Consumer complaint received 2017-08-23
Company: Rocket Mortgage, LLC
State: MI
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
For the purchase of my first home I chose Quicken for my conventional mortgage, this would also be my first experience with the mortgage/lending process. The closing date for my condo was XX/XX/XXXX. On the evening of XX/XX/XXXX, when reviewing the closing details I had a question regarding the inclusion of my HOA dues in my mortgage payment. Within the " Escrow Account '' section, there is the statement : " you will have an escrow account to pay the property costs listed below '', directly underneath is a table labeled " Escrow '' and includes the line item " Non-Escrowed Property Costs '' with description " Estimated total amount over year 1 for your non-escrowed property costs : Homeowner Association Dues '' - this totaled {$4600.00} ( Note : This is the annual sum for the monthly HOA dues of {$390.00} ). *Note : Throughout the process, my price point for monthly payment was discussed with my mortgage banker, this included providing the known details for associated costs for the condo including taxes and HOA dues, as the latter can be significant depending on the property. As advised via the notification from Quicken that states : " Do n't forget that your Closing page has all the details you need to know. If you have any questions, use the Message Board on MyQL to get ahold of us. " - I sent a message on XX/XX/XXXX to the Message Board that asked it be confirmed that my HOA dues are included in my mortgage payment. On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, a day prior to my closing meeting, I was notified via email that there was a response available to my Message Board post. I accessed the Message Board and the response provided stated that I was correct, and that the HOA dues are included in my mortgage. With this confirmation I was now comfortable with pursuing my closing the following day. Upon moving into my new residence I was provided the buildings welcome package that includes information on where to send the HOA dues. In an effort to ensure Quicken was provided with all information relevant to payments I accessed the " myql.com '' to login into account, however noticed that the user interface that I had been accustomed to was now updated to reflect my account as an active loan and as a result I no longer had the option to utilize the Message Board, nor upload documents, as done throughout the loan application/closing process. Therefore, on the morning of XX/XX/XXXX I forwarded the information to my mortgage banker, XXXX XXXX, via email. On the evening of XX/XX/XXXX, having not received a response from XXXX, and wanting to ensure I have followed the right process of providing to the necessary people, I send a follow up email asking for receipt of information and receive an immediate response of : " Yeah I got this message. Sorry I have n't responded. You pay the HOA yourself if that is what you are asking. ". This troubled me as this was not the understanding I was given prior to my closing and now the thought of having to now add $ XXXX/mo. into my monthly costs would be significant. I immediately access my Quicken account online and send a request to the helpdesk to inquire on where I can access my Message Board, as I would like to review/confirm that I did in fact explicitly ask, prior to my closing, if my HOA was included in mortgage payment, and advised that it was, and now am being told that it is not, and is an additional cost I will incur. The Customer Relations responds that since my loan is closed I can no longer access the My Message Board and that they have forwarded my inquiry to Executive Office for further follow up. The below detail the subsequent conversations related to my concerns with XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ), Executive Office, and myself, XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) throughout the day of XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX : " Thank you for reaching out, I want to let you know we do not escrow for HOA so this is something you will need to pay on your own. I apologize if you were advised otherwise, I will review the chat and provide feedback to the team member who had advised you we would be escrowing. '' XXXX : " Hello XXXX, This response is unacceptable given I specifically asked the inclusion of this cost into my mortgage payment, prior to my closing, and was given explicit confirmation it was included. This is a significant misinform. XXXX : Hi XXXX, I see where you are coming from as the wrong information was provided you to however, we do not escrow for HOA. We only escrow and can escrow for HOI and taxes. I apologize we are not able to include your HOA payment in your mortgage. BB : Hello - What is the process for requesting a copy of all communications, primarily the message board that was utilized/offered as form of communication with the Quicken team serving, my account during the loan application process? XXXX : That is proprietary information and is something we would not be able to release to you. I understand she did advise you wrongly and I apologize for that, however we never escrow for HOA. I am sorry there isnt anything else we are able to do regarding this. The result of these conversations, and my experience with Quicken, has resulted in the filing of this complaint. It is unjust and unacceptable that as a Quicken customer I rely upon, and should as this is part of their service offering, the company and its staff to ensure that any questions I have regarding the mortgage process, including all details of costs incurred ( i.e. I do not know if my HOA are included ), can be answered and relied upon, yet am told after I sign a significant financial agreement/loan - " sorry, you were misinformed '' - with no consideration for the impact this now has to my financials.
Quicken has acknowledged I was misinformed and within the correspondence has repeatedly stated Quicken would not do HOA, however it is their employee, who should be better informed of not only Quicken practice, but loan/closing details, that provided this information to me for my decision making.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation