Consumer complaint received 2018-08-11
Company: Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc.
State: VA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
First, I want to apologize, but since our specific issue did not fit within the confines of the choices given, I chose the closest thing - but to be clear, our issue is not with a payment concern, but with eliminating PMI. 

I understand that based on the Homeowners Protection Act that was signed into law in XXXX, the borrower has some protection against a PMI company being difficult about cancelling PMI, once it is no longer necessary ; however, everything I find is too vague for me to be sure in regards to my specific circumstances as " Loan Modification '' is referenced, but it is not conclusive. 

I went to great effort with our lender prior to applying for our loan to establish clarity with specific answers to " IF '' we would be charged PMI after recasting the new loan within the first few months following closing. 
I explained that initially, we needed to obtain a 90 % LTV and that we planned to very quickly sell and close on our home and then RECAST the proceeds to substantially reduce the payment and to reduce the LTV to below 70 %. 

My singular desire was to ensure that the PMI would be eliminated at that point. After MANY inquiries via emails ( which I kept ) I was eventually told there is NO written rule on this, but that it should be no problem and I was invited to use another lender if that answer was not satisfactory. 

XXXX 's rates were good and I was running out of time and options, so we proceeded and closed on XX/XX/XXXX. As I suspected, I was able to sell our home quickly and since XXXX, we have been trying to process a recast to include the elimination of PMI. 

Though we still have none of the paperwork to confirm it, we have been told over the phone, that the Loan Modification we processed with our {$100000.00} lump principal payment will be reflected with a reduced payment as of XXXX, but the PMI will NOT go away without additional effort to specifically request it be eliminated and the payment of {$450.00} for another appraisal, even though they just had one provided during the origination, less than 6 months ago. 

Ultimately, what I need your guidance about is simply this - can a bank, who just had their appraiser validate the value of a property through an appraisal process for which the borrower paid, force that borrower to pay for another appraisal, less than 6 months later to reconfirm the previously stated value - especially when the LTV is below 70 % based on the value that was so recently confirmed? 

Is there no law against making this so difficult when it is mathematically and logically obvious that the value is already established based on the recent appraisal and the substantially reduced new loan balance? We paid {$430000.00} and paid for an appraised in XX/XX/XXXX that came out at {$440000.00} - we put 10 % down and since XXXX, we have been trying to recast with a lump sum of {$100000.00} for the specific purpose of reducing payment and eliminating the PMI. 

I assume the issue is with the new Servicer, who I was advised is now Dovenmuehle Mortgage, a private label subservicer, who seems to make it extremely difficult to communicate, does not respond to secure messages on their website and seems to take every opportunity to delay every process.

Dovenmuehle 's Special Loan Department advised they do not know anything about their Escrow Department and could never transfer me or tell me the name of anyone in that department - as if they are separate companies. 

I finally spoke to a representative in the Escrow department and I was sent form letters about the eliminating PMI based on the law, which I understand, but my point is in regards to the appraisal for which they insist I pay {$470.00}, so they can determine if I am eligible - to spite the obviousness. 

All communications with XXXX XXXX now reflect Dovenmuehle 's address of XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX , IL XXXX ' rather than the Kansas address , so I am not sure who my issue is with ... XXXX or Dovenmuehle? 

Is there no law about how long an appraisal is valid? Is there no actionable rule that dictates making a borrower pay for another appraisal so quickly after the initial appraisal? 

I have auto payments and have never missed a payment and since the loan is only a few months old, I requested consideration to eliminate the requirement to re-appraise, but every response is only a form letter with the standard requirements. 

So that is it, I want to request an exception to the appraisal rule based on the fact that mathematically and logically, the recent original appraisal indicates the LTV will be well below any level of risk, even if only the sale price instead of the higher appraised value is considered.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation