Consumer complaint received 2022-07-27
Company: Better Mortgage, Inc.
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I was referred to Better.com by XXXX XXXX, for a mortgage. I submitted my information and received a pre-approval letter immediately. On XX/XX/XXXX I submitted an offer on a house that was accepted - on the same day I locked a mortgage rate of 2.125 %, and paid the appraisal fee. Title cleared on XX/XX/XXXX, appraisal returned a positive result ( XXXX over purchase price ) and the underwriting process was going well. However, on XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from someone at Better acting as my Loan Officer, abruptly replacing the contact I had been working with up until now. 
This new Loan Officer informed me that he had some concerns with my debt-to-income ratio, and felt my employment was not sufficient to be included as actual income. In short, I work as an attorney for multiple agencies in a w-2 capacity, while I also manage an e-commerce brand I created. I have operated as an attorney and a business owner simultaneously since XXXX, taking breaks between lawsuits from the attorney role to focus on the personal business during high seasons. The loan officer stated my self-employment wouldnt be counted at all because while the income from the current year was a significant amount, tax returns from prior years did not show such a high value for income. He did not say anything about my legal work- which I presumed was sufficient to be considered income since its a w-2 role and Ive worked in this field since XXXX, even if its been for multiple employers. As closing day grew closer, the LO required me to jump through several other hoops - requesting I pay off all credit cards- which I did. He also asked that I pay off my car loan in full, which I also did. However, on XX/XX/XXXX it appeared Better.com was intending to pull out as my lender entirely, but had not informed me of such. I inferred this from something the Better.com realtor had said - so he connected me with other possible lenders for a last minute lender. When I logged onto the Better Portal, my loan status had been changed from underwriting to exception - additional info needed. We will contact you. 
While I started speaking with other banks, I continued to pursue my loan with Better.com because I believed it could be saved. I asked the loan officer once more what I could do. He advised I pay off some additional debts and double the amount of my down payment. I did both per the Loan Officers request. On XX/XX/XXXX the status changed to conditionally approved - last stage- so I called off the talks with other banks as it appeared things with Better.com were repaired. The loan officer led me to believe on that date that things were in fact good to go. In fact, he told me over email that with the doubled downpayment and the debts paid off, my Debt-to-Income ratio was under 50 % as needed and the deal was good to go. Closing date was XX/XX/XXXX, and I did not hear anything from Better between the XXXX and XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I called to ask what was going on - and the loan officer told me we are not going forward with this mortgage. I asked for additional information and was told a denial letter would be sent soon. Eventually I received the letter that stated the reason for the last minute denial was lack of sufficient income. Better.com deemed my legal work as lacking consistency to satisfy the ongoing income requirements of their lending standards. 
This all came as a shock to me - a rollercoaster of yes and no, and countless additional hoops to jump through. I feel entirely misled, strung along, and unfairly denied without cause. Because of Better.coms actions I lost my 1 % escrow deposit, as well as the fees paid towards appraisals, inspections- a total of over {$5000.00}. I also lost an excellent deal on a house worth more than purchase price at an all time low interest rate. In XXXX of XXXX I re-entered the housing market, hesitantly from the horrible experience I had with Better.com - and was forced to accept a loan rate of 5.125 %, more than double the rate I had locked in back in XXXX. The property I would have purchased then is now worth {$60000.00} more, while my buying power has shrunk significantly and the available properties have continued to increase in price by some 15-35 %. Its hard to even calculate how significant the losses are due to the sale falling through but one thing is certain- if not for the actions of Better.com, including misinformed and dishonest lending practices, leaving me empty handed on closing day, I would not have suffered any financial damage or subsequent increased expenses.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation