Consumer complaint received 2019-08-03
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: Rocket Mortgage, LLC (CA)

I have had a relationship/mortgage with Quicken Loans since XXXX. During that time, I have never been 30 days + or more delinquent. Payments are always made on time or within prescribed grace period. I have two issues that need to be brought to your agency. If these issues are affecting my family, they are likely pervasive. 
1. In XXXX, my husbands ( co-borrower ) pay cycle changed due to a job change. We informed Quicken and requested a due date change from the XXXX to XXXX. We were told no and that such a change would require a refinance. My account was noted, I declined applying to refinance at that time and as a result of their decision, we have to pay my mortgage closer to or on the XXXX to avoid late fees, which is not an ideal way to live. 
a. From about the XXXX to XXXX/whenever our payment hits the account collection calls and emails flood my phone and inbox. This turns my stomach and disrupts the peace I have earned as a good customer who pays their mortgage without fail. 
b. We did consider refinancing at one point, or a few months after I inquired about a due date change. Went through the process, Quicken took pictures of my home and renovations I will discuss in item # 2. However, as it turned out, due primarily to student loan debt ( I am finishing a XXXX ) and making payments after the due date ( XXXX ), but before the end of the grace period ( XXXX ), we were declined. However, the rate they offered before declining us was questionable and felt predatory ( especially due to the fact rates were and are historically low ). I have an excellent payment history on all unsecured and secured consumer debt. Our issue is higher DTI, which is a direct result of student loan debt and having to make expensive renovations on our primary residence we did not anticipate due to poor inspection report, which I will pay down once I secure the lifetime dream most American consumers have, which is working a second job ( maybe a third if blessings abide ) as an XXXX XXXX   XXXX and whatever else I can procure to keep the work schedule closer to 65/70+ hours per week to avoid work/life balance so that my BPI will continue to remain elevated ( student loans are deferred and when they were not, I always paid on time, so payment history with student loans was never an issue ). I digress 2. We have an FHA with PMI. I called to discuss the possibility of eliminating the insurance. Background : I owe {$510000.00} and my home previously appraised for {$750000.00} and due to major renovations we could never have anticipated, but were required to make due to a poor inspection report and a homebuyers insurance agency that was horrible in every way ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) declining us on all our claims, including the furnace issue, which could have XXXX my family if I ever turned it on ; and a faulty electrical panel which, sooner rather than later, would have lit my house and the neighbors houses up if left unaddressed. Quicken has pictures of the house and all upgrades. 
a. We also had to take out a Hero loan on our home to replace windows ; whole house ventilation due to black mold, electrical, termite damaged structural issues, our furnace, asbestos issues and so much more. Good news is our home is 100 % energy efficient and eco-friendly. In addition, spent just about all our disposable cash I had saved for my education, which amounted to 70+K plus what we had to finance on credit cards in addition to a Hero lien of XXXX. All this put my family in a very precarious, yet hardly fair or just situation financial situation ( for now ). My husband and I work very hard, have an excellent employment history, went to school, pay our bills, but like so many other Americans, live paycheck to paycheck, leaving us vulnerable to sharp swings/downturns in the U.S./global economy. If my husband and I did not have the education we have and if we did not have a background in finance, can only imagine how we may have been taken advantage of by dubious lenders and debt relief agencies that cost a ton, falsely promise to deliver, leaving the consumer desperate and in an insurmountable crisis. I have published papers on the phenomena but am also a part of it. Without the CFPB, it would be much, much worse. 

b. Since Quicken is well-aware of home improvements ( it has to be in our file from our XXXX refi attempt to absorb the hero lien to lower that interest and remove PMI ), knows we live in a highly desirable area with values that are climbing, and has acknowledged the resulting equity we have built with proven upgrades ( despite any Hero liens ), and because we pay our bill each month without ever defaulting ( albeit on the XXXX instead of the XXXX ), having a hard time understanding why they require PMI. In a situation like ours, where we built of approx. $ 210,000+ worth of equity. Even if we factored out the Hero loan, we would be a little north of 80 % LTV, given the amount we have already paid down on the Hero lien through our escrow account. Quicken has much more to gain than lose on our property and they know it. Charging almost {$400.00} in PMI each month/until we bring our home down to their quote of $ XXXX from $ XXXX ( they will not consider equity gained through improvements and market conditions ), feels like a copout on their part to bleed us for as much as they can, while they can. Obviously, in terms of doing their part to mitigate future crisis situations, like the one experienced in XXXX, little was learned and working with good customers with an established history still flies in the face of SOPs making as much money as they can, while they can, which always backfires without balanced ( just, fair, non-predatory ) lending practices. We have a long way to go with regard to fair lending, despite current-state impact, which is measurable and demonstrates the value in how our regulatory agencies have and are building and revising the regulatory framework of the U.S. financial services industry.