Consumer complaint received 2022-08-24
Company: PulteGroup, Inc.
State: AZ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
Purchase Contract was executed with Pulte XXXX on XX/XX/2022. 

I began working with the Affiliate Company Pulte Mortgage for Loan Prequalification. 

Pulte Mortgage manufactured a loan prequalification by charging 3.5 % Discount Points or {$22000.00} to lower the interest rate so that I would qualify for a loan. This was outside my financial ability and the loan officer was deceptive and never discussed the terms of the prequalification so that I could understand the entire situation of what was required for loan approval. I asked for Interest Rates at Par without discount points as I knew the entire amount of money that I had for down payment and closing costs. I now know that par interest rates were not quoted, because I would not qualify for a loan. The loan officer was not honest and transparent in regards to my loan prequalification. 

Pulte Mortgage initially stated I had to pay off {$200.00} in credit card debt to qualify for a loan. At the time Pulte Mortgage issued the Notice of Loan Approval on XX/XX/2022, they had me paying {$24000.00} in credit card debt and liquidating {$14000.00} from a XXXX to qualify for a loan. The total due was outside my financial ability and I did not have the cash resources to pay the total amount due at closing. 

The Loan Officer made excessive mistakes in her loan estimates and miscalculated the Cash to Close throughout the loan process. At no point in time did the Loan Officer consider the bottom line and the total due at Closing. Her inexperience and lack of explanations are now evident to me. Her actions led to me losing my Earnest Money deposit. 

The Loan Officer for Pulte Mortgage overstated my income for loan qualification purposes by wrongfully including prior bonuses in my income. I was subsequently told by 3 other Lenders per XXXX XXXX XXXX guidelines you need a 2-year track record of bonus income to use the amount for loan qualification. I believe my income history was never submitted to a Loan Underwriter for Final Approval and if it had been, then I would not be approved for a loan as my income would be insufficient. 

XX/XX/2022, the Loan Officer stated the terms of her loan approval were complex and she would immediately mail the information to me so that I could get a visual of what she proposed. She did not disclose the terms of the loan approval to me and if she had, I would have objected at that time. The terms of the loan approval and the information were mailed and received by me 2 weeks later. I was appalled at the proposed terms when I viewed the loan estimate, so I had another lender confirm with me the proposed terms that they stated. The loan estimate was incorrect, and the Loan Officer grossly understated the amount needed for closing. Prior to the full disclosure to me, the Loan Officer stated to the Home Builder on XX/XX/2022, that I was approved for a loan and had a Clear to Close status. 

The Loan Officer was deceptive, played with qualifying ratios and manufactured a loan approval. By increasing down payments, charging excessive discount points to lower the interest rate to a qualifying amount, making a Borrower pay off revolving credit card debt, having a Borrower liquidate Stock and XXXX Assets, a Mortgage Company can manufacture a loan approval for almost any Borrower. Pulte Mortgage did all these things in my improper loan approval. The Loan Officer was not transparent and did not fully disclose or explain what she proposed. She had errors in the final loan estimate and understated the cash to close by over {$46000.00}. I did not have the liquid assets to close on the home with the Pulte Mortgage proposed terms and requirements for my loan. They played a XXXX XXXX with Assets and tried to coerce me into accepting loan terms that were not explained to me and I could not agree to. 

The actions of Pulte Mortgage led to Pulte XXXX retaining my Earnest Money deposit as I could not meet the financial obligations they were requiring of me for loan approval.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation