Consumer complaint received 2026-05-29 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — Changes in loan terms during or after closing
Company: GUARANTEED RATE INC.
State: ND

Complaint narrative:
This is in regards to XXXX XXXX at rate mortgage in XXXX North Dakota. Let me start off by saying this was my first mortgage, so I was completely new to all of this and had minimal knowledge of the process going into it. Im someone who likes to understand things though, so I did the best I could to learn and make sure I understood the process to the best of my ability. I was very aggressive with shopping for my loan, comparing four different lenders against each other and negotiating the best terms possible. The last two lenders I was considering had some history together and there seemed to be some bad blood between them, which is part of the reason I believe things played out the way they did. It seemed to me that the lender I ultimately went with, XXXX, did not want to lose the loan to the other lender XXXX XXXX, who he had apparently tried to recruit in the past. I believe this is part of the reason he was so motivated to not lose the loan to XXXX, but ended up promising me a loan that he ultimately did not deliver on. I could be wrong because I have no way of proving that, but based on the interactions it seemed pretty evident. The loan terms we agreed on were a 5.625 % interest rate with no origination fee and no buying of points. I have proof of this through a loan summary/loan quote. Most of our communication was done over phone calls. I specifically remember the day I made my final decision because the night before I had decided to go with the other lender XXXX XXXX. After I told my realtor that, my realtor spoke with XXXX, since they worked closely together, and XXXX came back with a lower rate offer. Because of that, I decided to go with him instead. Although it's worth mentioning that XXXX did match XXXX 's counteroffer but ultimately I decided to go with XXXX since I had worked with him since my initial pre-approval. The phone call where XXXX gave me the counteroffer and I accepted it was on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX During that call, he told me the terms and said he would lock the rate. Looking back, I believe part of his tactic was to keep important conversations over the phone. Anytime I wanted to discuss something important, he preferred phone calls and stayed vague over text. I believe that was intentional so there would not be much documentation protecting me in a situation like this. I had initially negotiated {$7500.00} from the seller toward closing costs. According to the loan quote XXXX provided, my closing costs were going to be much less because of not having any origination fee or buying points. Very early on, after the rate was supposedly locked, I told XXXX multiple times that I wanted the remaining seller credit money to be applied toward a price reduction on the home instead of going towards a rate buy down. I remember feeling slightly concerned when he responded by saying, well, we just dont know the final numbers yet. As we moved closer to closing ( XX/XX/XXXX ), I kept receiving disclosures to sign that did not reflect the loan terms we had discussed. The disclosures showed a higher rate than promised and also showed that I was buying points, even though XXXX had specifically told me that I would not be buying points. At the same time, nothing was happening with the additional seller credit money that was supposed to go toward a price reduction. I brought this up to XXXX multiple times throughout the process. Every time, he told me to ignore the numbers and just sign. He made it sound like it was just a normal part of the process. He assured me that we would get to the numbers he had promised me. As closing got closer, I became increasingly concerned because I still was not seeing the agreed-upon rate or the additional money being applied toward the price reduction. I repeatedly expressed these concerns to him, and each time he assured me that we would get to the numbers he promised. The day before closing, I told him there was going to be a serious problem if I got to the closing table and found out he had burned through the additional seller credit money through various ways as well as not getting me the agreed-upon rate. He specifically promised me that he was not using the money to buy the rate down. I have this in a text message dated XX/XX/2026. There were also other major issues right before closing. There was significant miscommunication from his office regarding gift fund amounts, and XXXX also failed to properly communicate the correct payment method requirements. This resulted in me nearly not being able to close and scrambling at the last minute to come up with additional funds from family because the numbers had been entered incorrectly into the disclosures. At the same time, I was still trying to resolve the issue of the incorrect rate and the points being charged. The day before closing, XXXX finally told me those were the best numbers he could get and that he had tried everything. I told him that was not acceptable because it was not the deal we had agreed to, and he promised me he would still get the numbers corrected. However, on closing day, the numbers had not changed at all. The rate was still higher than promised ( XXXX ) and points were still being charged. At that point, I was essentially forced to close because I had already packed up my apartment, arranged my move, and had my entire life on hold waiting to move into this house. I kept asking XXXX what happened to the few XXXX XXXX that should have been left over from the seller credits and applied toward the purchase price reduction. He repeatedly claimed the money had gone toward increased title fees. However, according to the disclosures I had, the title fees were the same as what had originally been estimated. Even though the paperwork did not support what he was saying, he continued repeating that explanation over and over. The only thing that had went up was the insurance, but that was only a difference of about {$300.00}. I knew something did not add up, but I was also completely new to the mortgage process, and it felt very clear to me that he was intentionally trying to make the situation sound overly complicated and beyond my understanding so that I would just trust him. Just before closing, in what I believe was an attempt to keep the deal together and ensure I would still close, XXXX offered to refinance me after six payments. He assured me he would get me to the original promised rate, or possibly even lower, and that he would provide {$2500.00} in lender credits toward the refinance and said the lender fees would total about XXXX or just under including a waived appraisal. This offer was made with the understanding I wouldn't have any cost associated with the refi. I told him I wanted {$4500.00} instead, because I didn't feel like that made up for things and he agreed to that. I have this agreement documented in email. XXXX also told me that we had to wait six payments before refinancing because of a law that supposedly required it. I initially took him at his word. However, about a month later, I discussed the situation with another lender who told me that was not true and that the real issue was that XXXX would lose his commission if the refinance happened before six payments. From my understanding, XXXX may have been referring to churning, but as I understand it, churning would only apply if a lender encouraged a refinance that was not in the borrowers best interest. In this case, if I were actually receiving the lower rate I had originally been promised with lender credits covering costs, then refinancing would have clearly benefited me. Because of this, I contacted XXXX again on XX/XX/2026, and asked what rate he could get me immediately if I refinanced now instead of waiting six payments. He pushed back initially, but eventually told me the best he could do was 5.625 %. That made no sense to me because he had previously told me that with only {$2500.00} in lender credits he could get me to 5.625 % or even lower ( which wouldn't cost me anything because he said the {$2500.00} would more than cover the loan costs of the refi ), while also covering an appraisal fee. Now he was saying that even with an additional {$2000.00} in lender credits, the rate could not go any lower. During that conversation, he finally admitted that the additional seller credit money had in fact gone toward buying points. This was something he had repeatedly denied throughout the transaction, despite the disclosures already showing that points were being charged. I had also met with the person at the title company ( XXXX ) over the phone who was in charge of my closing just to get clarity on the situation ( this was before XXXX admitted the money went towards buying the rate down ) and XXXX said it seemed pretty clear the money went towards buying points. Immediately after closing, I also spoke with my realtor XXXX about everything that had happened to see if he could make sense of the situation. My realtor later spoke with XXXX as well but said he still could not get a clear explanation because XXXX continued making the situation sound far more complicated than it actually was. My realtor specifically told me the situation did not make sense and that he would reconsider doing business with XXXX in the future because something seemed off. Since all of this happened, I have also spoken with two separate people who work in the mortgage or related industries and who know mutual colleagues. Both told me they were not surprised this happened because they had heard XXXX had a reputation for being unethical. Another individual who works somewhat closely with him also told me that situations like this happen frequently with him because he " over promises and under delivers ''. It's also worth noting the only reason I waited 3 months to file this complaint is because I didn't learn I could submit a complaint until a lender I talked to told me that maybe a month and a half ago but honestly I was still holding on to the hope that the situation would be remedied with the refi. But at this point I don't think it will and regardless I think it's important to let the record show how XXXX handled the situation and what kind of business he engages in.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation