We contacted Quicken Loans to refinance an existing mortgage. Our initial conversation with Quicken Loans was positive. I was pleased at the rate we got, and it seemed that the process to close would be fairly quick and simple. We paid our deposit, and got our loan in process.
Actually getting the documents together, getting our income verified, getting a closing scheduled was so frustrating that we almost walked away and let them keep our deposit. We should have. But I'm willing to say that the treatment that we received during that process was the product of gross incompetence and not a calculated desire to "rip us off." And it certainly pales in comparison to how we've been treated now that the loan is closed.
We want to sell our home. We have found a buyer for our home. This potential buyer would like to assume our mortgage (the ability to allow someone to assume our mortgage was the main reason we chose to go with an FHA mortgage, even though the closing costs were higher). All I want from Quicken is for someone to tell me, yes or no, is our mortgage assumable, and what we need to do to get the process of assumption started. I thought it would be a simple question to answer. We signed paperwork that said that our mortgage is assumable. We were told specifically that that was the major benefit of an FHA mortgage loan. But it has been 2 weeks since I first contacted Quicken to get that question answered, and I still have not received a response.
The first couple of times that I called, I was told that someone would have an answer for me later that day. And then it was later in the week. Now, nobody is willing to even give me a time frame for an answer. All that they can tell me is that there is a "process" to determine whether or not the loan is assumable. They refuse to tell me (and I've asked) what that process is, what information they need, how I could help to expedite it. When I ask, they refuse to even tell me what a typical assumption process looks like, how long they typically take, what the typical fee structure is. When I press for answers, I get hung up on, or transferred back to the main, automated customer service number. Is it even legal to refuse to give me information on my loan? It shouldn't be.
I'm going to lose this potential homebuyer if I don't have an answer for him soon. And because I, unlike Quicken, have something to lose here, I can't just hang up on him when he asks for answers. I have no power, no bargaining chip. They can treat me as poorly as they'd like with no recourse. I can't just take my business elsewhere without paying thousands in closing costs to refinance with someone else. I can't just stop paying my mortgage— I would lose my home and destroy my credit. All I can do is find every avenue that I can to beg and plead that you save yourself a massive headache and do business with a local company, one that invests in your community, one that has real people that you can come in, sit down, and talk to. This faceless internet-business model is fine until you have a problem. Then you realize that your livelihood is completely at the mercy of a call center that can just hang up on you if they don't like what you have to say.
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