BUILD YOUR CASE · CHECK YOUR MORTGAGE RELIEF FILE

Check your mortgage relief file

Who decided what, when they did it, which rule applies, and whether the numbers and timeline reproduce.

A loan modification, Partial Claim review, short sale and foreclosure are not the same transaction. Do not use one rate rule for all of them. Start by naming what the servicer says it offered or did, then compare the right documents, dates and math.

STEP 1 · NAME THE TRANSACTION

What exactly did the servicer say this was?

“Loss mitigation” is the umbrella term. The rule you check depends on the option underneath it.

LOAN MODIFICATION: The existing loan stays in place, but its rate, payment, balance, term or other terms change.
PARTIAL CLAIM / RETENTION REVIEW: The servicer evaluates VA home-retention options under current VA servicing policy. Eligibility and the order of review matter.
SHORT SALE / DEED IN LIEU: The family exits the property through an alternative to foreclosure. Valuation, payoff, liens, fees and approval timing matter more than refinance-rate rules.
FORECLOSURE: The loan is moving through the state's foreclosure process. Federal servicing duties can still control parts of the loss-mitigation sequence, but state law controls major parts of the foreclosure itself.

DO NOT START WITH “IS THIS ILLEGAL?”

Start with: What option was this? What rule version applied on that date? What numbers did the servicer use? What documents prove them?

A mismatch can be important without yet proving a violation.

THE FIVE QUESTIONS · PLAIN SPEAK

Who, what, when, where, and why

These five questions keep the review tied to a real decision instead of a general rule.

WHO: Who made the decision: your servicer, the loan holder, VA, a foreclosure trustee/counsel, or more than one of them? If the servicer says “VA required it,” ask what VA approval or policy it means.
WHAT: What exact option, denial, calculation, approval or foreclosure step is disputed?
WHEN: What are the application, complete-file, offer, approval, signing, appeal, foreclosure-referral and sale dates? A rule can change based on timing.
WHERE: Where is the proof: Note, offer, amortization, escrow analysis, transaction ledger, portal receipt, denial letter, VA approval, court/trustee filing, appraisal or closing statement?
WHY: Why does it matter? The number may change payment or equity; the date may change a protection; the approval sequence may change whether the servicer could enter the agreement without VA first reviewing it.

ONE SENTENCE TO WRITE DOWN

“I am checking _____ because rule/policy _____ appears to require _____ on or before _____.”

If you cannot fill every blank, that is a missing-document question—not proof that nothing went wrong.

LOAN MODIFICATION

RATE + BALANCE CHECK

A high modified rate is a reason to check the pathway—not automatic proof of a violation

First ask whether the servicer says it used the no-prior-VA-approval pathway in 38 C.F.R. § 36.4315(a), or a different current VA option/approval route.

NO PRIOR VA APPROVAL · § 36.4315(a)

If every paragraph-(a) condition is met, the holder may modify without prior VA approval. In that pathway, the selected fixed rate may not exceed the applicable Freddie Mac 30-year survey rate, rounded as the regulation specifies, plus 0.5 percentage point; after that rate is selected, it may not be more than 1 percentage point above the existing rate.

IF A PARAGRAPH-(a) CONDITION IS NOT MET

Paragraph (b) says the holder must submit the file to VA for approval before entering into the modification agreement. Current VA M26-4 options also need their own option-specific terms checked. Do not turn “old rate + 1%” into a universal cap.

DOCUMENTED FACT S021 S006 S184

CHECK THE RATE

Exact modification option named by the servicer
Old interest rate
Freddie Mac / VA reference rate and the date used
Proposed modified rate
Whether the servicer says prior VA approval or an exception/current option applies
Date of any VA approval compared with the date the family was asked to enter/sign the agreement

REBUILD THE NEW BALANCE

Unpaid principal
Accrued interest
Tax/insurance escrow deficit
Allowed legal and foreclosure costs
Other permitted lien-preservation advances
Late fees, processing fees or other charges that need a specific explanation

In the § 36.4315 no-prior-approval pathway, late fees and other charges may not be capitalized, unpaid late fees are waived, and the holder may not charge a processing fee.

LOSS MITIGATION + FORECLOSURE

REVIEW TIMING

Put the assistance review and the foreclosure on one timeline

A servicer can say “we reviewed you.” The written dates show what kind of review happened and when.

Application received 45 days or more before a sale
Regulation X generally requires the servicer to review whether it is complete and send a written acknowledgement within five business days, identifying missing information if incomplete.
Complete application more than 37 days before a sale
The servicer generally must evaluate the borrower for all loss-mitigation options available to that borrower and provide a written determination within 30 days.
Modification denied
The written notice must give the specific reason or reasons for each trial or permanent loan-modification option denied. When the appeal rule applies, the family must be given the required appeal window.
Foreclosure already moving
Where the rule's timing and completeness conditions are met, Regulation X restricts foreclosure referral, judgment/order-of-sale steps or the sale until specified loss-mitigation conditions are resolved. The exact protection depends on the dates and posture of the file.

DOCUMENTED FACT S022

What Regulation X does not guarantee

It creates process duties. It does not require the servicer to offer a particular loss-mitigation option. VA program eligibility, investor/guarantor terms, prior reviews, completeness and timing still matter.

SHORT SALE / DEED IN LIEU / FORECLOSURE

This is usually an accounting-and-timeline check, not a refinance-rate check

Rebuild the payoff and the sequence before deciding what the disagreement means.

SHORT SALE / DEED IN LIEU

Appraisal or broker price opinion and date
Approved sale price and approval expiration
Purchase contract and final settlement/Closing Disclosure
Junior liens and required releases
Itemized fees, advances and credits
Final VA/servicer explanation of debt, guaranty or future entitlement effect

VA borrower guidance has warned that short sale and deed in lieu can reduce future VA home-loan benefit. That is a consequence to understand; it is not proof that an individual approval/accounting was correct.

S054

FORECLOSURE ACCOUNTING + SEQUENCE

Complete payment history and transaction ledger
Principal, interest, escrow advances and credits
Legal/foreclosure costs and other fees
Default/breach notices, reinstatement and payoff quotes
Loss-mitigation application/decision dates
Foreclosure referral, filing, sale notice and sale date

State law matters. A federal/VA servicing mismatch can be important without automatically voiding a foreclosure sale. Keep the federal process question separate from the state-law remedy question.

DOCUMENTS · COLLECT COPIES, NOT MEMORIES

The file that lets you test the story

Original Note and current mortgage statement
Every modification offer and trial plan
Amortization/payment schedule
Escrow analyses
Full transaction and fee ledger
Portal/upload/mail/fax submission receipts
Acknowledgement, completeness and missing-document notices
Evaluation and denial letters
Appeal and appeal response
Written VA approval/exception information, if the servicer relies on it
Foreclosure notices, filings and sale notices
Appraisal/BPO, short-sale approval, lien releases and closing statement if applicable

WRITE DOWN EVERY DISPUTED NUMBER

For each one, record: what the servicer says · document/date · rule/policy to compare · your calculation · difference/question.

That format makes a complaint, attorney intake or congressional casework request much easier to follow.

LABEL THE FINDING CAREFULLY

A question is not the same thing as a violation

CALCULATION QUESTION

The numbers do not reproduce from the documents currently available.

MISSING DOCUMENT / UNKNOWN

You cannot test the rule yet because a necessary document, date, approval or calculation is missing.

POSSIBLE COMPLIANCE ISSUE

The record appears inconsistent with a cited rule or policy. Missing facts may change the conclusion.

DOCUMENTED ERROR / VIOLATION

Use this only when the controlling rule, its applicability, the operative facts and the failure are established. A state-law foreclosure conclusion may still require separate review.

COPY / SEND / SAVE THE RESPONSE

Questions that force the file to become specific

MODIFICATION

“Please identify the exact VA modification option offered, the policy section governing it, the reference/maximum rate and date used, the calculation of the new balance and payment, and whether VA approval or an exception was required. If so, please provide the approval date/reference.”

LOSS MITIGATION

“Please confirm the date my application was received and became complete, every option I was evaluated for, the specific written reason each modification option was denied, any appeal right/deadline, and the current foreclosure status.”

SHORT SALE / FORECLOSURE ACCOUNTING

“Please provide a complete transaction history and itemized payoff/reinstatement calculation, including principal, interest, escrow advances/credits, legal or foreclosure costs, fees, valuations, and any short-sale approval or lien-release calculations.”

This is practical information, not legal advice. A sale date, court filing or state-law remedy needs prompt review by legal aid or a foreclosure attorney in your state.