Consumer complaint received 2020-10-06
Company: MEMBER FIRST MORTGAGE, LLC
State: MI
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
My wife contacted Member First Mortgage around XX/XX/2020 to start the process to apply for re-financing of the existing mortgage on our house at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, Florida XXXX. The application was submitted on or about XX/XX/2020. 

The house has a solar panel array, which is subject to a lease with a company known as XXXX XXXX. In order to process the re-finance application, XXXX was required to subordinate its lease to the expected new mortgage with Member First.

Member First informed my wife and I, that XXXX had not submitted a subordination agreement to them, and was not responding to their efforts to contact Member First to  complete this process. We were also informed that, but for XXXX 's failure to provide a subordination agreement, we would have been able to close on the re-financing. My wife received a communication to that effect around XX/XX/2020, and this was a continuous excuse throughout XXXX, XXXX, and into XXXX 

Blaming the delay on XXXX was convenient, and it worked on us for a time, but it was false. 

While it was difficult to get in touch with Sunstreet ( nobody would return my wife 's calls XXXX, I did receive a response to an email I sent on XX/XX/2020. In that response, XXXX confirmed that it had delivered a subordination agreement to Member First ( or the title company preparing the closing documents for the re-finance ) on XX/XX/2020. 

When I informed Member First of this information from XXXX, I received confirmation that the title company had in fact received the subordination agreement on XX/XX/2020. Member First then told me that XXXX had to sign a new subordination agreement because the " loan amount was increased. '' I never authorized an increase to my loan amount, and, indeed, had not made or authorized any changes to the loan amount. 

A few days later, Member First sent me another email stating that XXXX had not signed the subordination agreement. I do not think this is a true statement either because I have not been provided with any confirmation that this true. 

Even so, that was on XX/XX/2020 XXXX and Member First also suggested that they were working diligently on processing the application, even though the most recent attempt ( allegedly XXXX at communicating with XXXX prior to that was on XX/XX/2020 ). 

In addition to the falsehoods, it appears that Member First has abandoned the re-finance application, after we have spent {$550.00} on an appraisal ( which was not consistent with proper appraisal practices, and merely assessed the house at the rate of inflation, rather than taking into account at least 2 sales of homes in the same neighborhood ). We also had to pay a " subordination fee '' of {$250.00} to XXXX, which also seems to have been a waste of money XXXX XXXX is not subject to CPFB jurisdiction -- as far as I am aware -- so this complaint is not necessarily directed at that entity. ) I definitely would like to re-finance my mortgage, but Member First does not appear to be competent to handle that. If a re-finance is not possible, I need to have the expenses I have paid reimbursed to me. The expenses include the two items referenced above, but there may be more ; I am waiting for confirmation of that from my wife.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief