Howard Bank Reviews (%countItem)
Howard Bank Rating
Address: 3301 Boston St, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21224-4976
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+1 (410) 750-8588 +1 (410) 266-9730 +1 (301) 490-1302 +1 (410) 750-3685 +1 (410) 465-4025 +1 (410) 531-8541 |
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One of my entire accounts and my overdraft protection were closed/removed with absolutely no warning or notification.
I had 2 accounts with Howard Bank one of which was an original *** Account. Without any notification at all, not even an email or a telephone call, they closed one of the accounts and removed my overdraft protection from my other account. Since I had no idea this had been removed, 15 checks/bills were returned thus bouncing and costing me an insufficient funds fee for each one. I can't understand why they couldn't notify me.
I am just looking to get the fees my creditors charged me because of this cancellation. And I would like to know why my overdraft protection was removed without any notification. Honestly, I am not the best bank customer and I am not angry that they closed my one account and removed my overdraft protection from the other. I am just annoyed at the fact that these were done without any warning or notification to me.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In his complaint, our Customer indicated that his account and related overdraft privilege was closed with no warning. As remediation, our Customer would like to get the fees his creditors charged him reimbursed by the Bank and he would like an explanation why his overdraft privilege was removed.
I sincerely apologize our Customer had a frustrating experience in not receiving our notices. In speaking with our Team, our records indicate that letters notifying our Customer that his overdraft and debit card privileges would be suspended if the account was not made positive was mailed on April 11 with a subsequent suspension notice mailed May 3rd. The May 3rd letter additionally indicated the account would be closed if the account balance remained negative. I understand our Customer said he did not receive the letters, and as such, I have asked our Team to resend the notices for our Customer's records.
Our Director of Deposit Operations contacted our Customer on June 20th to answer any questions in regard to the status of the account. The Bank also agreed to refund $105 in fees. A follow-up letter to our Director's conversation with our Customer was sent on June 21st noting the $105 fee waiver and a request that a check be sent to the attention of our Deposit Operations Director to cover the balance owed on the account. Our Customer indicated his questions on why his account was closed have been subsequently remediated with our Director's call and offer to reimburse $105 in fees.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy P
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
They are lying as usual. The only way I found out about my one account being closed was by coincidence when I visited the bank a few days after they had closed it. The manager will tell you that I did not know they had closed it but was not upset because we had talked about me bringing the account positive and then closing it but they did not give me a chance to do that and closed it without notifying me. As for my other account, it was positive when they decided to close it. There was absolutely no reason to remove my overdraft protection and they could have either called me, which they had done in the past, emailed me, which they had done in the past, or texted me since this was going to cost me a large sum of money. They did none of the above and I never received one notice about either of these accounts being closed.
However, as usually is the case, people like me have no other recourse in the matter, the company wins, and the little guy is the only one that suffers. They cost me a large amount of money. They could be a little more flexible in their negotiations with me but since they realize that there will be no consequences to their actions, they will continue to lie and refuse to negotiate with me.
Is there some way that I can just make public how unfair this bank is so that others do not get the treatment I did?
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's additional letter filed with your office.
Our Customer has requested reimbursement of fees owed to his creditors for his bounced payments due to his overdraft privilege being suspended on his second account. Our Customer believes he is owed these funds as he did not receive a letter specific to his second account that his overdraft privilege was suspended. Please note that letters referencing the suspension of his first account were copied in the Bank's prior response. Our Customer said the Bank may apply the requested reimbursement to the large balance he owes the Bank for overdrawing his first account which had subsequently been closed.
The Bank notes that not wholly accurate statements in prior complaint letters, such as no notices being sent by the Bank on any accounts, that the Bank closed both accounts, and that there was no reason for the overdraft privilege to be suspended by the Bank has resulted in additional correspondence. The previously attached Terms and Conditions (Pages 3-4) specifies the Bank's right to suspend an accounts overdraft privilege at any time. Overdraft Privilege is a courtesy account feature designed to help with inadvertent overdrafts, which must be promptly repaid, and is not a loan. An additional overdraft privilege suspension notice had not been sent for the second account and was not required as no action had been taken by our Customer in over sixty days (60) to remediate the substantial balance owed on the first account despite the first account's warning notices and bank statements. Our Customer's narrative indicates attempted account activity to significantly overdraw the second account shortly after the first account was charged off and despite the known overdrawn balance owed to the Bank. This account activity was unsuccessful as the overdraft courtesy was suspended on the second account due to the aforementioned outstanding debt and was a reasonable step by the Bank. Our research also indicates our Customer closed his second account via a phone request to the Branch, which is not typical, but was accommodated per our Customer's request and the account had a minimal balance at time of closure.
Although our Customer would not previously speak with our Collections Manager in June, I requested that he again call our Customer in regards to his latest letter. The call was productive, and per our review of account activity, the Bank offered to waive $280 from the balance owed to the Bank for the first account's charge off conditioned upon timely repayment of the debt. Our Customer accepted the bank's offer in writing and has requested two installment payments. Should the balance not be repaid timely, the Bank will forward the full balance owed to a third party collections agency per our process.
It's my understanding that our Customer's concerns in his complaint have been subsequently remediated. Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me at 410-*** should you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy E. P
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
The bank's offer to settle this matter was very reasonable and I accepted their offer. I must also note that Mr. Felipe R was extremely helpful in resolving this matter and deserves a tremendous amount of credit. Although originally I did not want to speak with anyone considered lower than corporate, I am thankful that Mr. R called again. It was a pleasure speaking with him and he was very polite and professional and his offer to settle this was very fair in my opinion.
Ms., I can't thank you enough for your assistance in this matter. Your role in this matter was imperative and without your assistance, this would not have been resolved. Thank you again for your fine work.
Respectfully
I was told my loan process would take 30-40 days, since I have 100% equity in my home. It took 90 days and ended in cancellation.
I have been working with Howard Bank (Howard Bancorp) over the phone since early February 2018. They were listed as 'Top 10 Banks for Customer Satisfaction" on Lending Tree but....I seem to having an issue with the processing of my loan. I am trying to take out a $65000 home equity loan on a property with 100% equity, appraised at $213,000 (as is). I thought this would be simple, but has been one thing after another & it seems like they're "fishing" for information, as if I am being dishonest.
First, they tried adding my spouse on a premarital asset (the house) & the loan, which we were both against. With good credit, a low debt to income ratio & this being my personal debt consolidation, I was not willing to budge. Something about "living in a spousal state...just adding spouse to the title & removing him later." After legal research, I spoke to both an FDIC bank and an attorney and was advised that this was an odd and unnecessary practice. All my spouse needs to sign are informed consent documents confirming him knowledge of this loan. After informing Howard Bank of the law, the issue was dropped.
Second, they insisted I provide a "6-month liquid cash reserve of property tax & payments" totaling $5000. When provided them with this information, I was misinformed about gift money vs. my own money, so I had to add myself to my spouse's bank account & wait for 2 months of bank statements. This subsequently pushed the loan terms past the 50-day expiration date & I had to wait to re-sign documents in early April 2018. I assumed at this point, it was all resolved & we would be moving forward.
Unfortunately, when I re-signed the documents, I was told that during the 2-month period I was waiting for those bank statements, the "bank changed their minimum from $50K to $100K" & suggested I take out $115K, nearly double what I initially asked for. Once I countered them with the fact that, if I did that, it would have to be at a lower rate than what my student loans are at currently, they called back saying it was "okay to keep it at $65K since you started with us before the change." So, I signed the papers & waited for the next issue.
Currently, after providing several years of residential history, rental lease agreements, filed income taxes, work history, salary history, total debts, employment verification with my company HR department, 2 months of liquid assets in 2 seperate accounts (they wanted to see where the money was transferring from each month), homeowners insurance & recent paystubs, I was then told due to a 2017 loss from my new company, my debt-to-income ratio was now too high. In order to combat that, I could "send proof that my spouse only pays the rent." I sent the requested 12-months of his personal bank statements.
They called on May 2, 2018 - almost 90 days since my initial inquiry, asking for a co-signor or more income because now my DTI is at 80%. What the underwriters did was take my 2017 start-up business loss and subtract it from my 2018 income. In addition, even though I do not pay monthly rent in our apartment, I was told that because my name is on the lease, I am considered liable for this rent. I have now cancelled the loan.
I would like a refund of my $495.00 appraisal.
May 11, 2018
Dear Ms.:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In her complaint, our Customer indicated that her application had been in process since February 2018 and that she became frustrated with additional requests for information to complete underwriting. Our Customer has since cancelled her application and requested that the Bank reimburse the appraisal fee.
I sincerely apologize our Customer did not have a good application experience. In speaking with our Team, they indicated that they had been reviewing documentation related to our Customer's business and other criteria that required further due diligence. Although necessary to complete underwriting, I understand from the complaint that our Customer felt frustration over the additional time in processing.
In appreciation of our Customer's business, our Team has approved the reimbursement of the appraisal fee that our Customer will receive by mailed check.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy *** CRCM
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I am happy enough knowing that I will receive my $500 appraisal back before the arrival of my child. I spent 90 days of my pregnancy on this loan and am just happy its all over.
Spent one year and thousands of dollars trying to get loan to end up with more debt and still no loan
In February of 2017 I decided to try to get an equity loan to do some improvements on my house and consolidate some debt. I applied with Howard bank online and was contacted by a Robert. He explained what was needed and I sent all required documents. We had an appraisal done on our house that I paid almost $500 for and then it went to the underwriters. I called multiple times and would get the story that the underwriters were still reviewing everything. Months went by and I was asked for more documents. I sent those in and still waited. A couple months into it he finally comes back to me and says they can't do it because I was an independent contractor who received 1099's and not w-2's. I asked why it was that it took three months to figure that out when it was sent to them at the beginning and he had no answer for me. So I stopped the process. A few months passed and I changed jobs to one that I did receive w-2's for. Also my credit score had gone up significantly in this time. I contacted Robert again and asked if we could do this again and he said absolutely. My mistake was going back to the same bank that didn't notice the 1099's at first. Now I'm going through the whole process again, planned on paying a couple medical bills that were on my credit report and one of my vehicles off with this loan. During this time of submitting the papers they needed, I was informed that Robert was taking time off and my account was now being handled by a man named Jeremy. After supplying all the paperwork he needed I had an appraisal done on my house. Mind you I live in Florida and hurricane Irma had just come through so I was also going to do some roof repair with this loan. Well the appraisal came back and they said I needed to fix the roof before they could give me the loan. I told them I was going to do that with the loan and they said they can't give it to me without fixing it first. So I saved some of my checks plus used the money in my checking account and had a new roof put on. This caused me to miss a car payment and it went on my credit report. After this they did another appraisal, a third one, which they paid for this time, only to get a reply saying that I hadn't been employed yet for six months with the new company so they wouldn't be able to give me the loan until then. Why didn't they notice this when I applied and told them when I started instead of going through all this?!?! Anyway, this rolled us into January of 2018 and they said it's a go but I had to submit all the papers they needed again under a new application. Did all this and just today found out that because of that car payment I missed they can't give me the loan unless I dispute the original medical bills that were going to be paid with the loan originally, so that we could raise my credit score back up. I told them to forget it and that this whole process has been a scam. This "bank" is terrible to work with and I will NEVER do it again!! I would like a refund of all my appraisal fees I have paid considering that they should have seen all the issues before even having me go through it as they were submitted at the time of the application. I had to pay for a total of three appraisals including the first one done originally in February/March 2017.
I want all three appraisals that I paid for refunded to me and to never deal with this bank again
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In his letter, our Customer indicated that his application(s) has been in process for a year and that he is subsequently frustrated that requests for documentation over this time did not result in the Bank being able to make a loan offer. As remediation, our Customer has requested that the Bank reimburse the two (2) appraisal fees that he paid for. Please note that the Bank paid for the third appraisal, mentioned in the complaint, which we confirmed with our Customer when our Manager spoke with him recently.
Management agrees our Loan Officer should have done a better job in working with our Customer in regard to requested documentation and other requirements. As such, our Manager has apologized to our Customer and the Bank will be reimbursing two (2) appraisal fees per request. Our Customer has indicated that his concerns are subsequently remediated with the reimbursement of the appraisal fees.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly at 410-988-1853 if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy E. P
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
The bank was very quick in responding and has agreed to reimburse what I have asked for.
Appraisal stopped the debt consolidation refi app did not have the normal amount of homes appraised per loan officer. Appraisal added debt to client
Applied for debt consolidation re-fi/cash out. An appraisal needed for $520.00 was made believing from the paperwork, conversations, and process that all was well. Appraisal came back far lower than the original purchase price of house 2 years ago and, per loan officer, only 3 homes compared instead of normal 4-6. Howard Bank contacted us while we looked for debt reduction. The appraisal $520.00 added to an already drastic problem and was not handled in a normal fashion for comparisons. We just want our appraisal back - we have enough debt to deal with and, going to you for help, it only made our problem worse. We just want the appraisal refunded.
We were contacted by Howard Bank for debt reduction with refi-cash out which the loan officer portrayed as doable and good solution. We thought we had it. Just needed an appraisal for $520.00 which we thought was high. Came back appraised lower than what we purchased the house based on 3 homes in the area rather than the 4-6 normally compared. We got a short-shift appraisal and a decline of the loan along with $520.00 added debt to pay off.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In her letter, our Customer indicated she would like her appraisal fee to be reimbursed by the Bank. Our Customer believes her property's appraisal was valued lower than it should have been and resulted in the Bank not being able to offer her a loan.
We understand our Customer's frustration and sincerely apologize we could not make a loan offer at this time. Our Manager has reviewed our Customer's appraisal, which was performed by a certified and independent appraiser, and has determined that the appraisal was valued appropriately based on the information available for our Customer's location. As such, the Bank is unable to consider the reimbursement of an appraisal fee because of a lower than expected home valuation. I understand this is disappointing news for our Customer, and as such, respectfully request that our Customer contact Manager Keith G at *** for further discussion of the details of the appraisal if helpful.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly at 410-988-1853 if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy ***
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
There are other banks and loan companies that will offer a re-fi/cash out WITHOUT an appraisal based exactly on the outcome of this scenario. Customers are looking to save money not output more and, in this case, causing MORE debt to consolidate. I chose this bank (Howard Bank) based on the connect made with me (I didn't contact them first) and the encouraging calculations made to "help us". I believed the loan would go thru. There was little to no "if's" about a bad appraisal or I would have certainly NOT had one done in fear of decline. I did the appraisal based on the way the loan officer presented my option. I now learn that other banks do not charge for this appraisal UNLESS the loan is approved or do not have appraisal fees at all. I was done a mis-service and now I am $520.00 futher in debt which I can not pay off thanks to Howard Bank and their loan policies. The response is void of compassion or even empathy or concern and given that, they shouldn't offer debt consolidation loans or re-fi's to people who in this case desperately needed it. It's business as usual for this bank.... and, as usual, costs them nothing but the loan officer's day's pay. I have since received three offers who DO NOT charge an appraisal and they bold letter that fact. Also in this case, the loan officer himself said the appraisal was "strange" and he "was shocked". Is that a standard response when declining a loan? Would it not cause the bank if they wanted the loan to investigate why or how but instead he put that on me - I already spent the $520.00. Why incur more time and possibly money to do the investigating myself. I receive notices all the time that my home has $XX,XXX.XX equity that I can use - it's a baited lure that sadly lines someone else's pockets at my expense. If anything, I hope this bank realizes that it's loan policies are like most banks unethical. Some appraiser somewhere is getting rich off a casual loan inquiry at the expense of the poor client. It's horrible practice and the response equally so.
This was my first payment to this bank on a new mortgage loan. I sent in the mail a post dated check to make sure that my first payment was paid on time. The check was dated for 12/29/17. I had wrapped the check in a piece of paper that was clearly written on both sides with notations that the check was to be post dated. The payment was posted before the date on the check which hit my checking account on 12/27/17 which resulted in my getting $111.00 in bank fees because it put me in over draft. I contacted the bank and was told it wasn't their practice to do post dated checks. I asked then why I didn't at least receive a phone call informing me of their policy. I was then told that they took in too many payments to be able to call all of their customers. My issue is that a two minute phone call would have saved me a lot of money. I feel their since they have sold my loan off and I will no longer be a customer that they don't feel like they need to correct this. I don't know how they could send my check through before the date.. I have worked customer service and have taken payments for over 15 years and would never have considered the actions that they took. If it was against their policy not to take post dated checks they could have mailed it back.
Refund i would love to get the $111.00 in bank charges refunded back to me.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In her letter, our Customer indicated that she had postdated her mortgage payment with a note requesting that the Bank not process the check until a later time. The Bank processed the mortgage payment check upon receipt, which subsequently resulted in overdraft fees with our Customer's Bank.
I spoke with our Customer since receiving her complaint and apologized on behalf of the Bank for her experience. Although it's not the Bank's process to hold mortgage payment checks as they must be processed when received per regulations, I believe our Team should have called our Customer upon receipt of the check as a courtesy. Per my call, our Customer indicated she would have moved funds into the account the check was drawn off of had she received a call but also understands that the Bank processes several hundred checks monthly making special handing more challenging.
I sincerely appreciate our Customer taking the time for my call and our Loan Operations Manager has authorized the reimbursement of $111.00 in overdraft fees by check which our Customer will be receiving shortly. Per my call, our Customer indicated her concerns were subsequently remediated.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly at 410-988-1853 if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy E. P
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Extended length of time to process loan application. Lack of communication from loan agent. Money wasted on an appraisal that is now out of date.
In reference to Howard Bank loan ID # ***
My wife and I submitted a loan request to ***. We were first contacted by another bank. I explained the reason for the loan to the lending agent. He informed me that since the house needed work, we would not qualify for a conventional loan, and they could not help me.
I was contacted almost immediately thereafter by Jason Mueller of Howard Bank. Jason asked for a little information on the nature of the loan, etc. I informed him I was looking to take out a refi and cash-out on a home that we owned out-right, with no current mortgage. The purpose of the loan was for debt consolidation and to finish the house that we had bought. We had purchased an unfinished house and wanted to complete it.
I informed Jason that another bank had told me the house would not qualify for a conventional, fixed rate mortgage. Jason told me that Howard Bank offers their own "Portfolio Loans" for just such occasions. I provided him with all the information he requested to determine if I was a candidate for one of their "Portfolio Loans". On 13 Jul 2017 we signed electronic signature consent forms for loan documents. We allowed a credit check and were informed by Jason that we were good candidates and we needed to have an appraisal done on our house. We submitted all requested forms in a timely manner. When asked for additional information or documents, they were provided within hours of receipt of the request. The last request for documents came on 08 Sep 2017, and were sent same day back to Howard Bank.
Howard Bank had an approved appraisal company contact us. Payment of $495.00 was required in advance. Payment was made on 19 Jul 2017. It took 4 weeks for the appraiser to show up and an additional 2 weeks for the appraisal to be completed. The appraised value of the house was right where I told Jason it would be, so there were no issues there.
Jason spoke to his supervisor and informed me that he thought we should go ahead and apply to an underwriter for a conventional, fixed rate loan. After a couple of weeks we were told by Jason, via phone, that the conventional loan was not approved by the underwriter. Jason said No Problem; we will go back to the original plan of using one of their "Portfolio Loans". I asked how long this would take to process, perhaps a couple of weeks. Jason said no, only a couple of days. He said they were quick on getting a response. He told me I should know by the following Monday or Tuesday. I waited until a week from the following Thursday to contact Jason. He informed me that the Vice President in charge of making this decision had not got around to looking over the application yet. Jason then had the gall to tell me the vice president is a very busy man and I should understand that he hasn't had time to look this over yet. Jason informed me he would have an answer on this loan application no later than end-of -business Friday.
It has been over 2 months since that Friday when we were to have an answer. It has been over 5 months since we started this loan process with Howard Bank. There have been no paperwork delays, no additional requests for documentation, nothing, including no response from Howard Bank. It has been so long since the appraisal of our house; the appraisal will not be honored by another lender.
To rectify this situation, we request Howard Bank either immediately process our loan under the original terms, with no further delays, or refund our appraisal fee of $495.00.
To rectify this situation, we request Howard Bank either immediately process our loan under the original terms, with no further delays, or refund our appraisal fee of $495.00.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In his letter, our Customer indicated that his loan has been in process for several months and it has been two months since he last heard from his Loan Officer. As remediation to his concerns over delays in processing, our Customer has requested that the Bank either complete the processing of his application per the original requested terms or that the Bank refund his appraisal fee.
Management has reviewed the complaint with our Loan Officer and agrees our Loan Officer should have done a better job in following up with our Customer. Management has determined that there was a miscommunication between our Loan Officer and the Underwriter concerning the portfolio loan request, mentioned in the complaint, which contributed to the gap in communication. As such, I sincerely apologize to our Customer and the Bank will be reimbursing the appraisal fee per request.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly at *** if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy ***
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
09 Jan 2018
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
I was contacted on Thursday, 28 Dec 2017, by Keith G of Howard Bank. When we spoke on the phone, he offered to reimburse me for my appraisal fee. He also asked if I would like to proceed with the loan. I told him I would, if they could process it with no further delays.
Mr. G said he would follow up with the underwriter and get back to me no later than end of business on Tuesday, 02 Jan 2018. I received a voicemail from Mr. G on Friday 29 Jan 2017 at 12:21 pm, asking me to call him. I returned his call at 12:56 pm, there was no answer, I left a voicemail.
As promised, I was contacted via e-mail by Mr. G on Tuesday, 02 Jan 2018. He stated Howard Bank would not be going forward with the loan. He gave three reasons for this decision.
Remodel of home not complete: This was the reason for the cash out portion of the loan, and was stated during the first conversation with the loan agent.
Location of home: Out in the country, this was disclosed during the initial conversation with the loan agent.
Size of lot: 40 acres, again, disclosed during initial conversation with loan agent.
I responded to Mr. G's e-mail and questioned why the loan was even considered in the first place, since all the reasons for denying the loan were disclosed to the loan agent prior to the start of the loan application. I have not yet had the opportunity to discuss this issue with Mr. G.
Due to the offer of reimbursement of my appraisal fee, I will consider this matter resolved. I am, however confused as to Howard Bank's method of doing business. I will advise anyone looking for a loan to avoid Howard Bank.
I have confirmed that our Customer's requested reimbursement of the appraisal fee was processed by our Team on January 2nd and mailed to our Customer.
As noted in his response, our Customer indicated that he considers his complaint resolved. We appreciate our Customer's business and I apologize we were unable to offer him a loan at this time. I understand our Customer still feels that his Loan Officer should have done a better job in explaining the underwriting requirements at time of application. As such, I have reviewed our Customer's response with our Manager and welcome our Customer to contact us anytime should he wish to discuss further.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly at *** if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy ***
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
Howard Bank is avoiding me (regarding my mortgage loan), after obtaining an appraisal fee from me. I seek justice and a refund.
I applied for a mortgage on *** and was immediately contacted by Joe B Consumer Direct Mortgage Lender for Howard Bank. The process was moving along smoothly and quickly - at first. Once I paid the $495 appraisal fee (and it was completed/sent to the bank), the bank sent the loan to underwriting. I received a call a few days later stating he would now need $5000 in cash assets to move forward with the loan. I said I didn't have that, so Joe stated he would "do some research" and get back to me. I contacted him after a week (phone and email) and he emailed me that he would call me. No phone call. I called and emailed him over the course of the next week and he never responded to any of it. They did not need cash assets initially, so I paid the appraisal fee. They didn't deny the loan - they are just ignoring me! This was not handled well. I want my money back.
I seek a refund of the $495 appraisal fee.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In her letter, our Customer indicated she had a frustrating experience with her loan application and that her Loan Officer had recently not been responsive. As remediation, our Customer has requested a refund of the appraisal fee.
Management has since spoken with our Customer, after receiving the complaint, and our Team has indicated that our Customer is moving forward with her application. The Bank appreciates the opportunity to remediate our Customer's concerns, and on behalf of the Bank, I sincerely apologize for our Customer's initial experience. Our Loan Officer should have done a better job in communicating with our Customer, which our Management team has addressed and no further concerns are expected.
As further remediation, the Bank will be adding a lender credit for the appraisal on our Customer's closing disclosure. Our Manager will continue to monitor the progress of our Customer's application and it is my understanding from the Team that our Customer's concerns are subsequently remediated.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly at 410-*** if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy E. P
SVP
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Shortly after filing a complaint, Howard Bank contacted me and has been working hard to make it right. They even offered to refund my appraisal fee if the loan does not go through - or add it as a credit if it does. Although the process is not yet over, I feel like the communication is MUCH better and that Howard Bank is trying their best to make it right.
I feel Howard Bank is deceptive and a predatory, dishonest lender that says whatever they have to to get business or attempt to.
On November 6, 2017 I contacted Lending Tree about a home equity loan. Travis *** of Howard Bank contacted me almost immediately and initially offered a deal that seemed almost too good to be true. In a nutshell they were offering me a $20000 cash out mortgage. Travis was very friendly and professional if not somewhat pushy that I had to pay a $495 appraisal fee to get everything rolling. I thought about it over the weekend ,I was even contacted by Travis that Saturday hoping I'd made a decision, and decided to give them the money immediately to get the mortgage started, even though it didn't feel 100% right to me. I didn't receive anything in writing from Howard Bank until a week or two later and all I did get was a thanks for doing business with us letter. I heard back the next week that the appraisal was only $80000 when I expected and was planning on it being $100000 or at least close. I argued that I had just had the property appraised for almost $90000 not 6 months ago. I was told that different appraisers and market conditions affect numbers.I understand some fluctuation but that was another red flag. Travis then offered to restructure the loan to cash out $10000 instead of $20000. I thought it over with my wife and though well, $10000 is better than $0, So I told Travis to continue , even though he repeatedly offered to turn to an FHA loan as long as I was willing to pay an additional $250 to get the property reappraised. I repeatedly told him I refused to go FHA because of some peeling paint on my garage I was wanting to replace with this loan with. The last straw for me came when the bank went through all the information I gave them in a timely manner and argued I had a lapse in employment and that once again I couldn't go forward without more changes such as refinancing credit card debt into a 30 year mortgage, or listening to another too good to be true offer of an FHA loan as long as I came up with the $250 appraisal fee right away to keep things moving. My employer even told me and showed emails form Howard bank asking them to change info on my employment verification form. They talked with me to show concern over the red flags they were seeing in this process as well. I questioned Travis about all the negative Revdex.com complaints that I saw ( too Late by the way ) he explained that the people with complaints were dishonest just like I was about the value of my home and my length of employment. I do not appreciate being told I'm dishonest by the most crooked bank I've ever dealt with. I'm sick to my stomach over the way this worked out for me. I wish I never would have even contacted Howard Bank.I feel I was preyed upon because of not so stellar credit and promised the world.
I want a refund of my $495 appraisal fee for a loan that was never going to happen in the first place.
December 4, 2017
Complaint ID#: ***
***:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com about our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In his letter, our Customer indicated he had a frustrating experience with his loan application. Although our Loan Officer was generally friendly and professional per our Customer, he believes in hindsight that his Loan Officer was not truthful as he was unable to get the loan he wanted. Our Customer indicated that his final conversation with our Loan Officer did not go well. As remediation, our Customer has requested a refund of the appraisal fee as he felt the Bank was never going to offer him a loan.
First, I sincerely apologize for our Customer's frustrating experience. Upon Management's review, our records indicate that our Loan Officer was courteous and professional and that initial loan disclosures were provided timely. Our research also indicates that our Team was working with our Customer to verify employment dates. The dates provided by the employer's completion of the Verification Form required our follow-up due to different stated periods of employment for our Customer. Emails indicate our Customer became upset with the lower than expected independent appraised value of his home.
We understand our Customer's frustration and apologize we could not offer him a loan at this time. The Bank is unable to consider the reimbursement of an appraisal fee, however, because of a lower than expected home-appraised value or a required review of employment history. Email records indicate our Customer at one point indicated that our Loan Officer was great to work with and then became increasingly concerned with the appraised value of the home later that day. As such, we understand our Customer is upset with the results of his application and is disappointed. We found no evidence our Loan Officer was not courteous and forthright, but respectfully ask that our Customer consider speaking with Manager Keith G at 443-558-1706 to discuss his experience with our Loan Officer further.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly at *** if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
There are seventeen other complaints of the same nature as mine on the Revdex.com website concerning Howard Bank's practices and promises and they are all curiously similar to mine. While I will always say that my loan officer treated me with respect, I do not feel like the bank is honest with their practices whatsoever. I'm not happy with how this was handled and of course the bank wants to skirt reimbursing my appraisal fee. I'll never do any business with Howard Bank and I'll make sure everyone I talk to about it knows why. This has been a truly awful and frustrating experience.
Howard Bank approved doing a refi for us.We spent $520 for faulty appraisal. Submitted tons of paperwork over & over again. They lied to us.
We started refi process on Sept. 12, 2017. We were initially approved to do a refi and Chris ....said we would get back about $20K cash out. They started everything very quickly and took our calls etc. at first but then later, they didn't even call us back. At the end of 6 weeks of submitting tons of paperwork to them, that seemed to have nothing to do with the refi, they said they couldn't do the refi after-all because of our debt to income ratio. Um, excuse me, you had all of that information from the beginning. Nothing had changed because we were careful not to use credit cards anymore. Which was painful since we were flipping a house and could not use any credit cards for materials. So this was all a scam. They sucker you into paying for a $520 appraisal and then they kick you out the door, basically. The appraisal was faulty because they didn't compare houses in our area that had 1 acre. Why? They said they didn't because they couldn't find any. Wrong! They didn't because these houses were priced tens of thousands above what they wanted to appraise our house at. Yes, they pick the worst houses, that weren't updated and weren't remodeled like ours were. They picked houses that didn't have acreage like ours. Why? So they wouldn't have to do a high cash out like they promised. They suck you in by saying you will get this huge amount and after they appraise your house at the worst possible price, they will say you will only get this small amount. First of all, we asked if we could hire our own appraiser and they said we couldn't. This has to be a lie because it doesn't make any sense. We didn't want to pay $520 for an appraisal when it should be around $300. They pick who they want. Who they know will give them what they want. For almost 2 months we submitted paperwork, over and over again. They asked for things that had nothing to do with refi but we gave it to them anyway. They demanded so much paperwork that I called to complain. What in the world they needed all this for? I was upset that Brittany..... asking for all this info did not tell me exactly what she needed. Instead I would be submitted paperwork over and over without any explanation why it was wrong the first 10 times, wasting my time. Brittney...would write very few words as possible. I had to submit contract papers, insurance papers, loan papers etc on an investment house that had nothing to do with our house we were refinancing. All these documents about this other house, they kept asking for over and over again. No explanation what was wrong with what I already submitted to them. So I wasn't sure if they didn't process it yet, or was there something wrong with what I gave them. It just seemed they were dragging it out as LONG as possible, until the finally said they couldn't do it after 6 weeks of circling and submitting all this paperwork. After 6 weeks of not using our credit cards setting us behind on fixing up the investment house. They said they couldn't do it because of our debt to income ratio, specifically a loan for $30,000 that we were paying $735 a month on. Well, they already had all the financial information from the beginning. They could have told us that before and saved us $520 appraisal fee and wasting 6 weeks of our time.
We want our $520 appraisal fee back for several reasons. First, because they lied to us saying we couldn't get our own appraiser (we have that in writing). Second, because the appraisal was faulty. They did not do comparables that were like our house. They did not find acreage that we had, that were also updated and remodeled, that also had a barn etc. They left those things out so they wouldn't have to give you cash out like they promised. They are very sneaky and deceptive. I can't get back 6 weeks of my life back so this is all I can ask.
Dear Ms.:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In her letter, our Customer expressed frustration with her application experience. More specifically, our Customer indicated that she had some difficulty in communicating with our Team and found out after submitting documents that the Bank would be unable to approve her mortgage. As remediation, she has requested the appraisal fee be reimbursed as she believes the appraisal of her home was inaccurate.
First, I sincerely apologize our Customer had a frustrating application experience. Although requesting documentation is a part of the application process, we understand the frustration especially when the Bank is not able to make a loan offer. The Bank is unable to consider, however, the reimbursement of an appraisal fee because the appraisal results were lower than expected. Our Team confirmed that an independent and certified appraiser, required by the Bank, conducted our Customer's home valuation.
My understanding from the Team is that there was additional consumer debt, identified after the initial application, which resulted in requests for information that unfortunately contributed to an extended review. The Bank expects outstanding Customer communication from all staff, and if this did not occur, we want to hear about it further. I would respectfully ask our Customer to consider speaking with Manager Keith G at *** so he may review our Customer's application experience further.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy E. P
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
First of all, if you read my complaint, I'm not requesting a refund of appraisal fee because it was lower than expected, it is because it was done INCORRECTLY. The appraiser did not appraise homes that were comparable to ours. As I already stated, he did NOT include homes in our area that had roughly an acre lot. Anyone knows that home values (and tax values) our calculated by lot area. Why would he compare our home with homes that have tiny lots? Obviously they would score lower. Also not all the homes were updated and remodeled like ours was. We also had an out-building that was not included in your comparables. The fact that you didn't even allow us to chose our own appraiser shows that you guys have some scam going. You have an appraiser that works with you to give you the lowest possible value of homes so you don't have to give the cash out that was in our contract. Deceptive bait and switch tactics. Why did you not allow us to find our own neutral appraiser?
Also, as also stated in my complaint, we DID NOT have any additional debt. We had called many times to talk to Chris saying that we were frustrated not being able to use our credit cards. We are flipping a home and couldn't buy many materials until this was done. In the end, the debt that Chris had cited, when he told us they weren't going to go through with our refi was there from August. It was a personal loan that we pay $735 mo. It was always there. You could check it yourself. They already had all of our financial information. I had given it to them over and over again. Nothing was left off.
And while I know and understand that documentation is required, your team was very vague in what they wanted. They kept asking for papers over and over again. I would keep sending them again and again. I would tell them to call me to explain to me if something was wrong but they wouldn't reply to me. Another week would go by and they would ask for the same paperwork. No explanation of why it was wrong the first 10 times.
Also, why would you ask for our year to date income statements, bank statements, employee stubs etc. for the whole year, if you weren't even going to use our new income amount? Why bother??? We made 3x as much money this year and showed you all our deposits, yet you didn't use this income to analyze debt to income ratio. You used last year's income tax numbers, that factored into not proceeding with our refi. Which is fine with us. We are glad that we did go with our company. You people are deceptive and use bait and switch schemes to sucker people in. You did not use our income that we made for this year but yet you asked for mounds of paperwork to prove this year's income. What the hell for if you aren't going to use it? Why waste my time?
In the end, I want you people to be accountable for having deceptive business practices. Your appraiser couldn't even appraiser a sock drawer...let alone a home. But you guys have it all figured out. Sucker the people in with a high refi cash out amount for bait and pull the ol' switchero.
Good for you guys! Hope Karma gets you back in the end...
Refinance on condo attempt
Me and my wife tried to get a refi done on our condo, after numerous attempts to try and get some kind of communication, was told at last minute couldnt close deal so no refi. This was after they took our money and had appraisal done. Im not complaining of fact they turned us down its how they treated us after they got money no more interest plus asked for information that no other company had asked us before this was our second refi. I work in an assessors office for gov and I have never seen or felt worse customer service. Dont go here if you want a condo refi in california.
Pay us back and give us a proper reason in writing why they couldnt close deal.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In his letter, our Customer expressed frustration with his loan application experience. More specifically, our Customer indicated that he had some difficulty in communicating with our Team and he found out at the last minute that the Bank would be unable to approve his mortgage.
We sincerely appreciate our Customer's business and understand that the loan application process may be frustrating at times. From our research, it appears there was an initial misunderstanding over the recent status of the application. We believe our Loan Officer could have communicated the status of the application more clearly, in addition to the mailed notice outlining reasons for the Bank's decision. We have reviewed our Customer's experience with our Loan Officer and no further issues are expected.
Our Manager has contacted our Customer since receipt of this complaint and indicated that the call went well and that our Customer had no further concerns.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy ***, CRCM
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
STAY AWAY! Applied for a Home Equity Loan and was approved. Stephen *** informed me about the process and what was needed. After two months of running in circles asking for the same information over and over again, I decided I wanted to cancel the process. Seth Ainsworth then gets involved and says he's going to take over the process because of how things had been mishandled up to that point. Magically my loan amount drops, my credit is being checked multiple times, and their trying to pay off my car loan. There was never an issue with my DTI ratio but no explanation could be given. They also denied checking my credit 3 times. Very rude on the phone once you start calling them out about wasting time. STAY FAR AWAY FROM HOWARD BANK!
Stay away, I wanted to refi my current home and they turned this experience into a nightmare, I had 2 appraisals which I had to pay for, after the first appraisal I was never told in detail what they wanted corrected so when they came back the actual appraser told me what she was lookin for, I wasnt going to pay again. so I wasted over 600 bucks on something that could have been rectified by a conversation .Never again and I am a real estate agent so I know the business.
After a year and false promises, no home equity loan
Over a year of complying to every request from Howard Bank and a year of their lies that I was approved for a home equity loan, and that they just needed this "one last things, I STILL have no loan.
Refund of home inspection.
October 19, 2017
Complaint ID#: ***
Dear Ms.:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In her letter, our Customer expressed frustration with her loan application experience. More specifically, she indicated it has been over a year since she began her application and she still does not have a loan. As remediation, our Customer has requested that her home inspection fee be refunded.
We sincerely appreciate our Customer's business and understand that the loan application process can be frustrating when it takes longer than expected. Our Team indicated that our Customer only recently completed her application in late September, by providing all requested documents necessary for loan underwriting, which was a cause for delays. Nevertheless, as remediation to concerns, our Team contacted our Customer and agreed to refund the home inspection fee by mailed check per her request.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy *. P, CRCM
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
410-
I was pre-approved for a mortgage in June and was denied end of August because house was located next to railroad tracks.
I was preapproved for a mortgage in June, completed all required paperwork requested, was asked to pay appraisal fee of $465 which turned out to be $495, paid it. Appraiser came to house and appraised it within loan guidelines with required home improvements for loan approval. I started to have home improvements completed as incurred expense of $691 when Howard Bank told me my loan would not be approved because of railroad next to my property. I request a refund of $495 from Howard Bank.
I requested a refund of appraisal fee of $495.
September 25, 2017
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In her letter, our Customer indicated her application for a loan was not approved after the appraiser indicated there were railroad tracks near her property. Our Customer indicates that she had completed several home improvements in anticipation of receiving a loan, and as such, has requested that her appraisal fee of $495 be reimbursed.
We apologize that we were not able to offer our Customer a loan due to the railroad tracks identified in the appraisal. In appreciation of our Customer's business, the Bank has agreed to reimburse the $495 appraisal fee per our Customer's request as remediation to concerns.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy *. P, CRCM
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
410-
Stay away from this Lender. Terrible, paid for appraisal in January, 2017, and with all the delays had to reapply for the loan and then in August they said they could not lend the money because of the condition of the home. They knew the condition of the home in January and let this go on for seven months. Further, they knew it was a loan so the home could be remodeled. Do not use this bank, ripoff.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
We appreciate our Customer's business and apologize our Customer did not have a good experience.
Our Manager has since been working with our Customer to discuss and remediate concerns.
Howard Bank
This company offered us terms of a mortgage, but has repeatedly changed the terms and has prolonged the process. The loan has not finalized yet.
6/10/17 was our first contact with Joseph B from Howard Bank regarding our loan application.
My husband, ***, applied for a mortgage on our second home at ***. Joseph offered a $66,000 loan, 30 years, 4.875%, closing costs $4202.44, with cash to us of $60,588.71.
On 6/12/17, it changed to $66,000, 4.875%, costs $3520.47, cash to us $62,479.53.
On 6/19/17, they made an error figuring ***'s income, and changed it to $88,000 with $57,837.60 cash to us.
On 6/20/17, terms became $63,000, costs $3241, and cash out of $32,749.13.
We questioned the drop in cash out, and were reassured that, closer to closing, we could adjust that number according to our exact needs.
On, 6/20/17, a Bridget M requested that we send the following documents: Home owners policy, recent paystubs covering 30 day period, copies of 2015 and 2016 tax returns, a letter explaining previous addresses for ***, copy of homeowners insurance and tax bill for our primary residence, a letter explaining the reasons that we need the cash out of the loan, and various signed documents.
On 6/21/17, we faxed all of these items.
On 6/22/17, Bridget claimed that they had not received the 2015 tax return. We informed her and Joseph that they were included in the faxed documents sent on 6/21/17.
On 6/26/17, Bridget, again, requested our 2015 tax return and Home owners insurance and tax bill. We informed them that these had been sent. Joseph was to be trying to locate these items.
On 7/5/17, Bridget requested the home owners policy and tax bill again. After expressing our concerns many times to Joseph, he attempted to locate the missing documents.
On 7/6/17, Joseph advised us that the Home owners policy had been located and that they would look further for the tax bill. He explained that their "system" had the documents all out of order and/or that they did not properly recognize all the documents.
On 7/6/17, we sent Joseph the tax information, again.
On 7/10/17, we were advised by Joseph that he discovered the reason for all of the delays, and apologized. The original application was entered with our primary residence on the loan instead of our secondary home address. He expressed that he would fix the errors and we would have to sign new versions of documents and start the process again.
On 7/11/17, we expressed concern that the cash out amount was lower than we were quoted, and Joseph assured us that we would have 3 days after the closing to cancel the loan if we are unsatisfied with the final terms.
On 7/12/17, the loan was the cash out amount was down to approximately $15,000. I do not have the details, as they have been removed from their web portal.
On 7/13/17, Joseph advised us that the loan was being processed, and would be submitted to be cleared to close by noon the following day.
On 7/20/17, we contacted Joseph for a status update. He advised that the final title work was being done, and that it should be complete "at any minute."
7/25/17, he apologized for further delays and said that at the end of the month, underwriters are very busy.
7/31/17, Joseph said the underwriter still had our loan and that he would give us an update each day.
8/1/17, a Jaclyn G requested 2 months of bank statements and info regarding a payroll deduction. This info was sent, along with additional investment info. Then, they needed our financial advisor to send further information, even after he directly addressed their questions in an email. We provided his direct contact information to Joseph, who says he contacted the financial advisor directly to obtain further information.
8/7/17 they claimed to have everything they need. 8/7/17 the loan became $63,000, $5060 in closing costs, 2 points, and $504 cash out to us. This is unacceptable. We repeatedly contacted them over this whole time period expressing our concerns about the delays and changes to the terms, but nothing was done to expedite it.
We believe that the company should honor the original terms that were offered by their loan officer on 6/10/17 of $66,000 loan over 30 years, at 4.875% with no points, with a payment monthly of $591.13 including escrowed insurance and taxes, with closing costs of $4202.44 and cash out to us of $60,588.71. The fact that interest rates may have changed during the long time that it took them to find the documents in the their system should have nothing to do with our loan. We did absolutely everything that they asked, and sent complete documents extremely quickly. This loan is much needed for various reasons, and those reasons have become increasingly more urgent as time goes by. We feel that Howard Bank is not honoring the original terms that they offered and have delayed the process intentionally.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In her letter, our Customer indicated that her loan's application processing has taken longer than expected and has sometimes included repeated requests for documents. As remediation, our Customer would like to restructure her loan's terms to a $66,000 amount over 30 years at 4.875% with no points.
First, we sincerely apologize for our Customer's experience. Although requests for documents are a part of the loan process, we believe our Team could have done a better job in working to resolve our Customer's concerns related to missing documents and other items. As such, we have spoken with our Team about our Customer's experience and no further issues are expected.
Manager Keith G has since been working to expedite loan processing and in restructuring the loan's terms and conditions in accordance with our Customer's wishes. On August 21st, our Customer indicated (a) that she does not wish to move forward with the loan, (b) thanked our Manager for his help in resolving concerns and (c) noted that she would update her Revdex.com complaint.
We respect our Customer's wishes to not move forward with the loan and welcome her to contact the Bank anytime in the future. Please feel free to call me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy *. P, CRCM
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
I applied for a home equity loan with Howard Bank. The loan officer pre qualified me with a median score of 604. After appraisal said score to low.
I applied for a home equity loan with Howard Bank. The loan officer pre qualified me with a median score of 604. After appraisal at a $500 cost to me the loan officer called me and said my loan was kicked back because my score was to low. Now I'm out $500. The loan officer spoke to an underwriter and cleared my score now it's a problem.
Howard Bank can refund my appraisal fee $500
July 7, 2017
Complaint ID#: ***
Dear Ms.:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In his letter, our Customer expressed frustration with his loan application experience. More specifically, our Customer's loan could not be approved as not all underwriting requirements were met for the requested product. As remediation, our customer indicated he would like his appraisal fee reimbursed.
We appreciate our Customer considering Howard Bank for his lending needs and apologize that we were unable to offer him a loan at this as time. In appreciation of his business, our Manager agreed to reimburse the appraisal fee per request. Our Customer has since indicated that his concerns have been remediated and that no further action was required by the Bank.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy P, CRCM
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Had to pay for a home inspection and then just as loan was to close, they hit us with another issue that caused heart-burn.
RE: Loan #: ***
To Whom It May Concern;
I am writing to you today to ask that the $570.00 appraisal fee I paid be refunded to me as the Howard Bank did not go through the loan process, therefore, it was a total waste of money and time. Also, why did you go ahead and change my current mortgage holder from Chase to your bank without this being firmed up, and Escrow closed? I want it changed back immediately.
My husband and I filled out and signed everything you asked for and was told we were ready to close when this issue arose regarding a "child support judgement", of which you asked my husband to contact his ex-wife "to see if she was happy with the amount of child care she was receiving " and get her signature. Not only is this an invasion of our privacy and a cause for marital discord, tell me what women in her right mind would EVER say yes to that question. My husband is a Native American tribal member of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. In this, his son's welfare is a high priority. His child support comes directly out of his check and sent directly to his ex-wife. If there was any issue of him not paying his child support, the Tribe would be the first point of contact for her.
This "ex-wife" issue is one that no new wife should have to deal with and to state that anything we do in the next 13 years will have the same outcome (denial of loan) because we will not ask for her signature is ludicrous at best.
I hope you do the right thing and refund us our money.
We sincerely feel that we were on track to close our loan and that Howard Bank is responsible for the cost we incurred for the home inspection they required.
June 23, 2017
Complaint ID#: ***
Dear Ms.:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In her letter, our Customer expressed frustration with her loan application experience. More specifically, she had concerns regarding additional requests related to the underwriting of her loan. As remediation, our Customer indicated she wanted her homeowner's insurance loss payee information to be changed back to the current mortgage lien holder and that she be reimbursed for her appraisal fee.
In speaking with our Team, it's our understanding the concern was in regard to a request to obtain a statement of satisfaction of child support from her husband's former spouse. Although this was required for underwriting, we understand and respect our Customer's desire not to obtain this documentation and wish to not move forward with the application. Our Manager spoke with our Customer on June 13th and he agreed to remove Howard Bank as a loss payee on the homeowner's insurance policy and reimburse our Customer's appraisal fee. Our Customer indicated to our Manager that her concerns were subsequently remediated and that no further action was required by the Bank.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy *. P, CRCM
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
410-***-
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
horrid underwriting practices and false promises.
I was referred to them by ***.com and seemed legitimately wanted to help, that was until you get to underwriting. I live in Michigan and I own an old farm house built in 1919, I purchased my home out right and have no mortgage. I wanted to refinance to get some updates done to my home like new windows, siding, gutters and landscaping. I contacted them and at first James O was helpful and got me to sign on the bottom line to get the ball rolling. Everything as far as documents go they had almost immediately, they sent an appraiser to my home at the tune of 400 dollars and she informed me that because I had some peeling paint that it would have to be fixed prior to approval. So my wife and I with the help of our children went to work and got everything the appraiser said needed to be done in under two weeks to the tune of another 1550 dollars. Which included hiring a window company to replace a bad window sill and a broken pane of glass. We then had the appaiser come back out ( another 200 dollars) and she stated to us and also in her report that we went above and beyond and did a great job. She then reported that to the bank, we proceeded with underwriting and that was when the problems started, the underwriter then gave us a list of 10 more improvements she wanted done and also wanted me to pay to have a title search done on a home I never owned ( my fathers house) to prove that it and its mortgage were not in my name. I responded with doesn't she have a copy of my credit report if the mortgage was in my name wouldn't be on there? There response was do you want the loan or not? In addition they wanted a roof inspection, a termite inspection a lead based paint inspection, an EPA representative to come out take samples of the paint on the walls and have it tested and certified the house never had lead based paint, a small door to a outdoor storage area replaced and many other documents like additional pay stubs, tax returns and 401k balances. At that point I said absolutely not and stop the whole process. At that time the mortgage broker "manager" Mike got in contact with me and said that he agreed the underwriter was being unfair and he would see if there was a compromise to move my loan forward. Well he came back with get us the documents and we can close. I did that reluctantly, then said they won't let the little storage area door go. So I went to Home Depot bought some wood, hinges, and a handle and made a new door with a weatherstrip at the bottom to make sure it got a good seal cause that was there problem. I finished the door painted it and sent in photos, which they said I would have to get the appaiser back out at my expense to take photos. Before I even had a chance Mike then said I had to have a licensed contractor come out and do a write up that whatever caused the peeling paint is fixed. Did that, then they had a problem with a nicotine stain on one wall said it was water damage and required the roof inspected. Did that (another 250 dollars). Then that came back with NO water intrusion on any walls or ceilings. They then came back and said that they needed my house that's almost 100 years old has to be lead based paint free certified and would not close until it was. That's where I stopped I had the inspector out (550 more dollars) only for him to do the XRF testing which was negative and take dust swipe samples, he then informed me that they would have to be tested in a laboratory and that could cost 1200 to 1500 more dollars and all of this was completely unnecessary because due to the age of the home it is safe to say that at one point the house was painted with lead paint but you can clearly see that was several layer of paint ago. But in order for a house this old to be lead free I might as well tear it down and rebuild. My house is in good shape (structurally) just needs some updating and cosmetic work to be perfect. I feel cheated and don't think this is right.
To let someone else look at my loan documents without prejudice and come to a fair conclusion or send all my documents back so I can continue with a different bank.
June 9, 2017
Complaint ID#: ***
Dear Ms.:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Revdex.com in regard to our Customer's recent complaint filed with your office.
In his letter, our Customer expressed frustration with his loan application experience. More specifically, our Customer indicated that the application process took much longer than expected and there were additional requests related to his property's appraisal and inspection. As remediation, our Customer indicated he would like another review of his application and/or that the Bank return his documents.
First, we sincerely apologize for our Customer's concern. We understand it can be frustrating to obtain inspections for roof, lead paint, and other underwriting requirements for older homes. In speaking with our Customer, we explored either having another review performed of the application and appraisal or reimburse our Customer's Appraisal/Property Inspection fee. Our Customer indicated that he would prefer a refund but may apply again in the future which we welcome. Per request, the Bank refunded $665 with a mailed check as final remediation to our Customer's concerns.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Timothy P, CRCM
SVP, Chief Compliance Officer
Howard Bank
410-***-