I am an Army vet looking to buy his first home. I stumbled across Quicken after Wells Fargo gave me the brush-off and I submitted my details through a mortgage search engine. I specified from word-go that I was looking to apply for a VA Home Loan due to the fact that the VA website said VA loans had better rates, no PMI, and lower closing costs.
When I started working with Quicken, I thought that would be the case. The interest rate was fair, we were able to afford the monthly repayments on my current salary, the GFE looked awesome. Everything was looking rosy right up to the point they did the appraisal.
Boom. The interest rate shot up half a percent. The required points shot up from. 5 to 2.5. And they were going to require at least a 5% down-payment because the house was in a 'declining market-value area'. My jaw hit the floor. I might know nothing when it comes to real-estate, but my Army service did teach me to know when I was getting the shaft.
One of the requirements for the house I'm looking to buy was that I get pre-approved with Countrywide. So I called up the contact I had made there and asked if this was normal. They came back to me with a 6% interest rate (. 99% lower than Quicken's ammended offer), no PMI (which Quicken had tacked on), and 1-point as required by the VA. The 5% required down payment was not applicable to federal loans such as the VA or FHA, I was informed by my Countrywide contact. And yes, she guaranteed that.
Turns out, I was NEVER being offered a VA home loan by Quicken. Their VA home loan? (I wish I could bold this for emphasis) 7.75%. And Quicken remained adamant that the 5% required down payment was required despite the fact it was a VA home loan.
I'm trying to talk them down since they already have my $500 deposit and I'd hate to lose that, but judging what I've read about Quicken on this site it sounds like this bait-and-switch practice they have is standard operating procedure. I may just be better writing it off as an expensive mistake.
0 comments