Consumer complaint received 2019-01-28
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CT
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern, I purchased my home in XXXX, Connecticut on XX/XX/XXXX. To complete my purchase, I obtained mortgage financing through Wells Fargo for a 30 Year Fixed Rate Conventional mortgage with Private Mortgage Insurance ( PMI ). 

At the time of my purchase, the Wells Fargo appraisal value was higher than the purchase price. Purchase price was {$470000.00} ; Appraised value was {$490000.00}. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, after over one year of on-time mortgage payments, I inquired with Wells Fargo about the opportunity to cancel the Private Mortgage Insurance. I was provided with advice on how to proceed with this action. Wells Fargo sent me instructions for cancelling the PMI. The correspondence indicated that if my home had appreciated due to market conditions then I could qualify for PMI cancellation if the value was sufficient. 

Following these instructions, I requested and paid for a new appraisal of my home. 
This appraisal was completed in XX/XX/XXXX at a value of {$530000.00}. 

Upon receipt of this appraisal, I contacted Wells Fargo by telephone. I was advised by a Customer Service Representative ( CSR ) that the appraisal valuation was acceptable for the purpose of cancelling the PMI and that my new, lower monthly mortgage payment would be effective on my XX/XX/XXXX, billing statement. 

Subsequently, Wells Fargo corresponded with me by mail advising me that my PMI would NOT be cancelled due to investor requirement that I demonstrate substantial improvements to my home after purchase. Since I had purchased a fully-renovated home in XX/XX/XXXX, there were no substantial improvements to speak of. Further, this correspondence was contradictory to everything else I had been told up to this point. 

Thus ensued a dispute process with Wells Fargo that stretched for months. The Wells Fargo Processing was a nightmare : long response times, failures to respond to phone calls and emails, inadequate explanations. Ultimately Wells Fargo stood by their assertion that I did not qualify to cancel my PMI. I therefore requested a refund of my appraisal fee. Wells Fargo refused. 

In XX/XX/XXXX I received new correspondence from Wells Fargo once again instructing me on how I could qualify to cancel the PMI. Once again, this correspondence indicated that if my home had appreciated due to market conditions then I could qualify for PMI cancellation if the value was sufficient. 

I contacted Wells Fargo again and recited my litany of complaints about my previous request to cancel the PMI. I was promised an investigation. 

The results of the investigation is that, for the second time, Wells Fargo states I do not qualify for cancellation of PMI. The explanation is inadequate, at best, as Wells Fargo once again blames the investor for a requirement that I demonstrate substantial improvements to my home to qualify for PMI cancellation. The investor in question is XXXX. Wells Fargo refused to provide any written evidence of this XXXX   requirement, even after I requested same. 

In my investigations with the XXXX website, I can find no confirmation of this requirement for substantial improvements. In fact, the XXXX website links directly to the CFPB website for information about cancelling PMI. 

The CFPB website indicates that a Mortgagor may qualify to cancel PMI under the Federal Homeowners Protection Act ( HPA ). 

Further, I have reviewed guidelines here in the State of  Connecticut. According to State guidelines, a Lender must comply with the federal Homeowners Protection Act ( HPA  ). In other words, there are no State guidelines that supercede or amend the Federal HPA guidelines. 

I have complied with every aspect of the HPA requirements as I find them on the CFPB website. Specifically : You can ask to cancel PMI earlier if you have made additional payments that reduce the principal balance of your mortgage to 80 percent of the original value of your home. For this purpose, original value generally means either the contract sales price or the appraised value of your home at the time you purchased it, whichever is lower ( or, if you have refinanced, the appraised value at the time you refinanced ).

There are other important criteria you must meet if you want to cancel PMI on your loan : Your request must be in writing. 
You must have a good payment history and be current on your payments. 
Your lender may require you to certify that there are no junior liens ( such as a second mortgage ) on your home. 
Your lender can also require you to provide evidence ( for example, an appraisal ) that the value of your property hasnt declined below the original value of the home. If the value of your home has decreased below the original value, you may not be able to cancel PMI at this time I am at a dead end with Wells Fargo. I seek redress through the CFPB to assist me in my request to cancel PMI on my mortgage loan in accordance with HPA regulations.

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