Consumer complaint received 2022-01-18
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — 
Company: Mortgage Research Center, LLC (CA)

We are wanting the CFPB to publish this letter and complaint in an attempt to get someone at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to acknowledge and subsequently remedy our situation in regards to our attempted Home Purchase of the aforementioned property, in which XXXX  was ( is ) the Lender. The facts are as follows : We received a pre-approval from XXXX  in the amount of {$360000.00} in mid XXXX, XXXX  ; We made an offer on the property located at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, CA XXXX, on XX/XX/2021 ( we are first time home buyers and made this abundantly clear to everyone involved ) ; The offer was accepted in early XXXX, XXXX  ; The XXXX XXXX involved is called XXXX XXXX and Title, a sub-division of XXXX XXXX XXXX ; Our point person at XXXX  was ( is ) XXXX XXXX ; We were in a prolonged, 3 1/2 month escrow, which closed on XX/XX/2021 ; To define closing, I mean the following occurred : The loan was funded by XXXX, on or around XX/XX/2021 ; we ( my fianc XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and I signed our closing documents with the Title Company, paid our remaining down payment and all closing costs ( our down and closing amounted to approximately {$22000.00} ) ; signed our purchase agreement, and took possession of the property ( this occurred on XXXX XXXX, XXXX  ) ; We were told by the Title Company at this time that the Seller needed to sign their closing documents and they were waiting on some paperwork from the Seller ; Approximately one week later I called the Title Company and asked for a copy of the grant deed, which I was then told we dont have the deed recorded yet ; A neighbor then disclosed to us that our home had liens and encumbrances on it, and was incredulous as to how we had bought it ; We then inquired further with the Title Company as to the nature of these liens, and it was then disclosed to us for the first time that the County of XXXX ( where we live ) has over {>= $1,000,000} in liens agains this entire development, which our home is located within ; Upon further digging, it was then disclosed to us that the liens are due to a lead abatement issue, in which the seller needs to get the State of CA XXXX XXXX XXXX to sign off environmental paperwork in order to then trigger the County to release the liens ; At this point, we realize the seller can not deliver clear title, and it becomes clear to us that the material fact of the existence of the liens was known by everyone, including you, the Lender, and no one disclosed this to us ; Upon notifying all parties involved that we were aware of the defects to Title, everyone ran for cover and the finger pointing and blaming began, but no one stepping forward to take responsibility and help us, the good faith buyers, understand what our options were and provide a remedy to cure the issue ; Upon contacting XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, and an individual named XXXX XXXX, a d not only notifying you/them of the issue but asking advice on what to do, XXXX XXXX XXXX has taken the collective stance that the loan, on our end, is closed, told us we have to pay the mortgage, and are on the hook for the entirety of the {$310000.00} loan, regardless of whether Title was, or could be in the future, transferred to us ; As of now, all funds relating to this transaction are still in escrow, controlled by the Title Company . No one has been paid, and we sit day after day waiting in limbo as the buyer makes promise after promise that he will be delivering clear title very shortly. Its now been 9 weeks since we have closed and taken possession of the house.

Our concerns are as follows : We are being asked by XXXX to pay a mortgage on a loan that does not exist - the law and all common business practices state the loan closes when the grant deed is recorded. This has not occurred. Why is XXXX asking us to pay a mortgage on a loan that doesnt exist? There is no secured, FHA loan I $ XXXX place. There is an unsecured loan with no real estate to back it up.. No real estate transaction occurred ; no property was exchanged. We paid {$22000.00} to purchase nothing. How can XXXX legally ask us to pay a mortgage on a property we ( and you ) hold no property interest in or to? ; This is considered real estate fraud. This is what Title Insurance is for. This is not our fault, as we hired and were dealing with groups of professionals who have been in real estate for a combined dozens upon dozens of years, and it was your and the Title Companys  job to discover any defects to the title before the loan was funded ; Why did XXXX  fund a loan when no deed was transferred? Even is we assume XXXX did not know about the liens, upon being notified by the Lender and us XXXX should have unwound the deal and asked for its money to be returned ; This is known as a recession of the contract, and with the circumstances surrounding this transaction should have been offered to us as a remedy by XXXX  ; XXXX  has offered us no remedy whatsoever, and upon inquiry by both myself and our real estate agent, XXXX XXXX of XXXX XXXX XXXX, to XXXX asking that the start of our mortgage be delayed until clear title could be passed on to us, only to be rebuffed and shot down, with XXXX XXXX stating this happens all the time, we give loans on properties with liens on them ; and XXXX XXXX, whom I spoke with in early XXXX, telling me that we have no recourse, and the loan is valid, and whether or not the deed ever gets transferred is irrelevant ; I asked XXXX XXXX to contact the legal department, and he then told me this is out of my scope of expertise, before refusing to give me any contact information to the legal department, and then giving me a physical address and telling me I have to hand write correspondence to them and wait for them to contact me ; Obviously, this is absurd, because as it stands as of the writing of this email : no loan ever closed, the Title Company informed XXXX of the defects and XXXX  chose to fund the loan anyway,, we have not been presented with a CLOSING STATEMENT because one does not exist, XXXX has not received any moneys from us, XXXX has all its money ( the funded loan ) sitting in escrow ; XXXX holds responsibility and liability ( as a fiduciary to us in this transaction ) for the situation we are currently in, and any damages that we have accrued.