Consumer complaint received 2022-01-27
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (CA)

I am a XXXX XXXX currently living in XXXX. I am in the process of purchasing a permanent residence in XXXX XXXX state. On XX/XX/XXXX, Wells Fargo issued a pre-approval letter stating that I was preapproved to borrow {$160000.00}. Based on that pre-approval, on XX/XX/XXXX, I made an offer of {$160000.00} for the property on XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX and my offer was accepted. On XX/XX/XXXX I paid Wells Fargo Home Mortgage a sum of {$570.00} to initiate the process starting a mortgage. I also paid {$1000.00} deposit on the home to start an escrow account as well as a {$400.00} home inspection. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was issued a commitment letter. My appraisal was completed on XX/XX/XXXX and the home appraised for {$170000.00}. As mentioned previously, I am a XXXX XXXX and I am relocating to XXXX XXXX In order for me to work in XXXX XXXX  I have to have a license. I initiated the licensing process to get licensed in XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. However, I have no control over how quickly the XXXX board issues me a license. I was also never made aware that my income in XXXX would not count toward the purchase of XXXX XXXX home. Apparently, that is an underwriting requirement that no one from Wells Fargo told me about. They sent me several emails about how my job search in XXXX XXXX was going and I let them know that I will have work but that I need to have a XXXX XXXX license to proceed. After a month of these exchanges, I finally asked, on XX/XX/XXXX, in an email, if it would be possible to close on the loan while maintaining my employment in XXXX. Had Wells Fargo had honest business practices, they could have simply told me, " no, that is not possible, underwriting requirements state you must have employment in XXXX XXXX. We will need to wait until you have employment there. '' Instead, I was initially told, that, yes, I could close on the loan but would need to occupy the home within 30 days. I said that would not be a problem. I was simply waiting for my XXXX XXXX XXXX license to come through and would relocate ASAP. Then, when I asked for clarification on the closing date, I was called by XXXX XXXX and offered to purchase the home as a " second home '' with approximately {$30000.00} due at closing. I informed her I do not have the money and asked her why the loan estimate Wells Fargo had given me previously was no longer valid. She said she would communicate with her superiors on my behalf. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX called me issuing me a denial on the mortgage after I had already invested {$1900.00} based on Wells Fargo 's " approval '' on a loan they never intended to give me. They know the underwriting requirements from Day 1 and lied to my face. I called other lenders to try and get a new loan. I had another lender tell me they never should have agreed to lend to me based on the underwriting requirements, which they, as a large lending institution are aware of. I was issued a XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX license on XX/XX/XXXX. I have a contract in XXXX XXXX that will begin in XXXX. Wells Fargo could have either waited for that to come through ( and been transparent that it was needed ) or never agreed to lend to me in the first place. Instead they stole {$570.00} from me and ran.