Consumer complaint received 2020-08-26
Company: PulteGroup, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
I am purchasing a Pulte new build and they have a {$10000.00} incentive to go with their lender Pulte Mortgage, cool no brainer. 
Started the lender app and process XX/XX/XXXX. Was quoted a 3.49 % rate on a 30yr conventional loan w/ 5 % down. I questioned it but was told that was the best rate for my high XXXX credit score, I still thought it was high but was far from locking so I didnt push the issue. Got all the required paperwork in immediately. 
Got a conditional approval on XXXX XXXX the approval was pulled stating they needed more paperwork about a lawsuit I was the plaintiff in, sent the paperwork that day XX/XX/XXXX loan still not approved, underwriters were asking for lawyers fees costs, I thought this was excessive and sent them an email stating that I believed this was a form of discrimination and that I would not move forward until I talked to compliance and that person has a sense for diversity and inclusion. 
Talked to the compliance officer, was told she would look into it and encouraged me to shop rates. I was XXXX because that would mean another inquiry on my credit.

Spoke to the lending manager that informed me there was no way to discriminate because all rates are based on credit score and downpayment. I notified him it wasnt my job to educate him on the history of lending discrimination and advised him to seek out educational resources/training from the administration. 
XXXX Submitted even more income verification documentation including statements from my 403b as a funding source backup to speed up underwriting, per loan officer and loan processor recommendation XX/XX/XXXX Applied with a new lender XX/XX/XXXX Quoted rate of 2.87 % XX/XX/XXXX I informed XXXXulte I would no longer be using them as a lender and requested that the builder honor the building credit since Pulte had yet to approve my loan and their rate was not competitive XX/XX/XXXX Underwritten approval received from new lender XX/XX/XXXX Pulte mortgage sent over their rate match with {$10000.00} in points stating they were matching the fee structure of the outside lender since I would lose my builder credit by not going with them. How could this be a competitive loan if seller credits are being built in? 
XX/XX/XXXX informed Pulte I was not interested in their predatory loan and to withdraw my application. 
XX/XX/XXXX was informed by the builder they would not honor the builder credit. This has put me in a tough place financially as I now have to come to the closing table with an extra {$10000.00} I hadnt planned on. I based my savings on the cash to close I received when I started the process in XXXX. 

Why I think this is discrimination The high-interest rate The length of time it took and the amount of paperwork I had to submit to still not be approved two months after applying Submitting the same paperwork to a different lender and getting a better rate and approval in no time Being offered to buy down the loan as a rate match Feeling pressured to accept a subpar loan so that I wouldnt lose the {$10000.00} credit, " Lenders shouldnt steer you into a product that doesnt fit your financial needs ''

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation