Consumer complaint received 2015-07-06
Company: SUNTRUST BANKS, INC.
State: PA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Credit decision / Underwriting

Complaint:
Complaint InformationIn XXXX of 2015 I was shopping for a 100 % VA refinance mortgage. XXXX XXXX of Sun Trust said that was possible. I gave him my credit card and it was charged {$460.00}. They sent a notary public to my home where I provided the required documents regarding my income. Several days later I received a " Truth in Lending Statement '' from Sun Trust. This document showed a loan amount of {$140000.00}. XXXX XXXX said I would receive {$20000.00} cash back at settlement based on an appraisal of {$140000.00}. Several weeks later I received a call from XXXX XXXX stating the appraisal came in at {$130000.00}. I asked my options and he said I could contest the evaluation by sending in additional comparable properties I felt the appraiser had missed. I sent new documents with other comparable properties with higher sales prices. While waiting for a decision on the new evaluation of the property I received a packet from Sun Trust XXXX lowering the loan to {$130000.00}. For over a week I made calls to XXXX XXXX, his superior XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX. I was only able to leave voice mail messages. At the end of the week I did hear from XXXX XXXX that XXXX XXXX was in training. On Monday he did call back and said the data I sent was forwarded on and I would receive an answer. I made several calls to XXXX XXXX and always went to voicemail ; I left several messages expressing my concern about the " Truth in Lending '' packets I was receiving. I called XXXX XXXX and she returned my call explaining the packets are generated when changes occur and that they would let me know about the re-evaluation of the appraisal. 
I then received another " Truth in Lending '' packet ; this one lowered the loan amount to {$120000.00} which is 90 % of the appraised value along with the funding fee added in. 
A week after receiving the last packet I received a phone call from XXXX XXXX where I was told they would loan 90 % of appraised value, and after review of the higher valued comparable properties I sent them the evaluation of {$130000.00} stood. I told him that all along he told me they would loan me 100 % loan to appraised value ; he placed me on hold only to lose the call after being on hold for XXXX minutes. My return calls went to voice mail. Late in the afternoon XXXX XXXX called again and told me that the best they could do was 90 % loan to appraised value. 
At first I was told this was based on my FICO score being XXXX not XXXX. I complained that Sun Trust knew my FICO score, after a while he admitted he was in error about the FICO Score. He then said that the underwriters would not loan more than 90 %. I asked why he did not know this when I first applied for the 100 % loan ; he told me that he is not privy to everything the underwriters are. He placed me on hold so he could talk to his supervisor. He returned to the line saying he was wrong and they could offer me my {$460.00} back and I could talk to his supervisor with my concerns. I asked to speak to his supervisor ; I was placed again on hold waiting to talk to his supervisor. He returned to say the supervisor was engaged and would call me back shortly. I have yet to receive a call back. 
Our decision to apply for a mortgage with Sun Trust was based on their offering a 100 % loan of appraised value. Had I known that they were going to switch to a 90 % loan to appraised value, or they indeed did not offer a VA 100 % refinancing loan to appraised value I would have gone somewhere else. I feel that this has been a deceptive business practice and I was deceived into believing that I was getting a 100 % loan to appraised value only to find out after two month that was not the case. 
I am currently pursuing an ROV, Reconsideration Of Value, with the Veterans Administration because some of the properties the appraiser considered were not the same model townhouse as mine and those that were are of lesser value

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation