Consumer complaint received 2021-09-05
Company: Paramount GR Holdings, LLC
State: AZ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
Financial harm resulting from deceptive sales practices by Loanpal/Goodleap agents that seem to be supported by management. This is unfortunately the second issue I have had to reach out about, due to problems with the refinance I completed with the company late last year. The first was resolved only after filing a CFPB complaint ( the below mentioned manager XXXX XXXX told me the company would not do anything to make me whole in that situation either ). Upon the recent sale of my home, I became aware of this one as well. I attempted to resolve this with the company directly, but was unsuccessful. 

To summarize, I was placed in a non-refundable, pre-paid PMI product, even though I had made two things very clear 1 ) I would be selling the home within the one to two years, and 2 ) If we went the pre-paid PMI route, I would need it to be refundable otherwise the monthly PMI would make the most sense. Loanpal/Goodleap stated that they could see where I initially had the monthly PMI, and that I was switched to pre-paid, but they had no record of where that was explained to me at all. I asked multiple times for them to pull the agents calls because I clearly remember being told that the PMI would be refundable. They told me that they reviewed the calls they had, but unfortunately, they only keep the initial intake call and do not record and save others after that ( this alone seems odd, since proper oversight and quality assurance would require calls to be recorded and reviewed to ensure customers like me are not being misled ). I mentioned several times that if they had any evidence showing that it was explained to me, I would swallow the loss myself and move on. However, the only thing they pointed to were the final documents in my closing paperwork that noted the PMI was non-refundable. However, that would at best represent a bait and switch, since I originally had a monthly PMI product which would have been perfect for my situation, but was switched to non-refundable pre-paid PMI ( which even the Loanpal managers agreed was not in my best interest ) with no record or evidence of why that was done, or that the new product was explained to me at all. Non-refundable PMI was never discussed as an option, at all. In one email, the agent, XXXX XXXX incorrectly confused my mortgage application with that of another client ( referencing an auto loan which I did not have ), he quickly apologized after I reminded him that I was not doing anything with an auto loan to which he replied apologies I have a couple of applications with very similar names. My point being, the sequence of events along with the issue from my previous complaint, continuously highlight the fact that there was a lot of confusion on the Loanpal side when my loan was being processed and I am the one paying the price for it. While Loanpal, Im sure, profited handsomely from originating and selling my loan etc. 

The purpose of my refinance was to consolidate my solar loan to make the sale of my house in the next year or so more streamlined, and take advantage of more favorable interest rates as well. I explained this to the agent ( XXXX XXXX and other Loanpal reps along the way for previous quotes I received ). PMI was required for my loan and XXXX went over the options, one being the pre-paid REFUNDABLE PMI, but we initially stuck with the monthly PMI option. I confirmed directly with XXXX on the calls we had that were we to change to pre-paid PMI, it would be need to be refundable since it would not make financial sense for me to pay a large, non-refundable amount up front, knowing I would not be in the home long enough to realize the benefits. I was told firmly on a call that I assumed was recorded, that the PMI would be refundable, in the same way that the individual who handled my paperwork ( related to my other complaint, CFPB complaint ID XXXX ) told me everything was in order with the taxes etc. when it most certainly was not, the practice of providing incorrect information to customers appears to be a pattern with this company and I can only assume I am not the only consumer who has been financially harmed in this way. I was not made aware that the pre-paid PMI he sold me was non-refundable until I sold the home and was attempting to get a refund from the mortgage servicer, and that was only after hours of calls and considerable research on their end. Had I known that the pre-paid PMI would not be refundable, that would have been a simple decision to just stay the monthly PMI. Again, knowing I would not be in the home long, knowing that I wanted a refundable product, why would I be sold a product that was non-refundable and I would clearly not be able to reap the benefits of, due to my goal of selling the home within the next year or so? 

The end result is me having paid {$2800.00} for PMI on a home I sold just 7 months later. It would have been better for XXXX to sell me monthly PMI, that seems obvious to me and I am not even in the mortgage industry ( as I mentioned above both Loanpal/Goodleap managers XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX agreed that monthly PMI would have been a better fit ). 

I was so appreciative of the resolution of my prior issue and am now, again, exceedingly disappointed at uncovering an even more egregious one.

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