Consumer complaint received 2017-07-14
Company: VANDERBILT MORTGAGE & FINANCE, INC
State: NC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
My name is XXXX XXXX. In XXXX or XXXX, the military transferred my husband to XXXX XXXX. This move would put me closer to my ailing mother which seemed a plus for us all. The base, however, had a long waiting list for families wanting to move into their housing. After looking at our options, we decided to purchase a mobile home from XXXX in XXXX NC. Unfortuantely, the representative told us lies that would have prevented us from buying our current house and taking on the mortgage if we 'd known the truth.
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First, we were told that for insurance purposes, our bricked in mobile home would count as a regular house on foundation. It does not and we pay more insurance because of this lie. Second, and most importantly, we were discouraged from using our VA loan. The representative out right lied to us and told us VA would n't cover a loan for a mobile home. She even put us on the phone with who she said was a representative of Vanderbilt. The man told us that although he could see our money was tight, he would trust us to pay off our mortgage so he would approve our loan. This seemed odd and did not follow the process that we 'd used in a former home that had been approved by a VA lender. We assumed that other home loans are n't as strict and accepted XXXX and Vanderbilt as being honest.
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This year, we started a search for a new home. Much to our shock, the first realtor we used told us that VA does cover homes such as ours. We were so certain that XXXX had n't lied to us that we decided not to use that realtor. When we told our friends, they assured us that their house, which sits on the lot next to ours, was purchased with a VA loan. We 're in a bit of shock still. We would have felt safer with a VA loan because the process of getting one is pretty strict. Vanderbilt and XXXX lied to us when we trusted them. Not only that, but our neighbor 's loan through a Va Lender, taken at roughly the same time as ours is only 3.0 % while ours is 7.0 % I realize that there is nothing that can be done for us. It is n't like Vanderbilt will admit wrongdoing and forgive us the remainder of our loan. However, perhaps you could bring forward legislation that would protect service members in the future from such tactics. Companies would have to provide Veterans with paperwork informing them that they have not only the option to use VA loans but that mobile homes are not considered houses for insurance purposes. The Veteran or active duty soldier would have to sign the paperwork. Enlisted soldiers are not highly paid and our governtment should seek to protect the men and women who serve or have served their country.
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Because I suffer from XXXX XXXX XXXX, I 'd rather you contact my husband, XXXX. I included his phone number but contact via email would be preferred. I am sending copies of this letter out to several representatives. If you have any ideas of who else might be interested in protecting military members, please let me know who to write I am including a little more in this note than what I included with my state representatives. First, we 've had difficulty with the house since we moved in. Although the company offered us a year 's waranty on the house, they always acted annoyed that we asked for their services. They told us that the crack in the celing above the bathtub should be ignored as mere ornamental damage. We suspect that the septic system is too small for our house and some of the electrical sockets/recepticals? were n't probably fixed into the wall. They can slip out. Also, the electricity does n't work at all in a couple of light fixtures. After the year warranty was up, our cabinets in the kitchen literally fall apart. Altogether buying with XXXX has been a miserable choice that we would not repeat again. Like I said, nothing can be done for us now but perhaps something can be done for other soldiers/veterans.
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XXXX XXXX I do n't know if this helps but the HUD number of our house is XXXX/XXXX The Manufacter serial number is XXXX plant number XXXX. We live on the XXXX county side of XXXX XXXX, NC

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