Consumer complaint received 2022-04-27 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage — 
Company: GUARANTEED RATE INC.
State: IL

Complaint narrative:
I worked with a couple of loan officers at Guaranteed Rate in late XX/XX/XXXX/early XXXX, to secure a mortgage on a single family home that also allocated funds for its renovation. I closed on XX/XX/XXXX. The purchase price of the home was {$410000.00}, but the mortgage was valued at {$500000.00}, based on the estimated appraised property value once the work was to be completed. The General Contractor I chose for this project, was solely based on a referral from the loan officers because they said he was familiar with the process, so I felt using him would minimize my risk and keep me from sharing an all-too-common homeowner experience of working with a bad contractor and losing money. I was told by the GC the process would take about 4 months to complete - so Early Summer XXXX. 

This GC took advantage of the process and myself, but the biggest issue is that he was not made by XXXX to submit architectural drawings for the underwriting process. What I have learned since XXXX ( from individuals both inside and outside of the company ) is that those drawings were supposed to have been submitted as due diligence in the process. 

Because these drawings were not done, the GC wasnt ready or able to complete my project. After over a year of inaction and an attempt to extort me for money that wasnt due, I eventually fired him in XX/XX/XXXX. I have placed countless calls to my loan officers, Guaranteed Rate customer service specialists, the originator of the bank, and have gotten nowhere. After keeping me stagnant, requesting that I negotiate with the contractor who was obviously giving false invoices, and not trying to negotiate, Guaranteed Rate has finally given approval for me to replace him. However, this is after I have now been paying over 2 years of PMI fees ( because this was supposed to have been refinanced shortly after the work was completed in Summer XXXX ) and also have missed out on being able to do so but now I have an even bigger issue. 

I have recently been interviewing architects, many of which expressed the lack of convention of the project and how there could be zoning issue that impacts the feasibility of the project. The projected estimate for the project is much higher than what I have remaining in my loan, and I dont know if Ill be able to finish. I dont believe its my responsibility to carry the burden of getting an additional loan to finish it, after already experiencing significant financial loss due to Guaranteed Rates improper management. 

Had Guaranteed Rate demanded drawings from my GC before approving the loan, this project either would have potentially been 1 ) rejected from the outset due to lack of feasibility 2 ) accurately funded based on what was actually required to complete it or 3 ) would have been completed by now and would be a non-issue. 

The lack of support Ive received over the past 2 years when they have acknowledged wrongdoing along the way has led me to file this claim.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation