Optimum First Optimum First, Fountain Valley, CA, mishandled the processing of my loans Fountain Valley, California

Apparently Optimum First and the BBB/TrustLInk don't like negative reviews; my "one-star" review of Optimum First was removed from the trustlink review forum. I thought it was very "un-American" of Optimum First and Trustlink to squealch my review.

Optimum First of Fountain Valley was the first to call me after I filled out an on-line refi query. In fact, they called me within two minutes after I hit the enter key. The very first words out of the loan officer's (Robert Chavez) mouth were about how bad the competition was, specifically Quicken Loans, and suggested that I should avoid Quicken Loans.

In retrospect, I think it is very unprofessional for a business to bad-mouth its competition; after all, what goes around comes around. To make a very long story as short as possible, the loan officer did NOT know the schedule that a 5/1 ARM could increase after the first five years. In fact, he did not know that it could increase 5% in the sixth year. I asked the loan officer several times, "What is the max increase per year," and he repeatedly said "2% per year."

Well, I was ok with his answer, but I thought it might be a good idea to take another look at the disclosure statement. Albeit, in very confusing language, the lender's disclosure statement said it could increase 5% in the sixth year, regardless of what the Libor or rates in general do. Since my average length of loan is well over seven years, I wisely decided to cancel the loan.

I had two loan applications with Optimum First; on the other loan the appraisal fee was estimated at $434 and I was charged %536--a 23% difference. And then, about two weeks later, Lendervend (the appraiser) charged an ADDITIONAL $110 to my credit card WITHOUT my knowledge or authorization. This was for a "rent analysis," which I was NOT informed of up front. Now the total overcharge was over 65%. Optimum First also failed to disclose early in the process, several requirements of the lender they were working with (Provident). Like, oh by the way, you need to write us a letter telling us what you are going to do with the cash out. No problem. After I wrote the letter the loan officer called back and said I need to get estimates for the upgrades/repairs that I said I was going to use the money for. Why wasn't I told that UP FRONT? Why didn't they know it was coming? I wanted to cancel this load, too, but was "made aware" of the cancellation fee.

Although I asked about paying the mortgage payments online, I wasn't told that Provident charges a $15/transaction fee to pay online if you don't sign up for automatic bill pay. (Wells Fargo doesn't charge this fee.) Paying online manually is preferrable to automatic bill pay because if I have a little left over each month I apply it to the principal. That $15/month fee would go a long way toward paying off the principal. (In fact, if applied to the loan it would reduce the loan's term by more than a year--13 months!!)

So, how does this hurt me? I'm out the appraisal fee for the cancelled loan, and the appraisal fee overcharges for the second loan; both of which Optimum said they would refund. (NOTE: Optimum First sent a partial refund, but still owes me $112.) I'm also out the cost of my time and effort getting all the documents required by the lender and the hours spent on the phone. Not to mention stamps and envelops...and checks.

In addition, I didn't get the cash out from the second loan and simply settled for refinancing the balance. I decided it was a violation of my ethics to say I was going to use it for home repairs (as suggested by Robert Drenk of Optimum First) when in fact I was planning to use it for something entirely unrelated.

I would have cancelled out of this loan, too, but was threatened with a stiff fee. In retrospect, with all their mistakes, I should have taken them to court.

In summary, beware of businesses that "bad-mouth" the competition; they probably have something to hide. My experience with Optimum First is the very worst refinance experience of my life. Without the cash out I'm really no better off now than before the refi.

It is the responsibility of management to make sure their employees know how to do their jobs, especially in a business dealing with other peoples' money.