Really Frustrated- Mortgage Broker- Updated

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Momma2015
Mommax2

Member since 12/12

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Really Frustrated- Mortgage Broker- Updated

Please bear with me, I'm furious writing this and it's a bit of a long story....

In December 2014, my DH and I were preparing to begin searching for our new home. We were in the very early stages, just checking out areas we liked and happened upon a house that seemed too good to be true. It's a short sale that is way under our budget, in our desired area, with great property and room to grow. We even had enough saved that with a little help, we could pay cash for the home. We contacted the agent and viewed the home. He asked us if we were pre-approved for a mortgage, which we were not, as we hadn't really planned to start looking yet and could potentially pay cash, which we relayed to him. He said no straight off the bat, that because it's a short sale the bank would be looking to get a new mortgage out of the deal and we'd have a better shot speaking to the bank who holds the deed and applying for a mortgage through them. We discussed putting down a large deposit and taking out a small mortgage. We agreed and met with the mortgage broker 2 days before New Year's. We were not approved. Chat Icon My DH and I had plenty of money saved, pay our taxes, and have a source of steady income for the past 10 years. The mortgage we would have taken out would've been very small, our debt to income ratio is very low, WELL below the recommended number. The problem was our lack of credit. I never opened a credit card- I never wanted to and fortunately, never needed to. I always just lived within my means. If I didn't have money to buy something, I didn't buy it. What a fool I was! My DH had a credit card about 14 years ago but was not very good with it. He wound up consolidating his debt, paying a lump sum, and closing his credit cards. From there, he never opened another. The broker said all was not lost and that we would need to establish an alternate line of credit by contacting all the utilities we pay (rent, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, ConEd, car insurance, etc.) and obtaining letters of credit reference. We fought tooth and nail for 2 weeks and were only able to obtain letters from 3 utility companies. All others claimed they had no idea what a letter of credit reference was and would not under any circumstances issue one, whether our account was in good standing or not. Disheartened, we gave whatever paperwork we were able to obtain to the broker. Three weeks pass and no word from him, despite numerous phone calls and e-mails to his office. He eventually called and said what we gave was insufficient but that they work with a credit company, CredLogic that could help us build our alternate credit history. He gave us the name and number of his contact and asked both my DH and I to be on the call when we spoke to CredLogic. We tried calling everyday for 2 weeks. We left a message every single day, until eventually the contact at CredLogic changed his voicemail message to say "Do NOT leave a message, hang up and speak to any representative." We did so and spoke to a very pleasant and helpful woman. We explained our situation and she assured us we were not alone- that most utility companies will NOT issue a letter of credit reference, and that that is where CredLogic comes in. She kept us on the line while she called each of our utilities that we were unable to obtain a letter from and got confirmation that our account is paid in full and in good standing. The call went extremely well and we were very hopeful that at least we could finally be approved for the mortgage and put an offer on the home, which is still on the market to this day. We contacted our mortgage broker and he said he would wait to hear from her. We followed up a few days later and he said he spoke to her but that our credit report had not yet been updated with the information CredLogic obtained and that we would have to wait a few more days. Another week passed and we called again. This time he said that CredLogic does not update our credit report and, basically, the last month and a half was a complete waste of time. We asked where do we go from here. He told us that we would need to re-submit our information to an underwriter who would make a final decision regarding our approval for a mortgage. We asked what paperwork we needed and he gave us a list (most recent w-2s, tax return, 2 months bank statements, 1 month of paystubs). We also asked him how long before we would have a definitive answer from the time we submitted our paperwork to him and he told us 10- 14 business days. Three days later we sent him all of the paperwork he requested and asked a few questions, namely, would the underwriter take the alternate credit history established by CredLogic into consideration? Another week and a half passed- we called and e-mailed him every.single.day. just checking to make sure he received the paperwork and seeing if we could get answers to our questions. He never responded to any of our e-mails or phone calls. Finally, I wrote a terse e-mail this morning saying the last time we heard from him was March 19th and to please respond as soon as possible to confirm he received the paperwork. 5 minutes later his secretary e-mails back and requests tons of additional paperwork- w-2s going back to 2012, 2013 tax return, an explanation of large deposits in our bank account (in one case our most recent tax return, in another moving money from our regular bank to the bank with which we have a savings account). Paperwork that would've been much more easily attained had we known about it 2 weeks ago when we last went to our banks and accountant to get copies of our paperwork. And that is the last e-mail I got from them. I'm just furious and I would truly like to know if I am being unreasonable. Is this standard practice? Is this the level of service I should expect from any mortgage company? I mean, this isn't a mom and pop place- this is Wells Fargo! I don't understand why they are doling out information to us piecemeal the way they are. I don't understand why it takes a week to respond to any e-mails or phone calls from us. 2 or 3 days is fine, I understand we aren't the only clients and it's a busy time of year. Though, to be honest, it WASN'T a busy time of year when we began. I'm really ready to just move on to a different company and a different home if need be. That's how frustrated I am by this. Please, any insight would be greatly appreciated because I am at my wit's end here. And this is only for the mortgage- I know it will be ten times worse if we are able to actually put an offer down and it's accepted!

ETA: Immediately after reading the most recent e-mail I began a strongly worded letter back. It was not rude in any way, just questioning why this paperwork was not requested on March 19th when he gave us a list of paperwork we would need. I also inquired why they would ask us to work with CredLogic if they do not update our credit reports and that is the only way they'd prove to be helpful. I ended by asking why it takes weeks to respond to any of our calls or e-mails and that if this is level of service I could expect for the next however many years it takes us to pay off the hypothetical mortgage that I would happily take my business elsewhere and advise all family and friends to do the same. I didn't send it- I thought better of burning any bridges and that's why I came over here. If I'm not being ridiculous, I will cheerfully send it along and let the chips fall where they may. I'm THAT done.

Message edited 5/7/2015 5:19:29 PM.

Posted 4/2/15 2:45 PM