Rushmore Loan Modifications – Problems & Solutions

Rushmore Loan Management Services, usually known just as Rushmore, is a residential mortgage servicer that specializes in working with loans that are in default.

Chances are, if you have a loan with Rushmore, you’re having a difficult experience working with them.

Read on to learn how to contact Rushmore, how to work with their loss mitigation department, and how to apply for a loan modification.

Why was my loan transferred to Rushmore?

When your loan is transferred from one bank to another, it is called a service release. Read more about the challenges of a service release and what you can do about it.

Rushmore is known in the industry as a mortgage servicer that buys the servicing rights of other mortgages. Specifically, they are known to buy the rights to non-performing loans or loans that are in default. Rushmore buys the loans in order to add them to their portfolio and make money by servicing them.

If you’re missing payments and your loan was recently taken over by Rushmore, it is important for you to learn how to communicate with them so you don’t lose your home to foreclosure.

How do I contact Rushmore Loan Servicing?

Here is how to contact Rushmore if you are having trouble paying your mortgage:

• If you haven’t already done so, create your “online portal” so you have access to all the documents Rushmore issues related to your loan: https://myrushmoreloan.com/#/
• Call Rushmore Loan Servicing’s loss mitigation department at (888) 699-5600
• Log-in to your account to chat with Rushmore online: https://www.rushmorelm.com/pre-login/
• Call their customer service department at (888) 504-6700
• Fax their loss mitigation department at: (949) 341-2242
• Email documents to their loss mitigation department: lossmitigation@rushmorelm.com (this email address is used for documents only – documents will be received and attached to your account but you will not receive email communication back from Rushmore)

What is in Rushmore’s loss mitigation application?

To apply for a mortgage modification, you will be required to submit a “complete loss mitigation package.” This is basically the lender’s application form plus all of the required financial documents that they require.

The documents include:

• Rushmore’s loss mitigation form
• 4506-C form
• 60-days worth of bank statements
• Hardship letter
• 30-days worth of pay stubs (if you have a W-2 job)
• All other income verification for the household
• The two most recent years of tax returns
• Other relevant documents that relate to your particular situation.

Here’s what you need to know about each of the loan modification documents

The best way to communicate with Rushmore is via email

If you are in default on your mortgage, you will have a specialist who works for Rushmore assigned to your account.

To figure out who this person is, call Rushmore’s loss mitigation department and ask them to give you the name, direct phone number, and email for your specialist.

Unlike other lenders who never return voicemails or emails, with Rushmore you stand about a 60% shot at actually being able to communicate with your specialist.

Rushmore’s specialists will email you within approximately 72 hours of your email.

If you have emailed your specialist and they are not returning your emails within 72 hours, don’t wait on them. Start calling their loss mitigation department directly to get an update on your file.

Make sure you are talking to Rushmore’s loss mitigation department

Be careful here!

Rushmore has a customer service or “customer care” department. These customer care representatives will try to help you but these representatives are not loss mitigation representatives.

If you’re behind on payments, the most informed people for you to speak with are going to be representatives in the loss mitigation department.

Customer care representatives will tell you that they can help you just as well as someone from loss mitigation can, but that’s not necessarily true. Push back on them and ask for a warm transfer (an in-person transfer) to a loss mitigation representative to ensure you’re receiving the most accurate information.

Rushmore’s loss mitigation options to avoid foreclosure

Unless you decide to reinstate your loan (meaning – unless you can pay back all the payments you missed at one time), familiarize yourself with the 5 loss mitigation options offered by Rushmore.

You have to apply and receive Rushmore’s approval to move forward with one of these options.

• Loan Modification: A loan modification is a new loan with new terms that allows you to resume mortgage payments without having to pay everything you owe all at once. Usually, your missed mortgage payments get added to your total principal balance and become due at the maturity date of the loan. It is common for loan modifications to offer reductions in interest rates, extended maturity dates, and sometimes – they lower the monthly mortgage payments.

• Repayment Plan: A repayment plan is an agreement that allows you to resume your regular mortgage payment and pay an extra amount on top of your mortgage payment until you’ve paid back all your missed payments. Once you have paid everything back, you continue making your regular monthly mortgage payment.

• Forbearance: A forbearance gives you a temporary break in having to pay your mortgage. Once approved for a forbearance, you are allowed to stop payments for the approved months without the lender taking foreclosure action against you.

• Short Sale: A short sale allows you to sell an underwater property for less than what is owed on the mortgage. Your mortgage lender approves the sale and then typically waives the deficiency balance (the remaining amount owed) so you can sell your home and move on without owing the remaining balance.

• Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure: A deed in lieu of foreclosure is an agreement between yourself and your mortgage lender where you sign a document giving the house back to the bank in exchange for the bank agreeing not to foreclose on you.

Options for transitioning off of a forbearance plan

If you went on a COVID-19 Forbearance Plan with Rushmore, you may have additional options to transition back to normal payments:

• If you have a qualifying investor backing your mortgage (FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac) and;

• You took a COVID-19 forbearance plan as a result of financial hardship caused by the pandemic and;

• You were current on your mortgage prior to March 1, 2020

You should be able to transition off of your forbearance plan using:

• A payment deferral – where Rushmore puts the missed payments on to the end of your loan to help you resume regular monthly payments

• A partial claim – where Rushmore creates a subordinate lien containing the lump sum of payments you missed which becomes due at the maturity date of your loan

• A streamlined loan modification (no documents)

• A repayment plan

Rushmore’s top loan modification problems

Rushmore is known for being difficult to work with, less so with regards to their daily communication style but more so with regards to the decisions they make regarding loan modification reviews.

Problem: Rushmore is known to miscalculate income when applying for a loan modification

The most common mistake Rushmore is known to make when reviewing a loan modification application is miscalculating income. They often omit sources of reported income or they miscalculate the actual amount of income coming into the household. Sometimes, they fail to include contributor income without telling you or giving you an opportunity to clarify.

Solution: If you get denied because Rushmore does not think you can afford the payment, ask to see a breakdown of the income they used when evaluating you. If there is a mistake in the breakdown, point this out during the appeal process with as much supporting evidence as you can. If possible, to avoid a denial, ask them to tell you what income they’re using even before they issue a decision.

Problem: Rushmore is known to keep loan modification files in an “incomplete status” for too long

When you submit loan modification documents, Rushmore’s document processors need to “deem the file complete” so the decision makers can review your file for a modification.

Rushmore often fails to complete and forward loss mitigation files to the decision makers in a timely manner. This can cause your documents to expire which can slow down the whole process.

Solution: Call them every 48 hours while your file is in review and ask them if your file has been deemed complete yet. If it has not, ask them to tell you what the missing documents are. Send them the missing documents and then call to confirm that they were received. Continue your regular calls until you’re told that the file has been deemed complete and sent to the underwriting department. Then start calling every 72 hours to check on your file to ensure it doesn’t get kicked out of underwriting by becoming incomplete again.

Problem: Rushmore is known for mailing letters with important information two weeks after the letter is written

Rushmore won’t call you regularly to tell you that you have missing documents or an incomplete file.

Instead, they are known for mailing “missing document letters” to inform you of your incomplete status but they mail them so late that your file could get closed prior to even having an opportunity to provide what they claim is missing.

Solution: Don’t wait on the letters to be generated. Call regularly (every 72 hours) to ensure that no missing documents have become needed.

If you feel like something isn’t going well with your modification review with Rushmore or if you feel that they have denied your modification in error, you may want to reach out to an attorney for help.

Rushmore Success Stories

A client came to me after having been denied a loan modification by Rushmore.

She was denied because Rushmore did not believe she had enough income to support a loan modification.

This particular client was paid on a weekly basis – the pay periods were clearly reflected on her pay stubs.

After requesting a breakdown of Rushmore’s income and expense calculations, it was clear that Rushmore did not notice that she was paid on a weekly basis.

When Rushmore performed their calculations, they used one weekly stub to reflect her monthly income (instead of using 4 weekly stubs to reflect her monthly income).

This caused her monthly income to look like it was one fourth of what it should have been, causing her mortgage payment to appear more than her monthly income – which caused the loan modification denial.

Using the loan modification appeal process, I corrected the mistake and showed proof of correct income. Rushmore reversed their decision and offered my client a loan modification.

This is only one example of many of the mistakes that Rushmore makes when reviewing homeowners for loan modification approval. If you feel that something like this has happened to you, it may be time to reach out for some help.

Additional Resources:

How to prevent foreclosure if you are behind on your mortgage payments
What you need to know about foreclosure notices you may have received
What to look for in a loan modification attorney

Next Steps

It’s great that you are reading about Rushmore’s loss mitigation options. If you are a Washington State homeowner, the next step would be to schedule a free, mortgage relief consultation with me.

A mortgage and foreclosure attorney will have the experience with your lender and the loss mitigation options that are available to you. Please give me a call today at (425) 654-1674 to discuss your situation.