Consumer complaint received 2024-11-22
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — Delays in the application process
Company: Onity Group Inc. (OK)

This complaint addresses many, many issues. Too many to try and list everything. Summary : The VA allows lenders 45 days to process loans. I am now on day XXXX. We signed a contract in late XXXX. The assumption pkg was delivered on or about XX/XX/XXXX. Since then, I've been asked for some documents multiple times after having sent them each time. Only a week or so ago was an Escalation Manager was assigned. After multiple attempts to find a way to reach this person other than the department email address, I did receive a call. I told her that months ago I was told one had been assigned. She could find no record of that. She also could not find the documents I sent a week prior scanned into their system. I sent them again. Those were the same documents requested and provided four times prior. During this process, starting approximately 2 weeks into it, I would ask to speak to someone assigned to the assumption so that we could communicate more frequently. Even though I made that request multiple times, nobody in the Assumption Department would even acknowledge they received that request. ( For that matter, I've left three voicemails just this week for that Escalation Manager with no response. ) Most often, after delivering the documents I would just get an email ( a week later ) saying the documents have been sent to the VA for their underwriters to review. The VA doesn't have underwriters ... they are internal to PHH. I even called them out on that ( having been a VA and FHA underwriter many years ago, and it didn't change their answer ). Again and again they would wait several days after I send, or resend, the requested documents before telling me, again, that they have been sent to VA 's 'government underwriters '. As example : A couple of weeks after responding to a request, I asked via email if there were any further questions from the underwriter and they said they are still waiting on me to send the requested documents ( the same one 's I had provided multiple times ). That, across multiple occasions, has added a month to the process. The initial assumption packet asked for a Credit Report fee of {$19.00}. Two weeks after sending that check I was told they hadn't received the checks. I provided a tracking number documenting receipt by PHH. They then informed me that {$19.00} isn't the correct amount anyway. The didn't seem too concerned that their initial welcome packet was incorrectly stating required upfront fees. That next day I overnighted the new undocumented amount. To this day that check has not cleared my bank. The original check was returned a month after it was received by someone at PHH with a note there wasn't sufficient information to know what it was for. Even thought I had the property address in the note. The last request for additional documents was the XXXX of XXXX. It is now the XXXX and no reply has been received from PHH. As a 100 % XXXX veteran, this has been probably more stressful than it should be. I feel lost and forgotten. Nobody at PHH seems to care. If they do, they haven't bothered to say anything to me. The sellers ( note holders ) signed an authorization document allowing PHH to speak to me about the loan process early in this endeavor. So that's not a valid reason, if given. I've lost three buyers for my home during this time. I've afraid to list it again until this is finally resolved. Which, of course means that I'll have two mortgage payments until mine sells and closes. VA XXXX and Social Security retirement dollars are not near enough to sustain that for long.