Consumer complaint received 2019-08-16
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: Mortgage Research Center, LLC (CT)

We are purchasing a home after a PCS move. We had used Veterans United ( VU ) with our previous home purchase and were pleased with our agent ( XXXX XXXX ). Our real estate agent advised us that with her referral, the appraisal would be complimentary. She referred us erroneously to the wrong XXXX @ VU ; that XXXX recommended we use the XXXX we were comfortable with and that as his repeat customers, we would also be given a complimentary appraisal, which I confirmed with XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) and have in writing with no other stipulations as to offer restrictions. I spoke with XXXX on the phone to inquire as to whether or not our down payment would affect our interest rate or anything, and he said it would not. Our real estate agent put together the offer, which was accepted and we forwarded the agreement to XXXX to prepare the Loan Estimate ( LE ). XXXX meanwhile sent us 2 forms for signatures which had outdated information such as our previous residence addresses, income, and expenditures that was from our previous loan file 6 years previously. When I expressed concern over this, he replied that I shouldn't worry about it, just sign it, it wouldn't have an affect on our loan decision, etc. I also pointed out that the form indicated that he had collected the information from us via phone interview, which did not happen. He replied that he had instead just used the information from our previous file because he thought we were in a hurry - at the time, I had not started my new job and was available around the clock and my husband ( XXXX XXXX sponsor ) was easily reachable at work. He again assured me not to worry about it and just to sign and that moving forward, forms we received would be accurate. I received the LE and was shocked to see the funding fee was over $ XXXX along with a fee for the appraisal and an origination fee of $ XXXX. I emailed XXXX   to ask about the funding fee significantly higher than I was expecting, but also did some research while I was awaiting his reply and found that the funding fee is 3.3 % for <5 % down payment, while 5 % drops the funding fee to 1.5 %. I was irritated that he did not disclose this when I asked how the down payment would affect our loan, as I had explained to him we have a flexible amount to put down. We had decided to put down a little more than the minimum, which was 25 % of the amount of the purchase price over the VA maximum, which we rounded up to $ XXXX. It turns out that was 4.4 % of the total amount of the loan and putting down just {$3400.00} more would save us about $ XXXX on the funding fee. XXXX replied to me confirming this the following day and also explained that the appraisal fee would be waived in the lender credit, but would look like a fee on the LE. We had received yet another document to sign that had incorrect information and discrepancies between the information XXXX and I shared, such as previous residence addresses and phone numbers, etc. I informed XXXX that his lack of attention to detail was a concern for us and that while it may not ultimately matter in the decision, the details did in fact matter to us and that I did not want to see or sign another form with inaccurate info and that I felt like he didn't have our backs by not disclosing the information about the fee savings with a very small additional amount applied to the down payment, especially considering I had asked about it on the phone and told him we were flexible and could actually put down the entire amount of overage, if it made a difference - I explained that I wasn't sure we wanted to continue with the loan with VU. So we put our application with VU on hold due to loss of confidence while we shopped for other lenders. We found a lender offering a better interest rate and APR with no points and no origination fee and asked XXXX if he could meet that offer. He asked for a copy of the LE from the other lender and said that he would ask his manager. He called back to tell my husband the same thing about the funding fee and ignored the other requests. My husband asked him again about matching the other lender 's rates and he said he'd follow up again. We were trying to keep things simple because we were already 10+ days into our closing period but were still reluctant in considering moving forward with VU. Our VU online account showed that the appraisal would occur once our home inspection was completed and that they would call us to request payment. Our home inspection was scheduled 1.5 weeks in advance with a date of XX/XX/19. Unbeknownst to us, XXXX had scheduled the appraisal to occur on XX/XX/19, before our inspection - we only found out about it having happened from our agent in the days following the appraisal and in fact asked her several times if she was certain because it still showed on our VU online account that it had not yet been performed. While we were still waiting to hear back from ZG, we received a notice from VU after 3 days that our application had been closed due to inactivity. We had found another lender with more competitive rates who said he would most likely be able to meet our original closing date and elected to move forward with that lender. The new lending agent asked us to contact VU to have them transfer the appraisal, to which they agreed if we would sign an Intent to Proceed ( ITP ) and pay for the appraisal. We agreed to pay for the appraisal, against what we had originally be told about it being no charge, in order that the transfer could be expedited. VU sent us the ITP and told XXXX on the phone that it was illegal for them to release the appraisal without us paying for it. XXXX again told them he would pay for it, but we would not retroactively sign the ITP because 2 of the statements that our signatures would certify as truthful were in fact false ( we did NOT verbally express intent to continue with the loan and we WERE charged a fee prior to signing the ITP : the fee for the appraisal they are currently trying to collect ) and the form specifically stated in capital letters that we should NOT sign the form unless we intend to proceed with the loan represented by the LE. I asked XXXX to provide me with a copy of the law that required payment prior to releasing the appraisal as well as a copy of our authorization to proceed with the appraisal, both of which we ignored. We went back and forth regarding this and a VU agent ( XXXX XXXX ) told me that they could NOT accept payment unless we signed the ITP and they 100 % would not transfer the appraisal without payment. XXXX sent our real estate agent and email threatening to send us to collections if we didn't sign the ITP and pay for the appraisal. I contacted the VA via phone and was told that VU were not following VA policies, that they were behaving poorly, and for us not to sign the ITP or pay for the appraisal, but instead to have our new lending agent forward the email from VU stating that they wouldn't release the appraisal without the ITP/payment. The next day, the appraisal had been transferred to our new lender, however XXXX from VU sent our real estate agent another email today which threatened to send us to collections TODAY if we didn't sign the ITP and pay. When my husband found out, he contacted XXXX via email and asked that he stop speaking with our real estate agent instead of contacting us and to send an invoice for us to make the payment, but also that the VA had instructed us not to pay. The next email from XXXX stated that it was now out of his hands because I had previously refused to sign the ITP. We did NOT consent to them providing the appraisal because we did NOT express intent to proceed with the loan, in fact exactly the opposite when I told XXXX we weren't sure we wanted to continue after receiving ( but not signing ) the LE. We were told the appraisal was complimentary. We did not sign anything authorizing VU to incur fees on our behalf or pass those fees on to us. VU has not provided us with any invoice for fees due to them, nor given us an opportunity to pay them without additional contingencies which force us to sign inaccurate forms. VU has not communicated to us that we may be sent to debt collectors ( they have instead sent these threats only to our agent, which she relayed to us ), it has only been 13 days since VU supposedly incurred this fee on our behalf. VU is aware we are 13 days away from closing on our loans and I believe making these threats to scare us into signing the ITP retroactively and forcing us to pay a fee for this 'complimentary service ' under duress. We have written email documentation of all conversations and claims with exception to those noted specifically as phone conversations - I would also like to note that the VU lending agents requested and made contact from their cell phones, I suspect to avoid audio recording and " paper '' trails.