Consumer complaint received 2024-11-05 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue with the loan closing
Company: PARAMOUNT RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE GROUP
State: ME

Complaint narrative:
We closed on a house on XXXX in Maine. Our lender was Paramount Residential Mortgage Group , Inc. ( NMLS ID : XXXX, ME License ID : XXXX, Contact ME License ID XXXX, aka " PRMG '' ). 

The entire process was incredibly difficult, our loan officer ( NMLS # XXXX ) was obstinate and would not answer questions despite repeated attempts to get even the most basic of information on the home buying/mortgage process. We were left out of the loop continuously on the closing process, and met with attitude when trying to get more information. Everything from the loan application process to closing to even where/how to make mortgage payments was like pulling teeth to get information on. We should have known when the broker first did not understand or grasp the importance of Personally Identifiable Information ( PII ) and kept making requests to be sent sensitive PII over plain email. He even got angry when sending encrypted was suggested/attempted because he could not/would not follow instructions to open secure email. We found out months later there was a document portal, but no one during the process informed us early on or even allowed us to use it. On top of the fact that we compiled a large amount of highly sensitive financial records and PRMG frequently " lost track of '' or did not read them and requested the same items multiple times because they could not keep track of their own cases. I personally had to incur additional costs to send files securely and encrypted as well as track email messages due to their extreme unreliability. 

To make matters worse while we were trying to finalize closing items ( which they were very reluctant to even provide final closing conditions for us ) the mortgage broker ( NMLS # XXXX ) insisted that FHA requires that you justify your relationship via a letter of explanation if you are unmarried couples purchasing a home. My partner and myself were on all legal documents and contracts, this is 100 % NOT an FHA requirement in any way whatsoever. I even contacted the local MA HUD office and spoke to the head FHA underwriter. We also filed a complaint with HUD against this company ( reference number : XXXX ). They demanded a letter of explanation as a closing requirement. We were forced to produce an entirely illegal document. When we tried to move to another lender, we were not given closing conditions requested or our FHA case number. I finally got the FHA case # by calling HUD. 

This wholly illegal requirement to justify our marital status or lack thereof goes against the Federal Fair Housing Act : The following states DO NOT prohibit marital status discrimination in housing : Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming. This insistence by PRMG that we justify our relationship status was unlawful discrimination. Please also see the attached FHA manual that I reviewed, and I even brought up this complaint in specific to our broker 's supervisor ( repeatedly ) and was generally dismissed. 

Additionally, there are services that the buyer ( s ) can and are entitled to shop for during the mortgage/home buying process. One of these such services includes the title company. We were not allowed to choose our own title company and PRMG did not involve us or inform us of this process in any way whatsoever and we were saddled with a title company that we did not choose. This resulted in a number of hardships and issues we have had to endure as result of PRMG 's carelessness and disregard. 

The lender frequently got closing date and costs incorrect, and on top of everything by robbing us of our right to choose our own title company and make sure we have the most accurate information available to us as first-time home buyers this has resulted in us getting over charged for property taxes and the title company that PRMG chose against our will failing to pay said taxes so we are starting our home ownership journey in arears. We receive no root cause analysis or even explanation as to how such an egregious error has occurred, just that is something we must deal with. 

The entire home-buying process was needlessly made more difficult ( when it is already an incredibly difficult and stressful undertaking ) due to PRMG 's incompetence, disregard, and overall sloppy behavior. This has been the absolute WORST company to deal with, and two months after close we are STILL dealing with the fall-out from our experience. Maybe all PRMG offices are not like this, but the office/team out of Rhode Island has been just wretched. And we know for a fact we are not the only buyers who have struggled with them, as we were undergoing this ordeal we found out that a number of people had specific and similar issues with the same exact broker that we were stuck with and the company overall. We honestly tried to switch lenders but on our initial shopping around attempt the broker got angry at us and after that they refused to disclose our FHA case number. We unfortunately gave them business, and despite loving our home that is our biggest regret. The entire process we kept getting lectured about using them in the future to buy more homes and the # 1 focus was just on " giving them good reviews '' because that's all they really cared about. I can not stress enough to just STAY AWAY from this company at all costs. They are putrid, and either their inexperience or disregard will end up costing home buyers in the end.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation