Consumer complaint received 2017-08-28
Company: LAND HOME FINANCIAL SERVICES
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
To whom it may concern, Please accept this correspondence concerning my recent experience with XXXX XXXX ( XXXX # XXXX ) representing Land Home Financial Services as a local Area Manager in XXXX, FL. I am requesting a serious investigation to be done on this transaction that essentially left me and my minor child without a roof over our head ( homeless ) while violating Florida Statutes Chapter # 501 - Floridas Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act ( FDUTPA ) sections .201-.213 and 95.11 ( 3 ) ( K ), Florida Statutes . Attached hereto you will find supporting documentation in form of emails ( additional text messages and emails available ) that prove that the above mentioned Land Home Financial Services ( LHFS ) representative has engaged in bait and switch, deceptive trade practices and breach of contract during this transaction that resulted in me losing my rental apartment that I was occupying and becoming homeless. I was lead to believe all along during this process that this loan will close. Also, enclosed you will find the receipts for the financial loss that I suffered due to this failed transaction. I would like to give you a description of how this transaction transpired and I am open to be contacted if any additional information or documentation is required for a full investigation to be launched. Please accept my apologies in advance for the lengthy explanation. 
Back in XX/XX/XXXX of this year I started looking on-line at different Real Estate properties. I was intending to buy a home for myself and my daughter in the near future. I came across a property on XXXX and entered my personal information which subsequently resulted in a call from a XXXX representative to further discuss my interests on that particular property. I advised the representative that I was not working with a Mortgage Broker or a Realtor at that time and she recommended XXXX XXXX with LHFS as one of their preferred lenders in the area. She stated that they have a very tight and in depth criteria when selecting a preferred broker since they recommend them to consumers. That put me at ease as I believed that I could trust their recommendation. I agreed to XXXX passing on my contact information to XXXX and shortly thereafter I received a call from him and our communication on obtaining a loan with LHFS started. On our 1st conversation we went over general and basic information needed such as income, debt, social security number, date of birth etc. and I was told that after my credit was pulled I will be in contact with him again to discuss the maximum amount on the loan approval, and some additional info if needed. Also, at that time I was told that LHFS actually offers a Government Grant Sapphire Grant that is not available to all lenders out on the market and his office is actually issuing that directly to me since I qualified for it based on my income and property value that I was looking for. I was pleasantly surprised by that because I was looking into an FHA mortgage loan and the 3 % -5 % Grant would help with down payment and closing costs. He also recommended to me a Realtor that he claimed to know for a long time and had been doing business with, XXXX XXXX. So far everything looked perfect and I was thrilled over the down payment assistance XXXX XXXX! Shortly thereafter I was copied in an email from XXXX that was addressed to XXXX and contained XXXX Pre-Approval Letters, XXXX for {$150000.00} and XXXX for {$200000.00} which explained the following : my initial pre-approval was XXXX and to go up to XXXX I was contingent to providing him with a document that the second vehicle that was showing on my credit report was not my vehicle and that I was not making the payments on it. At that point I provided XXXX with the second vehicle Sales Contract and he advised that we could start looking for properties up to XXXX or even a bit higher since we might be able to negotiate the sales price. In regards to my credit score, he advised that I was at XXXX and I needed to be at minimum XXXX or above by the time we find a property but that he was not concerned about me bringing my score up quickly because I only had XXXX credit cards that had a tad bit of higher than usual balance and I was planning to pay them off or down anyways. 
I found a suitable property located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX FL, XXXX. Towards the end of XX/XX/XXXX I came across this townhouse and in working with XXXX ( Realtor ) we had a signed contract by end of the month. When the offer was placed on the property, XXXX was advised on the sales price, address and some additional info he requested about the property. At that time I was told that I NO LONGER qualify for the Sapphire Grant because this property is coming up over the maximum DTI for the grant. The asking price was {$180000.00} and we ended up in a contract for {$180000.00}. Quick reminder, I had a Pre-Approval Letter of XXXX for a property purchase. I was not told at any point in time fromXX/XX/XXXX till this property was under contract that a lot of other factors come into play that could throw your DTI off, like property taxes, HOA, Insurance etc. since they are all calculated into the monthly housing expenses. It was never mentioned that I should only look for properties up to X amount, add on the rest of the expenses, and then look at the DTI before choosing a property. As you can imagine, disappointment is an understatement at that point but I had no choice because I was already in a signed contract so I had to come up with the 3 % down payment. I was told that the rest of the closing costs will be wrapped into the loan. Bait and Switch is absolutely what this grant was to me at that point. The process to qualify for it was not properly explained and in contrary the XXXX Pre-Approval Letter does not specify anything else other then the fact that I can purchase a property for up to XXXX in value. Quite frankly, there was absolutely nothing special about me doing business with XXXX or LHFS other than this Grant that was promised to me at the beginning of our conversations since anyone within the mortgage industry can obtain an FHA loan. 
After the loan was submitted to the underwriting department I was contacted by XXXX and I was told that the second car loan, the one that I am not paying for and the one that I send him the Sales Contract on, will need to be refinanced out of my name. The reason for that is because it is still considered my debt since the payments on the car were not made by the new owner for at least 12 months. Quick reminder, the Sales Contract was given to XXXX in the beginning of our dealings inXX/XX/XXXX. The date on when the car was sold is recorded in the contract plus proof of payments was also given to him as well. Left with no other choice but to try to refinance the car, I tried every avenue possible to have that done and it just didnt work out. My credit cards were not an issue anymore because by then my credit cards balances were paid down and my credit score was into low XXXX. The problem was that the person that purchased the vehicle was not able to have it refinanced due to some credit issues on her end. XXXX was advised of the situation and kept informed along the way. He was also informed that I had to give my landlord 30 day notice for moving out and I knew that the rental apartment I was living it would rent quickly because of the price and location. I had multiple conversations with XXXX over this issue and even after all that, at no point in time did he advise me that this loan would not close, so the 30 day notice was given. He continued to push this through and continued to tell me, my realtor and the sellers realtor that this will be a closed deal at some point. 
We ended up extending the contract because we could not close in time due to the fact that the second vehicle was not able to get refinanced. If XXXX would have been a knowledgeable broker he would have known from day one that 12 months of car payments is a requirement for that second vehicle not to be considered my debt. Three other lenders that I had spoken to afterwards, not including XXXX XXXX, who herself is a Branch Manager at a different LHFS location in the state of FL knew of that requirement. At that point, he advised that another option to have this loan done would be add a co-signer to the loan and I told him that the only person that I could use could be my mother. 
I told him that my mother has gotten her XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX. Also, that she was in XXXX ( my home country ) from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX therefore she only has documented income in the form of a paycheck sinceXX/XX/XXXX to which XXXX responded that that will not be an issue. The issue that we were having with my mother was that she had no credit whatsoever here in the XXXX, and for that I had to add her to my credit cards as an authorized signer which I did. It took a few weeks for that to start reflecting with the credit reporting agencies but once she showed a credit score he added her to the loan, changed the FHA to a Conventional loan and we were back on track to close on this townhouse. 
The contract got extended once again and we were working on the last conditions that came back from the underwriting department which I was told were minor and the majority were for them to meet. We were one week out from closing and XXXX left for a XXXX week vacation to XXXX leaving XXXX XXXX in charge to close my loan, along with a couple of other people in his own office. Not until XXXX got involved and spoke to the underwriting department, after all the remaining items were submitted, that I was told that this loan it will not close or better yet it shouldnt have been a loan from the beginning. Why? Because 1. I should have never been given a Pre-Approval letter for a loan considering that the second car that was under my name but for which the actual owner was making payments were not done for at least 12 months. 2. My mother would need to have 2 years of W2, 1099 or equivalent within XXXX in order for her to be added to a loan as a co-signer. 
Unfortunately, by that time I had already had to vacate the rental unit as of XX/XX/XXXX since a new tenant was coming in inXX/XX/XXXX. The seller agreed to allow me to move my 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment furniture and belongings into the townhouses garage because we were to close on the loan within the next few days. That was very kind of him to allow me to do that vs. moving all my stuff into a storage unit and then into the house once the loan closed. However, the scenario was not ideal because I had to throw out everything that I had in the fridge and freezer and some other food due to the fact that I was only allowed to use the garage, and I was concerned for rodents etc. 
Two days because the closing date I was told by XXXX that this loan will not close. To make matters even worse, I was homeless with no roof over my head or my daughters which I am primary custodian for. The seller agreed to allow me to move my stuff out of the garage and into a storage unit on a Saturday so that I did not have to use another day of vacation from work. 
We canceled the purchase contract and the seller agreed to return my escrow deposit simply because they realized that it was nothing that I had done to prevent this loan from closing, but it was actually XXXX incompetence and lies. So here I was 6 months later, working with a professional mortgage broker that has been in business for XXXX years with no place to call home, a minor child with me, all my personal and furniture in a storage unit, and living at the mercy of my friends in their house till I found another rental apartment. 
During this ordeal I did not receive XXXX email from XXXX while he was in XXXX, although he was very well aware that this deal fell through because he was copied in all email communications with XXXX. I reached out to LHFS corporate office in CA and I requested that an executive reach out to me, and later on I received a call from XXXX XXXX who advised that he is the VP of National Sales, and he will me handling this matter because he is part owner of the company and his interest to have it resolved. 
I provided XXXX with all the information for this transaction, and I expressed to him that I am out of pocket, at that time of probably XXXX plus, and at minimum I am looking into being compensated for that. He agreed that he will be looking into this matter further, he would discuss it with XXXX and, I agreed to forward him the invoices once I moved into a new rental apartment since I was still living with friends at that time. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a phone call from XXXX and he advised that he is back in town and he is deeply sorry for what happened and for the situation, and stressed that he was sorry for what he put me and my daughter through. He also said that he has no control over what LHFS will be reimbursing me for, but for whatever money they will not, he will do it out of his personal money to make me whole. I told him, just like I told XXXX, that I will put all the invoices together and I will be forwarding that to them once I know for sure the move in situation. 
I was lucky enough to find an apartment in the same community that I lived in before, and at the same rental price, but I had to wait for the unit to be ready. OnXX/XX/XXXX I was finally able to move in after having no place to call home for XXXX days. 
As soon as I was able to put all the invoices together I emailed XXXX and XXXX and I requested for the reimbursement check to be sent to me. I received one communication email after that from XXXX asking for us to find a time to speak to which I responded that he can reach me on my cell phone at any time. Not a word from anyone else after that! 
As we stand right now, I am out of pocket {$2200.00} because of a FL licensed mortgage broker that has against the law used unfair and deceptive trade practices by lying to me all along and making me believe something that was completely false and misleading, lured me into doing business with his company by promising a grant that was never given to me. That is bait and switch. He also breached a verbal contract when he stated that he will repay me the financial loss that I suffered but never gave me my money back. This is without taking into account the stress, the time lost and the pain and suffering that I went through yet it appears that LHFS and XXXX believe to have absolutely no obligation towards me as a consumer. I am asking that you step in and hold LHFS and XXXX fully responsible and accountable for their actions and facilitate that I recover my financial loss at minimum. 

Respectfully, XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief