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Mountain West Bank Glacier Bank, Russ Porter CEO Excessive fees, terrible customer service, verges on predatory lending, hidden costs, questionable practices Coeurdalene Idaho
In the spring of 2014 I applied for a home loan through Mountain West Bank. I had excellent credit and was moving for a job change. I looked forward to an easy, uncomplicated process. My experience with Mountain West Bank was anything but that. To begin with, I was told I could get a conventional loan. Then a few days later I got a panciked call from the loan officer saying I couldn't go conventional because I was changing jobs. I explained I was just moving to another county and I had been in the same profession for 35 years without any time off. I knew for a fact there was a waiver they could have gotten because of the length of time in my profession and my excellent credit. However, they refused to get a waiver and said I would have to get an FHA loan. I was on a short time line so I went ahead with the FHA loan. About every 2 days I would receive a huge envelope of papers from Mountain West and each time all the calculations were different. They would call me frequently and be changing something in the loan. Each time the amount I needed for a down payment was different. It was a nightmare!
One day they called and said they needed my credit card information immediately to pay for the appraisal. They said it would be $500. The amount was charged to my card and was paid to Mountain West Real Estate. However, on my loan paperwork I was charged an additional $650 for the appraisal. After the loan went through I called customer service and asked them why I was charged $500 for an appraisal and also charged $650 on my paperwork. They said I had been credited the $500 but nowhere on the loan paperwork could I find the credit.
When it was all done and I wrote the check out, I paid fees of 7%! Standard loan fees are 3% to 5%. As I stated, I had excellent credit so there was no reason I should have had these kind of fees. Mountain West also neglected to tell me the FHA loan had mortgage insurance that was for the life of the loan. They also failed to tell me I was purchasing credits for the loan. If I added in my earnest money, appraisal, inspection, and required class I had to take, my loan fees came in just below what would trigger PREDATORY LENDING PRACTICES.
They were terrible at communicating. They explained nothing to me and always were in a hurry. It was very difficult to get the loan officer to answer the phone or return calls.
To make it even worse, I was sold a piece of property with encroachments and I was never informed of this by the previous owners or the realtor. As one attorney told me, "You basically bought a lawsuit". When I called Mountain West about this fact and asked who had gone through my documents to look for something like this, I was told, "no one" and that they just go by whatever the title company tells them. In other words, they don't do anything to protect you. They just want your money!
I will NEVER deal with Mountain West Bank again for anything. I paid excessive fees for my loan. I should have been able to get a less expensive conventional loan. And, now I'm stuck with a property with encroachments which means I have neighbors using the property and claiming legal ownership and who have become hostile. This could all have been avoided if Mountain West Bank would have researched the title more closely.
In my opinion, Mountain West Bank did not provide me with the professional expertise any consumer should get. This was a horrible experience that I would not wish on anyone.
I've reviewed my loan paperwork with professionals and no one can understand it. The numbers don't add up and what I supposedly was credited for cannot be found. When I called Mountain West customer service, the man was very short and rude and treated me as if I were stupid. I guess they got their money, they sold the loan to some thrid party company, and they don't care.
In my opinion, Mountain West Bank should not be in th e business of lending.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,California,
USA
Predatory Lending?
#2Consumer Comment
Fri, August 28, 2015
If I added in my earnest money, appraisal, inspection, and required class I had to take, my loan fees came in just below what would trigger PREDATORY LENDING PRACTICES.
- That is a very interesting claim. Can you please provide us with the specific law or regulation that says once you spend a certain amount of money the loan becomes "Predatory". As you are the first person I ever heard this from and would love to know the details.
While we are at it, let's talk about a few of your other issues.
Rule Number 1: Home Buying is NEVER an uncomplicated process.
Rule Number 2: If it is going smoothly..read rule number 1, and be prepared.
You stated you applied for a "Conventional" loan and had excellent credit. Well that is only part of the story, how much you can put down plays quite a bit into this.
So what was your credit score with them(not what you think, but the one they actually ran). How much were you able to put down(and what was the percentage of the purchase price of the house).
If your down payment was less than 20%(LTV > 80%) then you are required to carry PMI. It doesn't matter the bank you are with or the type of loan...you would be required regardless.
I knew for a fact there was a waiver they could have gotten because of the length of time in my profession and my excellent credit.
- Again, please provide us details on this "waiver". But even if this is the case, why did you stick with them? If you truly did have excellent credit why didn't you just go with another lender?
I paid fees of 7%! Standard loan fees are 3% to 5%
- Loan Fees? Do you mean "points"? Because you sometimes have to "buy" points to get a better rate. But that is totally up to you. What are you considering these fees and how much was the total loan for.
Now, let us get to these encrochments. Again the Mortgage company is NOT responsible for that, they hire those services out to third party companies who are supposed to do all of this "due dilligence". So if what you are saying is true, you probably have a valid claim, but it is unlikely it is against the bank. Although I would highly suggest talking to a Real Estate lawyer to see what your options are.