Consumer complaint received 2015-04-27
Product: Mortgage — Other mortgage
Issue: Application, originator, mortgage broker — 
Company: HAMILTON GROUP FUNDING, INC. (VA)

A Realtor gave me the name of this lender, Contacted her In XX/XX/XXXX to find out where my credit scores had to be to apply for a USDA Loan. Because of a hit my credit took my scores had dropped. We discussed me contacting the XXXX creditors showing on my report and opening up a credit card. I worked until XX/XX/XXXX to bring them up to an acceptable level. My payment hx was good, been at my job for 11+ years. The Lender told me she did n't want to pull it until I had it at about XXXX to XXXX because it would drop about XXXX points once she pulled it. She checked with me periodically via XXXX XXXX, asking if I had looked lately and if the scores were where they needed to be. I contacted her around XX/XX/XXXX for a pre-approval. She pulled my credit while I was on the phone with her and when she seen my scores she whooped and hollered ... .they were XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. She would be using XXXX. She sent pre approval letter to my new Realtor ( The previous Realtor that referred me to this lender had health problems so she referred me to a different Realtor ) I did n't receive anything from the lender. I contacted her via text a week or so later with the price on a house I liked ... {$140000.00} ... she said the payments would be around {$930.00} per month, nothing more from her. I texted her back and asked what the interest rate was, she said it changes everyday but right now it was at 4 % and that 's about what I could expect it to be. When I told my Realtor she seemed visibly upset, said she had taken it upon herself to contact a different lender and gave her what info she knew about me ... that Lender had sent her a print out of all associated costs, monthly payment, interest percentage rate etc. It was showing 3.5 % interest ... hmmm. I called her with all of my information, over the phone, before she actually ran the numbers she told me I could possibly get 3.25 % ( first lender was at 4 % ). She pulled my credit and locked me in at 3.25 %. I 've now signed loan papers and contract on home.with a XX/XX/XXXX closing date. The first lender NEVER sent me any type of letter, document, nothing that showed payments, associated costs with loan, interest rate I would be paying ... .nothing. Just a text with monthly payment and I had to ask what the interest rate was. This .75 % difference amounts to quite a bit of money. I am a single mom of a XXXX year old daughter. I 've never received help from the father nor government assistance etc. 
It is my understanding that maybe this first lender " padded '' the interest rate, adding a 1/2 to 3/4 points to what it should have been ... .maybe, maybe not. I just know that she would have charged me, over 30 years, about {$24000.00} to {$30000.00} extra which could have helped with my daughter 's college. But, I guess, she wanted more money for herself ...?? 
She did n't show me anything on paper whether by email, text, messenger, mail or in person. My realtor was upset by this and the fact she nor I could get any firm commitment on what interest rate I would be paying. I have a friend that works for a bank, he told me there is a " Truth in Lending '' law that forbids her to just verbally quote what she thinks the interest may be on any given day. she never once sent me any type of disclosure showing costs and such associated with the loan. By reading and studying I also found that my credit would not drop XXXX points just by her pulling it and that I could in fact shop around because the FICO score allows multiple hits for mortgage loans if within 30 days. She was untruthful about that as well, I was afraid to get a 2nd opinion because she led me to believe every hit would drop my score drastically. Once I read the laws regarding the scores I knew I could get that 2nd opinion and did, saving myself a substantial amount of money. Fortunately I was n't harmed by this woman but others may be and may have been.