Q: I just wanted to thank you for your very informative website and the information I found on good faith estimates.
I was working with a lender on a refinance and he kept dodging my questions regarding costs associated with the loan and would not provide a good faith estimate.
It was not until I got papers from the title company showing the loan amount and deducted out my current loan payoff (plus their fees) and my cash-out amount that I was able to see that the lender was charging closing costs somewhere around $11,000-$13,000 — or about 3 times what they should be.
No wonder he wouldn’t provide the disclosure! I withdrew the application today. Fortunately for me I did not pay any cash to the lender.
In this situation, should I file any RESPA violation complaint because the lender failed to produce a good faith estimate? I’ve been working with this guy for weeks and I’m not exactly sure when the application was submitted, but I know that 6 days ago the appraisal was submitted to him and he locked in the rate and I still didn’t get that good faith estimate I was owed.
A: Good for you for pursuing enough information to arm yourself against a bad-apple lender. You’ve not only saved yourself as much as $13,000, but you’ve probably saved yourself from solving a host of other problems down the line.
You can file a complaint with the commission or agency that regulates mortgage lenders in your state. You can also file a complaint online with the Better Business Bureau. The Federal Trade Commission might like to know about this company’s bad business practices. You can file a complaint online at www.ftc.gov. I’m sure your state attorney general would also like to know about this lender’s bad behavior. You should call their office and file a complaint.
I’m glad you didn’t pay anything upfront to this lender. But even if you had paid $500 in an application fee, it would have been well worth losing the cash to get out now.
To find a better lender, always interview at least four or five different types of mortgage lenders at the same time, and try to compare the loan programs on an apples-to-apples basis.
For example, I’d talk to a well-respected mortgage broker, a local bank, a credit union (if you belong to one or can join one, they usually have inexpensive home loan options), a top national lender like Countrywide Home Loans or Washington Mutual, and an online lender. Start your search at www.BankRate.com.
Published: Mar 11, 2005
We just finished working with first centennial mortgage in Brookfield Wisconsin. Well to say they were bad would be a compliment. This group of people made so many mistakes it was sad. From the management on down they were unprofessional, crooked and horrible to deal with. From the get go we received incorrect numbers and information. Don’t ever use this company ever. I fully intend on writing the BBB along with the cfpd.