Consumer complaint received 2023-08-27
Company: Rocket Mortgage, LLC
State: SC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage
Sub-issue: Changes in loan terms during or after closing

Complaint:
The following describes what I believe to be underhanded, manipulative and deceptive lending tactics used by Rocket Mortgage, aided by an unfair appraisal by XXXX XXXX of XXXX, NC : I listed my home on XX/XX/2023 for a fair market price of {$350000.00}. On XX/XX/2023, I received an offer for XXXX XXXXXXXX above my asking price with a rapid closing date of XX/XX/2023, which I accepted. On XX/XX/2023, I was informed by my realtor that lending had fallen through for the buyers but they were attempting to secure a new mortgage company. On XX/XX/2023, I was informed by my realtor that a new mortgage lender was secured ( Rocket Mortgage ). At that time, an appraisal was also scheduled. I was home during the appraisal, and the appraiser ( XXXX XXXX with XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, NC ) stated to me that he knew my neighborhood well and often conducted appraisals there. His appraisal came in lower than the buyer 's offer at {$350000.00}, but close to my list price, so a lowered the price of my home to that amount so the buyers could qualify for their loan. The closing process then went forward as planned. 

On the eveing of XX/XX/2023 ( as I'm sitting in my empty home after selling all my furniture and preparing to move halfway across the country where I had sent my child ahead of me to start school ) I received a text from my realtor with a screenshot from the XXXX XXXX ( Title : XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with Rocket Mortgage ) who stated : " After review they found that they omitted newer home sales in the area that unfortunately decreased the value of the home. The new updated appraisal value came in at {$330000.00}. '' After repeated demands to Rocket Mortgage by my realtor to disclose who requested the reevaluation and why, she finally spoke to an executive who told her they had made a mistake and we should've never received the first appraisal because it was not yet approved by underwriting. He told her if she wanted to dispute then she should provide more comps. She stated that couldn't do that because all comps for the area were already provided on the first appraisal. He confirmed that he already knew that, and that was the point. 

I believe Rocket Mortgage unfairly pushed the appraiser to reevaluate the value of my home and use comparisons of a lower value and not in best comparison to my home, or further away. An example is a home that was sold to XXXX below market value that was not one of the three comps the appraiser chose to use in his original appraisal. This suspicion was confirmed when I found evidence online of this happening with other home sales they were involved in. I believe this is an underhanded tactic that Rocket Mortgage uses to drive down home values for their borrowers in order to qualify them after the buyer has been denied by reputable mortgage companies. I also believe that Rocket Mortgage purposefully withheld notifying me of this so-called " second appraisal '' with only a little over a week left until closing, knowing that I could likely be managed down to their terms, after likely already having felt safe enough to move forward with critical financial and life decisions. This also put me as the seller at a huge disadvantage and hardship - having already had my house on the market for a month, and having to restart the process with potentially double living expenses. I believe they were fully aware of these factors and used them to their advantage against me as the seller to force their terms. 

I would advise anyone selling their home to know the mortgage lender of any potential buyer before accepting an offer. If they are working with Rocket Mortgage, I would strongly advise steering clear and holding out for a buyer using a reputable mortgage company that operates under fair terms. In my experience, Rocket Mortgage uses deceptive lending practices.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation