synergy direct mike chaney, October They offered me a remortgage. They took $400 on my visa. They refuse to send me MY paperwork. newark, Delaware

I called Ralph to see if he was interested in refinancing his home. He lives three miles from me and I know his neighborhood very well. We met and got along really well. He is a very nice man and I offered him a rate of 4.25% on a thirty year fixed program.

We signed the documents and I submitted them to my processor. Two days later my processor said he hadn't seen this happen before but the lender waived the appraisal and accepted our stated value of the home.

I was very excited about this and called Ralph to let him know. I also advised him that because the processor had not heard of this happening before we should be cautiously optimistic as lenders are notorious for changing stipulations before the actual loan closes.

From there, Ralph had retirement income from his previous employer that could not be verified beyond two years. The lender rescinded the appraisal waiver and requested that Ralph provide additional documentation to support his claim that he would continue to receive the stated income beyond two years.

I spoke with Ralph and he was disappointed but fine with the appraisal as he had accepted that from the beginning. Also, I had been upfront with him from the beginning that the lender could still request an appraisal at a later date.

I offered to help Ralph in any way that I could to resolve his stated income problem. Unfortunately, Ralph was the only one who could take care of this for privacy reasons. No one would give me any information so Ralph was caught up with the social security administration and his former employer.

Time passed and the loan process which typically takes 3-4 weeks was now in the tenth week. Anyone who follows rates realizes that the rates really started to spike in the third and fourth quarter of 2010.

At the time of the loan application Ralph was confident that rates would continue lower and he chose not to lock at that time. As the process went along we were now in the 4.625 to 4.75 range and he still had not received the documentation to prove his income was long term. The lender would not close the loan until that paperwork was received. 

We had reached a stalemate. Ralph wasn't doing the loan at those rates and I couldn't get it done without his cooperation. My advice was to wait it out and as soon as rates became more favorable and he was comfortable with the loan we would proceed. I still asked him to pursue the documentation we would need regardless of where the rates were.

To summarize, the loan process was not as smooth as either of us would have liked but to say I wouldn't return his calls is simply not true. I spoke with Ralph every week and kept him apprised of the situation the entire time. The problem is that as a broker we bear the brunt of customer's ire. Most people don't realize there are many moving parts in the loan process. many of which are entirely out of our control.

I have always considered myself an advocate for my clients and I was such for Ralph as well. I am deeply regretful that Ralph feels this way but I still feel I need to set the record straight and sincerely hope I have done that.