Consumer complaint received 2022-09-15
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: NC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
Requesting assistance from this regulatory agency to obtain my formal declination letter for my mortgage application as I have been informed on multiple occasions by my Chase Home Lending Advisor, XXXX XXXX XXXX that my debt to incomeratio is above the ceiling for approval of the loan. 

Following my multiple emails ( 14 plus ) and phone calls ( 21 plus ) with XXXX XXXX, in which he has made attempts to find loopholes in the process, I have made it clear I do not have additional funds, I do not earn bonus or overtime that can be added to my income, I do not have other sources of income and I do not have a co-signer to add to the loan. 

XXXX XXXX has made multiple adjustments to the Loan Estimate document to the point of listing a ( {$4600.00} ) " Adjustment and other credits '' that is completely fabricated and in fact could not only be a false credit but rather an even higher amount added to my " cash to close '' amount. I reached out to XXXX XXXX XXXX, Home Loan Manager and XXXX XXXX to inquire the origin of this " Adjustment and other credits '' and neither could explain or confirm it. Rather, XXXX XXXX stated it was an estimate that could go up or down. I find this extremely deceptive as I was depending on the information in the Loan Estimate document to be valuable and reliable information. 

I am at risk of losing my earnestmoney deposit of {$10000.00} if Chase does not promptly provide the declination of loan documentation. 

At this point I find it necessary to report this concern to the regulatory agencies to include but not limited to Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ( OCC ) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ), as well as filing formal complaint with Chase Complaints & Feedback Support Center. 

Timeline : XX/XX/XXXX - Pre-Approval from Chase Home Lending XX/XX/XXXX - Signed contract on property XX/XX/XXXX - Forwarded signed contract to Chase Home Lending XX/XX/XXXX - Earnest money deposit {$10000.00} with title company XX/XX/XXXX - Initial Loan Estimate received at 5.75 % interest rate with estimated cash to close {$76000.00} minus earnest money = {$66000.00} XX/XX/XXXX - Revised Loan Estimate received at 5.625 % interest rate with estimated cash to close {$66000.00} XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX - Submitted all requested documentation and completed application XXXX - Multiple telephone calls with Chase Home Lending Advisor, XXXX XXXX XXXX who informed me that my debt to income ratio exceeded the threshold for approval. Chase Home Lending Advisor informed me there were options to buy points to reduce the payment. I informed Chase Home Lending Advisor I did not have additional money to buy points and this was not an option. Chase Home Lending Advisor and I discussed next steps which included the underwriting department issuing Declination Letter so I could inform the title company, realtor and seller of my loan declination and have my earnest money returned. 
XX/XX/XXXX - Revised Loan Estimate received at 5.375 % interest rate with estimated cash to close {$70000.00} with Adjustments and other credits of {$4600.00} XX/XX/XXXX - Spoke with Chase Home Lending Advisor Supervisor XXXX XXXX to request clarification of the Adjustments and other credits of {$4600.00}, XXXX XXXX was unable to explain and referred my question to Chase Home Lending Advisor XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX - Multiple telephone calls with Chase Home Lending Advisor XXXX XXXX who finally informed me that there was NOT in fact a credit of {$4600.00} but rather the amount could actually be higher rather than a credit. Again, I informed XXXX XXXX I do not have any additional income, I do not have any additional co-signer and I do not have any additional money available that would lower my debt to income ratio below the 50 % ceiling for approval. XXXX XXXX assured me I would hear from him the following morning ( XX/XX/XXXX ) for an update on my declination letter from underwriting. 
XX/XX/XXXX - Received email notification that the loan is closed and application is no longer active. However, I did not receive any formal notification of declination to provide to title company, realtor and seller to formally request return of my earnest money. Email to Chase Home Lending to advise I have not received the formal declination letter and I am now reporting this concern to regulatory agencies to include but not limited to Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ( OCC ) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ), as well as filing formal complaint with Chase Complaints & Feedback Support Center. 

Upon filing this complaint, the declination has still not been received and I have been notified by the realtor and title company they can not cancel the contract and return the earnest money until the declination is received.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation