Hometrust Mortgage

July 27, *** ***, Dispute Resolution Specialist Revdex.com Jefferson St NE, Suite A Albuquerque, NM Re: Complaint from *** * ***-*** ("Customer") Dear Ms***: The Customer applied for a loan to refinance her current home with our company on
June 26, At the time of any loan application, we do not know the value of a home until we receive the appraisal for the propertyAt the time of application, we use the value estimate provided by the borrowerIn this case, the value estimate was $190,and this value was disclosed to the Customer on the Loan EstimateThe enclosed Loan Estimate shows that the borrower electronically acknowledged that she received and signed this form on June 30, 2017, showing the estimated valueThe Customer did not indicate at the time she signed the Loan Estimate that she was concerned that the Property Value reflected was not realisticIf the Customer was concerned about the disclosed property value used for the transaction, it would seem she would not have written a check to us for the appraisal paymentWe received the appraisal on July 19, 2017, and a copy of the report was provided to the Customer via email indicating the value of her home below the $190,estimate reflected on the Loan EstimateThe same day, she filed the above referenced complaint with the Revdex.com asking for her appraisal money back as the value did not come in near the estimateThe appraiser performed the requested services and was therefore paid for completing the report with the funds provided by the Customer for the appraisal (a copy of the payment from the Customer and the appraisal invoice are enclosed)We regret that the Customer's home value was below the estimate as refinancing her home would have provided a positive financial benefit for her, however the amount a mortgage lender can lend is restricted by the value of our collateral, in this case her homeWe have responded to all of her communications to us in a timely and professional mannerWe cannot refund the payment back to the Customer as the appraisal was completed as requested and the invoice paid to the third party provider with the funds from the CustomerWe cannot and did not guarantee to the Customer that the value of her property would come in at a certain value as we are not qualified to do so which is why an appraisal is required by mortgage lendersPlease let me know if you have any additional questionsSincerely, Robert K**, NMLS #Branch Manager Enclosures Cc: Clint B***

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  I am distressed about this entire process.  I made a complaint about customer service.The person who has written to you is not the person I dealt with.  I was referred to the person I dealt with by a then trusted financial advisor.  Some of what I type here may be repeated from my initial complaint.  I did mention what my house was worth when I bought it.  I was not married to that value, and in my mind that was not a figure that was on the table.  I did mention to the person I dealt with that Zillow said my house was worth what I still owed.  Being not skilled in this subject, but a quick study, I do not for the life of me understand why I was not told at that time that the loan/value ratio had to be a certain amount.  I would have had the information that I needed to continue or not.Instead, there were lots of confusing things to sign and repeated requests.  The % on the loan changed and at one point this person stated  on text "I just did you a big favor right here."  I thought at first it was some kind of scold.  I had a meeting with my finance person who gave the initial referral and he seemed amused but made no comment so I decided perhaps he was joking.  To say the least, I was not inclined to be at ease in my communication from that time forward, and had he not been recommended, I would have withdrawn working with him.  I left the check after a conversation about scanning, and I am not conversant with scanning and 'to avoid another trip' left the check with this trusted person.  When it was time for the appraisal, I was honestly convinced that the value of the appraisal had to come in at the value listed on Zillow.  Even though I was told 'Zillow runs low.'  I was not told the appraisal had to be $30K more than that, at which time I would have paused and reconsidered.When the person I dealt with called to say the appraisal was not high enough, he explicitly did not want to e-mail but talk on the phone.  He told me then about the 80/20 loan to value ratio and chided me for thinking my house was still worth $190K.  Which I found both insulting and obviously evidence that we had not been communicating from the start. I find the letter from the owner to be similarly condescending and dismissive.  I am a clinical therapist and work every day with people and do the very best to communicate well with them and treat them with the highest respect.  I am very disappointed to not find the same treatment available to me.  As they have dismissed my premise, I do not withdraw the complaint.  I do not what constitutes a reason for you, as this procedure is unfamiliar to me.  My level of care and attention to detail and nuance has left me ill-prepared to deal with the folks I have dealt with in this situation.  I hope someone in the Revdex.com is able to hear me. Thank you for your time and attention.
Regards,
[redacted][To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  I do appreciate the response, and yet do not feel heard.  As the experience appears to be a learning one all around, I will continue.   I do not think sufficient communication was established.  It does seem seem the industry likes to scoff at Zillow and vent their feelings about Zillow, which seems to precede listening to the customer say "My house is worth on Zillow what I still owe on Zillow" and reply to THAT comment.    I believe that was the moment it should have been explained to me that there is a loan to value ratio necessary for the loan to go through.  Then I could have calculated what the appraisal needed to be.    Then I could have decided if I wanted to proceed or not.  I think that opportunity was taken from me.I gave the original price of the house as a conversational item, not as a value I was married to.  I find forms and such confusing and was trusting.  That was not well-placed.  Instead I got a lot of excitement about how much I could save over time and that I would get a bunch of money back in escrow.  I did check on that and found that not to be the case but continued to trust this referral from my finance person. When on the phone I was informed that I was stupid/silly to have stuck with the original value and then told about the value/loan ratio I did feel a con had been run on me.  If I could have chosen, I very well might have said no, I don't want the appraisal as I can't count on it coming in that much higher. If I had chosen yes, then I would have owned that choice and we wouldn't be having this conversation.  I was not informed.   Thank you. 
Regards,
[redacted][To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

August 10, 2017 [redacted], Dispute Resolution Specialist Revdex.com 7007 Jefferson St NE, Suite A Albuquerque, NM 87109 Re: Complaint from [redacted] ("Customer") — Complaint #[redacted] Dear Ms. [redacted]: I am sorry that the Customer is not satisfied with my prior response. I was attempting to address the specific items that she mentioned and to clarify that we provided the required disclosures to show the value used for the loan application. The Customer was provided with the home value we were using for the loan on the Uniform Residential Loan Application and on the Loan Estimate and both showed a value of her home of $190,000. The Customer signed both of those documents (along with several others) on her own and had time to review the documents and ask any questions. After the documents were signed, the Customer provided payment for the appraisal, the appraisal was completed as requested and the appraiser was paid the fee for their work with the Customers funds. The value was below the value on the loan documents and therefore the loan applied for by the Customer could not close under the original terms. Since the Customer paid for an appraisal and an appraisal was completed and paid with her funds, we cannot refund those funds to her as the appraiser performed the job requested. Regarding the customer service complaint on August 4, 2017, I have attempted below to respond to the Customer's concerns: • I am responding to the complaint, as I am the manager of this office for Hometrust Mortgage and the Loan Officer for the Customer reports to me. • The Customer has mentioned her review of Zillow in both letters. Zillow is a website that offers free, non-binding estimates of home values to consumers. The information Zillow provides is not a system utilized by the mortgage industry in the processing or approval of home loans and cannot be used for any customer's loan application. • Regarding the confusing things to sign, the borrower was provided with an online account to review the documents related to the loan application prior to signing. The Customer did not contact us with questions regarding any confusion in the documents and signed electronically on her own. • I am sorry that the Customer felt that the tone of the Loan Officer was scolding her as I have confirmed with the Loan Officer that was not his intent. He thought they had developed a positive working relationship and was more relaxed in his response than he apparently should have been with the Customer. I have reviewed this with the Loan Officer on future encounters with customers. • I am not sure I understand the conversation about scanning mentioned so I am unable to respond to this comment. • The Loan Officer did contact the Customer by phone regarding the value as he felt it would be better to have a personal conversation about the value and impact that it had on the loan application versus sending that information via email. The phone conversation was followed with a written denial of the loan to the Customer based on the valuation of the home. • I apologize if my response was condescending or dismissive as that was not my intent (I am not the owner of Hometrust Mortgage as my title is Branch Manager). I was trying to respond to the Customer's concerns with the documentation and facts in the loan file. The mortgage industry is highly regulated with the forms we use dictated by Federal and state regulations. We did provide the Customer with the required notifications as to the value used for her loan application. I do take the concerns of the Customer very seriously, as our company has been operating in Albuquerque since 1990 and we have no complaints at the Revdex.com. I have also worked with this Loan Officer for seven years and have not had a complaint on him before. We are trying to address these concerns quickly and thoroughly for the Customer to try to alleviate her concerns regarding our company and the Loan Officer. I have discussed the Customer's concerns at length with the Loan Officer as we try to provide all customers with the knowledge and tools needed to make the appropriate decisions with applying for a mortgage. We typically take quite a bit of time explaining the process and make sure any questions are addressed before and during the loan application process. We are very sorry that the Customer did not have a good experience with our company and will certainly take her concerns and use them to improve our communications with customers in the future. I hope I have addressed her concerns, but if anything needs further explanation or clarification, please let me know. Sincerely, Robert K**, NMLS #190249Branch ManagerCc: Clint B[redacted]