Consumer complaint received 2016-06-17
Company: Capital Markets Cooporative, LLC
State: TN
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
Upon the recommendations of both my realtor and my mortgage broker, I submitted a request for the removal of my Mortgage Insurance ( PMI ) approximately 6 months following the closing date on my home. I verified the required LTV ratio ( XXXX % or less ) for removal of PMI via my online account with the mortgage company ( " if you have good payment history [ true ], you may request cancellation of your PMI on or after the date the principal balance of your loan reaches 80 % of the original value of the property '' ). When I requested, in writing, the removal of the mortgage insurance ( prior to the appraisal ), the letter I received from the lender specifically stated " For loans originated less than five years ago [ true ], but open for at least two years [ false ], the LTV must be at or below XXXX %. If your loan was originated less than two years ago [ true ], generally it wo n't be eligible for PMI termination unless you are the original borrower on the mortgage [ true ] and significant improvements have been made to the property resulting in an increase in property value [ true - approx {$35000.00} invested in improvements, primarily in a new kitchen ]. '' I found this unclear and bit contradictory - did I need XXXX % LTV or XXXX % LTV? So I called and spoke with a representative from the mortgage company who confirmed for me that the loan-to-mortgage ratio needed to be at or below XXXX percent, following an appraisal of my home, in order for the mortgage insurance to be removed. Based on this information, I submitted a payment of {$390.00} for the bank to send an appraiser of their own ; they would not allow me to hire an independent appraiser ( I specifically asked due to the obvious bias a bank-hired appraiser was likely to have ). The appraiser spent less than 5 minutes on my property, and her appraisal ( {$250000.00} = {$22000.00} more than the selling price ) did not seem to reflect the combination of increasing property values in the XXXX and specifically XXXX XXXX areas, along with the significant investments we had made in improving the home. Regardless, this new appraisal brought me to an LTV of about XXXX %, which based on the information I had, I understood would remove the monthly PMI payment I 'm required to make. Only at this point did I learn that, according to the bank, I needed to meet an LTV of 75 %. Thus, I paid {$390.00} for an appraisal based on false information, and achieved no results or savings from it, and according to the bank I am still required to pay a monthly PMI of between $ XXXX-XXXX. I think it 's important to note that I have a perfect payment history. I pushed back and the bank did not agree with me regarding the removal of the PMI. Then, today I received a refund check based on XXXX and XXXX XXXX fraudulently advertising savings available via a fee-for-service payment program that I joined to reduce my total interest payments over the long-term. This immediately reminded me of the questionable practices surrounding my PMI and appraisal, and I feel I need to now report what is likely another area in which XXXX/CMC Funding is defrauding its customers.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation