Consumer complaint received 2023-03-16
Company: Flatonia Investments, LLC
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
My partner and I used Envoy to purchase our home in XXXX of XXXX. XXXX XXXX ( Envoy 's loan officer ) sent us a quote for less than $ XXXX the day we put an offer on our home. That was already steep for our budget, but we agreed to it. Our escrow was projected to close on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, and we were going through a USDA loan. On Thursday XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX informed us we could give notice to our landlord and that everything was official. I have proof of this in text messages, as well. 
Unfortunately, we did give notice and surrender our housing just for her to email us on our projected closing date ( XX/XX/XXXX ) that we overqualified for the USDA loan by making too much money. We were not even informed that there was an income cap, and Envoy should have caught this much sooner than on day 30 of escrow ( not to mention after we had nowhere to live in a couple of weeks ). 

We were placed in an impossible situation, knowing that our mortgage payment was already a stretch and now having to consider a higher payment. She still assured us that going through the CalHFA loan that our payment would be $ XXXX and it still included all of our insurances, taxes, etc. In our location in California, they require two insurances. 1. Our wrap-around typical homeowners insurance and 2. Our California Fair PlaXXXX. XXXX at Envoy Mortgage got connected with an insurance rep early on in our escrow ( XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX ) to get these figures to give us accurate mortgage payment quotes. Both insurance payments are to XXXX and he is the representative for both. In essence, Envoy informed us that they act as a single insurance payment through our mortgage payments ( i.e. we will not notice the difference than we would for a typical insurance plan included in our mortgage ). 

Although we were already upset and stressed about this massively increased payment, my partner and I had no choice but to proceed with $ XXXX. Due to the circumstances XXXX at Envoy Mortgage put us in, we were unable to consider other options. There is a severe lack of housing available in our area of California. Our landlord was expecting us to move ASAP. Unfortunately, Envoy 's loan officer continued to mislead us and flat out lie about our payment. I have many emails and text messages, but I am just attaching a few I have handy. 

Note on the attachments from Envoy 's mortgage loan officer : Text 1 from XX/XX/XXXX : Once my partner and I decided to consider the CalHFA loan with nowhere to live shortly, I asked XXXX to clarify the quote with the figures XXXX at XXXX XXXX sent ( he sent the full quotes for Cal Fair Plan and the wrap-around, and XXXX and XXXX told us they are all included in mortgage and go to the same place for payment : Farmers ). XXXX at Envoy Mortgage clearly indicated that with the quotes the total mortgage payment was {$3500.00}. 

Text XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX at Envoy Mortgage lied to us again. She sent us a closing disclosure that reflected a monthly mortgage payment of {$3600.00}. This happens to be what our mortgage payment actually is today. I asked her why yet again the figure changed ( it had increased at least five times up until this point ). She lied and stated that included our HOA fee and that our mortgage payment was still {$3500.00}. 

Text XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : I again sent her a screenshot of the closing disclosure she wanted us to sign showing the payment at {$3600.00}. [ note : you can not see the photo for some reason in this attachment, but I can send it separately needed. It blacked out when I downloaded it as a pdf ]. Envoy 's loan officer told us again that this figure includes our HOA fee and that when the dust settles at the title company the figures will be adjusted to not show HOA. She just urged us to e-sign them anyway so they can move forward with getting everything dialed in. 
I explained again that our HOA fee is only about {$35.00} per month ( {$100.00} quarterly ), so that still wouldnt account for the over {$100.00} dollar increase. I also told her we need some assurance that the figure would be lower and we were hesitant to sign. 
Envoy 's loan officer then responded that the adjusted payment is actually XXXX with HOA included, urging us to sign anyway. 

Text XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, the day before we traveled a 2 hour round trip to the title company to sign : I confirm with your loan officer, again, that the total payment ( not including HOA ) is {$3500.00}. At this point, I had no faith in Envoy Mortgage or that she would tell us the truth. She confirms this is the amount, and if this is higher it is the {$35.00} HOA fee ( i.e. would be {$3500.00} ). 


When we were signing at the title company on XX/XX/XXXX, we were blindsighted again to see it was, after all, a total monthly payment of {$3600.00}. We took Envoy 's word for the figure being adjusted. We would never have signed at the title company aside from the fact that Envoy Mortgage assured us the figures would " adjust '' after signing. 
Please note, this increased payment also did not include any HOA fees. We literally had no other option at this point but to sign and hope that Envoy was telling us the truth that the figure would " adjust ''. We were a week away from surprising our two daughters with homelessness rather than buying a home. Envoy 's job was to guide us ethically and legally, knowing we were unaware of this process as first-time home buyers. 

Approximately two months ago, I received a call from XXXX XXXX confused why our California Fair Plan was not being paid. Long story short and after much investigation, we find out it was not even included in our escrow account and mortgage payment. I involved XXXX XXXX ( Ambers supervisor since XXXX left Envoy ), XXXX at XXXX XXXX, our title company representative, and my realtor in a chain email to discuss how this happened. ALL of them agreed we should not have been able to close, and nobody knew how XXXX missed this. Not only were we faced suddenly with a $ XXXX bill due very soon, but we found out we need to pay out-of-pocket for ALL of our fire insurance during our mortgage period. Envoy 's loan officer assured us for a month and a half ( during our escrow period ) that it was all included. 

As our California Fair Plan was set, it was a total of {$2600.00} per year that we were told by XXXX at Envoy Mortgage was included in our mortgage payment. That adds up to {$79000.00} over our 30 year mortgage period that is not accounted for by our already insanely high mortgage payment. 

This is obviously unacceptable, unethical, and illegal. We were not able to make an informed decision due to Envoy 's lies. 

I attempted to remedy this directly through XXXX XXXX at Envoy, but she left the company. I then tried to remedy it through her manager, XXXX XXXX, back in XX/XX/XXXX. She told me she sent this to the legal and compliance team for review. I heard NOTHING back for two months. I sent a follow-up email, and still no response. I reached out to Envoy 's customer service line to get clarification on our loan, and they told me they had no information and did not know. I emailed the CEO of Envoy Mortgage this week, and finally heard from the compliance team. I have no notice of an attempt to address the damages this company benefitted from.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation