Consumer complaint received 2020-09-22
Company: GUARANTEED RATE INC.
State: DC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
I am filing this formal grievance about Guaranteed Rate Affinity. It is clear that this mortgage company hires lenders who are unfamiliar with the very loan products that they pursue for their clients. This explains why three days before closing on a townhouse that I learned that I was never eligible for a FHA loan ( given that I have a loan that will never amortize given my enrollment in the public service loan repayment program which requires that I use a 1 % metric that artificially inflates my monthly loan expenses making me ineligible ). This loan officer did not undergo the underwriting process ( which is designed to flag these very issues well before an inspection and appraisal is complete ). So, I had to scramble to beg my landlord to allow me to extend my stay ( since I had planned to move into my new home that weekend ). This same lender apologized for the oversight and persuaded me to stay with them given that they had all my financial information ( and timing was an issue since I needed to move given my lease was up and I had planned to move into my new home before learning of their gross negligence ). 

I was transferred to a new loan officer to pursue a conventional loan as a first time homebuyer ( who was eligible for 3 % down payment assistance from a first time homeowners program ). Given my six figure income and over XXXX credit score, I just knew I would not have an issue securing a mortgage loan. Wrong. I was told that I was ineligible for the XXXX XXXX conventional loan ( with no documented evidence other than a credit report that showed that I opened erroneously opened a new account when in fact they just sent me a new card due to a reported misplaced card ) and therefore needed to pursue a XXXX XXXX conventional loan. The latter loan carried with it a 4.75 % interest rate. There is no way that I wanted to pursue this, but was told I had no choice if I wanted an approved loan. This just felt predatory to me. I contacted the regional manager, who asked my loan officer to contact XXXX XXXX to share determination details. This never happened. When I circled back on the status of documented evidence of ineligibility, I was told that it was beyond their scope of work to render such justifications because they are swamped with work and working 11 hour days. Again, this did not sit well with me- it was unprofessional to say the least. I talked with my agent, who noted that I should just move forward with the loan, and we got to 4 days before closing when my closing disclosure included an additional {$130.00} for PMI. I asked why the loan officer would make this change, email it to me without referencing it, and wait until the week of closing to change the monthly mortgage. I was told that she hadn't opened the CD and did not know the PMI had been changed ( which is unacceptable for a loan officer to share documents they haven't yet reviewed ) but also she noted that the first time homebuyers program did not update their website so the underwriters were unable to include the accurate rate or my income level. Again, this felt predatory so I inquired with the first time homebuyers program who sent me the lenders guidebook that clearly delineated this PMI. So, this means that the lender just falsified the reason this changed and likely have been withholding the truth about everything else I had inquired about to-date. I closed on my home on XX/XX/2020 but knew that I would formally file a complaint because the regional XXXX and loan officers are unwilling to hold themselves accountable or fully investigate these missteps.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation