Consumer complaint received 2024-06-21
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Private mortgage insurance (PMI)
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company (NM)

In XX/XX/XXXX, my mortgage was sold to Freedom Mortgage Company. I called the company after the loan was under their advisory about the process I would need to undergo to have the PMI removed from my loan ( this was a process I had begun to explore with the previous servicer before the loan was sold ). I was advised at that time to submit a written request to the company, they would review the request and I would receive a letter via mail with a determination. I was told that likely the determination would be that the PMI would not be removed but to call and request an appraisal at that time. I submitted the written request and shortly thereafter ( XX/XX/XXXX ) received in the mail a letter stating that my PMI would not be removed due to the LTV ratio not being sufficient. As instructed previously, I called Freedom Mortgage back to request an appraisal be done. The woman I spoke with did not know what I was talking about and transferred me to her sales department. The sales department indicated to me that I should have my appraisal done. I asked this representative specifically, " If I have this appraisal done on my own, will Freedom Mortgage honor it? '' She was not able to answer the question and urged me to go ahead and get the appraisal and try to get the PMI removed that way. I again queried her about a possible issue of not going through Freedom Mortgage for this process. I expressed my concern that it was my understanding that these things are generally facilitated by the mortgage company rather than by the homeowner. She stated she was not sure of the logistics but that I, as the homeowner, should be the one to order the appraisal and send it to Freedom Mortage for review once I received the final report. I asked her to make notes in my profile detailing the instructions she was giving me. I am not sure if she did so. I called today ( XX/XX/XXXX ) and informed the client representative that I had had an appraisal done as they had recommended and I would like to know the best way to share that information with them ( email or USPS mail ). She was concerned and told me that Freedom Mortgage does not accept appraisals from individuals. She stated to me that Freedom Mortgage must order the appraisal for the request to be valid. My issue was then escalated to another representative who informed me that not only would Freedom Mortgage not take the appraisal they recommended I get, but they would not accept any appraisal under the XXXX " seasoning '' mark. I informed the representative that I was not aware of any " seasoning '' requirement based on my previous conversations with the last four representatives I had spoken with. 
I read to her the language in my original loan closing documents where it is stated that PMI will be dropped off immediately once XXXX had reached 80 %. She stated that unless I could show her language that indicated less than a XXXX seasoning time she couldn't do much as the policy of Freedom Mortgage is a XXXX seasoning requirement. This was the first instance in which I had heard the term " seasoning '' throughout the entirety of this process. I requested that this representative show me where this XXXX seasoning language is on the Freedom Mortgage website, customer portal, or documentation and she was unable to do so and she wasn't sure where it was located. This, to me, is a deceptive practice rooted in a lack of transparency by the company. 
At this point, I requested that I be refunded by Freedom Mortgage for the appraisal fee that they suggested I get in an attempt to have the PMI removed and the representative stated she would attempt to get me a refund due to the miscommunication produced by Freedom Mortgage employees but that the refund would likely not be given. She verbally accepted that the misinformation given was Freedom Mortgage 's fault and should not have happened. Freedom Mortgage has accepted that they are at fault but has not solidified a solution to the situation beyond an apology over the phone by a representative.