Consumer complaint received 2021-01-12
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: Caliber Home Loans, Inc. (OH)

We experienced a XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. Due to the actions of both the insurance company ( XXXX XXXX, a division of XXXX XXXX XXXX and Caliber Home Loans, it will be approximately 3 years before my family will once again be able to live in our own home. It took 12 months to come to a settlement with the Insurance company on the real estate property. Once that was in place, I signed a contract with a contractor for the re-building process. This contract specifically laid out a monthly financial drafting schedule, and was sent to Caliber Home Loans for approval. From the outset, Caliber Home Loans was incompetent. I submitted the required contract, builder license, and other documentation required by Caliber Home Loans twice. When XXXX lost all documentation for a second time, a representative from the XXXX spent two days working to submit the proper paperwork. Once Caliber Home Loans acknowledged all paperwork was submitted, and construction could begin, my XXXX selected a demolition team to knock down the remains of our home the first week of XX/XX/XXXX. As we began the framing of our new home, we placed a request for funds with Caliber Home Loans for work performed in XXXX and XXXX. XXXX denied the request for funds stating that they would only release funds at 50 % and 100 % completion of project. I had a sizable savings, and had received funds for our personal property from XXXX, and used these funds to pay for the work that had already been performed. Thinking that I had replacement cost insurance that would cover the entire reconstruction project, I was certain that all parties would honor their commitments to making my family whole again, and that all would work out in the end. It was about this time that I started learning what replacement cost insurance really means. For XXXX XXXX this means that you receive a check for the actual cash value ( ACV ) of your home, and then as you replace anything above the ACV, XXXX will reimburse you i.e. you must first spend the additional funds. In our situation, we purchased our home for just under {$350000.00}, but it will cost {$760000.00} to replace. I will have to spend roughly {$400000.00} before I can be reimbursed for it. At the same time, Caliber Home Loans is refusing to release any of the {$320000.00} they are holding. I do not know about you, but I do not have a {$400000.00} slush fund laying around to finance the reconstruction of my home! 
By XXXX I realized that I would have to refinance the construction process. By XXXX, I realized how dire my situation had become due to Caliber Home Loans actions. After agreeing to the contract with XXXX XXXX XXXX with the monthly financial draws, and then rescinding that decision for the 50 % and 100 % payouts, they had put me in a financially impossible position. Once construction had started on the project, all contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers had a lien against the property making it very difficult for a title company to close on the new construction loan, and the size of the required loan puts ups up against a ceiling for many lenders. I have been told by countless banks that if I had put financing in place prior to commencement of construction, the loan could have been approved in weeks without difficulty. As I write you today, 8 months later, we still have been unable to close on our new construction loan. In XXXX of XXXX, we finally were told by a credit union that if we stop construction immediately, they were confident that they would be able to put new financing in place. All construction halted. We have been fighting now for 6 months to overcome the hurdle that Caliber Home Loans put in front of us. 
We are finally in the last stretch of financing with the XXXX XXXX. The last remaining item is a lien release from Caliber Home Loans. I want to make two things perfectly clear here : XXXX. ) Our mortgage is currently with Caliber Home Loans 2. ) XXXX is currently holding our funds XXXX in an amount that EXCEEDS my mortgage. 
I have submitted several requests to have Caliber Home Loans apply the {$320000.00} to our {$310000.00} mortgage and send us a check for the remaining {$14000.00}. In fact, I spent in excess of 16 hours between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX attempting to get Caliber Home Loans to apply the funds they are CURRENTLY HOLDING to pay off my mortgage and issue an intent to release lien letter or even in lieu of that an existing financial document that demonstrates the loan to be paid in full. I spoke with no less than 15 employees of Caliber Home Loans between their mortgage department and their Loan Loss Draft department. 2 of these XXXX employees assured me that they would personally monitor my account to send me the document I need from them to be able to close on my new mortgage and move on with our life. On Monday the XXXX, I was told that I had to submit a written statement that I wanted to apply the funds. I did so, and was told it would take 1 to 2 days to process the funds. I called back Tuesday, and again Wednesday. By Wednesday afternoon, I asked where the funds were, and how soon I could expect the letter. I was told that the request to apply the funds was denied. I was told that I had to submit another form from their mortgage department. I asked to speak with a supervisor. I told the supervisor that I was not going to request a document from their own company to submit to the same company so that they could apply funds they already have. We got a conference call between the two departments, and the mortgage department submitted the proper document to the loan loss draft department. I was told it would take another 1-2 days to process funds. I called back again Thursday. I was told again that the decision to apply the funds had been denied because the payoff document was out of date. AGAIN, THIS IS THEIR OWN INTERNAL DOCUMENT. I spoke with 2 supervisors, one of which simply hung up with me. On Thursday night, I asked to speak with a supervisors supervisor. I now have a manager 's direct line. She is supposedly attempting to escalate my loan, but when I spoke to her on Friday, she said that all documentation was with Caliber Home Loans XXXX office for a decision. I asked, A decision on what? XXXX has the mortgage. XXXX has the funds. This should be a button click, and I have had to work this hard to get XXXX to apply the funds to the loan. She could not or would not give me any kind of answer. 
I just want to be able to move on with my life to make my family whole again. But due to the actions of Caliber Home Loans, it is going to take approximately 3 years to move back into my own home. My rental insurance runs out after 24 months. For 12 months, I am going to have to make both a mortgage payment and a rental payment. I have a wife and XXXX children with full lives. We do not fit in a one-bedroom apartment. This is going to be a true financial hardship for us because of the actions taken by Caliber Home Loans. One day, I am going to fight tooth and nail to change the laws that govern how insurance and mortgage companies operate following catastrophic loss to prevent any other family from having to go through what we have, but until then, please help our family.