West Virginia Woman Sues Local Bank over Predatory Lending Allegations

Charleston,WVA woman from Cross Lanes, West Virginia, has filed suit against Flagstar Bank and one of its employees over alleged predatory lending practices related to the woman's mortgage.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">In the summer of 2007, Kathy Belcher approached the bank for a mortgage loan under a referral from a real estate agent. Belcher met with Flagstar loan officer Larry Wood, who wildly misrepresented the woman's annual income, despite the woman's use of pay stubs and proof of income during the application process, according to the suit.

Belcher purchased a home with the money in October 2007 but struggled to make her regular monthly payments after divorcing her husband just a year later. After filing a loan modification application and continuing to make monthly payments, Belcher eventually was forced to make a partial payment in May 2009 due to financial concerns - a payment that Flagstar refused to accept.

The bank continued to request income information from Belcher's ex-husband, which the divorce had rendered irrelevant to the household income, and eventually began foreclosure procedures while ignoring the woman's requests for loss mitigation.

Belcher is seeking damages and equitable relief enjoining the foreclosure sale of the home, according to the West Virginia Record.