Consumer complaint received 2022-02-09
Company: AMERICAN FINANCING CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
I applied for a cash-out refinance on a triplex in North Dakota with American Financing in XXXX of XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from American Financing advising that my credit report was showing that my primary residence was in forbearance, which it was, and I confirmed that it was with the mortgage consultant, XXXX XXXX. He confirmed over the phone that the forbearance on my primary home would not be an issue, and on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a Pre-Approval letter from American Financing. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a conditional approval letter from American Financing. The property appraisal was scheduled and conducted on XX/XX/XXXX. The appraisal came in low, and on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX provided me with additional loan options that would serve my purposes. Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX I followed up with XXXX and XXXXmerican Financing for status updates. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX called me to advise me that my primary residence was in forbearance, and therefore they could not write this loan. I advised him that this fact had been known since at least XX/XX/XXXX, and asked him why this is just now becoming an issue. He responded by saying that since American Financing, with full prior knowledge of the forbearance, had issued the pre-approval and conditional approval, he did not think that it was an issue. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a denial letter from American Financing with the reason for denial being " We do not grant credit to any applicant on the terms and conditions you have requested. '' and " Other : loan program not available ''. It seems clear that American Financing in their denial is attempting to avoid responsibility for their mistake. I was told by American Financing that the sole reason for the denial was the forbearance on my primary home, but they are trying to avoid saying that because they had full knowledge of that fact throughout the entirety of the underwriting process. They also provided me with several loan options and offers, which makes their denial patently false and a blatant lie.

I was also required by American Financing to move the title of the triplex out of my LLC and into my personal name which has caused me to incur unnecessary costs as well as expose myself personally to potential liability. Additionally, their mistake has caused me to waste 5 months working on this loan, when I could have spent that time working on another solution.

Due to all of this, I would like to see whether under FRCA American Financing can be held to their offer to extend credit based on their full and complete knowledge of my credit profile and the forbearance on my primary residence prior to denying my application based on said forbearance. If not, I am seeking recompense for the extraordinary time and effort that I have wasted on them, and the expense incurred having to redo title work that I was required by them to do under the loan. Please advise on any recourse that I may have against American Financing.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation