Consumer complaint received 2025-01-06 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Escrow, taxes, or insurance
Company: ROYAL UNITED MORTGAGE LLC
State: IL

Complaint narrative:
This complaint is in regards to Royal United Mortgage, ( hereinafter, RUM ), that ; ( 1 ) did not deposit money for escrow that I paid for prepaid and initial escrow at closing on my loan. That in fact, according to XXXX Escrow Team, my new account was opened with a negative balance, and; ( 2 ) RUM steered me into a loan that required me to pay approximately XXXX percent of my monthly income with promises that RUM would lower my payment amounts in the near future as set forth in this complaint, and; ( XXXX ) Because of RUMs actions, I am now demanded to provide a monthly mortgage payment that constitutes XXXX percent of my monthly income. This places me in position to have my home of 13 years foreclosed after XXXX ruins my credit with late fees. I will be unable to acquire housing. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I made an inquiry through XXXX XXXX for information about a home equity loan or home equity line of credit. XXXX XXXX advertises as a marketplace that helps consumers find loans and be able to compare lenders for the best deal. 

Within minutes of submitting my information, I received a phone call from XXXX XXXX ( hereinafter, XXXX ), of RUM. I did not receive contact from any other lender. 

I explained to XXXX that when I purchased my house in XX/XX/XXXX, it had a wooden, XXXX privacy fence that began needing repairs in the summer of XXXX. It was a DO IT YOURSELF fence with panels. I had already invested more than {$600.00} for patch work and there was more needed as the entire fence was rotted. ( I refer to it as patch work because the same wood and design of the planks could not be duplicated because they were no longer manufactured. ) In addition, in XXXX, XXXX, I brought an XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX home who was growing daily. My concern was that she could get out of the yard by breaking the brittle planks with a simple touch. I am not physically able to chase her. Furthermore, animals had started coming into my yard through the broken fence, including skunks and ground hogs. A new fence would also improve the value of my property. Additionally, in the Spring of XXXX, a ground hog dug a tunnel underneath my deck that is close to my house. The top of the deck had to be removed in order to trap the ground hog and the deck top needed to be replaced. 

I informed XXXX that throughout the XXXX, I contacted companies for estimates to replace my fence and deck-top. The average cost for the fence alone was {$10000.00}. I received estimates to replace the deck-top that ranged from {$5000.00} to {$10000.00} even if I opted to have the frame removed and the ground cleared with no deck. It was now ( then ) Fall and if I didnt get the fence and deck top replaced soon, the weather would probably prevent that project before the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. I wanted information on a home equity loan of about {$20000.00}, or a home equity line of credit that would provide me up to that amount. 

My original mortgage was with XXXX with a locked-in interest rate of XXXX percent. My mortgage payment was less than {$500.00} a month. I would not a loan that require me to pay more than XXXX percent of my monthly income. 

After XXXX saying confidently that he would look into my options, and at his request, I temporarily removed the freezes off the credit reporting bureaus and provided XXXX with the Social Security XXXX verifying my income. ( I would later discover that XXXX used the gross rather than what I actually receive after XXXX is deducted. When I brought this to his attention, he stated the application required gross income. ) XXXX arranged for my property to be appraised. ( I paid the appraisal fee. ) He attempted to lead me into refinancing based on the appraised value of {$120000.00}. I informed him that I could not afford a mortgage payment on {$120000.00} in which he then calculated an estimate of my mortgage payment and pay-out to me by refinancing {$80000.00}. Teagues selling points included that I would not have a mortgage payment for the month following closing ; that what I paid in escrow in my mortgage payment would be returned at the end of the year because I was prepaying escrow in my closing costs ; and I would save money by having the balance of approximately {$4000.00} paid-off on my credit card. 

The information XXXX provided to me was that RUM bids out loans, even saying that XXXX might be the successful bidder and get the loan. This gave me the impression that my loan would be managed by a bank and possibly XXXX I had done business with since about calendar year XXXX. I later learned that my loan was not a bid-out as in buying the loan but rather, XXXX XXXX  XXXX was taking over the management of my payments and escrow. I knew nothing about XXXX. 

Teagues representation that I would be served a greater benefit by refinancing my home rather than a Home Equity Loan or line of credit caused me to shudder at the thought because of the high interest rates. XXXX stated that I did not have enough equity in my property to obtain a Home Equity Loan of {$20000.00}. I purchased the house for {$62000.00}, and had a balance of XXXX. XXXX then stated if I went through with refinancing through RUM that I could refinance after interest rates decreased to lower my monthly payments and he would waive closing costs because I would be a returning client. XXXX clearly stated to me that I would have to use him, and not another loan officer with RUM, in order to have closing costs waived. He also stated that by refinancing, I would have a nest egg remaining after paying for the fence and deck. I agreed to this deal. My closing costs, including prepaid and initial escrow payments, were over {$8000.00}. I received less than {$20000.00} by refinancing. 

When federal interest rates decreased in XXXX, XXXX, I was bombarded by various persons representing themselves as loan agents with RUM. Each time, I told them that I would contact XXXX who I worked with previously. The phone calls became so disrupted with vigorous sale pitches that in XXXX, XXXX, I contacted XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX sent me several documents, including a pay-off quote from XXXX showing the pay-off amount as {$79000.00}. In the document titled Lock-In Agreement, it showed the loan amount as {$85000.00}. My monthly payment would be {$680.00}. I was already paying {$740.00} so saw no benefit in adding {$6500.00} of debt to lower my monthly mortgage payment by {$47.00}. I declined the offer. 

I expressed my distrust to XXXX because closing costs were added to the loan. XXXX went into his selling points including that I could refinance again to lower my mortgage payments when the interest rates decreased again, in which I responded I would be refinancing approximately {$85000.00} rather than approximately {$78000.00}. That would send me in a vicious circle of never being able to lower my mortgage payment to my benefit. 

I then received a phone call from someone introducing himself in a high position with RUM, who gave self-serving talking points, ( been in business x amount of years, refinanced x amount of mortgages, helped x amounts of homeowners, etc. ). If I remember correctly, his first name is XXXX. My distrust is that I relied on RUMs representation, via XXXX, and was presented with a loan proposal that included more than {$6000.00} in closing costs when XXXX lead me to believe that if I made the deal with him in calendar year XXXX, there would be no closing costs to refinance to lower my monthly mortgage payment. 

Several weeks thereafter, I received a phone call from XXXX XXXX with RUM, ( hereinafter King ). I advised him that I had recently declined an offer by XXXX. XXXX wanted to know why and that led to my informing him how my trust was betrayed. That in fact, after XXXX sent me the new deal, I received notice from XXXX XXXX that my homeowners insurance for calendar year XXXX would increase almost {$300.00} a year. If I continued with XXXX XXXX that was sure to consume the {$47.00} savings. XXXX diverted to talking about escrow and insurance payments which caused me to inform him of the {$1300.00} refund from XXXX that I submitted in XX/XX/XXXX to XXXX for escrow. XXXX then said that he was looking at my file and he stated that the refund from XXXX was my money I should have kept it, because XXXX had set-up an escrow account for me when we closed in XXXX, XXXX. 

This information from XXXX became important in XXXX, XXXX, when I received notice from XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX of an escrow shortage. 

I found the procedures for XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX ( hereinafter, XXXX ) to be inconvenient and confusing. When I was notified to send my payments to them, I conducted research and found that XXXX is defendant in a pending case involving their service fees for payments submitted anyway other than check. I wanted to avoid that. On their website, XXXX has information that to avoid their service fees for submitted payments, that customers open an account on their website. This also makes their business paperless where they require customers to log into the website to see documents that are provided in pdf and must be downloaded. I opened an account on their website, but had been unable to download documents. 

On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from XXXX advising me that my monthly payment for calendar year XXXX is {$960.00}. That amount is more than XXXX percent of my monthly income. Their reason for the increase was due to " escrow shortage ''. 

It was urgent that I be able to download documents from the XXXX website and I shared with a younger-generation friend who advised me to try another browser. I switched to XXXX and was able to download the documents. 

Based on documents, I learned that XXXX opened my escrow account in a negative balance of {$1500.00}. When my escrow was opened, there was no pending payment for XXXX XXXX property taxes. Since I had just switched homeowners insurance companies, there was no pending payment to any insurance provider and thus, why I subsequently received the refund check from XXXX and submitted it to XXXX for depositing in my escrow account. 

Pursuant to the document titled XXXX. Qualifying the Borrower Minimum Required Funds or Cash Back, XXXX XXXX, my closing costs included prepaid and initial escrow payments. On the document titled Costs and Credits Itemized By Paying/Crediting Party XXXX XXXX XXXX, I paid {$190.00} for 2 months of homeowners insurance. Pursuant to XXXX  and XXXX, I paid {$1100.00} representing 11 months of Homeowners Insurance Premium. Pursuant to XXXX XXXX, I paid {$320.00} for 5 months of property taxes. 

XXXX was partially correct. Loan and closing documents show that RUM acquired money from me at closing for my escrow account. However, RUM apparently did not deposit that money into my escrow account as XXXX shows that my escrow was short by {$1500.00} when my account was opened. 

I then learned from the Escrow Notice document and XXXX XXXX monthly statement that rather than deposit the {$1300.00} refund that I received from XXXX into escrow as they were instructed by me, XXXX applied it to the principal. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX, and he responded by asking if I could take a call. I could after XXXX pm. I did not receive a call from him. I have not contacted RUM directly because since XX/XX/XXXX, Ive attempted to resolve this with XXXX who has used methods to delay while making threats of late fees and reporting them to credit bureaus. Ive not requested documents from RUM because the documents I have speak for themselves. 

Because I shall submit a complaint regarding XXXX along with an accounting of escrow deposits and pay-outs, I shall not repeat it in this complaint. After being sent in circles, XXXX transferred the {$1300.00} from principal to escrow and now wants a monthly payment of {$850.00} in which the increase from my previous payment is for a purported escrow shortage. 

XXXX anticipates receipt of a full {$850.00} payment no later than XX/XX/XXXX. 

This happened because Royal United Mortgage failed to open my escrow account with monies I paid at closing, and because XXXX applied what I sent for escrow to pay my homeowner 's insurance to principal instead. 

There are XXXX documents referred to in this complaint that I will have to scan into my computer. I need instructions on how to get those documents to you later because I presumed I could pause this and return later but the program does not provide for that.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation