Consumer complaint received 2021-07-20
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: TN
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
When we first talked to our loan officer in late XXXX XXXX, we were very clear that we can not buy a house if there is a chance we can not move in by the 1XX/XX/XXXX. My new job starts XX/XX/XXXX. The loan officer assured us that would not be a problem. He made it clear that the bank does not need me to actually start employment so long as we have the signed employment contract, which we do. 
At the time of our Initial Disclosures, we were again assured that I didn't need to be working at the new job and that we could close by XX/XX/XXXX.

The inspection found issues with the roof, so we paused the appraisal until those issues were resolved. I let the loan officer know on XX/XX/XXXX that we were ready for the appraisal. As of today ( XX/XX/XXXX ) the appraisal is not scheduled. The loan processor called XXXX XXXX to review documents and request more information. She said we can not close before XX/XX/XXXX due to the pause in the appraisal. She also said we can not close the mortgage until I actually start work, but she would get with the underwriter to see if there is anything that can be done. It turns out, she's right. Closing before XX/XX/XXXX was never an option from day one. 
( So, that was either a blatant lie by our loan officer on day one or else a huge mistake. Either way, that misinformation led us to buy a house after we were very clear that we can not move after the first week of XXXX. ) The loan processor also revealed that the loan officeXXXX had put XX/XX/XXXX on our loan application. That was never our closing date. We have no idea why the loan officer would list XX/XX/XXXX without telling us or the real estate agent. Our contract on the house says XX/XX/XXXX. 
In addition, we have had numerous communication issues with the loan officer. Our real estate agent has also experienced issues communicating with the officer. He does not return phone calls ; he responds to most emails, but not always in a timely manner.

So now, here we are without a place to live still waiting on the mortgage to close. We have wasted our summer and much of our savings paying for two extra months of rent we shouldn't have had to pay.

We feel the loan officer misled us every step of the way. From the incorrect information about me starting work ( he was completely wrong about that ), to assuring us of closing dates ( XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX or XXXX, and now XX/XX/XXXX ), to incorrect information about the form of employment verification needed ( he assured us that verbal confirmation on my start date would suffice, which we found out later that it will not ), the loan officer has been wrong about nearly everything he's told us. He even sent over a completely wrong loan pre-approval package the 1st time! We would never have bought a house if we thought we couldn't close before the first week of XXXX. I feel that our loan officer knew that information and so misled us for three months just so he could make a sale. I have left numerous messages for the officer 's supervisor with no returned calls. I called the main hotline but could not get further assistance other than the supervisor 's contact information.

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 non-monetary relief