Consumer complaint received 2021-09-16
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — 
Company: Caliber Home Loans, Inc. (HI)

Im filing a complaint against the mortgage company, Caliber Home Loans.

There are three parts to this complaint : ( 1 ) Caliber Home Loans loans made an error in executing my closing documents for my refinance done in XX/XX/XXXX, specifically they neglected to include my windstorm insurance in the necessary closing documents. ( 2 ) Because of this mistake, the issue has escalated, and Caliber Home Loans will now not allow me to close my impound account due to " insurance reasons '' - denying my several requests to do so. ( 3 ) Furthermore, Caliber Home Loans has since charged my impound account again with an additional escrow shortage amount for XXXX tax estimation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX HST, I called Caliber Home Loans to figure out why my request to close my impound account was denied again. I spoke to XXXX ( ID XXXX ) a mortgage specialist who couldnt tell me why they denied my request to close escrow. She then connected me with the insurance department, where I was connected with XXXX XXXX. ( a Caliber insurance agent with no identification number ), as well as XXXX ( ID XXXX, a Caliber Customer Service Agent ). I asked the representatives the following questions : ( 1 ) Why was my request to close my escrow account denied, although I had no shortage due, a XXXX balance, and Caliber had just honored my request to close my impound account regarding taxes? ( 2 ) Why isnt Caliber accepting my request to close my impound account in its ENTIRETY- for both taxes AND insurance? ( 3 ) Furthermore, why is there a new shortage balance in my impound account of {$540.00} when I just paid everything off? 

I spent over three hours on the phone with these agents trying to get to the bottom of the issue. 

In regard to the new escrow shortage balance, I was told by XXXX that, Your New Escrow Analysis statement indicates you are {$270.00} short - this is the amount that you are short for the amount Caliber is anticipating to pay out in XX/XX/XXXX to renew your insurance policy. Also, your escrow account requires you to have a minimum required amount in which your account can't get below. Your required balance is 2 monthly escrow payments for the new base escrow amount - hence {$270.00} for the required balance. Add these two numbers together, and you get your new escrow shortage amount of {$540.00}. 

As of XX/XX/XXXX, I acquired my own insurance policies for both my homeowners and windstorm. I submitted evidence of these insurances to Caliber, which they honored and approved. Therefore this charge for an anticipated XX/XX/XXXX insurance amount is not justifiable given that Ive taken full responsibility for my insurances and no longer want/require/need a lender-based policy from Caliber Home Loans. 

XXXX and XXXX then spent a couple hours with me trying to figure out why Caliber Home Loans would not honor the closing of my entire impound account even after several requests to do so. After much digging and research, the agents discovered the source of the problem- the agents who handled my closing documents on the refinance of my home in XX/XX/XXXX made an error and did not include my windstorm insurance in the necessary closing documents. I have had a lender-placed windstorm policy with Caliber in my previous loan and this refinance, meaning Caliber held responsibility for this upon closing. Windstorm insurance is required in the state of Hawaii, and must be a part of the executed closing documents. My windstorm insurance- which was a lender based policy through XXXX XXXX- WAS in place upon closing ; however Caliber failed to include the windstorm policy on my closing documents and therefore it wasnt paid at closing. Caliber later corrected their mistake by paying for the already in place windstorm insurance via XXXX XXXX, but failed to include it in my closing documents. This mistake made it look like there was a lapse in coverage, but there was not. This mistake made by Caliber in the closing process is the reason they will now not accept my request to close my impound account. 

XXXX and XXXX both took the time to go through my previous insurance policies, all of which were lender based policies by Caliber Home Loans. XXXX, the insurance agent, declared that, There was never a lapse in your insurance coverage for either homeowners or windstorm. The problem is that upon the closing of your refinance, even though your XXXX XXXX homeowners insurance was paid at closing, the windstorm was not paid NOR was it included in the documents. However your XXXX XXXX windstorm insurance was already in action, but because it wasn't in closing documents, thats where your problem is. There was never a lapse, just an error made in the closing process. 

XXXX and XXXX XXXX told me that they didnt have a solution because the Caliber insurance department would not rectify my situation. They suggested that I go back to my title company and speak to my closing representative. So I did just that. 

On XX/XX/XXXX - I called XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and spoke to XXXX ( an agent ) about my closing package, and upon her examination she also stated that there was an error made in regard to the windstorm insurance policy not being included in the necessary closing documents. XXXX explained that the mortgage company is the one who configures what the closing costs are, which insurance companies are to be paid and how much, taxes, etc. The title company simply disburses those funds to pay the premiums, insurances, property taxes, etc .... If the windstorm didnt get paid upon closing ( even if it was in place ) and it wasnt included in the closing documents, thats Calibers mistake. She stated, The title company handles theyre standard title fees, and they go off of what Caliber requests for its fees. Caliber did not include the lender-based windstorm insurance policy, therefore it wasnt paid by XXXX title. Furthermore, she stated that given my previous loan AND my refinance were both with Caliber Home Loans, they were certainly leading the charge on closing. 

Even though Caliber paid the windstorm insurance after the fact ( i.e. after closing ), they failed to include the necessary item in my closing documents ( see attached ), including : ( 1 ) Initial Escrow Account Disclosure Statement ( 2 ) Closing Disclosure Document ( 3 ) On my loan application- they did not include XXXX insurance on the breakdown of payment. 

This mistake made by Caliber during the closing of my refinance is the source of the insurance issue that is now impeding me from closing my impound account with Caliber Home Loans. Additionally, I am now wrongfully being charged for an estimated insurance coverage for XXXX although Caliber already honored my homeowner-based insurance policies as of XX/XX/XXXX.