Consumer complaint received 2021-06-03
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: NJ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
I am filing the instant complaint due to : ( 1 ) unequal mortgage refinance processing & underwriting practices by Chase, ( 2 ) discriminatory home appraisal by Chase and its contracted appraisers, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX, ( 3 ) repeated refusals by Chase to correct my NJ homes unfair valuation as well as overt mistakes in its appraisal ( such as wrong square footage & selection of lower sales comparables ). As a result, Chase is conditioning refinance to my paying private mortgage insurance ( PMI ) expenses which otherwise I would not have to pay under the 80 % value rule of the Homeowners Protection Act, ( 4 ) repeated refusals by Chase to assign a fair lending officer to revise my entire application, as well as the appraisal with the unfair & erroneous valuation, ( 5 ) unjustly burdening me, as a non-appraiser client, with identifying adequate comparables after I provided Chase with 2 comparable links showing properties within my XXXX XXXX, ( 6 ) deviations from accepted lending industry practices by unjustifiably burdening me with unnecessary record productions, ( 7 ) unfair delays and obstructions in processing my refinance application all which amount to a constructive denial and discriminatory treatment ( Gilley v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 12cv1774 AJB ( JMA ) ), and ( 8 ) violations to Conciliation 05-21-0635-8, https : //www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/FHEO/documents/21Chase % 20Conciliation % 20Agreement_Redacted_Redacted.pdf I believe the PMI issues fall within CFPBs jurisdiction along with the unnecessary delays, constructive denial and other sex and national origin motivated actions taken by Chase with respect to my refinance application. 


Facts On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I submitted a refinance application to Chase for property XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX NJ. At such time, I reported having a {$140000.00} annual salary with approximately {$550000.00} in liquid assets ( XXXX retirement assets : around {$310000.00} ; XXXX stock securities {$140000.00} plus XXXX IRA {$46000.00} ; XXXX stock securities {$21000.00}, XXXX XXXX XXXX {$12000.00} checking & savings plus a {$10000.00} XXXX certificate ; and XXXX savings {$2900.00} ). I dont have a copy of the XX/XX/XXXX application & couldnt find it in my Chase account. Hence the estimation. 

Let me note that in XXXX, when I first acquired the NJ property, I had the exact same debt obligations as in XXXX ( except for the NJ mortgage ). In XXXX, in contrast, I had a reduced annual salary ( {$100000.00} ), a lower credit rating, and much less liquid and stock security assets. While then I was able to secure a {$360000.00} mortgage with a 5.125 % interest at 30 years, my XXXX attempt to refinance for a less amount ( {$350000.00} approximately, 2.875 % interest at 15 years ) has been unfruitful. 

Starting on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I worked with Chase advisor XXXX XXXX on various actions, such as signing the IRS 4506C Request for Transcript of Tax Return, XXXX XXXX applications, the authorization to disclose forms, and performing other tasks ( finalized on XX/XX/XXXX ). Mr. XXXX, who is aware I am a hurricane disaster-displaced XXXX XXXX, also assisted me throughout XXXX with recording annual salary verifications, liquid and real estate assets, debt obligations, income taxes ( New Jersey, XXXX XXXX & federal ), rental income, and other aspects necessary for Chases underwriters to calculate my debt-to-income, assets/reserves, credits/liabilities, and assess other risk elements associated with my debt repayment capabilities. CFPB should obtain copies of all underwriter reports, financial analyses and notes ( generated between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, when Chase notified that its appraisers discriminatory & erroneous valuation would remain unchanged ). 

Throughout XXXX, various actions were initiated by Chase such as referring my property for appraisal valuation, assigning specialist XXXX XXXX to obtain additional tax returns and verifications of my XXXXbased property, including rental income, lease agreement, mortgage & mortgage insurance with XXXX XXXX, flood insurance and other actions. 

The mortgage statements for the XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) property are particularly important. I dont have access to all the secure emails where I submitted these to Chase, after each of Chases repeated and excessive requests. Please note that I can only see received emails, and not sent messages, through Chases secure encrypted system. 

Despite all my efforts to fulfill Chases every demand, for over a 1 month timeframe I had to spend countless hours in sending an inordinate amount of emails & verification information through Chases email system, where I had to attach copies of XXXX XXXX mortgage statements and repeatedly explain that statement information ( such as loan numbers & mortgage obligations ) could be validated by cross-checking with federal and XXXX tax returns. 

Nonetheless, Chase specialists insisted that I submit, again and again, the exact same statements from XXXX XXXX which I had already submitted because they didnt want the NJ home address where I live ( & which is mortgaged with Chase ) to show up in XXXX property statements. Despite my repeated pleas to just move to closing & stop holding back the transaction, over 1 month Chase insisted I must produce these documents which do not exist & can not be generated. This was the first series of what would later devolve into overtly obstructionist patterns and practices by Chase to prevent closing my refinance application. 

The issue with the XXXX XXXX statements was eventually resolved after I escalated on XX/XX/XXXX via emails to the attention of specialists XXXX and XXXX XXXX. An XX/XX/XXXX phone call with specialist XXXX finally proved successful in settling this matter, in exact consistency with what I had been reporting to Chase for over a month. 

Let me also state that on XX/XX/XXXX, I provided Chase with verification of liquid assets which I stated I expected underwriters to include in my equity assets calculations. These accounts were described as totaling {$560000.00}, which exceeds the combined amounts of the refinance loan application and the money owed on the XXXX XXXX ( roughly {$70000.00} ). My XX/XX/XXXX email to Chase clarified that this meant that the XXXX XXXX & rental ( both which are current but the underwriters are fixated on for holding back this transaction ) play absolutely no role in my debt to income calculation. I expect the underwriters to be advised of this as well. 1. XXXX : {$320000.00}. XXXX : {$200000.00} 3. XXXX : {$28000.00}. Although specialist XXXX tried to discourage me from sending holdings verifications to Chases underwriters because it could lead to more questions, I later submitted relevant verifications via email proving to Chase that liquid assets in actuality exceeded {$600000.00}. 

I know I need not have done this, given the ratio between my annual income and debt responsibilities. I insisted however that my liquid assets be included & considered in Chases risk valuation, since by this time I was starting to fear that Chase would do everything within its power to stop the refinance of my home. After all, my sought refinance reduces Chases profit margin by thousands of dollars, with zeros and commas. 

Afterward, Chase continued to delay referring my refinance to close claiming, for example, incomplete tax returns. Please note that I had submitted tax returns in prior instances, such as in XXXX when I started to work with advisor XXXX. Additionally by XX/XX/XXXX, Chase had already obtained my signed IRS 4506C Request for Transcript of Tax Return and authorization to disclose forms. Had IRS tax information in actuality been so deficient & concerning, Chase could have paid a {$5.00} nominal fee to expedite my tax returns with the IRS, https : //www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/income-verification-express-service. Chase did not however do this because its tax returns, PR mortgage and other asserted claims were simply a pre-text to prolong closing as much as possible. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Chase asked me to produce updated pay stubs, proof of IRS tax payment for XXXX and further advised that my NJ property had been valued at {$400000.00} ( this falls several dollars short of the 80 % value calculation for PMI ). 

I was shocked by the proof of IRS tax payment request. This is not required by XXXX XXXX underwriting guidelines, especially with a borrower such as I who has never had any lien or wage garnishment, and whose credit history, as per a Chase XX/XX/XXXX email, placed me in Chases XXXX XXXX  from XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. In other words, this was just another of Chases arbitrary requests lacking any factual, regulatory, statutory or rational foundation. 

Also, I was astounded by Chases XXXX XXXX statement that my home had been valued by its appraiser at {$400000.00}. I periodically monitor property sales in my XXXX community, so I instantly knew that mistakes must have been made by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX, who deem Chase, and not I, to be their client ( as is customary by appraisers in the USA who regard lenders, not homeowners, as their clients ). 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I advised specialists XXXX and XXXX XXXX of this and furnished information on 4 recent comparable sales within XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was provided with a copy of the appraisal. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a lengthy message to Chase explaining the various ways in which its appraiser had inaccurately reported improvements, home features & amenities ; used wrong comparables outside the XXXX XXXX with lower sales price ; & had inaccurately calculated value-determinative features, such as square footage ( which plays a critical role in calculating gross living area & reaching a home value determination ). I provided a link with comparable XXXX sales, showing model types, square footage and other appraisal relevant information. I further reported discriminatory statements which the appraiser had made during my homes walk-through inspection ( gender stereotyping/cultural sex-based types of expressions about living alone with no children in a big house, which violate 24 CFR 100.135 ( b ) ). I also warned that there were probably many other vulnerable & less privileged people who were being treated in the same way as I was, or possibly even worse, and that Chase had an obligation to ensure that homes are fairly valued, and that the most recent & truly comparable properties are used when appraising. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, specialist XXXX asked me to advise which 3 of the 4 comparables I had provided Chase should be used for my appraisal dispute while cautioning that, if the dispute was approved, additional costs would be added to my loan. Chases attempt to increase my costs as a condition for producing a fair valuation directly violates 24 CFR 100.135 ( d ). 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I was sent a follow up email by Chase, which I responded on XX/XX/XXXX. My XX/XX/XXXX response stated that I wanted my entire application, not only the appraisal, to be escalated and subject to a full review. This email stated : I expect a fair lending officer to review my entire application and an adequately credentialed appraiser to reassess my home including but not be limited to rectifying the diminution of gross living area by Chases appraiser, identifying properties which are accurately comparable and satisfactorily performing other valuation responsibilities which fall on appraisers, and not clients as I. I know Chase has a historical pattern & practice of unfairly treating lender customers, https : //www.forbes.com/sites/brendarichardson/2021/03/08/hud-reaches-agreement-with-jpmorgan-chase-resolving-claims-of-race-discrimination-in-appraisals/? sh=d0ed3375bb50. I hope this matter can be adequately resolved and that I can close the refinance within 3 weeks, without having to seek recourse elsewhere such as by having to file complaints with HUD, the CFPB and other enforcement authorities. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I was advised that my application had been escalated to an escalation specialist. I later learned during a XX/XX/XXXX phone call ( XXXX ) that such persons name is XXXX XXXX and that, as of XX/XX/XXXX, no fair lending officer had been assigned by Chase. During the call with specialist XXXX, I emphasized that my request was not only aimed at disputing Chases unfair appraisal, but also the artificial administrative hurdles that my refinance application had been unfairly subjected to during underwriting in a discriminatory effort to block it from closing. Therefore, I expected a full review by a fair lending expert. 

After the XX/XX/XXXX phone call, I also sent an email to advisor XXXX stating : I have been trying to move forward with my application for 3 months now and have been subjected to every possible artificial administrative hurdle to discourage me from refinancing and not allow me to move to closing. I have suffered every possible obstacle & indignity : from having to prove that I have paid IRS taxes despite my clean record & credit history, to refusals to include liquid asset verifications to months-long repeated requests demanding proof that my XXXX  XXXX with the XXXX property is unrelated to my Chase financed NJ property to now having an appraisal with serious & vital deficiencies such as inaccurate gross living area calculations which inevitably resulted in an undervaluation of my home. If this transaction doesnt close within the next couple of weeks in a manner that is fair & consistent with anti-discrimination laws I will file complaints with HUD, CFPB and numerous other entities. I even asked over a week ago for Chase to assign a fair housing officer to revise my entire file & communication exchanges with Chase officer and as of this date that has not happened. This email closed off by saying : Whatever you need me to do, I will do solely because I want to move on with my life & I cant continue spending more time proving irrelevant minutiae to Chases underwriters. But frankly I dont see what else I need to do to prove to Chase that my loan to assets, debt to income and other relevant indicators show that a substantially minimum risk is associated with closing my refinance application. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, during a XXXX XXXX phone call with advisor XXXX ( XXXX ), I was advised that my appraisal dispute had been unsuccessful so the valuation would remain the same. I explained not being surprised since, under such processes, valuations typically remain unchanged and actual discrimination issues, as the ones I had been experiencing since after advisor XXXX stopped servicing me, were usually never addressed. I expressed my frustration that, despite various requests, a fair lending officer had never been assigned by Chase to review my entire application, as well as the appraisal. I also stated numerous times that I would proceed to file discrimination complaints and I expected Chase to not close my refinance application which it had been constructively denying all this time. 

Due to the foregoing, I am submitting the instant complaint which shows discrimination based on sex & national origin ( XXXX XXXX ), as well as violations to the Homeowners Protection Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, federal Fair Housing Act and other applicable consumer protection statutes. 

Inevitably certain Chase personnel is named in the above narration. Be advised that the unfair lending, underwriting & appraisal problems I experienced in actuality point to a Chase-wide institutional problem of deeply embedded, wide-spread discrimination that is being perpetuated through Chases restrictive and oppressive lending practices. As such, customer service employees have no choice but to perpetuate Chases discriminatory interests throughout the nation. Individual staff persons can in no way be blamed for the sweeping predatory lending, underwriting & refinance practices which has taken decades for Chase to develop and perfect, at the expense of fair housing minorities. 

XXXX XXXX, dated XX/XX/XXXX Address : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX NJ XXXX XXXX : XXXX Email : XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief