ACE Mortgage Fundind Trask Munoz Breach of Contract, False Promises, Offers Products that don't exist Englewood Colorado
In early July, 2007 I filled out an on-line inquiry for refinancing. I can't remember the site. I received several responses. I spoke to several brokers on the phone and decided that Mr. Trask Munoz at Ace Mortgage Funding sounded very helpful and set up a meeting for July 9th at 4:00pm.
On July 9th, Mr. Munoz established our needs including getting out of a 3-year interest only ARM and consolidating our credit card debt. He asked for some time to look over some options. About 1 week later Mr. Munoz called us with a great option. He had found something he called a future equity value loan with which to consolidate our debt. He said that this loan could be processed immediately following closing on our refinance. He said that we would need to pay off a small second mortgage that we held with Household Financial for $15,000.00.
At his urging, I borrowed this money from my mother, Louana George. Mr. Munoz said that he could not process the refinance without having this paid off. I stated that I could only borrow the money from my mother if he could get us enough on the second loan to immediately pay her back, to which he responded no problem. He said that the second loan would be approximately $50,000.00, which would cover all of our credit card debit, plus the loan from my mother. He said that the payment terms would be approximately 14% for 20 years. Overall, the two products together were supposed to save us about $500.00 per month.
We chose to take the mortgage with Ace Mortgage Funding because we were told that we would get the second loan to consolidate our debt which would make the higher payment on the refinance possible for us.
There was some concern about closing the first mortgage because Scott was going to be in Brazil for much of the month of August, so Mr. Munoz forwarded us a power of attorney from the lender on the refinance, which Scott signed. Mr. Munoz assured me that the loan would close quickly. However, over the next several weeks, there were several times that I contacted him asking when we would close and was told that he was working on it. On July 31, 2007 I paid off the small second mortgage and was told by Mr. Munoz that we would be able to close by the end of the week and the second loan some time the following week.
On August 10th I was scheduled to go in to sign the papers on the refinance, but at about 3:00pm, Mr. Munoz called and said that they needed a letter from my mother regarding a joint savings account. I informed him that I would get him the letter but that I was leaving for Canada that Sunday and would be gone until the 20th, when Scott also returned. On the 20th we finally closed on the first loan.
While in Mr. Munoz's office on August 20, 2007, we said, now this second loan won't take as long, right? We were assured that it would not as he had all our information and that the most we would need to provide would be updated paystubs. Mr. Munoz had us sign some paperwork having to do with the 2nd loan at that time and assured us that everything would be in place shortly. I have not been able to attain copies of these papers from Mr. Munoz at this point.
On August 30, I contacted Mr. Munoz via email to inquire about the second loan. I was told that he was working on the approval and would have some information in a few days. I heard nothing additional until I wrote to Mr. Munoz on September 19, asking for a progress report. I was told that he was working on it as we speak and that the lender was requesting clearer copies of my and my husbands ids. We faxed those to him on September 20, 2007.
On September 24, 2007 I wrote again asking about the status of the loan and was told that it was getting close and that Mr. Munoz was just wrapping things up on his end. On September 26 Mr. Munoz wrote asking me to sign three documents entitled Consumer Caution Notice, Additional Sums Refinance Disclosure, and Program and Product Disclosure Notification Form. My husband and I signed these forms and faxed them back on September 27th.
On October 1, I emailed again stating my concern that the loan hadn't been taken care of, and was told again that he was working on it. I requested something more specific and received no response.
On October 3, 2007, I emailed Mr. Munoz to inquire yet again on the status of the 2nd loan. He did not respond to my email, so I called and left a message. Again, I did not receive a response, so I called and left a message for his supervisor.
On October 4, Mr. Munoz called me back and told me that the product no longer existed. I inquired as to when it ceased to exist and was told well, the market changes a lot and I don't know exactly, but that he had been looking around for something for us, that he was sorry that he hadn't gotten back to me but that he didn't realize that the second loan was so important to us. I expressed my displeasure with the circumstances in no uncertain terms, explaining that as he had assured me that it would be no problem to get the second loan, and that it was in the works, I had not paid my September credit card bills, which were now late, and that I now owed my mother $15,000.00 on his advice and had no way to pay it back. He tried to blame the situation on the market, but as he had had more than 6 weeks from the time of the closing of the original loan until the date of our conversation, fast market changes seemed unlikely.
Mr. Munoz presented this second product as largely a de facto done deal, and my husband and I based our choice of broker and first loan on Mr. Munoz's assurances that the second loan would be easy to do and would make the first loan payments bearable for our budget. At this point, we feel that Mr. Munoz both breached a verbal contract and misrepresented himself and the products at his disposal.
Since October 4, I have tried to get copies of my file including documents that I and my husband signed ostensibly for the second loan, to no avail. I was told to that the file had been sent to corporate and then later to contact Mr. Munoz's supervisor, Damian Thornburg. I left a message for Mr. Thornburg on October 16 requesting the information. In addition, research has shown that the type of product Mr. Munoz claimed to be working on for us has not existed in the state of Colorado for more than 18 months.
Judoheidi
Englewood, Colorado
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Judoheidi
Englewood,Colorado,
U.S.A.
Re: Rebuttals
#6Author of original report
Fri, August 29, 2008
Just a few things to the rebuttal authors:
1) I know the market changes quickly. Why didn't Mr. Munoz CALL ME OR CONTACT ME when the market changed but instead insisted that he had everything "just about ready to go?" For six weeks! And, in retrospect, the product that he was offering us didn't exist in Colorado BEFORE he offered it to us, and hadn't for several years.
2) We were not "jet setting around", we are athletes and we were participating in the World Championships and training camps.
3) Whether Mr. Munoz is a good or bad person is irrelevant. He misrepresented his abilities to secure a loan for us while continuing to string us along for more than 6 weeks before admitting that he could do nothing for us. Our mortgage payment is now 1/3 higher and we are stuck with personal mortgage insurace which we had not had before. Plus we own money to my mother which we borrowed at Mr. Munoz's request. He is now claiming that we never told him that it was a loan, or that we were trying to consolidate debt.
Perhaps I should have spent more time researching the market and products available, but isn't that what you hire a broker for? We feel deceived and let down. I know the market sucks, but lying is unacceptable. If on day one he had said, your requests are unreasonable, I can't do that for you, we would have been happier than we are now, which is stuck with the same payments on other debts and a $600/month increase in our mortgage!
Ctyler
Salinas,California,
U.S.A.
Fast market changes actually prevalent
#6Consumer Comment
Mon, August 25, 2008
After reading this rip off report I can't help but feel for both parties. This is an unfortunate situation. The reality is that this is currently very common throughout the U.S. As I notice the time period that the report references I can't help but have flashbacks of my own situation in the mortgage business.
I am an Analyst of the mortgage market and have been throughout the boom and gloom. One of my properties was and is upside down $150,000. It was impossible to refinance due to lack of equity. No investor would dare loan myself any money due to lack of collateral. This occurred during the same time as the report references. Since I was personally affected and I am supposed to be an Analyst I cannot help but chime in with my two cents.
There is a line in this rip off report that states market changes seemed unlikely. I'm sorry but that could not be further from the truth. There has been no time in the history of the United States that the mortgage market has ever been worse and went through such radical changes in such a short amount of time. Investors went back and forth pushing and pulling loan products on and off the shelf. With home values going down and homeowners beginning to default on previous loans, investors were scrambling.
During this time period, Loan Officers had to communicate what is being communicated to them. Just as Loan Officers communicate to clients, Wholesale Representatives communicate to Loan Officers, Wholesale Mangers communicate to Wholesale Representatives and so on. There are many chains of communication that lead to a Loan Officer. When there is no volatility in the market there is no need for too much communication from the end investor all the way down to the Loan Officer. A Loan Officer is somewhat on the low end of the totem pole and always the last to know. The get paid the least and put up with the most. While the mortgage crisis was beginning investors were pushing and pulling loan products on and off the shelf. The communication flow from top to bottom was full of static and confusion. This rip off report also states that the particular loan had not existed in the state of Colorado for more than 18 months. The reality is there are thousands of lenders in America all with different products and guidelines. I am not going to state facts without doing my due diligence in research but I will say that the loan product referenced was in fact prevalent during that time period. That is simply my objective opinion. Everything is clear and 20/20 in retrospect but during a mortgage meltdown where investors are starting to lose billions of dollars, nobody knew what the reality was. If billion dollar investment firms (which lost billions) did not know what was going on and how exactly to proceed, why would a Loan Officer?
It was stated that Mr. Munoz (the Loan Officer) offers products that don't exist and gives false promises and is in breach of contract. This Loan Officer is on the low end of the totem pole and is always the last to know. The current reality for that time period was one of mass confusion. The information that the Loan Officer has access to is only as good as where it is coming from. But where it was coming from was not a stable and reliable place. Not to the fault of anyone in particular but we were in a mortgage crisis and still are. This is just the unfortunate reality. I would strongly recommend that more research be done on the subject matter to clearly conclude where the finger is to point. In my opinion there is no one person in particular to place the blame. This is an unfortunate result of the worst mortgage meltdown in the history of the United States and it is a shame that this Loan Officers name is being dragged around. I sincerely feel for both parties involved and wish everyone the best. Moving forward, it is my recommendation that this report be deleted due to the original author's unrealistic basis.
Ctyler
Salinas,California,
U.S.A.
Objective Statement: The Mortgage Market did not just "change" it "CRASHED"
#6Consumer Comment
Fri, August 22, 2008
After reading this rip off report I can't help but feel for both parties. This is an unfortunate situation. The reality is that this is currently very common throughout the U.S. As I notice the time period that the report references I can't help but have flashbacks of my own situation in the mortgage business.
I am an Analyst of the mortgage market and have been throughout the boom and gloom. One of my properties was and is upside down $150,000. It was impossible to refinance due to lack of equity. No investor would dare loan myself any money due to lack of collateral. This occurred during the same time as the report references. Since I was personally affected and I am supposed to be an Analyst I cannot help but chime in with my two cents.
There is a line in this rip off report that states market changes seemed unlikely. I'm sorry but that could not be further from the truth. There has been no time in the history of the United States that the mortgage market has ever been worse and went through such radical changes in such a short amount of time. Investors went back and forth pushing and pulling loan products on and off the shelf. With home values going down and homeowners beginning to default on previous loans, investors were scrambling.
During this time period, Loan Officers had to communicate what is being communicated to them. Just as Loan Officers communicate to clients, Wholesale Representatives communicate to Loan Officers, Wholesale Mangers communicate to Wholesale Representatives and so on. There are many chains of communication that lead to a Loan Officer. When there is no volatility in the market there is no need for too much communication from the end investor all the way down to the Loan Officer. A Loan Officer is somewhat on the low end of the totem pole and always the last to know. The get paid the least and put up with the most. While the mortgage crisis was beginning investors were pushing and pulling loan products on and off the shelf. The communication flow from top to bottom was full of static and confusion. This rip off report also states that the particular loan had not existed in the state of Colorado for more than 18 months.
The reality is there are thousands of lenders in America all with different products and guidelines. I am not going to state facts without doing my due diligence in research but I will say that the loan product referenced was in fact prevalent during that time period. That is simply my objective opinion. Everything is clear and 20/20 in retrospect but during a mortgage meltdown where investors are starting to lose billions of dollars, nobody knew what the reality was. If billion dollar investment firms (which lost billions) did not know what was going on and how exactly to proceed, why would a Loan Officer?
It was stated that Mr. Munoz (the Loan Officer) offers products that don't exist and gives false promises and is in breach of contract. This Loan Officer is on the low end of the totem pole and is always the last to know. The current reality for that time period was one of mass confusion. The information that the Loan Officer has access to is only as good as where it is coming from. But where it was coming from was not a stable and reliable place. Not to the fault of anyone in particular but we were in a mortgage crisis and still are. This is just the unfortunate reality. I would strongly recommend that more research be done on the subject matter to clearly conclude where the finger is to point. In my opinion there is no one person in particular to place the blame. This is an unfortunate result of the worst mortgage meltdown in the history of the United States and it is a shame that this Loan Officers name is being dragged around. I sincerely feel for both parties involved and wish everyone the best. Moving forward, it is my recommendation that this report be deleted due to the original author's unrealistic basis.
Broker
Englewood,Colorado,
U.S.A.
Unrealistic Expectations? Must be the Brokers fault.
#6UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, July 07, 2008
I am a former employee of Ace Mortgage Funding and a casual acquaintance of Trask Munoz. What you people have put him through is appalling.
First off, your speculation that the market can't change in a few months is completely false. The Company your 2nd mortgage was supposed to go through was Irwin Home Equity and they are the last company in the market still offering 125% loan-to-value loans. They had stopped doing 125% loans completely right around the time frame you are referring to. To give you an idea of how abrupt this change was, borrowers that had closed their loans with Irwin (through Ace Mortgage and every other brokerage), but had not yet funded....were never funded. That's right, one day we get an email saying...this product is no longer available and will not be funded....period. Irwin later reinstated their 125% LTV programs but now require a ridiculously high credit score and $4000/month in disposable income, which almost nobody can show.
Trask, like all of us brokers were simply the middle man between these wholesale lenders and the borrower. One minute the wholesale lender says everything looks fine, the next they don't offer that program anymore, and if you were in the process, too bad. Go to ((((REDACTED)))
sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company, ..plus, if you post a competitors name more than likely they will show up on search engines as a Rip-off! - - your comments on this policy are welcome. CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report. In this case we removed an alleged competitor's name
and see that wholesale lenders are dropping like flies, not to mention stiffening guidelines on a dialy basis. Perhaps you do not understand that when you work with a broker, they are in turn working with wholesale lender that does not work with the general public, they just underwrite loans and close them. If they pull the plug on a program there is nothing a broker can do about it.
Secondly, When you are jet setting to different countries during the loan process and dragging things out by not being available the likelihood that the products available at the beginning of your loan process still being available at the end are not good. Especially with rate locks expiring etc. Do you think that we do 120 day rate locks? That would cost you at least a 1/4 if not 3/8 extra. If you want to refinance in a timely manner, you need to be available to sign documents and provide paperwork as needed. Not be in Brazil.
Finally, I understand that you are frustrated because you essentially agreed to a 2 loan scenario in which one loan would close and then the other. The only reason they would not be closed at the same time is that some benefit derived from the first loan would be needed in order for the 2nd loan to be underwritten. So the loan you got did benefit you in some way. It is not the brokers fault that the wholesale lender pulled the plug on a program between the first and second loans. Put simply, it is an unfortunate coincidence caused by the wholesale lender. Put yourself in Trask's shoes when he got the email that Irwin is not offering that program anymore and there wasn't a thing he can do about it. We get "lied to" everyday by wholesale lenders that say they can do a loan then all of a sudden can't. You have to understand that getting a home loan is a process and there are no guarantees. You counted your chickens before they hatched, then attacked the one person trying to help you.
You should be ashamed of yourself for demonizing a good man that did everything he could to get a loan done for you that was extremely difficult, but through no fault of his own was
Jt33
Denver,Colorado,
U.S.A.
Unfortunate Circumstances
#6UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, July 03, 2008
I have to respond to this because you are only hearing one side of the story. Trask Munoz is a great person and a ethical mortgage broker. Trask Munoz did everything he could to get you approved...Even though you had a horrible sitauation. The bank that was holding the future equity loan took it off the market right before you could close. Its unfortunate what happened to you and many other Americans. BUT BY NO MEANS DID TRASK MUNOZ DECEITE YOU OR RIP YOU OFF. IF YOU OR ANYONE ELSE WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS THIS MATTER, MY CONTACT INFO IS BELOW. I am a former co-worker of Trask Munoz. Unlike the management there, Trask is a great person.