Consumer complaint received 2018-12-12
Company: BOEING EMPLOYEES CREDIT UNION
State: WA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
An application was submitted to BECU in XXXX, however, my fianc and I decided to hold off on the process to see were the home market would go. After noticing that home prices were going down, my fianc and I decided to follow up with our lender on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Before restarting the application process, we also looked at the XXXX XXXX XXXX program however opted for BECU since the Home Ready program provided more benefits ( 3 % down payment assistance ) instead of XXXX XXXX ( {$2000.00} XXXX XXXX and {$1500.00} grant ). Although our income exceeded the XXXX XXXX AMI limit, I was under the impression that wed qualify for the down payment assistance program if we found a home that did not have an AMI limit ( per the Home Ready eligibility website ). With that in mind, my fianc and I looked for homes that fell under the No AMI Limit zones. During initial discussions with our loan officer and throughout the process, I asked about the down payment assistance program via phone and was confirmed by our loan officer multiple times that we would qualify for the down payment assistance program if we found a home in the No AMI Limit zones. 

With that in mind and since the application was still open, we decided to continue with the BECU application. From the start, the loan officer was not clear on what needed to be provided. Documents were requested in piecemeal. Paystubs were requested and submitted on XX/XX/XXXX. Additional documents ( XXXX, and recent bank statements ) were requested and submitted to our lender on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. During this time we were looking at homes and was in constant communication with our lender for status updates. It wasn't until XX/XX/XXXX was it brought to our attention that there was an issue with my fiancs pay stub which was missing hours ( paystub reflected XXXX hrs. instead of XXXX, the underwriter questioned if my fianc was a full-time employee even though she had XXXX hrs. of overtime included in the same paystub ). For the pay period that included XXXX of XXXX, my fiancs employer did not include holiday pay which led to the discrepancy. A verification of employment was required and the authorization form was submitted to BECU on XX/XX/XXXX. Although the paystubs were the first documents submitted, it was not brought to our attention that'd it'd be an issue until over two weeks later. My fiancs employer replied back on XX/XX/XXXX and obtained conditional approval on XX/XX/XXXX. 

We visited a home on XX/XX/XXXX and signed a purchase contract on XX/XX/XXXX. Our loan officer reached out to us on XX/XX/XXXX with different mortgage scenarios and rate options available based on the points we would pay. After further review, I noted each scenario did not include the funds we would receive from the down payment assistance program. Out of concern, I emailed our loan officer the following on XX/XX/XXXX, I just wanted to confirm, is the estimates provided part of the Home Ready program? There was initial concerns that we made too much but I double check the property against the XXXX XXXX Home Ready eligibility portal and the home falls within a no income limit area. If so, when would the down payment assistance portion be calculated with closing estimates? On the same day, our loan officer replied back the following, Yes, you are correct! You will qualify for Home Ready as well as the grant program as the home is in a no income limit tract. This is wonderful! I am reserving the grant program funds for you now and will switch the product over to Home Ready after it comes out of underwriting. 

With that reassured, we performed a home inspection on XXXX XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX around XXXX XXXX, we were informed by our loan officer that we would not qualify for the down payment assistance program. Since it was late in the evening, a manager was unavailable to speak to. I was contacted by the XXXX XXXX XXXX Sales Manager on XX/XX/XXXX to discuss the options available. Since the issue was at no fault of our own, I asked if BECU would be able to provide the down payment assistance through their own reserves instead of the funds provided by the government program. She advised me that she would discuss the issue with her manager and would get back to me with resolution the following day. The manager contacted me on XX/XX/XXXX and informed me that BECU could not do anything about it. She indicated that since the grant funds was not included in the conditional approval letter, they would not provide assistance. Instead, they were willing to refund the cost of the appraisal for the inconvenience which was {$750.00}. 

Had we known from the start that we did not qualify for the down payment assistance program, we could have applied for the XXXX XXXX program and potentially receive {$3500.00} for home purchase costs. Since we were already in contract and the seller advised us they were in a rush to sell ( they were purchasing a home in XXXX and was afraid of having two mortgages ), we were unable to apply with XXXX XXXX. With the risk of losing the home if we were to restart the underwriting process with our second option ( XXXX XXXX ), we decided to continue with BECU. However, I did advise the manager that this was unfair and that a member complaint will be filed.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation