Answers (9)
- SteveRock
- Contributions:20
Yeah, Chuck, because banks are always willing to give out "gifts" for the hell of it. As I posted in another thread, you do not understand that the "transaction" is not just closing, but the whole process.
Steve, you are still giving incorrect information. Just because your lender decided to give you your money back, it does not mean they are required to when the appraisal was paid for directly. It has already been pointed out to you the exact wording from the FTC and it could not be any clearer. Why you chose to ignore what is clearly written is a mystery, but what you are doing now is spreading woefully inaccurate information that could severely damage others who act upon your flawed advice.
If you rescind and you paid for an appraisal directly OUTSIDE OF CLOSING the lender does NOT have to give you your money back. If they choose to do so it is a gift and NOT required by law.
I'm sure you will come back and give me a million reasons why you believe I am wrong, but I assure you that I am not. It's written in very plain English.
If you rescind and you paid for an appraisal directly OUTSIDE OF CLOSING the lender does NOT have to give you your money back. If they choose to do so it is a gift and NOT required by law.
I'm sure you will come back and give me a million reasons why you believe I am wrong, but I assure you that I am not. It's written in very plain English.
- SteveRock
- Contributions:20
The crazy thing is, if you had gone through with the refi and THEN rescinded it during the 3 day "cooling off" period, you would have gotten everything back, including any fees you paid directly to a third party. Even stranger is that it would be the lender that would have to pay you that, not the broker.
- wayne lancaster, "funds2"
- Contributions:1880
If your lender collected the $600 prior to issuing you a Good Faith Estimate, Truth in Lending, and Initial Fee Sheet they are in violation of current law. If this happened it is even more ammunition to get your money returned as no big or small bank would risk consequences of being in violation of lending laws.
Well here is the problem, if they call it an application fee, the lender keeps the money no matter what. If they called it an appraisal fee, the appraiser gets the money, only if the appraisal is done.
The big lenders are charging the "application fee" so most likely your money is gone.
I work for a fair sized direct lender, we get the borrowers credit approved before we ask for any money. Many times there is no up front money. I also get comparables and review it with my borrowers to be confident that the property will appraise for what we need it to.
I would also say that while by law they do not have to refund the money, if you scream loud enough, they may do so anyway. Because of this law, several companies have sprang up, and all they do really is collect application fees. Or they quote out of the market rates and then after collecting the fee, call back and tell them they do not qualify for the promised rate, then offer them a mortgage at the real rate. People then go ahead because they don't want to lose their funds.
There are questions, as to under the new laws if these are still legal.
The big lenders are charging the "application fee" so most likely your money is gone.
I work for a fair sized direct lender, we get the borrowers credit approved before we ask for any money. Many times there is no up front money. I also get comparables and review it with my borrowers to be confident that the property will appraise for what we need it to.
I would also say that while by law they do not have to refund the money, if you scream loud enough, they may do so anyway. Because of this law, several companies have sprang up, and all they do really is collect application fees. Or they quote out of the market rates and then after collecting the fee, call back and tell them they do not qualify for the promised rate, then offer them a mortgage at the real rate. People then go ahead because they don't want to lose their funds.
There are questions, as to under the new laws if these are still legal.
- Rudi Hofmann, "LUXURY HOME LOANS CA"
- Contributions:7435
You assume the $600 was for an appraisal? No paperwork?
Some banks have a non-refundable Application Fee. Some banks pay for the borrower's appraisal from those funds, while others do not.
Personally, I think that your ability to recapture this money is slim to none.
Happy funding, Rudi
Some banks have a non-refundable Application Fee. Some banks pay for the borrower's appraisal from those funds, while others do not.
Personally, I think that your ability to recapture this money is slim to none.
Happy funding, Rudi
- wayne lancaster, "funds2"
- Contributions:1880
It sounds like the $600 check has been cashed by lender. Was an appraisal done? The loan officer may no longer be with the bank but there should be someone else you can talk with.... unfortunately only you can do the "detective work" to track a staff or management person down. Start with their "new mortgage loan dept." as if you were applying for a loan for the first time. Tell them the background and ask to speak to their supervisor. You could also visit one of their branches and speak wiith Branch Manager for assistance. If an appraisal was not done, then you should prevail in getting that part of upfront money ($400+) returned. Good luck.
- Brian Smith, "tnhomelender"
- Contributions:10
Sorry to hear that you have had to go through this...what I'm about to tell you is ONLY if you are unable to reach someone in authority at the bank branch level (or if it's at a big bank call center and you cannot reach the loan officer's supervisor or manager), then I would suggest going to the bank's website (assuming it's publicly traded) and find the "investor relations" link and then look for an annual report to download. For example, with Bank of America, the report is 252 pages- the "Executive Mgt Team" list on page 249. (I'm not insenuating this is the bank you are referring to, just giving you an example). If it's not publicly traded, you could call the bank's customer service to research who to reach out to. At the end of the day, you want someone like the executive vp of mortgage operations or president of home loans, etc....they should be very interested in knowing about this, especially since consumers have so much leverage these days with the internet, e.g, Google Places pages/customer reviews, etc. If no resolution comes from the above, then if enough people post similar and truthful deragatory info about a lending institution or branch and describe their unwillingness to provide basic customer service, it will eventually make its way through to the brass when they see falling profits, or maybe even quicker when their own PR department scrubs the internet for bad things about the company. Hope this helps...
- Jacques Ambron, "Jacquester"
- Contributions:38
It depends on what you signed at the time of deposit. I would reccomend talking to someone in authority at the bank to solve this, but you need to refer back to the wording of the application that you signed to know for sure
Does Mortgage Officer Have to Give You Initial Appraisal Deposit Back if Refinance is Cancelled?
2nd time around when I had to refinance, I went back to the same loan officer. Was quoted 45 day close. Not only did loan officer not come through on 45 day close, but it has been 90 days and ignores my phone calls and emails for updates.
Finally, I got fed up and did not trust this loan officer, so decided to cancel my refinance. Initially gave the loan officer $600, which I assume was for the appraisal, but all of that was supposed to be refunded back to me when the refinance closed. I want to know if I can get that money back. The loan officer will not return my emails or phone calls. I also have not been successful in getting to the loan officers boss or figure out who to talk to.
Even if I can't get this money back, I want to be able to tell the bank about my experience in hopes that they can improve.
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