Consumer complaint received 2022-11-17
Company: On Q Financial
State: CO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Other type of mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
Hello, I would like to file a complaint about OnQ Financial and XXXX mortgage and their deliberate neglect in processing my partial release of property. 

I began this process on XX/XX/XXXX when I first received an offer on my lot. On XX/XX/XXXX I gave OnQ Financial a call to see what steps I would need to take in order to get a partial release of property. The OnQ team informed me that there was nothing on my side that needed to be done, and that it would be taken care of by the buyer 's title company. This was completely wrong information. Then on XX/XX/XXXX I received a phone call from XXXX XXXX ( The loan broker who I worked with originally to secure the loan on my house ) She kindly informed me that I was given false information from the team at OnQ and that I would need to get a partial release of property on my own. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I reached out again to OnQ to see what I needed to do to complete a partial release at this time. The team at OnQ asked me for my po box in order to send me some paperwork via mail. I asked if they could email it, because mail can take time. They said no and sent it to me... 

2 weeks later, I finally received the letter in the mail and to my surprise I had to now pay a {$250.00} processing fee which could not be processed unless I mailed a check in, so I paid the fees to get it to you overnight. On XX/XX/XXXX, over a month and a half after starting this process, you finally had my {$250.00} processing fee. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we finally made it to the second step in the process! I felt that progress was finally being made, and we still had 3 weeks to get the partial release finalized. On XX/XX/XXXX they me an email asking which option I would prefer. The XXXX options were to order an appraisal for {$1100.00} that would be done in under 2 weeks or a {$1600.00} appraisal that wold most likely take a month to complete. I quickly called them back with my response and they issued a 48 hour work order to get it done. This felt like a deliberate move to slow down the process because obviously you would just logically choose the cheaper option with less time. Next they sent an email requiring a check of {$1100.00} for an appraisal to be sent to headquarters with special instructions to label it as such : On Q Financial Attn : Partial Release # XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, IL. XXXX Since I am several hours away from my bank, I kindly asked if they could process payment digitally, of course they said no, because their systems have not been upgraded. Once I learned that it would be impossible to get anything accomplished in a timely manner, I headed off to the bank, ordered a cashier 's check and overnighted the package with the special instructions to apply the money to my appraisal. I took this action, because I wanted the money to be readily available and processed the day they received it. 

I waited until Monday the XXXX to call and make sure that OnQ had received payment, and confirmed with the post office that it had already been picked up by someone in that department. The special loans team informed me that they had not received the check yet, and they put in another work order to call me back within XXXX hours. This felt like an unsatisfactory solution, so I called back on the evening of the XXXX to try and obtain more information, and to see if they had received payment for my appraisal. 


The team had no new information and added another work order request for a call back in XXXX hours, again. On Thursday the XXXX, I received the call back and they informed me that they still hadn't received payment. On Friday evening of the XXXX, I called again and begged for help. I asked if I could possibly just make the payment again over the phone ... Then suddenly the representative noticed that the {$1100.00} XXXX sent had been applied to principle instead of the appraisal for which it was intended. It turns out that the check was applied to the principal on the XXXX of XXXX. 

I asked that they please take the money out of my principal acct. and apply it to order my appraisal- I was told that they could put in another XXXX hour work order and that someone would get back to me by the end of the business day on the following Tuesday. I am still waiting for this phone call as of XXXX today. Reviewing my account online I can see the reversal of payment happened on the XXXX of XXXX and the funds are available to be applied to the appraisal order. 

When I called on Tuesday, OnQ 's special loan department informed me that since my funds were mismanaged on their end, that they were moved and locked in a suspense account until XX/XX/XXXX at the earliest. This was mind blowing to me. I asked them that since I sent a cashiers check and since it was cash that went into a cash account if they could just take the cash from another account and simply order my appraisal that day. I also asked them to do this on Friday the XXXX. They informed me that they were unable to do this because all the money had been locked up. 

I asked them if they would be able to take another separate check or form of payment in order to get it done in a more timely manner. They replied with an abrupt absolutely not. 

I would also like to note that on XX/XX/XXXX I asked for a valuation of property since the remaining balance of my loan is only {$190000.00}. They said at this time that it wasn't possible. Recently I asked for this again and they said that it would only slow down the process, but it would probably be possible at this point. 

So here we are on XX/XX/XXXX, a day short of 2 months since we started this process, without an appraisal ordered, and we close on our lot tomorrow at XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. There hasn't been a single person who has been able to order an appraisal. 

I spoke with XXXXXXXX XXXX, My buyers title company, and when I told them what was going on... They informed me that there is no reason that they couldn't just look at the value of the land being sold and give me partial release based solely on the numbers and comps in the area. 

Here is some basic math on the deal. 

We are currently under contract for {$260000.00} to sell our .42 acre lot that was a part of the original 1.38 acre lot, leaving us with .96 acres remaining that our house sits on. If you simply divide out the remaining acreage and apply the value of the lot sold ... the value of the land we still own would be {$590000.00} This is the value of the LAND without my house on it. If my house burned down tomorrow, the land would still hold this value. My house on the other hand is 2,400 sq ft with 16ft vaulted ceilings on every level and a {$100000.00} solar system on it. This is why XXXXXXXX XXXX was shocked when they refused to give me a partial release. 

Also our 1919 sq ft next door neighbors house on .24 acres of land, which isn't as nice as ours sold in XXXX of XXXX for {$770000.00}. This puts the sq. footage comp at {$960000.00} for our property when not factoring in the extra .56 acre lot we sit on. If you simply ran the calculations of the lot we are selling compared to the .56 acre lot we still have, it would still cover the base of the mortgage. 

I have even suggested making a partial payoff to them. For example ... What if, and since .42 acres is 30 percent of the 1.38 total acres ( We can even exclude the value of the house ), we calculated .30 X the remaining balance of {$190000.00} and applied that towards principal... We could pay off {$60000.00} or 30 % leaving us with {$140000.00} remaining? 

Since I have not received an answer or a call back regarding this issue for 2 months as of the day we close tomorrow, I have started seeking legal advice. 

This is my base assumption and every single person who I have shared this unfortunate information with agrees with me. I believe that the way that OnQ has handled this partial release of property was intentional neglect. I am not a large account for a bank, and since interest rates have doubled, OnQ has 0 interest in hosting a 3 % loan for {$190000.00}. They most likely feel as I do in the fact that in a downturned economy, they would benefit from holding cash to make " better '' investments. 

I honestly believe that there is enough evidence through phone conversations that I can prove their neglect and deliberate intention of dissolving this low interest rate loan. I have been asking to speak with someone nearly every single day since XX/XX/XXXX and I cant get a reply from anyone yet. 

Please advise as this seems deliberate. 

Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation