Consumer complaint received 2020-02-22
Company: CERTAINTY HOME LOANS LLC
State: NC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX i signed a loan agreement with Certainty Home Loans LLC FHA CASE # XXXX / LOAN # XXXX. Part of my loan was a XXXX loan to make a couple of modifications and repairs to the exterior siding on my home. The main purpose of this type of a loan is that the lender is supposed to assist the homeowner with the repairs by providing a HUD Inspector and closely monitoring the contractors work for any inconsistencies with the law and regulations. this was not the case I was assigned a HUD Inspector by Certainty Home loans who assured me that one of the two contactors i selected was insured and licensed and bonded as required by the XXXX program he assured me that the estimate for the work was correct and that he would get a estimate to repair or replace the siding on my home but i was never given a estimate on that but the work began anyway without my consent, once work was started on my home it came to my attention after the first draw on my XXXX funds for {$9000.00} repairs and {$4000.00} for cabinetry. That the work that the contactor ( XXXX XXXX ) said would be completed was not completed and the paperwork that was submitted by the HUD inspector indicated that the work was completed and inspected. The photos submitted by the HUD inspector ( Mr. XXXX XXXX ) to Certainty Home Loans showed the work that was already paid for was clearly not completed but uncompleted, at that point I contacted Certainty Home Loans about the situation ( Mr. XXXX XXXX ) and he stated i would have to resolve the issue on my own with the contactor. i attempted to contact the HUD consultant to assist me and he stated it was not his job and he could not intervene on my behalf with the contactor. i again attempted to get help from Mr. XXXX and after a year of trying he finally said there was nothing he could do except refund my reaming funds to my escrow account because the contractor had a lien on my home and unless i paid the contractor more money even though he had not complete the work I had already paid for, or there was he could do. i then did some research and filed a complaint with the General Contractors Board and the Real Estate Commision  about XXXX XXXX and found out that the contractor was never licensed to operate in the state of north carolina and that he was being sanctioned by the GC commision also the permit the contractor took out to do the work was from another company who also was not licensed to operate as a contactor, the accused in that complanet  wrote a letter to the real estate commission stated that he loaned his license to the XXXX XXXX when i confronted Mr. XXXX with this information Certainty Home Loans still refused to help me retrieve my funds back from the contractor or reimburse me for my funds lost or confront the HUD inspector about the discrepancies in the contact that is signed with him and the contractor. the paper work clearly stated that the HUD inspectors duties and one of the main ones is to confirmed License and insurance, Certainty Home Loans had the duty to confirmed it also. the contractors paper work clearly states he must be licensed, insured and all work is to have permits and inspections. none of these were done and i was told it was my fault that i should have done my due diligence on the HUD inspector and better research on the Contractor and i should not have expected any help from Certainty Home Loans or anyone else. my home was left inhabitable by the contactor after 2 months and XXXX dollars, all the flooring was removed from my home and both of my bathroom were demolished my appliances were ruined because the contactor left them outdoors for several weeks and those indoors because he didn't cover them up. after several months of debate Certainty Home Loans agreed to have my home inspected by a independent HUD Inspector ( My XXXX ) and he confirmed my concerns that the work was not completed that was paid for and Mr. XXXX himself even came out to my property and confirmed that several of the things paid for were not completed and even after that Certainty Home Loans refused to assist me in retrieving my misappropriated funds from the contractor or directly refunding me my misappropriated funds based on they hold no liability as the lender and all liability for disbursed funds was mine. They also told me that even though the HUD rules state that all payments should be made in two party checks and they issued my checks directly to the contractor that was my fault also even though i was mislead by them. Certainty Home Loans refused to provide any information concerning the contactor information that they sent to HUD or about the account funds. so after 2 years of trying to get this resolved I wanted to get the remaining funds applied to my account except that can not be done because according to the new lender XXXX, because the Lender won't be able to provide them with the required paperwork such as the contractors license, permits, proof of inspections and all paid for work completed. i contacted Mr. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX about this and he stated he had no idea of what to do about the required information or going forward. i am writing in hopes of getting some assistance in retrieving the misappropriated funds as well as my remaining funds released directly to me, i have had to invest all my personal funds to stay afloat over the past 2 years. i had to pay mortgage and rent for four months in XXXX and get the funds to reinstall the flooring and bathrooms myself with no help from Certainty Home Loans. the reason i took the XXXX route was i thought it would be safe and the stopgaps provided by the programme would prevent me from getting ripped off by a shady contractor, and that the lender would hold them accountable but that has not been the case.

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 explanation