Consumer complaint received 2023-07-11
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. (NY)

I first contacted XXXX XXXX, Sr. Home Lending Advisor at Chase , on XX/XX/XXXX about a mortgage on a home purchase at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  and I almost immediately received pre-approval and acknowledgment that my financial profile was so solid that she would be shocked if I wasnt able to close by XXXX. By then, my {$580000.00} offer on a co-op had been approved and we were proceeding to the contract stage. I agreed to put down 10 %, leaving {$520000.00} to be financed. On that same date, I received a mortgage commitment letter from Chase. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received the appraisal, for which I paid {$490.00}. XXXX assured me, it would be smooth sailing from there on out, and we were basically just waiting on board approval to close. 

Then on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a message from XXXX. She needed to speak to me. When we spoke, she informed me that they had discovered that the co-op was in a leasehold property, which meant we had to take a different type of loan at an interest rate that was nearly 1 point higher, with closing costs that were nearly double what they had been. This, of course, was unacceptable to me. Why should purchasing in a leasehold property with 80 years left on the lease make such a huge difference? She told me that was the requirement of the underwriters and said that if I could find a lender with better terms, Chase would price match, and she would do whatever she could to help me. 

So that is what I did. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a loan estimate from XXXX that was very close to the original terms from Chase, and sent it to XXXX. I sent multiple text and emails to XXXX over the next five days. When she finally responded on XX/XX/XXXX, she informed me that I was no longer eligible for the new loan because of underwriter requirements, which deemed my assets insufficient. She also told me Chase would not be able to transfer the appraisal for which I had paid {$490.00}. 

This, to me, is unconscionable. Why did it take XXXX six weeks to discover that I am buying a leasehold property? What was she doing over the course of six weeks? Going to weddings and indulging in staycations? She basically wasted six of my time when she knew I have to be out of my current apartment by XX/XX/XXXX, AND she refused to, at the very least, save me {$490.00} by transferring the appraisal that had been completed on XX/XX/XXXX. 

When I told the agent at XXXX about the situation with Chase, he was stunned. It took XXXX six weeks to collect information about the building that XXXX and my attorney were able to obtain in just a matter of days. Plus, if XXXX uses the very same underwriters as Chase, why does the leasehold status make such a huge difference to Chase and not to XXXX? 

I spoke on the phone with XXXX XXXX, Chases Lending Manager, and he tried to explain the situation to me. While I have no choice but to accept his reason why the the mortgage commitment was reversed, I still believe Chase was negligent in not discovering that it was a leasehold property earlier. What exactly was going on for more than a month after the commitment, and why was I led to believe that I was a slam dunk, given my financial profile, when I was not? ( If a professional journalist with a credit score of XXXX and an annual income of more than $ XXXX doesnt qualify for a home loan with Chase , what does that say about Chase ? ) It should not have taken Chase more than a month to find out that they can not finance a mortgage for that building. Surely, if what Im being told is correct, they would have some record of another applicant in that building being rejected over the course of the past 20 years. This would not have taken more than a month to discover, if due diligence had been applied. If the building is so untouchable by XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, does that mean every owner living there paid in cash? Nothing here adds up. 

Whats done is done. Ive moved on with XXXX. But I think the least Chase owes me is a {$490.00} refund for the money I spent on a now-useless appraisal. It wont give me back the weeks that I lost dealing with them, but it would at least restore my faith in Chase, a company Ive been connected to for decades, to do the right thing.