Consumer complaint received 2025-03-21 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue while managing or servicing your loan
Company: Cornerstone First Mortgage, Inc.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
XX/XX/XXXX Predatory Lending Lawsuit Summary On XX/XX/XXXX I sold my home XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX  and found a new home in nearby XXXX XXXX  that I wanted to purchase. My goal was save money on my monthly living expense. I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  who died in XXXX because of his exposure to XXXX XXXX. My XXXX  was XXXX XXXX XXXX at the time of XXXX XXXX 

I was blessed to make a nice profit on my previous home. The purchase of my new home would cut my living expenses in half. I am on a very limited budget. My only income comes from my XXXX XXXX XXXX of {$1400.00} per month and my XXXX payment of {$1600.00} per month which I have received since my XXXX XXXX. I receive this benefit because he XXXX  because of his exposure to XXXX XXXX. 

My previous XXXX  mortgage payment was almost {$900.00} per month. It also required flood insurance which cost approximately extra {$100.00} per month because of its location. My new home had no need for flood insurance. 

The new home needed a few improvements so I planned to borrow only enough money to make those improvements. I went to mortgage broker who was near me in XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX  The name of the mortgage company was Cornerstone First Mortgage LLCXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX. 

My plan was to borrow {$75000.00} on the new home which was worth almost {$280000.00} according to the appraisal which was done in order to qualify for the loan. I have excellent credit. The loan to value amount was excellent so there should have been no issues to obtaining any type of mortgage. 

The new mortgage payment would have been less than {$500.00} per month. I would have been saving about {$500.00} per month. I have good credit and the interest rate on the mortgage was XXXX XXXX. 

The mortgage broker recommended another XXXX  loan ( my previous mortgage was XXXX  ) because of the lower interest rate. Conventional financing would have been fine because of the relatively small mortgage for the value of the home. The day before closing my mortgage broker called me and he told me that I needed borrow at least {$140000.00} because of some obscure XXXX  lending rule. This was more money than I wanted or needed but he then explained that after we closed I could simply recast the loan and return the extra money. At that point the payment would have been refigured for the lower principle amount. 

I believed what he said. 

Recast was a new term to me but I did an internet search and learned that a " recast '' is when you make a large principle payment on your loan and the monthly payments are then reduced accordingly. This is different than making a large principle payment. In that case the payment amount stays the same but the loan is paid off faster. 

When I discussed this with my realtor she shared she had actually done a " recast '' with her own mortgage. She paid {$100000.00} and cut her loan payment significantly. 

I will be XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX so it is unlikely that this loan will ever be paid off. My entire goal goal was to lower my monthly expenses and everyone involved knew that from my realtor to the mortgage broker. 

My expected payment for the {$75000.00} at XXXX XXXX for XXXX  years would have been under {$500.00}. 

Because the broker told me that I could recast the loan I agreed to borrow the {$140000.00} to get this XXXX  loan done quickly so I would not lose the home I had found in XXXX. I had already sold my XXXX XXXX XXXX home and I only had a few weeks to move out or I would need to put my furniture in storage and rent a place to live. Again I was told by my broker that when I recast this loan I could simply return the extra cash. 

After closing and moving I have discovered that XXXX  loans can not be recast. Also because my current loan is a XXXX  loan I have also learned that I can not refinance this XXXX  loan for at least XXXX  days and XXXX consecutive payments after when the initial loan payment was due because the loan must be seasoned. Plus the interest amount will need to be better to qualify for a refinance. 

Because of the adventageous sale of my previous home and my good credit I almost had enough cash to pay for my new home and a conventional mortgage for improvements would have been just fine but the broker recommended a XXXX  loan because pf lower interest rate. My new mortgage loan would have been for only XXXX XXXX of the value of my new home which is worth almost {$300000.00} There would have been no reason not to have a conventional mortgage. Now I must pay a roughly a {$870.00} payment for at least XXXX  months before I can even refinance this XXXX  mortgage. This payment is almost as much as the payment I was previously paying for my home in XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

I have failed to lower my monthly expenses and gone through the added expense of a move. 

Interests rates could easily rise significantly while I wait for the XXXX  months period of time for the loan to season. They have already risen from XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX. Plus when I refinance there will be additional closing costs. I have already paid {$9100.00} in closing costs for the new mortgage. 

When I refinance I will be forced to pay them again. That will be {$9100.00} more I did not need to spend. 

I have spoken to XXXX XXXX ( the mortgage broker ) several times over the last month and he always promises that he is still checking on the issue. Finally a few weeks ago he admitted that he had been mistaken. XXXX  loans can not be recast. 

When I told him I was going to file a complaint against him and his company he promised to do more. Last night the president of the mortgage company XXXX Cornerstone Mortgage LLC ) called me. His name is XXXX XXXX. He told me that there was nothing he could or would do about my problem because the mortgage had already been resold to a new company. He also told me that his company had done nothing wrong by convincing me I needed to borrow the extra money. I think this is the definition of predatory lending because I was encouraged to borrow more money than I wanted or needed. 

I feel like I have been harmed by Cornerstone First Mortgage LLC and by " the broker, XXXX XXXX. 

My payment is almost {$500.00} more per month than I expected and I must now wait XXXX  months before refinancing the loan and I will be forced to pay closing costs again. 

I believe I have been a victim of predatory lending practices and I am asking for a new loan that correctly meets my need.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation