ComplaintsforFinance of America Mortgage LLC

• Initial Complaint

  05/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company promised us that they would allow for an extension while we sold our property. We provided all documentation that they asked for, proof of listing and then later the purchase contract. 3 months prior to the property being sold all communication stopped. We later found out the company was being bought out, our loan was possibly sold to another company and we were not told. In the meantime, they sent or loan to collections with a company called ***, whom they instructed not to take payments from us and they continued to add late fees. They would not take our payments, did not respond to any of our emails, continued to add late fees and fees on top of late fees and when we closed, they charged us for over $40K in fees. Then, finally after several attempts to communicate they proceeded to tell us that they didn't receive the documents, we provided proof that we did and all communication when blank. This is a horrible company, do not work with them.

  Business response

  05/26/2023

  We previously responded to the same complaint directly to the customer.  We worked diligently with the customer on an exit strategy.  We reviewed the account and determined that the late fees and interest charges were correctly calculated under the applicable loan documents.  As such, we respectively decline to waive those charges.

  Customer response

  05/30/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Again, we provided everything this company asked for.  They stated they didn’t not received some documents when we even provided proof that those were sent and no one responded and no one approved our extension like they said they would.  There response was short abrupt and railed to recognize the proof provided.  They took advantage and did not hold up their agreement for an extension and we did.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  

  Business response

  06/08/2023

  A detailed response was provided to the customer on May 19, 2023.  Based on the information available to us, our position remains unchanged.   

  Thank you!

• Initial Complaint

  03/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  *** **** LLC A broker by the name of ************** claim she worked with a ton of lenders to get a business like ours a line of credit. She connected us with a ****** ***** at Finance of America. After months of going back and forth they finally "approved" us for a line of credit (construction loan) ...or so we thought. Problem was they were requiring me to provide money for a line of credit. I thought this was odd and challenged it. They later told us they "fixed it" and we would not have to bring money to the closing but would get 35k at closing to start rehab on a construction project. We get to closing and we only get 10k back and 25k went to closing cost. We started the project, got a draw pushing what we owe to 50k. The problem is they are charging us for the full loan amount of 225k at $1800 monthly. We can't speak to anyone, and no one will return our calls. We can finish the project if funds we are paying for monthly are released or the monthly payment is reduced to reflect a loan of 50k. We are starting here but will utilize every political resource at our disposal, news agency and social media outlet to investigate this loan, expose finance of America for what may be racially motivated and bury them as an institution. We have not missed a payment while attempting to contact them but enough is enough. Our company name is *** **** ***

  Business response

  03/29/2023

  Finance of America Mortgage LLC sent a separate response to the owner of the borrowing entity as ******************* is not fully authorized on the account.  We have reviewed the file and determined that the loan has been serviced correctly.  The borrower can contact us directly if she has any additional questions. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  RE: Refund from Finance of American Mortgage LLC c/o ********* (FOAM LLC c/o LC) -- My home was transferred from FOAM LLC c/o LC to ********** Mortgage *************** (****) on September 30, 2022. My first payment was due to the new servicing corp. on October 1, 2022. Unfortunately, I did not see the letter until after October 1, and inadvertently mailed my payment to FOAM LLC c/o LC. I mailed a cashier's check in the amount of $1,501.77 to FOAM LLC c/o LC, but they never forwarded the check to ****. My bank indicated that the check was cashed by FOAM LLC c/o LC and as a result caused my credit score to plummet. It also caused financial hardship because of having to make two mortgage payments. As a result, I am requesting a full refund from FOAM LLC c/o LC because I had to make that second payment to the new server, ****. I hope you can resolve this problem. Thank you for your consideration. CC: Please do not share my personal information to a third party.

  Business response

  04/03/2023

  Good afternoon
  
  We are still researching this matter and will need additional time to respond to this complaint.  Please advise if an extension can be granted.
  
  Thank you for your consideration!
  Customer Relations

  Business response

  04/25/2023

  ******** does not have any record of receiving the cashier’s check that the customer claims to have sent.  ******** contacted the customer requesting for more details and is awaiting a response.

   

  Thank you!

  Customer Relations

• Initial Complaint

  02/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  As of approximately April to July of 2022, Finance of America start dinging my credit. I want them remove it and fix it. I bought 2 homes in Georgia as investments. I was not familiar with the practice of using an attorney instead of an escrow or title company. I also was under chemo treatments for ***** **** ******** for 6 months with a 10 inch tumor. Upon purchasing the homes, I was told that each home needed to have insurance and current property taxes to be paid.. The local broker, that I used gave me the number to the ****** **** Insurance and the number to the property treasurer. I called and paid the property insurance for the entire year and the balance due for the yearly property taxes. I do not recall ever being told that I was gong to be impounded for the insurance and taxes by the lender. And because the homes were purchased as rentals the initial vacancy insurance was rather high. In any event, I paid the required premium until the homes were rented., This is in addition to the normal insurance. Finance of America impounded me for the taxes and insurance. I told them that the taxes and insurance was already paid. They insisted I still pay. I said why would I pay twice? When I asked the attorney, he said it was fine for me to pay for the year. I keep telling Finance America why would I want to pay twice? Would you? Their response was I can't change the impound until I paid them for a year or two, (surprise). I ended up paying what they wanted; shortly thereafter they sold the mortgage. I feel this was totally wrong and unreasonable. Now my credit shows delinquencies which I feel is not fair nor correct. I begged the loan broker, here in California worked with Finance America to help correct this. She said she found the people at Finance America, Georgia office was extremely difficult and unreasonable. Now that my mortgages has been sold and the program no longer exist, there is nothing that she can do. Can you help me?

  Business response

  02/28/2023

  On behalf of Finance of America Mortgage LLC (FAM), we apologize for the customers negative experience and hope our responses resolve any outstanding questions or concerns.  We are sending the customer a detailed letter separately in order to include loan-level details and the relevant loan documents.  The closing documents signed by the customer disclosed that there was an escrow account and that amounts to be applied to taxes and insurance would be collected.  We also have confirmed that any negative credit reporting was accurate due to FAM receiving less than the total monthly payment required.  The short payment also prevented FAM from being able to remove her escrow account when requested, and this denial was sent to the customer in a letter from May 2022.  The customers loan was sold and service transferred, which is a common occurrence in the mortgage industry.  Her escrow account balance transferred to the new servicer to be applied towards tax and insurance payments.   

• Initial Complaint

  12/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I put $56,000 down on my loan in order to be able to remove the private morgage insurance. Given the loan to value I was assured by the representative I spoke with that the insurance would be removed. Finance of America recently sold my loan to PHH and I noticed they were charging for insurance. Upon calling them they indicated that it was consistent with what Finance of America was doing. I contacted Finance of America and they confirmed they never removed the insurance and had been charging me and are refusing to do it since they have sold the loan. They admit there is a recorded call but are refusing to refund the money. I have asked that they send me the recording of that call and they have not done that either. It has now been about 3 weeks of trying to get them to do anything. The new morgage company *** refuses to refund the insurance charges they charged without acknowledgement from Finance of America. I have spent hours on multiple days with both companies and keep getting the run around. Finance of America acknowledges the $56K deposit and that it should have resulted in PMI being removed but is trying to pass it off since they sold the loan. I am thus caught in the middle and need help to make them address this issue.

  Business response

  12/29/2022

  Finance of America Mortgage LLC (FAM) has reviewed its loan records and cannot verify ************ loan or account by the information he provided in the complaint.  The property address and email he provided do not match our system.  For privacy reasons we are asking him to contact us directly at [email protected] so that we may verify his information and assist him directly.

   

  Customer response

  01/04/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I was a customer and do have correspondence and records to verify that.  This company is playing games and is incredibly dishonest. Their current records of accounts may not show it as they sold the loan but I was a customer and their records clearly show that. They are again trying to claim that it is not their issue since they sold the loan. On 12/9/22 I was promised by **** **** from Finance of America ###-###-#### would call me back and verify what was on the recording and what their internal investigation showed. I was also promised the contents of the recording and have still not received them.  
  
  I read that I am advised not to put personal information into this report but would be happy to provide documenation in another format where it would not be subjecting my information to public disclosure.  I have mortgage statments etc.  Please advise on what would be necessary for you to take additional action.  
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************

  Business response

  01/11/2023

  As a financial institution, we are subject to various privacy laws and regulations.  We need the customer to provide the property address and email address associated with the loan in order to verify his identity so that we may provide him a substantive response.  Unfortunately, the mailing address and email address the customer provided to the BBB with his complaint are not the ones associated with the loan at issue.  We have not stated that he was not a customer nor are we trying to avoid assisting him in reaching a resolution of his issue.  But we are not permitted to provide loan information to someone based on name alone.  Otherwise, we would be at risk of disclosing personal financial information to a third party who should not be in possession of that information.  Once he provides the property address and email address associated with his loan, we will be happy to provide a substantive response.  As stated earlier, for ease of communication, he is welcome to email [email protected] directly for assistance.

• Initial Complaint

  10/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have Reverse Mortgage with Finance of America Reverse LLC. On 10/17/22 i received a letter dated 10/05/22 notifying me that my Home Owners Insurance is going to expire on 10/20/22 and they are not in receipt of Declaration of Home Owner Insurance. On the 10/18/22 i contacted Insurance Broker and i was told that the Insurance company had mailed Declaration to Finance of America on 08/30/22. I asked her if she could fax a copy to Finance of America before i was to contact them. Also i received a copy via e-mail. i contacted Finance of America, Insurance Department on 10/18/22, spoke to an snippy agent Yvonne. She went to the Insurance website and claimed that she does not see a Declaration for 2022-2023 only 2021-2022, but she will go on 10/20/22 back to their website and recheck. I than offered to e-mail her copy of Declaration, which i did. I than called on the 10/20/22 and was told that Insurance Department was in receipt of the Declaration. On the 10/25/22 called their Customer Services Department about a different matter. Finance of America has tried on few occasions to have me refinance my Reverse Loan, which i refused. I was also informed that i need to send in Declaration of Home Owners Insurance. I spend the entire day being shuffled and transferred, and spoke to some very nasty agents on the other end. Today 10/26/22 i received a other letter from Finance of America dated 10/17/22 and postal stamp showing 10/19/22 informing me that my Insurance has not mailed them the Declaration. Further i am told that if they do not receive the Declaration of Home owners Insurance they fill place a Forced Insurance at my expense. Unfortunately i don't think that i am the only one that is having such a problem. I had same Insurance company for the last 17 years, prior to the Reverse Mortgage and with Reverse Mortgage. This is highly unethical and i do not want to know how many elderly have lost their Home's. My blood pressure had spiked to over 170,,very concerned.

  Business response

  11/09/2022

  We sincerely apologize for any miscommunication and frustration that occurred regarding the expiration of Home Owners Insurance and obtaining a copy of the current policy. We have confirmed that the new policy was obtained from the carriers website on October 20th and the account has been updated to reflect the current policy.
  

  Business response

  12/23/2022

  We reviewed the account and realized that the November 10 letter was sent in error.  We had adjusted the system and the borrower can disregard that letter.  We apologize for the inconvenience that it has caused. 

  Customer response

  12/23/2022

  I just want to say thank you and BBB for assisting me in my case with Finance of America.

  
  

  It is very upsetting for me to have to make a complaint about Finance of America but i am glad that i did contact you, as i was not
  

  being able to resolve the issue on my own, and can only hope that it will be resolved soon.

  
  

  Again sincere thank you.

  
  

  ******** *******

• Initial Complaint

  10/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I initiated 4 loans with FOA Mortgage on or about 8/11/2022. (2 refinance and 2 purchase). I completed the application and noted I am a non-permanent resident. The loan officer said, “That’s not a problem”. My husband asked if it would hinder the loan from processing and we were told it would not. After paying nearly $4000 in inspection and appraisals along with $10000 in earnest money deposits, I was told FOA Mortgage the loans could not be approved. This was told to both my husband and myself after missing the established closing date as well as the extended closing date. The loan was sent to FOA Mortgages underwriting section several times and no one mentioned the loan could not be approved until due to my status. These applications were all completed with my status as a non-permanent resident noted, yet, we were still told the loan would be approved. To date, we have spent thousands of dollars, lost countless hours of time and energy preparing and anticipating new purchases, lost each purchase and still no refinance. FOA Mortgage has not been honest with me and my family. They dragged the process along costing us our resources, never established any firm closing dates and evaded our calls and messages in order to end their work day. Extremely unprofessional and lacking knowledge and organization among their process. I expect seasoned manager FOA Mortgage to call me and resolve this matter. *************************** **********

  Business response

  10/27/2022

  
  Finance of America Commercial (FACo) apologizes for the inconvenience that the customer has experienced.  FACo did not tell the customer or her authorized agent that the four business purpose loans would be approved, as loan approvals are subject to underwriting requirements.  Any conditional approval does not guarantee that the loan would close, as the final approval is contingent upon the customers timely provision of satisfactory documents and meeting the underwriting requirements.  The non-permanent resident status does not itself disqualify a borrower.  If a borrower is not on an acceptable and current visa from our approved list and does not have an approved I-485 status, then he or she will be underwritten as a foreign national, which requires additional due diligence, including an international background check.  After a review of the documentation available to FACo, it appears that the customer might not qualify for the loans for a number of reasons.  As such, we declined all four loan applications.  The appraisal fees were paid to third parties for services rendered; FACo does not profit from those fees.  The two purchase appraisals have been released to the borrower. If the borrower wishes to have the two refinance appraisals transferred,please contact FACo.  As such, at this time FACo respectively declines the borrowers request for reimbursement Tell us why here...

  Customer response

  10/28/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This reply has several inaccuracies  

  1.  This was not a business loan. We applied for residential mortgage.
  

  2.  We were told we qualified for the loan as a foreign national yet FACo never attempted nor responded to my request to process the loan as a foreign national.  In fact, We’ve sent several emails and made several phone calls to FACo reps Sean G******, Koryen L****, Bridgette D*****, Deborah S***** and Tony J******.  Tony stated the loan could be processed as a foreign national per our phone conversation and we sent a reply to Sean G****** asking what the loan details would look like if the residential loan was processed as a foreign national but he never replied?  Mr. J******, The Manager of Credit SRL himself, stated to Ms. L****, Mr. G******, Ms. S***** and Ms. D***** “the only other option is to proceed as a foreign national”  Again, we asked what the mortgage details would be if we proceeded as a foreign national loan yet no one applied.  
  
  We requested FACo process the loan as a foreign national on October 19, 2022 at 7:04pm as Mr. J****** mentioned or send us denial letters regarding the loans. FACo ignored the request to process the loan as a foreign national, for which we qualified and after several requests, sent us genaric and inaccurate letters of denial. 
  
  -Denial letter inaccuracies:
    1. States we applied for a Business loan in error.  These loans were for residential mortgages on real property not associated with any business whatsoever.
    2. States our application was incomplete in error. Every document or item requested by FACo was promptly provided.  I’m fact, our emails clearly state “Do you need any additional information?” and no additional information was requested.
    3. Letters do not list the address of the property for which the loans were denied.  The sellers closing office and attorneys are not accepting these letters as genuine nor lawful since the addresses are not included on the letters of denial. These inaccurate letters are causing me harm by preventing us to obtain our hefty earnest money deposits not allowing my family to move forward.
  
  Requests for resolution:
  
  1. I am a US Permanent Resident and a Citizen of the ***********.  I request Finance of America Mortgage process these loans as a foreign national as Mr. J****** stated or as a Permanent Resident of which I am currently approved. 
  
  2. Update the letters of denial to reflect the addresses of each resident for which the residential loans were denied.
  
  We have made every reasonable attempt to resolve this matter with efficacy for both ourselves and FACo.  Our emails and calls have been ignored for several weeks yet we are still attempting to resolve this matter at its lowest level.  I fear we will have to escalate this matter if no reasonable outcome is obtained.  We are reasonable and look forward to a swift resolution to this issue. 
  

  We have made every reasonable attempt to resolve this matter with efficacy for both ourselves and FACo.  Our emails and calls have been ignored for several weeks yet we are still attempting to resolve this matter at its lowest level.  I fear we will have to escalate this matter if no reasonable outcome is obtained.  We are reasonable and look forward to a swift resolution to this issue. 

  Regards,
  
  ***************************

  Business response

  11/09/2022

  The four loans that the borrower applied for were business purpose loans, more specifically, Single Rental Loans.  On each of the loan applications, the borrower represented that the property would not be occupied by the borrower, its members, owners, employees, guarantors, or other related parties.  The borrower was not a permanent resident at the time of the application, and did not provide proof of her I-485 approval until after the applications were declined.  Finance of America Commercial did not advise the borrower that she would qualify under the foreign national program.  We advised that without the I-485 approval or proof of qualifying visa status, the borrower could consider switching to the foreign national program, with no guarantee of approval.  We asked the borrower to work with her loan officer to provide various documents for the foreign national program review.  When our loan officer asked for the documents, the borrower requested that the applications be declined.  The denial letters list the loan numbers, and we provided the corresponding conditional loan approvals and appraisals to the borrower so that she could work with the seller to get a refund of the earnest money deposit.  ell us why here...

• Initial Complaint

  09/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In January, 2022 I closed my home mortgage loan with Finance of America Mortgage due to their customer service and trust I had created with one of their mortgage lenders. In September 2022, I received notice I will no longer be allowed to make payments through their company and that my personal information will be transferred to a different company. I am not comfortable having my personal information such as SSN, address, DOB, bank account information, etc handed over to another company. It's an inconvenience to be told I will no longer be able to make my monthly mortgage payments through their company and be told I will have to start making payments to another company. This is an invasion to my privacy and information in which I contacted Finance of America Mortgage and complained. They informed me there is nothing they can do and nobody I may contact in regards to this matter. I would not have choosen this company had I realized my personal information would not be kept private between myself and their company. I am simply asking this procress be seized and I may continue making my mortgage payements with Finance of America Mortgage.

  Business response

  10/11/2022

  On behalf of Finance of America Mortgage LLC (FAM), we are sorry for the customers poor experience and any confusion caused. However, the customer was provided notice, in multiple written documents that he signed, that his loan could be sold and/or service transferred.  For example, the loan disclosures signed by the customer specifically stated that FAM intended to transfer servicing of [his] loan.  This statement appears directly above the customers signature.  Additionally, the Note,also signed by the customer, states in Section 1 that I understand that the Lender may transfer this Note.  And again, Section 20 of the Security Instrument states that [t]he Note or a partial interest in the Note . . . can be sold one more times without the prior notice to Borrower.  A sale might result in a change in the entity (known as the Loan Servicer) that collects Periodic Payments due under the Note and this Security Instrument, and Applicable Law. 
  
  The sale of the loan and servicing rights also does not violate any privacy laws or regulations.  Besides being contractually agreed to by the customer as described above, it is permissible under the ********************************** Act (GLBA), which governs the privacy of loan data. The GLBA acknowledges that loans may be sold or securitized and permits a financial institution to share borrower data without a right of opting out.  See 12 CFR 1016.14(a)(3).  The customer received a GLBA Privacy Notice when he originated the loan disclosed that FAM may share borrower data for our everyday business purposes.  Per CFPB rules, this disclosure addresses the scenario when a loan is sold. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Finance of America is my mortgage servicer. In June I applied for help with the *** program which is a program that helps people when they are unemployed and about to lose their homes. They help with your payments. I have requested that my mortgage servicer sign up with them to receive funding to catch my loan payments up. Finance of America has ignored all of my requests and my forebearance is coming to an end and my loan will go into foreclosure. The *** program has gotten no where with them and they have not complied. I refuse to let them allow me to lose my house I have emailed and called and nothing. The last woman I spoke with hung up on me even. I have a lot of equity in my home and I will not let these people bully me into losing my home.

  Business response

  09/26/2022

  Finance of America Mortgage LLC has enrolled with *** of Nevada.  The customer should ask *** to contact us and discuss the next steps.  

• Initial Complaint

  02/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I refinanced my home loan with Finance of America and signed the closing documents with a notary on November 23, 2021. Prior to closing, I was given false information by Finance of America representatives regarding a number of issues, resulting in confusion and financial hardship. My complaints against Finance of America are the following: 1. I have not received communication by a supervisor or manager regarding my concerns even though I have been assured many times that someone other than customer service would contact me. I have these assurances in writing. 2. On numerous occasions, I was told that I would receive $6,679.85 back from my escrow account, which I did not receive. If $6,679 was applied to my loan then my outstanding mortgage loan should have been reduced but instead the balance went up significantly. I am requesting that a manager explain this to me.3. I requested $2,000 back, which was the maximum that I was allowed to take out, I was assured that I would receive this by a loan representative, but I did not.4. I was told by a loan representative that I would have the option to split my mortgage in half, paying it twice a month instead of just once. Upon closing, I was told that this was not the case. I feel that my concerns over the way my refinance was handled is legitimate and I have a strong reason to believe that my mortgage should be less than it is given that I did not receive the $6,679.00 that was in my escrow account. I am asking that someone contact me to explain this to me and to make it right. I have written emails from the loan officer and representative to support my concerns, which I am prepared to provide. I have a real estate lawyer selected to assist me with bringing a resolution to my complaint. Finance of America has acted with negligence and they have caused me extreme emotional destress and financial instability.

  Business response

  02/23/2022

  We have provided a detailed explanation to the borrower and believe we have resolved the outstanding issues with her. The fees and costs associated with the loan were accurately disclosed on the Loan Estimates and Closing Disclosures signed by the borrower. We also understood that the cash out had been wired to the borrower, and she is following up with the title company. All payment plans are at the discretion of the servicer. Her escrow balance had been netted out of her prior loans payoff; however, we are reimbursing her this amount to resolve her complaint. Her final loan amount included the amount needed to pay off her prior loan balance, the amount needed to pay for closing costs, and the cash paid to her at closing. We apologized to the borrower for the lack of a follow-up communication from a supervisor and used this opportunity to counsel our employees on proper escalation paths.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩