Consumer complaint received 2017-02-06
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Credit decision / Underwriting — 
Company: MORTGAGE FIRM, INC., THE (FL)

This report is concerning Butler Mortgage, XXXX, FL. I had been working with an agent at this company named XXXX. From the first contact I had with him, I informed him that I was currently a XXXX employed by a XXXX company who was XXXX to work for a third-party corporation. In spite of that, I was told that it would possible for us to receive a XXXX mortgage and was pre-qualified for {$250000.00}. We began to search for a home and found XXXX. The seller accepted my offer and the seller and I reached an agreement for my family to move in immediately as renters/tenants until the mortgage was closed because I was continually reassured by XXXX that my financials and application were in great shape and sure to be approved. Subsequently, I paid for an appraisal of the property that was completed. We placed our deposit of XXXX in escrow. 

On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I was told that our original closing date of XXXX/XXXX/XXXX would need to be pushed back to XXXX/XXXX/XXXX due to the fact that, I was told, XXXX could not approve the mortgage because of my financials. However, XXXX insisted that there would be no trouble obtaining an FHA mortgage instead, if we could secure additional funds for a down payment and escrow account which we managed to do. 

As the XXXX of XXXX drew closer, I received a pre-approval letter from Butler mortgage, however, they kept demanding more and more paperwork from me regarding my current employment status. I obtained letters from the XXXX company I am employed by and also my supervisors at the third-party company I am XXXX to. However, it was finally said to me that I would need a letter which, untruthfully, stated that I was actually an employee of the third-party company I was XXXX to, and that the XXXX company I am actually employed by was simply a payroll service. When I refused to do this, two days before we were scheduled to close, Butler denied my mortgage application and the seller/landlord wanted myself, my wife our XXXX children and XXXX dogs out of his home immediately. This obviously caused a panic among our family, and while the seller relented and allowed us to stay in the home for one week while we secured a rental elsewhere, this whole scenario was completely unnecessary based on the fact that, as I discovered almost immediately after my application was denied, there was no way any underwriter would have ever approved my mortgage application based on my employment status. If XXXX as a representative of Butler mortgage had been honest about that fact upfront, instead of continually promising that he would get it " worked out, '' I could have secured other housing for my family from the start and not been put in such a compromising and, frankly, embarrassing position. 

As a result of the deadline for proof of funds passing on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX the homeowner/seller was entitled to my deposit. I appealed to Butler to pay back the money I had given the escrow company based on the new information I had obtained about the impossibility of my ever obtaining a mortgage given my current employment situation, but a supervisor from Butler simply attempted to pacify me by offering just {$500.00} of my deposit back - money taken from me which was given in good faith believing that it would be possible to obtain a mortgage. I feel as if I have been the victim of a scam. 

Attached is a email XXXX sent to our realtor admitting he was at fault and a transcript of text between the XXXX of us.