40
INABILITY TO
PAY MORTGAGE
AMONG TOP
CONSUMER
COMPLAINTS
A report by NerdWallet found complaints
to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
(CFPB) were up 31% so far in 2020 compared
to last year.
e top complaint fielded by the CFPB
directly tied to COVID-19 was consumers not
being able to pay their mortgages at 16%.
Additionally, 26% of complaints to the
CFPB had "mortgage" labeled as the primary
financial product.
"In reading through those labeled as
mortgage complaints, we found many
consumers frustrated with the lack of relief
provided by mortgage forbearance offers,"
the report added. "Namely, the consumers
were unhappy that lenders required full
repayments of delayed installments—known
as a balloon payment—at the conclusion of
the forbearance period."
Complaints related to job loss were up
34% when compared to last year. e CFPB
received 142,782 complaints from Jan. 1, 2020,
to the end of May—a 31% annual increase.
e latest data from Black Knight revealed
the number of mortgages in COVID-
19-related forbearance fell for the third
consecutive week. Overall, the number of
active forbearance plans is down 57,000 from
last week and 158,000 from the peak of the
week of May 22.
At these levels, mortgage servicers need
to advance a combined $3.4 billion a month
to holders of government-backed mortgage
securities on COVID-19-related forbearances.
at's on top of the $1.4 billion in T&I
payments they must make on behalf of
borrowers.
Black Knight also reported that an
additional 723,000 homeowners became
delinquent on their mortgages in May, causing
the national average to rise to its highest level
in 8.5 years.
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