L&F/Fonville Morisey Real Estate

First time homebuyer mislead during the preapproval process which resulted in monies lost, time wasted, and emotional distress.On 10/31/13 I applied for a preapproval on Fonville Morisey's site. On 11/1/13, I received an email congratulating me that I had been preapproved for a mortgage loan of up to $150,000. I was given the go ahead to start searching for my home and was referred to one of their realtors by [redacted] the loan officer. On 11/4/13 I faxed student loan documents showing deferment to Mrs. [redacted] per her request. Additionally,I sent an email advising that the fax had been sent. On that same email, I asked that she "Please let me know if anything else was needed." I finally found the one that I wanted. On 12/19/13 I was advised by my realtor that I was officially in a contract with a due diligence period set to expire on 1/17/14. Out of excitement, I immediately sent Mrs. [redacted] an email advising of the good news and also asked if there were any documents that I needed to provide to her. Our meeting was sheduled for 12/26. In the meantime, I received a text on 12/19 from my realtor advising that "We have until January 17th to find out everything you would need to know about that house that may make you change your mind about buying it." She then followed up with another text saying that "The sooner we can schedule the inspections the better." On 12/20 my realtor sent me a text advising that she would be on vacation from 12/23 until 12/27 and she asked if I would like her to schedule it for me. I agreed to the inspection thinking this was all part of the process.On December 26, 2013, I met with Mrs. [redacted] and brought along the requested documents. When I got home that evening I received an email asking to call her ASAP. She said that my paystubs reflected that I was a temporary employee and if so, I must be permanent before getting a mortgage loan. I listed the place that I physically report to work to everyday as my employer on the application which is what I thought to be accurate and honest. Mrs. [redacted] said that she wished this one piece would have come up in one of our conversations. As I explained to her, no where on their application does it ask whether your job is permanent or temporary. In fact it says: "We generally need to verify two full years of employment in the same or different employers." I had no way of knowing it needed to come up especially since they did not feel the need or see the importance to list this on their application.After expressing my concerns, this is the response from [redacted] I am TRULY sorry for the situation that you are in and for what happened during your loan process. However, my manager here at FM Lending told me today that FM Lending is not going to reimburse you for any of your out-of-pocket expenses that you referenced in your email today and your text message to [redacted] last week. The home inspection and the termite report inspection that you had done are not requirements of your mortgage loan approval for a [redacted] loan. They are prudent things to have done on an existing home, and I'm sure they are things that [redacted] recommended that you have done. However, they were not a requirement of your loan approval nor were they disclosed as fees on your good faith estimate. It is an unfortunate situation that you had these inspections done prior to your loan formally being put in process."My complaint is that if they had done the preapproval according to how their website says, and requested the documents in the beginning, there would have never been a preapproval. Mrs. [redacted] keeps referencing a part in the preapproval letter that says final loan commitment is subject to documentation of info. However, she conveniently leaves out the first paragraph that says she has reviewed information regarding income, assets, employment, as well as the [redacted] credit report.The below link shows how and when a preapproval should be issued according to FM Morisey. Mine was not handled that way. http://blog.fmrealty.com/2013/05/fm-lending-pre-qualification-and-pre-approval/ Desired SettlementI would like to be reimbursed for my out of pocket expenses during this process. This whole process was guided by FM Morisey employees-not me. I think they should take accountability and stop pointing the blame at me for following directions of who I thought to be the professionals. Its one thing if my loan wasn't approved during processing because of income discrepancies or my credit being changed but I never had a chance at a loan to begin with which is the point that I was trying to make to the loan officer. I am seeking reimbursement for the following:$200-due diligence fee$360-Home inspection fee$90-Pest inspection fee$250-Realtor retainer fee (or do not cash check)$100-Gas spent looking for homesBusiness Response FM Lending takes every clients concern very seriously. Though we make every effort to ensure our borrowers transactions go as smoothly as possible, there are parts of the process that are out of our control and are dictated by the information we receive. FM Lending is a mortgage banker who approves loans that are transferable to the secondary market ([redacted])and has fully delegated approvals with [redacted] to approve loans on their behalf. With this being said, we have to follow the guidelines set forth by them. All loans (except portfolio loans) that are done in the mortgage environment must follow the same regulations and guidelines.[redacted] who eventually is the end investor of 95% of todays conventional loans have specific language that directs what we can accept for employment and what we cannot. If we are told the borrowers employment is company X and we pre-qualify a person based on the borrowers verbal information but come to find that the borrowers employer is actually company Y, it may disqualify the borrower for financing under [redacted]s guidelines. It may be that FM Lending disagrees with these guidelines and would prefer to approve the situation, we are not allowed to do so and transfer the servicing to the Agency. We are obligated to follow the compliance and guides set forth by regulatory authority and we do.This situation is unfortunate however I am glad to know we were able to deliver the news no matter how good or bad on the same day we realized the information was not as originally described. The date of the contract in this case was 12/19 and the day after Christmas the Loan Officer met with the client, reviewed their documentation and advised them of the issue. I do not know how it could not have been more decisive or swift. In that I am comforted knowing the borrower was not led on any further or told we will see what we can do but given the facts as quickly as possible so they could direct the actions needed on their behalf. We wish every borrower success and happiness in the process of finding their home and obtaining the proper financing to do so.