Consumer complaint received 2022-07-13
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: ROYAL UNITED MORTGAGE LLC (TX)

Royal United operates a completely fraudulent business. Nobody should use them. 

First, I repeatedly asked the Loan Advisor at Royal United for the loan costs. He never provided an answer. It was only when I signed the application that I learned, for the first time, that Royal United was charging an outrageous 3.5 % origination fee. The industry standard is .5 % to 1.5 %. Im also told that Texas has a 2 % cap on origination fees. I asked for my loan application, which shows this origination fee, but Royal United never responded. I was also charged {$600.00} for an appraisal. The industry average is {$300.00} at the high end. Royal United should not be allowed to hide costs from consumers, especially when directly asked about the costs. 

Second, Royal United repeatedly assured me that the loan would close. The Loan Advisor specifically stated by text, Just ran it through underwriting and got the approval. XXXX weeks later, right before closing, the Supervisor informed me that underwriting had denied the loan for declining income, even though my personal income has consistently been at $ XXXX per year, which I provided to Royal United from the start. I also XXXX  a couple income-producing XXXX  outright ( of which Royal United requested leases and insurance policies ), I have a credit score XXXX, and zero debt. So, there was no reason that I should have been refused a loan outright. Royal United should not be allowed to make misrepresentations that the loan has been approved by underwriting, and then deny the loan. 

Third, when I first started communications with the Loan Advisor months ago, he was sending me pre-approval letters to submit with my purchase offers at over {$100000.00}. I had also informed Royal United of my personal income amount right from the start, as I wanted to make sure it would not be a problem. And now Im told that I cant get any loan amount, zero, despite the {$100000.00} pre-approval letters and despite being told that the loan was approved by underwriting. Royal United should not be allowed to send pre-approval letters that apparently have no actual merit. 

Last but certainty not least, I ultimately decided to do a cash-refi out of the property I was living in, rent it out, and buy a new property that I would live in. I told the Loan Advisor that I was going to rent out my current property, i.e. the property that Royal United was refinancing. I have now learned that it would have been mortgage fraud to do a refinance on my primary residence and then rent it out, because there is an intent to use as your primary residence provision within the loan- the loan documents that Royal United never provided to me upon my request. While I never received a copy of my application and loan documents that I had requested, the loan was not set up as an investment property loan. The Loan Advisor also told me over the phone that after I closed that I could put my current residence ( that I was planning to rent out ) under my LLC as long as long as I didnt miss a payment, that I just had to wait a day to transfer the deed. I am now informed that it would have caused my loan to be called due in full. Royal United should not be allowed to commit and advise consumers to commit mortgage fraud with impunity.