My husband and I are 71- and 68-years-old, respectively. On June 13, we accepted an offer on our home in Lexington. Naturally, we immediately began looking for another home to move to. We found one the very next day: a home that was being used as a model. We signed a contract and gave them a $1000 deposit. We contacted Chase bank about a mortgage, since that is where we have a checking account and an IRA. We have always had perfect credit, but the bank suggested that we take out a second mortgage and consolidate some of our other debts. Everything seemed to be going well. We gave them every piece of information soon after they asked for it. Our closing date was set for Friday, July 13 on our new home, and also on our old home. We were allowed to start moving into our new home earlier that week. At our age we needed all the time we could get.
After closing on our old home, we received a phone call from Will Puckett at Chase Bank informing us that we would not be closing on Friday after all. Apparently, it had just occurred to the bank, on the day before closing, that someone other than myself had made 5 mortgage payments in 2006. After explaining that my oldest son had made these payments for us from money that he owed us, and after Mr. Puckett talked to my son, the closing was still off. We were extremely upset and feared that we would be without a place to live.
I went to the bank on Friday to voice my opinion of this whole matter with someone a little higher up in the Mortgage Department of Chase Bank. I did get a meeting with the Mortgage President, Jacelyn LaMotte on Friday.
She said that the "underwriters" had made this decision due to my high outstanding debt. She also said that they have 30 days in which to cancel a mortgage closing, so apparently cancelling a closing within the final 24 hrs is acceptable to Chase.
I was very angry, and told Ms. LaMotte that realtors had even told me that I would have problems with Chase mortgage. I was even angrier that this company had driven me to tears. So, after about an hour, she said she could call in a "favor" from her bosses, and we could close on Tuesday or Wednesday, but my interest rate would be 8.5% instead of the promised 7.1%. She also said that some of my outstanding loans would have to be payed "by the bank" at closing. I told her that I could pay my own bills off by myself, and that I was promised 7.1% and had the paperwork to prove it. At the end of the meeting, I believed we were finally on the same page.
Well, I never heard from them again until the following Thursday, when they told me that I would finally close on Friday afternoon, the 20th of July.
And, yes, the interest rate was 8.025%, and they had added 2 of my outstanding debts into the paperwork. A vehicle payoff and a credit card payoff, totalling $22,000.By the way, the vehicle payoff was with Fifth Third Bank, and I never gave Chase permission to get any information about this loan, so how did they get a "payoff" figure for this account? What gave them the right to be able to choose which 2 loans I had to pay off? I really don't think that I could have had a worse experience getting a mortgage. This is my 7th home purchase, and hopefully the last, and it was the only one that has ever been like this.
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