Consumer complaint received 2018-03-31
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: FIRST HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATION (MD)

I am a first time home buyer with a budget of {$130000.00} to purchase a fixer upper and cover necessary rehab. I was referred to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX by my real estate agent. On XX/XX/XXXXI received an email from the lending agent confirming that my application and all supporting documents had been received. XX/XX/XXXX, email from the lender - " Ran some quick numbers for you. You should look for properties that will fall around a {$200000.00} total acquisition price. For example, you could find a house going for {$170000.00} and put {$25000.00} in renovations, 150/50,125/75, etc '' Based on this email, which I forwarded to my real estate agent, I made the decision to make an offer on a house. My agent set up a call on XX/XX/XXXX to go over the financing in a conference call with the lender. On the XXXX  I received the first " EstimatedItemizedFeeWorksheet '' from the lender, which I immediately flagged as not appropriate for someone with excellent credit and assets for a 20 % down payment. What I actually said was that putting the minimum of 3.5 % down would " violate my degree in economics. '' The lender claimed he did not know I could afford more and said the estimate fit the average buyer for this type of loan. I asked about a 15 year mortgage, he said that wasn't an option, but that I could refinance when rates went down. I explained that the new fed chair plans to raise rates 4 times this year alone. He spoke for over an hour and even with my education and work experience over the past 15 years, it was confusing and very hard to follow. I had trouble trying to even decipher the notes typed during the call because he went on so many tangents.

I requested he re-do the paperwork for a conventional XXXX XXXX Homestyle Loan with 20 % down. I assumed the new paperwork would give me the information I needed to evaluate it on my own. I received a second worksheet a few hours after the call on the XXXX. The loan amount was increased without explanation, and the down payment and closing costs were {$16000.00} above what I had already stated was the maximum I was willing to spend up front.

At that point, I started contacting other lenders and doing as much research as I could on my own. I informed my real estate agent that I was not happy with the lender and that I was looking elsewhere.

I wrote back to the lender explaining I could not afford his latest estimate and described my confusion with the types of loans, rates, and mortgage insurance combinations we had been discussing. I requested a written comparison of the options and any useful reference materials helpful for 1st time home buyers. I followed up with additional questions, eventually requesting a spreadsheet with a breakdown of the numbers. The only response I got came the next day after my offer was accepted and the purchase contract was signed. The lender wanted to have another talk over the phone.

We set up a time to talk on XX/XX/XXXX. Shortly before our call was scheduled to begin, I requested he send me new paperwork to review ahead of time for the sake of " efficiency. '' He still had not responded to any of my questions from two days before. He sent me a third worksheet, but the loan amount was still above the limit I had set, and the property on the worksheet was still listed as " TBD, '' which meant the real estate tax estimates weren't right. Taxes are very high here and I just moved to the state a month ago.

XX/XX/XXXX email to lender : " I'm having trouble here because I submitted all the paperwork over a week ago, and these worksheets aren't winning me over. I know it's a very low-cost loan. I appreciate that you and xxxxx have been willing to take me on as a client when there are other more valuable deals out there. However, the information I provide doesn't get inputted, the questions I ask get ignored, and these worksheets seem built from standard excel formulas, which I can do myself in a few minutes with minimal effort. Please help us both by putting me in touch with someone who does have time for me. '' His response was that he couldn't provide the information I requested because he didn't want to violate " fair lending laws. '' This is is stressing me out so much I can't sleep, so I spent most of yet another night up doing research online. A few hours ago I found the cfpb webpages that describe what a Loan Estimate should be and the regulation that requires a lender to provide this within three days of receiving a loan application. I checked around to make sure this wasn't an old regulation and that the information was current before deciding to submit a complaint. It's been 12 days since I submitted my application.

This is the second lender with First Home I dealt with. The first one was even less responsive, so I didn't bother submitting all the supporting documents for my application because he didn't respond to even the most basic questions I put in writing. I thought it was just one guy who was maybe too busy and a great service provider. Now I see that it's part of their business strategy.