Consumer complaint received 2022-03-22
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: Rapid Mortgage Company (NC)

On XX/XX/XXXX we closed on a house through a VA loan with Rapid Mortgage Company and the Loan Officer was XXXX XXXX  NMLS # XXXX. Everything went as planned. In the Spring of XXXX, we were solicited by XXXX XXXX to refinance our loan in order to lower our rate and our mortgage payment. We agreed to do it so soon ( 6 months after original loan ) ONLY if it significantly reduced our monthly payment. XXXX told us it would, so we started the process and gathered the necessary documents and completed the necessary steps. 

We didnt close till around the 3rd week of XX/XX/XXXX while we were on vacation in XXXX XXXX SC as a result of delays in paperwork from XXXX XXXX As far as we knew everything went as planned again. In XX/XX/XXXX when our mortgage payment was drafted it was almost double the previous 12 months amount. I immediately called my mortgage company and come to find out the mortgage company ( The XXXX XXXX ) had sent us documentation notifying us that our Escrow account was not funded properly and had a XXXX escrow balance shortage. 

As a result, they took the negative amount, divided it by 6 payments and added it to our existing mortgage till the escrow was back in the black. This made our mortgage payment go from {$2300.00} ( XX/XX/XXXX ) to {$3700.00} ( XX/XX/XXXX ) resulting in a {$1400.00} monthly increase. After discussing it with our mortgage companyXXXX XXXX XXXX, we discovered that the property taxes were not carried over from the original loan to the refinance causing the major deficit. We couldnt afford that kind of increase and were advised by our mortgage company to reach out to the loan originator- Rapid Mortgage Company since it was ultimately an error made by them resulting in a bad loan. I first contacted the Loan Officer XXXX and was told that it would be covered by errors and omissions insurance, but she was unsure whos it would fall under, so I just went ahead and contacted them directly. 

I first contacted Rapid Mortgage Company by email multiple times asking for them to contact me to see if we could work anything out but got no reply. So, I called and spoke to the receptionist I believe her name was XXXX XXXX. She sent me to the voicemail of the person that could help me- XXXX XXXX but said he was out sick with possible covid quarantine so wasnt sure when he would be able to help me, I left a voicemail. I waited a day or two and when I hadnt received a call I called back, got sent to his voicemail again and left another message. Waited a day or two and still didnt get response so I tried again. XXXX tried other gentlemen with the name XXXX XXXX, left a voicemail and never received a call back. I called yet again, and XXXX took down all my info and was going to email it to an internal dept that she thought could help me as a last resort since I couldnt get anyone on the phone. 

At that point I started calling every day at different times. The first couple times XXXX answered my calls and had no updates for me. Eventually she got frustrated with me and stopped answering my phone calls altogether. I verified this by calling from my husbands phone number which she answered followed by me calling again one day and got no answer, so I immediately hung up the phone and dialed *67 and called back and she answered right away. The sound of surprise and frustration in her voice told me she was screening. I expressed my frustration with not receiving any communication back from Rapid Mortgage Company and was returned with equal frustration that no one would call me back and that I kept calling her every day and bothering her when she wasnt able to help me. I then asked her who else I could talk to like her boss boss and was told there was no one else. She basically said I dont know why they arent calling you back, I dont know what else to do so please stop calling me. 

It was clear I wasnt going to get anywhere with them so I reached out to another loan officer with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to see if we could refinance the escrow shortage into the mortgage. After running the numbers, he told me that it was possible but that it would be at a significant money loss. 

Next step I contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX  and let them know I was unsuccessful in my attempts to work something out with Rapid Mortgage Company and asked if there was anything they could do- they suggested to submit the Loss Mitigation paperwork to see if we qualified for any assistance. After months of waiting and sending in additional documentation we were told we did not qualify for any assistance. I called again to speak with a representative to appeal the decision and was granted a stay of execution due to pay decreases as a result of covid. However, that stay is over come next month when a lump sum will be due so Im reaching out as a last resort to please beg them to help fix a mistake they made putting us in this financial demise. 

I have documentation to support my claim!