Consumer complaint received 2019-05-24
Company: American Financial Network Inc.
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
I am the seller of XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX VA XXXX. I received a contract on the property with a preapproval letter from loan office XXXX XXXX and American Financial Network. I spent 22 years in XXXX so when reviewing the preapproval, I could see it was dependent on me paying closing costs and little to no down payment so I was skeptical. When researching the lender, it seemed they were an online lender and the loan officer potentially worked out of their house so I initially said no unless they at least go prequalified by a local lender as a back up and confirmation that the first lender was solid. 

They agreed to do that but were told they didn't qualify so I then said I would not sign. Then the lender called to assure us the loan was fine. I still have the voice mail but I quote him in saying " I hear you are concerned about the loan, we can do this loan. I did the income calculations, reviewed the income docs and the credit scores looks good. We are ready to do this loan. I can have my manager call you, our company did over a half billion in loans last month, we know what we are doing '' Given his assurances, I signed the contract for a XX/XX/XXXX closing. 

Two days before closing we are told that we need two more weeks to get the loan closed and we needed an extension. Without knowing why I call XXXX. He informed me all was good, just needed more time. When I pressed him for why he stated he made an error and did not charge the origination fee so they needed to redo the loan. I informed him that if they missed the fee in early disclosure then they were obligated to honor the fee. He said no he was fixing all of that and the buyer was fine with it. I stated to him it is not really up to the borrower and asked that his manager call me. He never did but I did sign the extension as again Mr XXXX assured me there were no 'deal breakers '' just process stuff. 

About two days before the second closing date, we get another message that we need to delay a few more days. So again, I called the lender and he again assured me everything was good, they just had a VOE to track down prior to closing. I then asked him if this was late VOE that simply verifies the borrower is still employed or a VOE that could break the loan. He assured me that I had not impact on the loan. 

The next day, I followed up with another message to ensure that everything was fine and whether the 3 day disclosure was going to be met. He stated they had already met that requirement. I don't think that was compliant either but he assured me they were in compliance. At that time I also asked him if they had a clear to close and he stated they did. Docs were done, termite was done etc. all based on what appear to be a pattern of misleading statements by the lender. I again asked why the manager had not called me and asked him to have him call me. Mr XXXX said his manager had a pipeline of loans of his own and it probably was not his biggest priority. Still assured that all was fine, I signed yet another extension. 

The day before closing we get an email to all parties. This is the quote from the email that I still have : 'This loan is going to fail. I never received all the detail on XXXX work history and he has zero stability over past two years, having been at 9 different jobs. The bank can not do the loan. I am so sorry. 
I qualified XXXX on the recent positions and due perhaps to language I never actually had his full work history. I did not understand he had so many different positions. '' So, in reality from the very start there were misleading statements to all parties involved and most likely complete lies and non-compliant processes. That has resulted in the home being off the market in prime season and considerable time investment by cooperating Realtors, buyer and seller. I know loans get delayed and sometimes do not close when going through processing and underwriting but no lender has a right to take people through a process like this. I have let the lender know that I am not happy and I have yet to receive a call back. In my experience these are exactly whey the CFPB and XXXX were created were to hold lenders accountable and protect borrowers. In my view Mr XXXX, his manager and AFN have failed to comply.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation