Complaint Review: Betty Percifield USDA Direct Home Loan Fallon NV

Although the USDA website has a number and address for filing complaints of discrimination, my experience as a result of filing a complaint was despicable. The response letter basically called me a liar and that my complaint was unwarranted and had nothing to do with race. No real investigation, just a dismissive response.

My search for home loan programs began in late 2015 as my need for a home increased with the birth of my 3rd child. Owning a home became very important to me because my options for apartments that I could afford were limited those in bad neighborhoods which I do not want for my family. When I discovered USDA Direct Home Loans for low income families, I was very hopeful and excited of the possibility of home ownership even if in meant living in a rural area which I would prefer over a bad neighborhood anyday! I started with my state online pre-qualification screening and when it said I qualified I was even more excited! I then contacted my local office in charge located in Fallon, NV and was assisted by a wonderful specialist by the name of Jessi. I was offered a low but reasonable amount for a home during the process but was encouraged to pay off debt so that my loan amount would be even more. Every ounce of my being wanted to accept the offer because I already saw beautiful homes ready to move in at that price but another part of me felt that if I waited longer and paid off debt, then I could get and even bigger and better home for my kids and I. I decided to wait. I paid down my debt by a few thousand and my credit score even went up but by the time I was ready to try again, that office with the nice lady Jessi who helped me was closed down, so my challenge began.

I then had to submit and apply with a different office located in Elko, NV. I applied, sent all required documents and heard from no one. After a few weeks, I called and was told that I was missing information. Had I not called, I would have never known because no one notified me of anything. I sent the missing information. Waited 2 weeks and heard nothing. I called again and was told that my file was sitting on a desk with questions/ notes that nobody there bothered to contact me about. Mind you my last name is that of Hispanic origin and at that point I began to wonder why such a simple application is taking months to process due to no one even bothering to help process my application. I began to call weekly to see it that my application was being processed. So much so that the lady answering my calls knew me by name. I don't think my application would have gotten anywhere had I not called as often as I did. After waiting, and workers taking vacations, and sending more documents, waiting and calling, my file was finally processed and sent to Betty Percifield at the USDA Fallon Field Office. Betty initially called me to let me know that she had my file and needed an additional document from me. I faxed it to her that same day and a month went by and I never heard from her. I called and asked her about the status of my application since I hadn't heard from her in over a month and she blatantly told me that she put my file on the back burner! She said she will get to it when she can. I was shocked. I wondered what reason & why would she purposely put my file aside and pretty much disregard it. I thought about my last name and how the other office lagged until I started calling often but then I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt and not assume that my Hispanic last name and  race was a factor in my application being delayed and ignored numerous times. But then Betty started to ask me to resubmit documents that I already sent, so I started to wonder if she was mishandling my file and or losing stuff that I had to repeatedly resend her. What really caused my jaw to drop is when she gave me a ridiculously low and impossible HOME LOAN amount which was 70% less that what I was previously offered before by the previous USDA representative named Jessi. Her unjust reasoning for this 70% decrease was that she chose not to count my measly small online income which totaled to $20 a month. My main income source was substantial enough that the online income did not need to be counted because it didn't even meet the minimum for tax filing. My debt was down, my score was increased, and yet the amount she offered could barely buy a brand new car yet alone a House!

It got worse. Even though I knew no one could buy a home with what she offered me (not even a manufactured home.. that's how low it was), I agreed to accept her offer as she continued to ask for previously submitted documents and additionally disregarded my Federal, State and HUD approved home buyers course that I completed stating that I need to pay an additional $75 to take another homebuyer's course because she didn't think my certificate was good enough. I accepted the offer hoping to buy land and get a mobile home built on it but the costs would still exceed her impossble low ball loan offer. She even reduced her inital low loan by another $4,000 without reason. In the meantime I filed my complaint against her which was dismissed shortly after. I basically requested a fair and secondary evaluation of the home loan calculation because that 70% decrease from my previous approved application made absolutely no sense and her explanation was not substantial. I couldn't even get that. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
Director, Office of Adjudication located at 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250-9410 dismissed my complaint without investigation claiming that my claim didn't meet the qualifications for racial discrimination.

As you can see, filing a discrimination complaint was useless in my case because they simply didn't think I was discriminated against. 

USDA Direct Home Loan is for low income families. I qualified. I met the credit qualifications. I was offered a decent amount for a home but waited it out hoping for an increased loan after paying off debt but what I got instead was a 70% decrease in my loan offer.  How does this make sense? $20 a month does not make that huge of a difference. The USDA sees no problem with this.

From my disturbing application process to the ridiculously low loan amount offered, racial discrimination as the reason makes absolute complete sense!

If you are of a minority background and or have an obviously ethnic last name, you may face the same difficulty. Your file may be put on the "back burner".

Betty Percifield of USDA Fallon office (775) 423-5124 Ext. 100 obviously has better things to do than to help low income families of different cultural backgrounds get home loans. Perhaps she is reserving those funds for families of non-minority backgrounds and prioritize those applicants. All I know is that she successfully prevented me from getting a USDA Direct Home loan for a home suitable for my family. But I won't stop here. I am continuing to build income and doing all I can to get a home for me and my kids. It just won't be through the unfair non-equal opportunity housing USDA!
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