Prospect Financial Group Inc

We want to thank Ms. [redacted] for taking the time to bring this [redacted]er to our attention. We have taken the time to investigate the issue and would like to formally respond as follows. According to our records, Ms. [redacted] reached out to us on April 8, 2016, stating she had received an email from...

December 2014 regarding refinancing her home, and would now like to move forward with her mortgage refinance. Ms. [redacted] also called in to the office on the same day requesting to speak to [redacted], the loan officer who had sent her an email in December 2014. [redacted] had actually left the company before Ms. [redacted] responded, which is why she did not receive an email response from her original message. When Ms. [redacted] called in, we informed her that [redacted] had moved on and that we would assign her account to another loan officer.  [redacted] was the loan officer selected to assist Ms. [redacted], so he sent out an initial quote on April 10, 2016, based on current rates and the information we had that time. We received all of Ms. [redacted]’s documentation (application and disclosures) on April 12, 2016 (disclosures are required prior to locking in an interest rate). When we received all required documentation a few days after the initial quote, rates had gone up slightly. Rates change every day, multiple times a day, and Mr. [redacted] had quoted Ms. [redacted] at 3.69% APR (not 3.625%) on April 10, but had to adjust to 3.75% on April 12. This happens daily in our industry, and we often have to adjust rate quotes up or down until they are locked. Each document we require must be carefully and fully completed in order to proceed with the process. After receiving some of Ms. [redacted]’s paperwork, Mr. [redacted] noticed there was some information missing, because she was unable to find pension letters. He tried to submit the paperwork to the lender without the requested the documentation with no success. We do understand that underwriting requirements can be onerous, especially for homeowners who are retired or self-employed. However, we do not create the underwriting requirements, nor does the lender. These requirements are mandated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Because Ms. [redacted] is retired, pension award letters are required to show income (see page 4 in attachment 1). There were also other conditions that came back from the lender ([redacted] Funding) after the loan was submitted. These conditions are beyond our control, and thus, we had to ask for additional documentation. On June 17, Mr. [redacted] did call Ms. [redacted] to inform her about her loan closing. With the information he had at the time, he thought the mortgage would close with no issues, and proceeded to order the appraisal. On June 21, Mr. [redacted], an account coordinator at Prospect Financial Group, assisted [redacted] by emailing Ms. [redacted] to let her know we were close to closing. It was clearly stated in his initial correspondence (see Email 1) that Mr. [redacted] was working with Mr. [redacted] on the refinance. Our account coordinators help loan officers communicate with borrowers throughout the underwriting process to ensure we are as efficient as possible. We apologize if this was confusing. [redacted] Funding did send out another round of specific conditions around June 20, which needed to be fulfilled. Mr. [redacted] followed up with Ms. [redacted] about the conditions and went into further detail about why we needed more information from her in order to proceed with the loan. Because the conditions were not met (we never received the additional documentation necessary to proceed with the loan), [redacted] Funding sent a denial letter to Ms. [redacted], and an email to Prospect Financial Group on July 12, 2016 (attached: Email 2 – [redacted] references Ms. [redacted]’s husband, also on the loan). The denial had nothing to do with the credit report, and specifically stated that the loan would be denied for the following reason: “The file received a conditional approval or suspense on 6/17/2016 and as of 7/12/2016 you have not moved the file status to eligible for docs.” This means we did not have the documents back from the conditions list sent on June 17.   Regarding the timing of the credit report and appraisal, a credit report is pulled at the beginning of the process to help determine the interest rate and whether the loan will be approved. The appraisal is ordered a little later in the process (a few weeks in this case) because it does cost the borrower money, so we want to ensure the basic requirements for approval are met before we take that step, to avoid as much as possible situations where a borrower pays for an appraisal and is then denied for a loan. But again, the credit report itself was not the reason the loan was denied. We want to stress that the age of any applicant does not affect the timeliness of the loan closing. There are certain situations that do require more documentation, but that is completely out of our control and we do understand that the process can be frustrating when there are many lender conditions. Both Prospect Financial Group and [redacted] Funding are specifically in the business of closing loans (that is our only revenue source), so we would never initiate a mortgage refinance with the intention of not completing it. We do apologize that there are more requirements for certain financial situations, but these are lender guidelines dictated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and we cannot get around them. We try diligently to get our clients’ loan approved through the lenders we work with, and age has nothing to do with how we handle the process. We do have to ensure income requirements are met with any homeowner’s loan, no [redacted]er the age. We would be happy to restart Ms. [redacted]’s loan and get a new quote out based on current rates. Ms. [redacted] is certainly eligible for a refinance, but we will need all the necessary paperwork to proceed with the loan. We are not prepared to offer a refund at this time, as we believe we did everything in our power to assist with the closing of this refinance loan, and are still amenable to continuing the process. Again, we thank Ms. [redacted] for the information she has given us, and we will also be looking at what we can do to improve our processes going forward based on this.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I have detailed my replies in the attachment.  In short, Prospects response was simply an attempt to discredit us as clients.  However, the majority of their statements are incorrect, and I have documented this in the attachment.
Regards,
[redacted]
To Whom It May Concern, Thank you as well for taking the time to respond to my complaint, however, much of what you have stated is incorrect or seems to have been modified to put the blame on us for this failed refinance. As I have emails documenting most of what occurred during the attempted refinance, I will be happy to forward them to you to back up my responses to your reply.Re: The second lien on my home – Though I did not disclose this when I initially completed your application (4/10), Ms [redacted] was actually aware of the second on 4/11 (not 4/12) and by 4/12, had already modified our loan to accommodate the 2nd…and had requested a letter from us explaining why we needed the cash out to pay off our HELOC. On the 15th was when Ms. [redacted] sent me an email stating that she was unaware that I wanted to pay off my 2nd, and I sent her a reply stating that I thought we had resolved this on the 12th. So, stating Prospect was unaware of my 2nd because I didn’t initially disclose it is completely false…as Ms. [redacted] knew within 24hrs of my completing your paperwork, that I had another mortgage.Re: My application which was referenced for my credit score and home valuation – Let me clearly state that I NEVER filled out an application for Prospect or signed off on any of the information Ms. [redacted] supplied as my ‘application’. Your company purchased 3rd party information – which I was already aware of as Ms. [redacted]’s first email to me didn’t even have my name, from a source which asks that users fill out a form in order to view current mortgage rates…which is what I was doing. When I spoke to Ms. [redacted], I actually tried to provide more accurate information – which obviously was not used on this application. And, as has already been stated, you had my credit report and most of my financials by April 12th . Which was also the first time Ms. [redacted] informed us that we were approved.  Re: My Subordination Check – Again, this is another false statement that I assume has been made to make it appear that we caused the delay in our closing. Here are the facts. Ms. [redacted] confirmed (again) that we were approved, our appraisal ordered and the need for the subordination check, all on 4/18. On 4/20, I purchased the check – I will be happy to show you my receipt as confirmation. The delay in sending the check came when Ms. [redacted] accidentally sent me an email, intended for someone else (an [redacted]), stating that my appraisal had returned lower than expected – this was actually when I discovered the appraisal amount had been set for 515K. After questioning her about this, we waited a week (until 4/27) for your company to provide us new options/rates, then another few days (until 5/3) – as Ms. [redacted] had stated that you would be able to roll in our second, and then my wife and I took another week to determine whether we still felt comfortable moving forward with your company. On 5/11, I sent Ms. [redacted] an email stating that I had already sent the check. Re: My 401K – I am not sure how you arrived at this number (11K), but that is definitely not the amount of the 401K I sent Ms. [redacted]. Again…I have the email and documents to verify this.Re: My Taxes – Once again, you have provided the wrong amount (the taxes were 7.6K) and neglected the fact that in order to close, you then asked that we also pay 2.7K in Lender fees – despite your initial promise of “$0 fees out of pocket and $0 fees rolled into the loan.” Also, again, you have tried to put the onus on us, by commenting that our taxes were not disclosed, yet there is no clear option to disclose this information in any of the documents we did sign for you. Why is there the expectation that the client know what information to provide, when you the Mortgage company doesn’t know what questions to ask? As I am sure you’re aware, tax information is public knowledge…so, we obviously were not trying to be secretive about this.I believe I have addressed all of your comments, but, as I have stated several times, I will be happy to provide you, the Revdex.com and whomever else, a list of emails and documents to verify everything I have stated in this reply.It is frustrating to us that Prospect, a company which claims to have won many accolades for its customer service, would rather go through a lengthy process of trying to discredit us as potential clients, than accept that there were errors in their vetting and refinance processes. We never reached out to your company for a refinance, but gave them the benefit of the doubt based on the promises they made…promises, which were not kept.

First of all, we would like to thank Mr. [redacted] for bringing this matter to our attention. We are alwayslooking for new ways to improve our business practices, and we truly regret that Mr. [redacted] wasdissatisfied with the service he received from Prospect Financial Group.After...

speaking with Mr. [redacted]’s loan officer, [redacted], and after reviewing the complaintsubmitted to the Revdex.com by Mr. [redacted], we would like to formally respond as follows:Ms. [redacted] maintains she was not informed about the second lien on the home initially (the lien wasnot disclosed on the loan application). After the second lien was discovered (April 12), Ms. [redacted] askedwhat Mr. [redacted] would like to do (pay off or subordinate). Ms. [redacted] sent updating pricing for bothoptions on April 15. After Mr. [redacted] had questions about these options, Ms. [redacted] responded (April18) and gave a clear explanation of why the pricing was changing, as shown in the attached email chain(Email 1).Not only was there a second lien, but Mr. [redacted]’s credit came back at 673, which was lower than whatwas submitted on his application on April 8 ([redacted]) (see Email 2 for conversation between Ms. [redacted]and the lender’s underwriting department, where she is trying to make an exception for the lower creditscore).In addition to the second lien and lower credit score, Mr. [redacted]’s appraisal also came back at $470,000instead of the $515,000 submitted on his application. Ms. [redacted] emailed Mr. [redacted] to inform him ofthis on April 22 and to let him know that this may affect his pricing (see email 4).Ms. [redacted] emailed Mr. [redacted] on April 27, after working with the lender to process the loanapplication and get the best rate possible, with updated pricing and a detailed explanation of why thingshad changed since the initial quote (see email 3), which is based solely on the information Mr. [redacted]himself submitted on [redacted].Mr. [redacted] chose the zero cost option and was told he still needed to send the subordination fee (notpaid to Prospect Financial Group) for the second mortgage. Due to travel, this took over a month for Mr.[redacted] to submit. Once the payment was submitted, the lender approved the loan and we received aclear to close.However, [redacted] (lender) then discovered $9,000 in past due delinquent property taxes. This was anunfortunate setback, but Ms. [redacted] was never informed of this and it is not our practice (nor anylender that we are aware of) to check public property tax records for every file to determine whether anapplicant disclosed all debt on their loan application.After again going above and beyond, Ms. [redacted] received approval from management to roll thedelinquent taxes into the loan because Mr. [redacted] had stated he could not pay this at closing. Ms.[redacted] tried to make the situation as clear as possible and also attempted to call Mr. [redacted] to furtherexplain the situation (see Email 6).After agreeing to the new terms, we (Prospect Financial) had to run a new credit report, as the last hadexpired. The new credit report disclosed that Mr. [redacted] had acquired an additional $3,000 in debt sincethe day the first credit report was run (see email 7). At this point, the loan processors put a caution onthe account. To get Mr. [redacted]’s loan back in the approved status, Ms. [redacted] requested reserves fromMr. [redacted] to improve the debt-to- income ratio. The total amount of reserves in Mr. [redacted]’s 401K wasaround $11,000, which was not enough to push the loan back into the approved status.Mr. [redacted] was unable to provide any other reserves, and with his increasing debt, and unpaid propertytaxes, we were unable to move forward. Ms. [redacted] explained this on July 8 (see email 8). Ms. [redacted]provided further clarification on July 21 (see email 9).Mr. [redacted] then emailed asking for a reimbursement of his appraisal and subordination fees. However,these are not fees paid to Prospect Financial, nor are they lender fees. Ms. [redacted] clearly explained thatwe could not reimburse these third-party fees (see Email 10).Our initial email did state that we would only order the appraisal after the loan was approved based oncredit and income. The loan was approved based on these factors when the appraisal was ordered, butmuch of Mr. [redacted]’s financial information changed or was disclosed after this. When any financialinformation changes during the course of a refinance, the rate and refinance scenario is subject tochange as well.As with any mortgage broker, we must work with both the lender and the borrower to make sureminimum lending requirements are met. We do not set these requirements and can only work with theinformation we are given. At the same time, we have a duty to our clients to try to get the best ratepossible and provide all options for each unique scenario. We take this responsibility seriously, and aretruly disappointed that we could not meet Mr. [redacted]’s refinance expectations.We apologize and take responsibility for any misunderstanding or miscommunication concerning ourzero cost loans, eligibility criteria, and any third-party fees. After reviewing the correspondence betweenMs. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted], we do believe that Ms. [redacted] did do the best she could to get this loanapproved and made her decisions, suggestions, and the process clear every step of the way.We would be happy to reconsider Mr. [redacted]’s loan application when the debt-to-income ratio can belowered.

My loan officer, Jessie B, was very personable, enthusiastic, and professional. The process took about 30 days as promised. The notary was provided and came to my home to sign the final papers at closing. What could be easier? Jessie was a pleasure to work with. She made this refinancing experience the best that I've ever had.

We have been diligent in responding to Ms. [redacted]’s messages. In
response to the initial complaint, again, we did not run her credit report, and
we apologize for any miscommunication about the loan interest rate. We cannot
lock in rates until a borrower is approved for a loan. Of course it is never
our intention to mislead potential borrowers, but we are subject to market
fluctuation like any mortgage lender. We try to encourage as much business as
possible when rates drop, so we can help our borrowers get the best value.
 
This is an issue of miscommunication. If we made anything unclear
in our communication with Ms. [redacted], we sincerely apologize. However, we cannot
change the current market rates and therefore have no way of satisfying Ms.
[redacted]’s original request to promise a lower rate. We are sincere about resolving
this matter, but we feel we have addressed the issue to the best of our ability
and are unsure of how to satisfy Ms. [redacted]’s request at this time.

Hello [redacted], We apologize that you did not receive the $500 appraisal reimbursement that was promised to you. According to our records, the check was mailed on 10/13/15. We have issued another check, which is being overnight-ed and should arrive to you no later than Thursday, November 12th. The...

tracking number for this package is [redacted]. Once again, we apologize for the delay. Best Regards,[redacted]
Prospect Financial Group, Inc.
[redacted] [redacted]
Direct: [redacted]
Fax:
[redacted]
BRE #[redacted] | NMLS #[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
First of all, Prospect Financial still did not answer my question "Did they run my credit history?"
Second, if interest rates are constantly fluctuating then why wouldn't you want to lock in the rate that was quoted to your customers?  This is just another bait and switch game that Prospect Financial is playing. 
Third, I left and sent messages to Mr. [redacted] and I received no response from him.  If he really wants to help then send me an email.  I do not wish to speak with him via telephone since I want everything in writing. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Mr. [redacted] signed his loan documents on July 17
and received a check for $500.00 for his appraisal reimbursement two weeks
later, on August 1. Due to a clerical error, the condo certification was not
included in the appraisal reimbursement check. This error was fixed the next
day, and a $72.95 check for the condo certification was sent on August 2.
 
We believe the reimbursement was handled in a
fair amount of time. This is in line with our current policies and procedures,
a process that was made clear to Mr. [redacted] from the beginning.
 
We consider this matter settled and feel we have
provided Mr. [redacted] with excellent service in fulfilling everything we
promised.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[Thank you for your reply.I still do not understand why it cannot refund to me.  I do need detailed reason of why no refund.  The change from no cost to cost was not communicated by [redacted]; I did not make a mistake.  If no proof of communication is found, I should receive a refund, just like other customers had received through Revdex.com.]
Regards,
[redacted].

Hello, The complaint has been resolved between Prospect Financial Group, Inc. and [redacted]. Please see email from borrower below. Revdex.comDispute Center4747 Viewridge Ave. Suite 200San Diego, California 92123 Dear Sir: I am writing in reference to my...

complaint ID [redacted] filed on 10/4/16, against Prospect Financial Group Inc, (PFG), located at 948 Garnet Ave., San Diego, California.  In this respect, I want to inform you that we have arrived at an amicable settlement with PFG, whereby the company has agreed to pay me the $460.00 amount which I had filed in the complaint. In summary, I ask you to please withdraw my complaint immediately, as I have no further claims against PFG. Please acknowledge this message that my claim has been settled. Also please inform PFG attention Mr. [redacted], Manager, of this situation. Thank you for taking care of this request. [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
 
Obviously, Mr. [redacted] made it pretty clear that he will not be able to satisfy my requests.  My initial complaint still remains the same and I would like Revdex.com to investigate Prospect Financial Group standard business practice and the bait and switch game that they are playing with their customers.  The only documentation I have is an email from Prospect Financial Group employee inquiring what term and rate I want and I responded with 25 years @ 3.99%.  My question to Revdex.com is why would they ask me what term and rate I want and not lock it in if they know rates are constantly fluctuating?  Please let me know if you would like me to forward you the emails.  
Regards,
[redacted] [redacted]

Hello, 
The complaint has been resolved between Prospect Financial Group, Inc. and [redacted]. Please see email from borrower below. 
Revdex.com
white;">Dispute Center
4747 Viewridge Ave. Suite 200
San Diego, California 92123
 
Dear Sir:
 
I am writing in reference to my complaint ID [redacted] filed on 10/4/16, against Prospect Financial Group Inc, (PFG), located at 948 Garnet Ave., San Diego, California. 
 
In this respect, I want to inform you that we have arrived at an amicable settlement with PFG, whereby the company has agreed to pay me the $460.00 amount which I had filed in the complaint.
 
In summary, I ask you to please withdraw my complaint immediately, as I have no further claims against PFG.
 
Please acknowledge this message that my claim has been settled. Also please inform PFG attention Mr. [redacted], Manager, of this situation.
 
Thank you for taking care of this request.
 
[redacted]
[redacted]

We did not run Ms. [redacted]'s credit.  She informed us that the company she was working with matched our offer (11:43PM via email on Friday, May 30th), the same day she sent us her documentation (Friday, May 30th), we elected not to proceed in processing her loan Monday morning.  We responded first thing Monday morning that she should take the deal with the other company (same deal we offered) because she had already completed an appraisal with them.  
In regards to locking loans, we cannot lock a loan unless we have them approved for the loan.  She was informed via email on Friday, May 30th at 10:49AM that we cannot lock a loan unless she is approved for the loan.  All of this documentation is stored in emails.  Because someone sends in documentation, that doesn't mean they are automatically approved for a loan.  There is a process that must happen.  We need to order title, calculate debt to income ratios, and fully approve them for a loan before locking.  This process takes time.  We quote current market rates like any other mortgage company, we are no different.  We cannot control rates as we are subject to the market.  When someone calls in for a quote, we give them real time, "live" pricing.  We cannot guess on rates, we can only quote what is available at the time.  In no way is this a bait and switch tactic.  If someone calls in at 1:00PM and receives a quote, that rate could be totally different at 1:10PM.  This is how the market works.  Our rates are subject to MBS and 10 year treasury trading, just like every other mortgage lender out there.  We are not in a position to make up our own interest rates, everything is determined by the free market.
We will reach out to Ms. [redacted] ASAP and try to resolve this matter with her directly.  We don't like receiving complaints and do everything we can to make sure our borrowers are happy.  Hopefully we can find a resolution that would help Ms. [redacted] and put her in a better position.  We will do everything in our power to make sure this can be resolved with Ms. [redacted].

I have worked with Coby C at Prospect Financial twice on refinancing my rental property and have been very satisfied with the competitive offerings, professional and timely communications and consistent delivering on the promised offerings (rate, term, paperwork, etc) throughout the refinancing process.