Some homeowners are getting mortgage bailouts by mistake, and it’s keeping them from refinancing

Key Points:

• In a rush to help consumers who have been impacted financially by the coronavirus pandemic, the government authorized a massive mortgage bailout under the CARES Act.
• Some borrowers’ inquiries were misunderstood and some servicers, swamped with hundreds of thousands of calls, just put the borrowers into the program.
• Since early March, complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have soared, with mortgage complaints leading the charge.