Consumer complaint received 2017-11-02
Company: Stearns Ventures, LLC
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I purchased a condo financed by a fraudulent purchase loan originated by Stearns ( XXXX XXXX XXXX required me to cross-qualify with Stearns at which time I stopped my loan application with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ). I recently discovered that Stearns fraudulently originated my purchase mortgage : the condo is ineligible for conventional financing because the XXXX is a condotel with 41 deeded timeshares within. After the close of escrow, Stearns sold my purchase mortgage to XXXX XXXX even though the XXXX is, in fact, an ineligible project under XXXX XXXX requirements for mortgage purchase and/or securitization. XXXX rejected the First Property Appraisal ( FPA ) ( for an undisclosed reason ) prepared by the XXXX XXXX XXXX Stearns hired ; and thereafter, Stearns fraudulently originated my purchase mortgage based upon the Second Property Appraisal ( XXXX XXXX prepared by the Second Property XXXX hired by Stearns. The XXXX failed to disclose that the XXXX is an ineligible project for conventional financing under XXXX XXXX XXXX because it has XXXX deeded timeshares. Prior to the close of escrow, Stearns XXXX and the XXXX XXXX failed to disclose to me that the XXXX does not qualify for conventional financing because it is a condotel with XXXX deeded timeshares within. To the contrary, Stearns told me that -- in XXXX, Stearns had financed another condo sale in the same XXXX as the subject condo. Furthermore, in XXXX XXXX, during the mortgage application process, when XXXX told me that the XXXX had been rejected, Stearns specifically advised me that it could not tell me why the XXXX had been rejected because Stearns was not privy to the XXXX ; Stearns stated that ( after the Great Recession in XXXX and the rampant mortgage fraud ) lending laws were changed such that lenders no longer had access to rejected property appraisals. Thereafter, XXXX hired the Second Property XXXX and accepted the fraudulent XXXX prepared by the Second Property XXXX, which failed to disclose that the XXXX is ineligible for conventional financing because it is a condotel with XXXX deeded timeshares within. At the end of XXXX XXXX, I permanently vacated the condo after having ongoing acute health problems as to which I had to seek XXXX XXXX twice, and am still coping with the deleterious impact of living in the uninhabitable XXXX full-time for almost XXXX months and teleworking full-time from the uninhabitable condo. I have been on extended leave from work since XXXX XXXX, XXXX. Sellers failed to disclose to me that the XXXX was uninhabitable because it requires mold and asbestos testing and remediation ; Sellers also failed to disclose that the XXXX is ineligible for conventional financing because it has XXXX deeded timeshares within. The XXXX also failed to report adverse conditions in the XXXX requiring mold and asbestos testing and remediation -- in violation of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reporting requirements. My Final Escrow Closing Statement shows a charge for {$520.00} for Trimavin Appraisal, and {$150.00} charge for Trimavin Reinspection Fee. In XXXX XXXX, I requested a copy the XXXX from XXXX XXXX, the mortgage originator. XXXX immediately responded by stating that the XXXX was rejected because the condo did not have smoke or XXXX detectors. I then reminded XXXX of his prior statement to me regarding XXXX not being privy to the rejected XXXX because of the change in lending laws to prevent mortgage fraud. In response, XXXX insisted on having a telephone conversation with me as to which I declined. XXXX then referred me to XXXX XXXX, his XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX sent me an email stating that I needed to call him and XXXX so that they could confirm my identify via telephone before they could send me the requested information regarding the XXXX because my email could get hacked even though I was using the same email address that I had used to process my mortgage application with XXXX and just earlier that day, XXXX and XXXX XXXX, the Loan Processer, had sent me confidential loan documents to that same email. I then asked XXXX what information he intends to ask me via telephone to confirm my identity. Rather than answering my question, XXXX ask me again why I refused to call them. Thereafter, as instructed by XXXX, XXXX resent the fraudulent SPA to me again. As a result of the fraudulent purchase mortgage, I now own a condo which sits vacant and uninhabitable. And, the condo will not qualify for conventional financing in perpetuity because the XXXX is a condotel with 41 deeded timeshares within.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation