I Contacted Hunter Financial Group
to obtain a Refinancing on my Rental Property. From the very beginning I was totally
up-front that this was a refinance of rental property, and that I was looking to refinance. I have documented proof that I supplied all
this information. I have documented
proof that I supplied every bit of information they requested, several hundred
pages worth. At the very beginning of the process they said in order to move
forward with an appraisal they needed $395.00, which they promptly charged to
my credit card. They then provided me
with a written Good Faith Estimate (GFE), showing an appraisal Fee of $360. I communicated with the appraiser to
coordinate him viewing the inside of the home with my tenant, however 1 day
before the appraisal was to be performed I received an email from Aaron Payne,
Assistant Vice President (purporting to be the manager of the person I had been
working with), stating that "The inspection of your home is on hold as we
need the appraiser to work up a comparable rent schedule. There is a cost of $250.00 for this. Please call me to discuss options."
I was upset, as I had provided
everything that Hunter Financial had requested, including the fact that the
refinance was for a rental property, and now Hunter financial was saying they
needed more money for the appraisal. I
telephoned Mr. Aaron Payne and vehemently complained about the bait-and-switch
on the written, Good Faith Estimate Appraisal fee. Mr. Payne refused to budge, stating that a
"change of circumstance" allows a deviation from the Good Faith
Estimate. In my opinion, there was no
"change of circumstance", since Hunter financial was fully informed
of the fact this was a rental refinance from the very beginning. I blew up and cancelled the transaction,
letting Mr. Aaron Payne know in no uncertain terms that I thought Hunter
Financial was not dealing with me honestly, and I wouldn't deal with a
dishonest organization.
Hunter Financial should not be
allowed to continue in business, and should have their license revoked. I should also be refunded the $395.00 fee
they charged me for the appraisal, which was never done. I know this because after cancelling the transaction,
I called and spoke with the appraiser, and he informed me that shortly after
informing his parent company that this was a tenant occupied home, he was put
on hold and he had not yet done the appraisal.
Random
Arizona,#2Consumer Comment
Fri, January 25, 2013
As the title says, who sends income docs before a GFE? As anyone in the mortgage business knows, borrowers ALMOST NEVER send income documentation and mortgage docs before they receive an estimate and a GFE is required immediately after a verbal application is taken.
At BEST this was a mistake between a loan officers appraisal quote. Good Faith on an estimate is exactly what it sounds like, a good effort to provide an accurate quote and that is exactly what the client received.
Rob Hanson
Silver Spring,#3Consumer Comment
Mon, January 07, 2013
A "Change of Circumstance" (COC) for the purposes of Good Faith Estimates must be something that changed since the initial disclosure and could not reasonably have been known at the time of initial disclosure. Unless this mortgage company can demonstrate this, they are not allowed to change the fee.
These rent schedules that they are asking you to pay for are not required if you have enough income to qualify for the mortgage without the rental income for the property. So if the mortgage company was basing your loan on what you stated as your income and your actual income, when verified turned out to be less, this could be a valid COC.
If they had your income documentation before disclosing to you, this would NOT be a valid COC.
If, (as is most likely the case) they just mistakenly disclosed with a standard appraisal fee and realized their mistake after the fact, this is NOT a valid COC.
Random
Arizona,#4Consumer Comment
Sat, October 13, 2012
If a company was trying to bait and switch you they would have quoted you a rate substantially below market or a loan with $0 fees and added on a point to your estimate, I highly doubt they would try a "bait and switch" for a mere $250 on an appraisal, a fee that is 3rd party and not even of the mortgage company.
They quoted you a "standard appraisal fee" which was then changed to a "2-4 unit multi-unit income producing property" appraisal fee as soon as the additional fee was discovered.
You paid $0 fees, $0 obligation and were able to cancel without penalty as soon as the higher fee was determined from the vendor.
Best wishes,
anonymous
Corinth,#5Author of original report
Tue, October 09, 2012
This company is in the mortgage business and knows full-well the cost of the appraisal, yet they still put an artificially-low price on their written good faith estimate (GFE). They then tried to defend the increase with the a "change of circumstances" reason, which is their out to not honor their GFE, when there was absolutely no change of circumstance at all. I believe sleazy, underhanded, and dishonest dealing, and probably illegal!
Random
Arizona,#6Consumer Comment
Tue, October 09, 2012
It sounds like they immediately notified you as soon as there was a discrepancy of the fee from the appraisal vendor. It sounds like you did not wish to pay the additional $250 fee that was requested by the appraisal company so they cancelled your application as you requested and I'm sure you received a timely refund from the vendor with $0 cost to you.
Not sure what more you want.