- and they tell a consistent story. Seeking a modification has been an infuriating, stressful nightmare: a black hole of time lost repeatedly calling an 800 number, faxing and mailing the same documents over and over, and coping with the ramifications of errors made by poorly trained bank employees.
Here's what those homeowners told us:
• On average, they'd been seeking a modification for more than 14 months. The process is designed to last only a few months.
• Homeowners seeking modifications reported having to send the same documents nearly six times on average.
• 175 homeowners say they were advised, incorrectly, to fall behind on their mortgage in order to qualify for a modification.
Read more from Propublica.
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