The Mortgage Industry

I now know why the mortgage industry is going (or has gone?) to hell in a handbasket.

We used our local TDBanknorth in the past for a mortgage on a commercial building my husband and a partner bought. Of course I handled all the paperwork and the bank couldn't have been nicer. Bent over backwards to accommodate our needs, had the closing in their office, got phone calls on a regular basis from the person at the bank on the status. So we used the same bank, same branch when we applied for a mortgage on the cottage.

Things were a little different. Grace at the bank had moved on and the person there had been transferred from another branch and wasn't thrilled about being there. She sat me down at a desk at the bank, set me up and had me complete the loan application over the phone with the mortgage department. Ok, not the best method but it was done. They asked if I wanted to use the closing attorney selected by the bank and I said "sure!". Didn't know they would select one for me who was 40 minutes away! For a FIVE MINUTE MEETING. Ok, learned my lesson there.

Fast Forward to May 2009. Rates have dropped, cottage has been remodeled, time to get out of our high interest mortgage. On May 14th, I go to the same branch of TDBanknorth again. Kevin, new CSR says he can help me. We complete an online application. I'm asked to provide a closing attorney name. I use the name of a local attorney in town. Finally everything's in the computer we're all set.

May 28th, I get a phone call from the loan processor,Diana, introducing herself telling me there will be a packet in the mail for us. The following week we get the packet, sign the papers, fax them all to her, follow up with an email letting her know they've been sent. And that's when it all started falling apart....

First, I get an automatic email from her telling me she's out of the office on vacation and that Natalie would be covering her work. So I send Natalie an email telling her I've sent it and asked her a few questions. I then get a reply from Natalie telling me Bill is handling our loan while Diana's gone and to send the information to him and she would forward my email. No reply from Bill, no reply from Bill, no reply from Bill. I email Natalie again and tell her I haven't heard from Bill. Bill promptly gives me a call after that! I find out what I need.

One of the items they needed was our ENTIRE tax return from 2008. We're self-employed and it's about 50 pages. My new accountant had my only copy so they made me one and I brought it to the Kevin at the bank and he said he'd fax it. This was on June 10.

I wish I could tell you how much time went by before I heard something. But it looks like it was June 29th when Megan, who was helping the Diana, left a message to give me an update on the remaining outstanding conditions. Come to find out - they were still waiting for the tax return! To make an already long story short, Kevin at the bank was faxing it to the wrong number! Does that mean it never went through? Or some local hardware store in Maine now has a copy of my tax return including my family's social security numbers? I don't know. I don't want to know.

On July 13th I called the loan processor to check the status because -- it was the last day of the locked in rate! She told me they would extend it for us.

The other day she realized she didn't have our homeowner's insurance information. Gave her the agent's phone number so she could get that information.

Today, July 22nd, she calls and asks for - my husband. When I say "this is Nancy" she said "Oh! I've always talked to your husband, but I can talk to you". Uh, ok.

She was calling to see if my closing attorney had completed the title search. First of all, WE OWN THE PROPERTY. WE'RE REFINANCING. Second of all, I gave YOU the attorney information. What did you ask for it for if you weren't going to use it and if I had to have them do something, why didn't you tell me? But I bit my tongue, told her we'd use their attorney as long as they were local to us and of course, this will delay the closing a few more days.

And THAT'S why I'm not surprised that the loan industry is in the condition it's in.