Consumer complaint received 2021-02-16
Company: Rocket Mortgage, LLC
State: NC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
Quicken Loans / Rocket Mortgage Banker XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX Summary : Rocket Mortgage has jeopardized our purchase due to their gross negligence and incompetence to follow a simple instruction at the beginning of the application process, creating a terrible customer situation that could have been easily preventable. The Banker was deceptive in continually reassuring us for several weeks that no concerns were identified that would derail the mortgage approval process or our closing date. The day AFTER we received and acknowledge their Closing Disclosure, we were notified that our property type was unacceptable and they would not be able to service our mortgage. With no time remaining to find an alternate lender before our closing date, Rocket Mortgage has left us with no choice but to reschedule the closing date and potentially have the purchase of our home fall through. We trusted Rocket Mortgage to do what we instructed in confirming that our non-warrantable condo would be eligible at the beginning of the entire process. The Rocket Mortgage Banker failed to this ONE SIMPLE TASK and has ruined the entire transaction for us. 

============================ Details : At the beginning of the buying process, we were advised by our Real Estate Broker to instruct the Rocket Mortgage Banker that the very first task at the start of the loan application process was that the Banker needed to immediately communicate to the Rocket Mortgage Underwriter that the subject property was not XXXX XXXX approved and that the subject property was Non Warrantable as this condition had caused problems for previous clients who were working with non-local lenders. He advised us to use a local lender who was familiar with the type of property we were purchasing and that large lenders like Rocket Mortgage would not be able to successfully handle our situation. 

However, since we had a personal connection with an employee of Rocket Mortgage, we proceeded against our Brokers advice, being very clear with the Banker at Rocket Mortgage that if the Underwriter immediately determined at the beginning of the process that the property type was not acceptable, we would be perfectly fine to not proceed with the process and simply switch to a local lender who had experience servicing mortgages for this type of property with plenty of advance notice, so as not jeopardize our closing date of Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX. 

We initiated the process on Monday XX/XX/XXXX and uploaded all requested documents in a timely fashion, including insurance information, bank statements, attorney preference, tax returns, etc. We repeatedly reminded the Banker that it would be critical that the HOA be approved by the Underwriter as the very first step in this process, since the property was non-warrantable and if the Underwriter was not going to approve the property type, the loan would not be issued, regardless of our personal financial situation and being able to put over 25 % of the purchase price as a down payment. 

We were repeatedly reassured by the Banker throughout gathering the remaining documents that no red flags or concerns had arisen about the property type. The Banker informed us that it was their deadline to have all the documents reviewed and approved by Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX, a week before our scheduled closing. 

For the insurance, we discovered that Rocket had not contacted our insurance company to obtain the proper information, even though we had provided the contact information via their own portal on Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX. On Monday XX/XX/XXXX, our Insurance Agent reached out informing us that she had not yet received a request from Rocket to provide proof of insurance. We contacted Rocket on Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX and they stated they requested the HOA general insurance policy the previous day, but our Insurance Agent reported that she had not heard from Rocket at that point. 

On Thursday XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, the Rocket Loan Processor contacted our Broker stating that she was waiting on the title work and insurance including flood coverage and the master insurance policy back from the HOA. At that point she notified us that the closing would be pushed out to allow more time to receive the documents. Why they would not tell us this BEFORE their stated deadline had already passed so that we would be able to follow-up in time to maintain our original closing date is beyond me. We contacted our Attorney immediately and within 2 hours the title work had been completed and sent to Rocket. 

Additionally, the Closing Specialist could not understand why we did not have our own separate flood insurance despite the fact that : ( 1 ) flood insurance for the building was covered by the HOA, ( 2 ) the H06 Policy we purchased for the unit already included flood coverage, and ( 3 ) the subject property was located on the XXXX floor of a 29-story building. 

On Thursday XX/XX/XXXX, we received notice via email that our Closing Disclosure was ready for review and to acknowledge it, so that the 3-business-day waiting period could begin ; we did so immediately upon receipt. Based on Rockets own Know Before You Owe document, Day 0 is when the Closing Disclosure is acknowledged, and Sundays and federal holidays are not counted as business days. This would mean we would have Friday XX/XX/XXXX as Day 1, Saturday XX/XX/XXXX as Day 2, skip Sunday and Monday XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, then Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX as Day 3, and we would still be able to close on Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX. It finally appeared that were on target with confirmation that closing would occur as scheduled. 

However, on Friday XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, after business hours, on a weekend followed by a federal holiday on Monday, we received notice that Rocket would not be able to service our mortgage after all. 

We were utterly flabbergasted. 

After we had repeatedly told the Banker that the condo was non warrantable and making it perfectly clear that the Underwriter had to look at that first and approve the HOA *BEFORE* proceeding with the rest of the process to see if this mortgage was even possible, we went through this entire circus with the result of Collateral : Unacceptable Property Type which is exactly what our Broker warned us would happen with Rocket! That is the first and last time we dont take his advice. 

Pulling the rug out from under us now at the 11th hour leaves us with absolutely no possible way to secure a mortgage with another lender in time to meet our original closing date with the buyer. Why Rocket would bother to string us along for 4 weeks for something that could have been assessed on Day 1 and quickly be determined that they could not service our mortgage, and thus completely jeopardizing our purchase of this property, is just totally unconscionable. 

We may lose our dream home because of the fragmented communication, broken processes, gross negligence, and sheer incompetence of the Rocket Mortgage / Quicken Loans team that were involved with our application. For some unknown reason, they could not or would not follow the most basic and specific instruction we gave them at the very outset of this process, and which, if had they followed it, would have prevented this terrible situation from ever happening. They could have done the right thing, and they failed to do so. Shame on them. 

We will share our experience to anyone who will listen, via personal reference and social media, and will encourage others to never give their business to Rocket Mortgage / Quicken Loans

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief