Complaint Review: Centex Home Equity Mortgage - Lewisville Texas

Your description of the circumstances is certainly ghastly, and I would be very upset too, but I do have a few questions. Oh, by the way, I am a loan officer with Centex, so I have a bit of information about the way we operate: 1) The escrow issue. There is no fee for an escrow, and the money paid does not go to Centex. In fact, like most lenders we PREFER to set up an escrow. It is a much lower risk, as a tax lien would bump our interest into a second lien position. Also, having guaranteed insurance coverage is a plus to a lendor. As such, I am very curious about this "1000.00" that you paid, as far as who exactly you paid that too. It sounds very fishy. 2) The closer issue is unfortunate, as Centex is a direct sales company in many areas, and uses title companies to close deals. While this is cost effective, they are not always aware of the fine print issues, like a loan officer would be. So, yes you save money, but there are drawbacks. Most loan officers will give you a cell number, or direct line to call during your closing, so you can be sure to get info if there are any questions during your closing. 3) The insurance can be canceled at any time, FYI. 4) There is a prepayment penalty with Centex. If you refinance within the first 3 years of the loan, you will have the pay the interest equal to 6 months of payments. This is far less than the "5%" you are reporting. What goes unrealized is that Centex is a specialty lendor for individuals with poor credit. Most loans we write are for fico scores in the low to mid 500 range. Because this market segment is high risk, we charge more for our services.

Jean. To the club. Listen to Priscilla. She had GREAT advice to offer. Also - FILE COMPLAINTS - with everyone you can. It will strenthen yours and everyone else's cases against Centex. I started with my Attorney General's Office, - they probably won't be a LOT of help to you individually - but the more complaints they get on Centex in every state, the more chances the company will be investigated. Go to your search browser and put in States' Attorneys General - that will give you a link to your own AG. -Then go to "Consumer Affairs Division." - Filing complaints is tedious, yes. But again, it helps shore up your case. Then go to HUD - and file an FOIA complaint against Centex. HUD will contact you and tell you that Centex requires a signed, notarized letter from you to fulfill the request, but don't let that stop you. -A simple letter stating "I hereby request that all documents and other information regarding my account loan #_________ be released. -Then sign it and take it to the bank or your insurance agent's office-they often have notaries there too. They're not that hard to find. Centex is just trying to make everything difficult to discourage people from going forward. Then visit the Federal Trade Commission - and file a complaint there. Another bit of advice I learned from another victim that's good: go to the National Consumer Law Center website, click on "publications" and purchase the Truth in Lending Laws publication. It's expensive ($130) but well worth the investment. Too often it may SEEM to some of us that what Centex is doing is illegal - but it's not. But also, much of what they so that we may not be aware of IS illegal! - So while it's undoubtedly not the most exciting reading, getting the TILA - reading thru it - and marking everything you think Centex did that's a part of your case will help you go after them. -NOt to mention that the more "groundwork" you do yourself, if you eventually have to get a lawyer, - the "preparation" you do will give you a better handle on things and should help reduce costs. But most importantly - if we KNOW what violations of TILA that Centex is guilty of, we can point those out to the FTC, HUD, the AG's offices, the Department of Justice and every other agency that we can find to file a complaint. Because THEN our complaints aren't just whining - THEY'RE STATEMENTS OF LEGAL VIOLATIONS OF LAW THAT CENTEX IS COMMITTING! -That's a whole lot harder for the various government agencies, etc. to ignore. I've been slowly but surely doing each of these things. Centex has filed a bogus "Loan Defaut" on our property. Their actions also violated Section 6 of the RESPA statutes - they caused us monetary damages. They called and offered a supposed solution to "make the default go away" -and we're cooperating with what they proposed. -We don't want to be seen as not acting in good faith. However, I don't trust them at all. And after that, they sent another default notice. So I'm going forward with all my complaints. Thanks to a "mentor" I found on this site, I've fled a Qualified Written Request with Centex- which you'll find on the RESPA website. - If you sent the request, they have 20 days to respond. - You can request all the documents, etc. regarding your loan. -Be SURE to send it via some way that requires they sign for it. If they don't respond in 20 days, they can be fined. Based on what my 'mentor' told me, I'm not expecting a huge response, but I numbered my accusations/complaints and made sure they were detailed very specifically. If Centex sends some sort of "generic response" to them, I'll forward that on to RESPA. I'm also going to be contacting my state senators and representatives shortly. - One of the senators was one of the States' Attorneys General who signed a letter to Congress several years ago, requesting that measures be taken to stop predatory lenders such as Centex. And our senators and reps have a good track-record of being very responsive to these types of issues. Perhaps the fact that Centex just won several huge contact bids from the federal government might help raise their interest as well. After the way Halliburton has behaved with it's federal contracts, perhaps the government will be looking more closely at the business practices of companies like Centex. I'm certainly going to try to get their attention with the argument. In the meanttime, file those complaints! I'd also consider talking to a lawyer about their bad faith in accepting your monies and failing to perform on the contract. Because I'll bet you'll find out that as soon as Centex cashed those checks for the purpose of insuring your house, that's a contract. Over and above that, I'd at least make sure to send Centex a letter stating that since they've not paid the insurance carrier as they agreed, you will be holding Centex legally liable for the property, should anything happen to it. -And enclose copies of the checks and drafts that have been paid to them for that purpose. -AGain, I'd also do it as a Qualified Written Request (go to RESPA and look for the template on how to write it). Be sure to be very clear on what you're complaining about (that you arranged for an escrow account with Centex on (date-approximate if y eou don't have the exact) - and based on that agreement, you sent them check # - for $_____, which was cashed by Centex on (date). And that in addition, Centex had been debiting your account each month since for the same purpose and had failed to perform. Again, enclose copies of the checks (both sides) and cc's of your bank statements (JUST the pertinent parts - don't give them add'l info above and below). -And again - be SURE you send it to their customer service in a way that REQUIRES SIGNATURE! Again - don't always think that Centex is actually working "just inside the law." -That's where reading the Truth in Lending is so important. They are notorious for hiring representatives who are "distracted" or busy and do the "just hurry up and sign" routine. Then they think they're out of it. YOu should have the name of the person who closed your loan - whether it's a title company representative or a lawyer - on the paperwork. Whoever it is - FIND THE COMPLIANCE BOARD THAT OVERSEES THEM! - And FILE A COMPLAINT against that person too! - Especially the attorney. Call your state Bar Association and ask them for directions on how to file a complaint against a lawyer. In Leslie's case - from Sherman, TX - she definitely needs to file a complaint. -The attorney was acting unprofessionally. Her actions intimidated Leslie into not feeling she could read through the (endless) documents and instead casued her to feel duress to sign and get out of there. That attorney should get a sanction if not a lawsuit for malpractice from Leslie. So - IF WE ALL READ THE TILA AND MAKE SURE OUR COMPLAINTS ARE AUTHENTICATED - POINT OUT THE VIOLATIONS OR 'QUESTIONABLE BEHAVIOR' CHAPTER AND VERSE - maybe we'll make some real dents in Centex's armor! Hopefully, we'll also begin to find each other too - so we can add more people to the lieff-cabraser class action lawsuit!

On 12.7.03 I sent Centex Home Equity a check for the amount they said I needed to pay to set up an escrow account that I requested to be set up in July 03 before I closed my loan with this inefficient mortgage company. My request was ignored by both the loan originator and the closing attorney. It took me the remainder of the year to get this rectified - or so I thought. On December 30th I called Home Equity only to find out that they "had not received my check for $748.50 to establish an escrow account." Funny, I had a copy of the check that cleared the bank on 12/18/03 and then, all of a sudden, they located my money. Home Equity started to charge me $97.16 each month beginning in Jan 04 for my escrow account and I thought this had solved my problem. In August 04 I received a "second notice" from my insurance carrier notifying me that my premium had not been paid. I had not received a first bill and I did not know the premium had not been paid until this second notice arrived. I immediately wrote Home Equity a letter requesting a full accounting of my escrow account in a timely manner. Well, true to form, the only accounting I received as of today is from my insurance carrier who notified me the first of this week that my insurance would be cancelled effective Sept 25, 2004. Home Equity has continued to ignore my request for an accounting of my escrow account, and it has taken me all week to get them to respond and pay my insurance before it is cancelled tomorrow. Yesterday I was told "the insurance department takes care of only hazard insurance" - does personal contents insurance not apply to hazard insurance??? They certainly cashed my check for $748.50 to do this job in December 03 and have charged me $97.16 per month for the last 9 months. They will definitely take money, but not disperse it OR even contact a mortagee with questions if or when they are unsure of why they are receiving bills. If one operates a business using others money without giving a service, one might accuse that individual of stealing. I was informed yesterday that since my policy is a personal contents policy, I would have to contact the escrow department to get my insurance paid. I have been passed from one person to another and one department to another; some people were nice, but NO ONE could handle this problem but a supervisor who leaves before I get home from work. My suggestion for those about to apply for a loan or close a loan with Home Equity - DON'T!! FIND a reputable company even if they are higher on interest rates - it will save you money AND immeasurable stress in the long run since they CAN and DO get away with unscrupulous practices such as charging outrageous pre-payment penalities or taking money without performing the service they took responsibility for when they cash my check 9 months ago!!

Hi Leslie, Could not have put this better myself. Good job! You are so right on. I too am a victim of Centex and they do a bait and switch to get you in the deal and then give you lots of paperwork so that you don't have time to read it and then tell you there is no prepayment penalty. All lies to lock you into a loan you cannot afford. That's how they steal your home. My paperwork also stated there "may be" a penalty for early payoff, but I was told by the closing attorney there was no prepayment penalty. Excessive prepayment penalties are against the law. HUD specifically states that these types of prepayment penalties are predatory. Centex is a predatory lender. They have said the same thing to you as they have to all of us. "You signed the papers." Yes, we all signed the papers, but that's because the attorneys doing the closings are telling us a different story. I wonder if these attorneys can be sued, but they are tied to Centex, so Centex is the one telling them to get us all to sign. I too was told I could refinance my home after 6 months, but found out I could not because of the 5 year prepayment penalty they socked me with and they inflated the value of my home so that I can't get another loan because of the loan to value ratio. My home today is not worth what Centex appraised it at 2 years ago. Centex is starting to break the laws. They do operate just under the legal line, but they are careless and will be brought down. What you should do is band together with all of us at the other forums. Also, visit the HUD website as there is a sectionon RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures) and a sample qualified written request to obtain a copy of your files from Centex. Also, contact your Attorney General in your state and file a consumer complaint. Also, contact ACORN in your area as they are proactive on these issues and can be very instrumental. File as many complaints against Centex as you can, because eventually, the proper authorities will be doing something about them. There is also a consumer rescue fund at National Coalition Reinvestment Community (NCRC) in Washington, DC and they have funds available to get you away from them. I have been fighting with this company for 2 years now and am in negotiations to try and settle with them to get away from them. They are brutal and they will do anything they can to scare you from doing that, but don't back down. Be strong and fight. We all are. Centex is trying to shut me up, but I will not go away. I will be here to get all of us organized so that we can fight these predators. They will come down one day. We just have to get the word out. Please seek out the other forums and look for me there as we have lots more information to give to you. Good luck and keep me posted.