Consumer complaint received 2021-05-07 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: Cornerstone Home Lending Inc.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
We were using Cornerstone Mortgage company for the purchase of a Condo at XXXX XXXX XXXX. We were never told that they were unfamiliar with the lending process or doing a Condo at the beach. 
They inform us about XX/XX/XXXX that everything is going well and we are on schedule to close. We are completely out of Underwriting and we are just waiting for the appraisal. The appraisal was requested to be done by XX/XX/XXXX, but the company said they would not be able to do this appraisal until XX/XX/XXXX, which will be cutting it close but we had until XX/XX/XXXX. to approve of the appraisal. 
Then out of the blue, they say they are having difficulty getting the information they need from the HOA. finally they tell us that they are not going to be able to make the loan, not because of us but because of the property. They informed us of this on XX/XX/XXXX, which means they had already determined they had this problem and would not be making the loan before this date. Immediately I requested them to put the appraisal on hold. I do not want to pay for an appraisal on a property I may not ever own. Then we tried working with them to get the loan going again, but to no avail. No information from the HOA president, or the property manager made any difference to them. So, once it was clear they would not work with us, or listen to reason I asked them to cancel the appraisal. I should NOT have had to request either the hold or the cancelation since they knew they were not going forward with the loan, they should have cancelled it immediately themselves. Now that our relationship is broken, I ask for the monies that we had paid for the appraisal in good faith to them to be refunded to us ; they send me a e-mail saying that they must wait for clearance from the appraisal company to refund the money. Then of course, right on schedule they produce a 'bill ' from the appraisal company saying that it just so happened that when they were notified of the hold, they 'just so happened ' to be at the property on our behalf, so they are retaining a {$100.00} trip charge. I know this is all bogus! This company does many appraisals on the Island. They probably group them together and don't go until they have more than one to do. Secondly, there is NO WAY they were at the island, doing my appraisal when they made it quite clear to the lenders that they could not go and do this appraisal until XX/XX/XXXX. Never did they let anyone know that date had been amended or that they were going to attempt to do anything earlier. Where they on the Island that day, maybe, or maybe not. But I know there is no way they were there on my behalf for an appraisal that was stopped back on XX/XX/XXXX and completely cancelled on XX/XX/XXXX. according to the lenders records. Actually, the lender should have cancelled the appraisal when they first realized they would not go forward with this loan and not wait for me to direct them. The bill they produced is dated XX/XX/XXXX. Again, I cry fowl. There is no way anyone did anything at this property on our behalf. Someone is just seeing an easy {$100.00} for nothing at my expense. Literally, this has been the worse experience I have ever had working with a lender. I am unsure who is more at fault here, the lender or the appraiser or BOTH. What I know, is that they did their best to XXXX up my getting into this condo and are charging us a bogus {$100.00}. I want my money back.

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