An Absolutely Horrible Mortgage Experience

 

Every week there were new forms to be signed and new documents to be provided - new hoops to jump through.  They provide a website to track the status of your loan - what documents you still need to get to them and what they still need to do before you can close.  I applied for the loan 7 weeks prior to the date I wanted to close.  I provided all requested documents promptly.  Four weeks after I had first applied and three weeks before I was supposed to close I called to inquire about the numerous red flags still showing up on the website.  Many of these flags were items I had provided weeks ago; others didn't make any sense; still others they had never even asked for.  The agent in their mortgage "service" center assured me that that would all get taken care of soon.  The loan should come out of processing any day now and when that happened the flags would all get cleared up.  He seemed quite irritated that I had even called to ask.  Two days before I was supposed to close I called him because I still didn't have final numbers.  He said it should be done "today".  One day before closing he called me to request yet another document and - in passing - mentioned a "small" issue with the home owner's association.  But, still it should be done "today".  3 hours after I was supposed to close the local mortgage specialist called me to tell me that there was an issue with the HOA and they needed a letter that the HOA was not providing to them.  Both she and the agent in their central mortgage service center were actively hostile when I put the blame on Key for the loan not closing on time - they had had 7+ weeks to get it done.  Both blamed the HOA, my Realtor, and the seller's Realtor for the delays.  I was especially upset at their refusal to take any of the blame because everytime I spoke with them I was assured that everything was fine and they always made it clear that I shouldn't have been bothering them with these concerns - the loan would close on time.

 

 

 

The issue with the HOA that was revealed 3 hours after the closing should have happened was with the delinquency rate on HOA fees; it required an exception through Fannie Mae to get the loan approved and that would cost me $200.  In addition to costing an extra $200, it was also going to take at least a week to get the exception.  I was very upset about this because everytime I asked about the status of the loan I was assured everything was on track - right up until the closing time came and went without closing!  She informed me that I didn't have to go for the exception; of course if I didn't the loan was declined.  In my mind that's really not a choice.  Just like when your computer crashes and says I've lost your data, press OK.  No, it's not OK, but I don't have any other choice!!  She refused to acknowledge that the "choice" she was giving me was really no choice at all.  The only good thing I have to say about Key comes here - the exception got approved very quickly.  They turned it around in less than 1 business day!  But, from what I've seen of their business practices at the last possible moment is the only way they do things so I guess they've gotten quite good at it!

 

 

 

I could go on and on and list the numerous other things that they got wrong throughout the process, but I hope by now I've convinced you to take your business elsewhere.  Their fees were lower than other lenders, but you get what you pay for.  And many of the fees they advertised at the start of the process ended up being much higher in the end (those are the numerous other things I could go on and on about; suffice it to say the "surprises" added up to about $700 in extra fees by the end). I'll never get another mortgage through them; not even if they paid me!