Complaint Review: Direct Money Lenders Doug Goins

Doug Goins, Direct Money Lenders in Indianapolis, IN, seemed legit at first. He didn't ask for exorbitant advance fees - just $9,000. His agreement stated it to be for the site visit, appraisal and legal work. He did fly out to do a site visit of sorts. Following the site visit he asked if he would be provided with "companionship" for his overnight stay (or however long he was planning on vacationing here after spending 10 minutes looking at our property). We said we would not provide such a thing, and that he needed to stick to business. He left, saying he would be in touch in a couple of days about the appraisal. He, of course, did not call in a couple of days, so after 4 weeks of trying to reach him on the phone, he finally answered.

He said the appraisal came back low. After pressing and pressing for the name or copy of the appraisal, he finally admitted it was not an appraisal at all, but just a Broker Opinion. We tracked down the local broker who provided the "opinion," which was nothing more than a statement on the phone about what he thought the property might sell for. The Broker confirmed he didn't charge for his opinion. Doug Goins charged $7,500 for an appraisal, which was just a free telephone opinion, and another $1,500 for his little vacation to our part of the country. Naturally he would not refund anything. If you send him any money, you just as well have flushed it down your toilet.