Consumer complaint received 2024-02-07
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: Rocket Mortgage, LLC (CA)

I purchased my first condo in XX/XX/XXXX. The building has a Mills Act contract, so owners have the benefit of greatly reduced property taxes. My annual property taxes should be close to {$6000.00}, but in actuality, they're closer to {$1500.00} with the tax reduction. But it was explained to me that until property tax bills were issued to me, my loan provider had no way of knowing how much less Id actually be paying. So when I closed, I was required to fund my escrow account with a much higher amount than I would ever really need. But I knew Id eventually get some of it back once the loan provider could see what my bills actually would be. My mortgage broker advised me to contact the loan service company XXXX Rocket Mortgage ) once I received my first property tax bill so they could do an escrow analysis so that I could hopefully get a refund and reduce my future monthly escrow payments. 

I received my first tax bill in the beginning of XXXX. Ill note that it seemed a little odd to me that it was addressed to the previous owner, but I didn't think that mattered, as it was a tax bill for XXXX, and it clearly showed the property taxes that were owed. By this point, I knew that my escrow account was scheduled for analysis in XX/XX/XXXX, but I was hoping to speed up the process by a month or XXXX, so I called Rocket Mortgage. The man I spoke to was very helpful. He suggested I upload the bill and then call back in a few days to make sure it had been received. At that point, they could request an escrow analysis. And then life happened and before I knew it, it was XXXX and I hadn't had a chance to call back yet. In that time, I had received another tax bill that was actually in my name, and had the same amounts due. But I didn't think that it would matter, since it was all the same info, minus my name, so I filed the bill away and forgot about it. In that time, Rocket Mortgage had also made my first property tax payment, so they clearly had accurate data on how much I was actually paying. 

At the beginning of XXXX, I finally called Rocket Mortgage back. They confirmed that they had received the property tax bill that Id uploaded and that they would move forward with an escrow analysis. The woman I spoke to, XXXX, estimated that I'd have a refund by the end of the month and reduced monthly escrow payments by XXXX. She mentioned nothing about the property tax bill I sent having the name of the previous owner. 

XXXX turned to XXXX, and I had seen no progress on the Rocket Mortgage website regarding my escrow account. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called again to check in and spoke to XXXX. He confirmed that they were still researching my property tax situation, which at this point was a little confusing to me why they had to research. They clearly had my property tax payment info, since they had already made XXXX payment in XXXX. But I didn't question him further on the topic. He also confirmed that my annual analysis was scheduled for XXXX, so it basically was going to coincide with the research that was already happening. He said to give it another week or so. He mentioned nothing about the tax bill I had submitted in XXXX having the name of the previous owner. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I finally saw that my escrow analysis had been completed. Yay! I was getting a refund... but not as big as I had been expecting And when I started looking at the actual report, I realized that my monthly escrow payments were not changing. And the amount they were estimating I'd pay in property taxes had not changed at all. Now I was really confused. Even if I hadn't uploaded a copy of my property tax bill to them, they had paid my property tax bill in XXXX, so they clearly were getting information directly from my county on how much to pay. And if they had that info, how could they still think that my taxes would still be just shy of {$6000.00}?? 

I called Rocket Mortgage that day and talked to XXXX. It was a very confusing conversation. She seemed to be saying that they had no evidence that my taxes would be less, and therefore I had to wait another year for another analysis for things to be figured out. This is when I started to get angry. She was basically telling me that on top of Rocket Mortgage holding onto thousands of dollars of excess money in my escrow account, I would be required to pay hundreds of dollars more per month for another year until Rocket Mortgage could figure it out. This was completely contradictory to everything Id been told before. And it also seemed not legal. From the little that I understand about Escrow accounts, there are laws in place that limit how much can be held in an escrow account. But by the end, it seemed that the issue was that I had submitted the property tax bill with the previous owner 's name. Which, again, confused me because Rocket had already paid my property tax bill in XXXX, so they could already see that my payments were going to be much less than they had been estimating. I told XXXX that I would upload the proper bill with my name that evening. She said she would call me in a day or so to follow up. 

In retrospect, yes, it logically makes sense that I should have not sent in the bill with the previous owner 's name because her taxes wouldn't necessarily correspond to what I would owe. But this is the first property I have purchased, and I'm learning. I don't know everything. And Rocket Mortgage had multiple chances to inform me that they needed the bill with my name. Yet it wasnt until I talked to XXXX, more than XXXX months after I had first initially contacted them, and after the analysis had been completed, that I was told that they didnt have what they needed. 

I uploaded the proper bill that evening. It was a holiday weekend, so I called the following Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, to confirm that they had received the bill. The man I spoke to, XXXX, said they had received it. I missed a call from XXXX the next day XX/XX/XXXX. She left a message saying that she had an update and if I called back, anyone I talked to would have the update. I called and spoke to XXXX. He could find no record of a note from XXXX about an update. He said hed get in touch with her and give me a call back. He called me the next day, XX/XX/XXXX. He said that the update was simply that they had received the property tax bill. All looked good. And they were moving forward with an additional escrow analysis. I asked him what the timeframe would be for the process. He said it would take XXXX business days, so Id probably hear back the following week. 

I didnt hear anything the entire following week, and on XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email saying that my loan was being transferred to XXXX XXXX  XXXX I called Rocket Mortgage the following Monday for an update and spoke with XXXX. I was hoping he would say that everything would be figured out before the loan was transferred. But instead, he basically told me that Id have to deal with it with XXXX. He reiterated that an analysis would take XXXX business days, so even if they started the analysis today it wouldnt get done in time. So, apparently, despite XXXX different people telling me the analysis had started, it had in fact not been started at all. And now I was stuck having to start the whole process over again with a new loan servicer. 

I fully understand that I did not provide the correct document in the beginning, but Rocket  Mortgage had many chances to inform me that they needed a different document. And furthermore, I am still very confused about how Rocket Mortgage can still think my property taxes would be close to {$6000.00} for the year when the last payment they made for me in XX/XX/XXXX was around {$750.00}. Something that should have taken weeks has now dragged out into months. In the meantime, Rocket Mortgage has been holding onto an excess amount of money in my escrow account. And Ive had to pay hundreds of dollars more for XXXX, and now probably XXXX too since I dont have high hopes that XXXX will be any quicker in figuring this all out. This has been a very frustrating experience. And of course Rocket Mortgage doesnt have to deal with it anymore since my loan has been transferred. So I figured the only thing I could do at this point is write up this complaint.