Consumer complaint received 2023-04-14
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION (WV)

Summary of Complaint : My monthly payment on my new Truist mortgage increased from {$1300.00} in year one to {$1700.00} in year two. That is a 29.5 % payment increase on a fixed rate mortgage! Investigation indicates the Truist loan department entered a much less expensive, incorrect, homeowners policy insurance premium on the closing documents. When, the escrow was refigured a year later with the correct premium information, the combination of this, and an accumulated escrow shortage of {$3000.00} for XXXX, resulted in a much higher payment. 


Complete Narrative. In late XXXX, with interest rates low, I began the process of refinancing two properties. 

Property # 1 is my primary residence : XXXX XXXX XXXX, ( XXXX ) XXXX WV XXXX. Prior to the refinance, the mortgage lender on XXXX was BB & T. BB & T was in the process of transforming to Truist Bank at that time of my refinance. Since I had had good service from BB & T, I contacted the local branch mortgage broker, XXXX XXXX and gave her the first opportunity to make a proposal. XXXX was good to work with and we arrived at a proposed package without too much difficulty : {$210000.00} at a 2.99 % fixed rate over 20 years with approximately $ XXXX out. Then commenced the lengthy process of sending my financial information to the Truist mortgage officer, XXXX XXXX. Having been through the mortgage application process numerous times, I knew in advance what the process entailed and had most of my financial information well-organized in a digital folder on my computer. My application for a mortgage with Truist was eventually accepted and I received a closing disclosure that estimated monthly Principal & Interest at {$1100.00} and my estimated monthly payment at {$1300.00}. Based on this, I agreed to move forward, and we set a closing date of 1/20/2022.

Property # 1 has been insured by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX ) for many years. My homeowners premium on this property has hovered around $ XXXX. ( The property is in the woods far from town without fire hydrants available, hence the high premium ). 

Property # 2 is an investment property in North Carolina. It was refinanced with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, NC ) at the same time. Although my yearly insurance premium load is higher for this coastal property, the actual homeowners ( aka Hazard ) component of my package there XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX ) is {$830.00}. 

Imagine my shock at receiving the friendly email from Truist ( XX/XX/XXXX ) telling me my payment was increasing {$400.00} dollars per month. An immediate call to customer service ( XX/XX/XXXX ; XXXX ) revealed the payment increase was due to the insurance going from $ XXXX to $ XXXX! This document is also included. 

Having retired in late XXXX, I am on a fixed income and trying to adjust my expenses so my savings will last me as long as possible. If I had known the payment was going to be so much more expensive, I would have opted for a 30-year term to keep my payment low. 

I have attached the closing documentation supplied by my closing attorney XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX WV ) on XX/XX/XXXX. I spoke with XXXX XXXX who stated that the closing documents were generated at Truist. It matches the document recently sent to me by XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and my copy received prior to closing. This document confirms that the amount entered for homeowners insurance was incorrect and indicates that whoever filled out the document at Truist entered the premium amount for property # 2 instead of that for Property # 1. Double checking my file of documents which I sent to BB & T/ Truist confirmed that I had sent them the correct Homeowners declaration page. The premium should have been approx. {$2600.00}. 

A few other salient points : Ironically, the original BB & T mortgage escrow document ( viewable online ) had the correct insurance information-down to the policy number! Why this was ignored is unknown. 

Customer service indicated I could request closing information documentation from the bank. When it finally became available online-after several weeks (! ) - the information was grossly incorrect : wrong loan amount, 30-year term, no money out. Go figure. 

I dont think this can be made right. My reason for filing this complaint is simply to alert other consumers that these kinds of mistakes can happen. Of course, one should expect ones monthly mortgage payments to creep up over time due to changing taxes and insurance premiums- but not by 30 %. ( Ironically, my real estate taxes on property # 1 went down in XXXX, due to a XXXX XXXX homestead exemption ). And, after the accrued escrow shortage is resolved, my monthly payment will be less, but it will be nowhere close to {$1300.00}. Again, I would have opted for a 30-year term if I had seen an accurate account of my monthly payment before closing. In discussions, both my attorney and local mortgage lender made the point that the principal and interest part of my payment had not changed- that the increase was totally due to the increased insurance payment, as though the bank did not play a role in the increase. To me, this is irrelevant- tell this to my checking account. 

Lesson learned : Buyer beware. Dont trust the bank to make sure the closing agreement is correct. Although I saw the premium information prior to closing, I wasnt quite sure what I was looking at, because the amount was prorated over less than a year. I should have followed up. Consumers do your homework!