Consumer complaint received 2017-08-03
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (PA)

This is in reference to a conventional mortgage for the purchase of a new construction property that I initiated with Wells Fargo on XX/XX/XXXX. I 've been working with XXXX XXXX ( Home Loan Processor ( SAFE ), NMLSR ID XXXX, XXXX XXXX ) & XXXX XXXX ( Home Mortgage Consultant, NMLSR ID XXXX, XXXX  XXXX, XXXX ). The first paragraph provides context to the situation and the 2nd paragraph is the point at which the error by Wells Fargo comes to light and the premise to my complaint.
We had initially placed a deposit on a new construction townhouse in a newly developed PUD ( XXXX XXXX ) in XX/XX/XXXX. We were informed by the builder ( XXXX XXXX ) to secure a mortgage on XX/XX/XXXX because they had an anticipated completion date of XX/XX/XXXX. By XX/XX/XXXX we secured a 60 day fixed-rate lock with Wells Fargo. All parties were aware that our lease to our current apartment was ending on XX/XX/XXXXand did not want to close any later than XX/XX/XXXX because we had no where to live after the month of XXXX. All parties agreed that we should be able to close much earlier than that. The builder wanted to close in the first week of XXXX. Since it is new construction, Wells Fargo said 2 appraisals needed to occur, one in XXXX and another after construction is 100 % complete. An appraisal occurred on XX/XX/XXXX. There had been some delays on behalf of the seller due to not obtaining appliances in time for a Certificate of Occupancy. And that was delaying our walk-through to ensure the house was as per all added options and agreements. We came to a compromise to have the walk through XX/XX/XXXX without the a few appliances and no CO. We found issues with the house and needed a contractor to provide estimates and then the seller had to have an attorney approve concessions. They finally did obtain the CO on XX/XX/XXXX and the addendum for concessions was finally signed by both parties on Monday XX/XX/XXXX. This did push us up against the limit, but Wells Fargo being informed the entire time of each step, remained confident as long as they had all required documents, then settlement could occur 3 days later. This meant that even though the seller ( and builder ) had caused delays, we still should have been ok for a Thursday XX/XX/XXXX settlement. Stressful yes, but everything still seemed ok by this point. On Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX, I was told by XXXX XXXX that there seemed to be an issue with the final appraisal and we would need to push settlement to Friday XX/XX/XXXX. On Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX, I was told they needed additional information and they could n't directly tell the appraiser to get back to them because of regulations in place. They need to first contact a vendor and could not be as fast as I might think. And that settlement would need to be pushed again to Monday XX/XX/XXXX. This was extremely stressful because we had an elevator reservation at the apt . and movers scheduled for Sat. XX/XX/XXXX. However, we could change it to Monday, but we were still not being told that Wells Fargo could definitely have settlement on Monday.
Then on Thurs. XX/XX/XXXX, I was informed by XXXX that Wells Fargo had admittedly made an egregious error processing my mortgage and it was unlikely for us to have a Tues.XX/XX/XXXX settlement. As with all calls made with Wells Fargo it was on a recorded line. She said they ( e.g. XXXX, XXXX,  their management ) did not identify a clerical error on the initial XX/XX/XXXX appraisal until underwriting. The appraiser did not select the checkbox for YES, this property is in a PUD and that there is an HOA associated with the property. The appraiser therefore did not have comps for houses with HOAs associated with the appraisal. On Friday XX/XX/XXXX she informed me that she filed an internal complaint on herself & XXXX XXXX for causing excessive delay in the processing of my loan because of the mistake ( s ). I had not heard back from the complaint dept. and therefore submitted my own formal complaint on the Wells Fargo website. I filed it on Monday XX/XX/XXXX and heard back the next day onXX/XX/XXXX. XXXX from the Wells Fargo complaint dept. told me the issue is being investigated, escalated, and taken seriously. They since decided to send out a 2nd appraiser, which will be paid for by the lender, in case they can not properly amend the original XXXX  appraisal in time. They have also agreed to have the rate lock extended past the 60 days of XX/XX/XXXX, and have it paid for by the lender. However, they have not determined if financial compensation can be made for having to put our belongings into storage and paying for a 2nd set of movers. We have also had to incur additional expenses since we need to now eat out everyday. We have requested Wells Fargo to pay for us to stay in a hotel room, but they said they can not guarantee reimbursement until settlement occurs and the case file can be completed.
Therefore we have been staying on an air mattress in a vacant property until we are forced out. I wanted to make this official complaint now, so that the information is still fresh in my mind and I can provide updates as needed. We are asking for compensation for movers, storage, meals, and hotel ( if we end up needing to stay in one ). Wells Fargo may end up providing compensation when it is all said and done, but I wanted to make sure this agency was aware and could help me with providing follow through. Wells Fargo has estimated that a Monday XX/XX/XXXX could be possible and most likely by the end of that week or XX/XX/XXXX. Therefore, possibly 3 weeks of being homeless because of an error that occurred in XXXX by the appraiser hired by Wells Fargo with plenty of time to rectify if it had been caught at the receipt of the appraisal in XXXX  instead of when it went to underwriting at the end of XXXX. To add to it, my wife and I are undergoing XXXX XXXX. I need to administer XXXX XXXX in her XXXX each night and this is all unneeded stress at the most critical time of her first weeks of XXXX. She has her XXXX XXXX  XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX to verify a XXXX, so I hope you can imagine and sympathize the amount of stress we are going through at this time. Thank you.