Complaint Review: Quicken Loans - Livonia Michigan

A lot of hot air that doesn't realy amount to much. Please take the time to read other posts and you will see I do not work for Quicken though Jay and Michelle do. I just know the industry very well and I know why Quicken is at the top. Sorry things didn't "go your way" (see other post) with mortgage at Quicken.

It amazes me ignorance in this industry. What you are referring to is brokers that have local appraisers in their back pocket and will give them a spiff if the magic value needed comes in.(ie. Ameriquest) You don't find it strange that ALL Ameriquest appraisals come in at "value"? I don't think ANY loan thru Ameriquest has ever been turned down for low value or for any other reason for that matter. THAT IS ILLEGAL AND THAT IS WHAT THE LAWSUITS ARE ABOUT. Get edugimacated before you "complain" other wise it is just useless rant that has no substance and you try to ruin a good companies name because "things didn't go my way". If things "don't go your way" that is not a complaint that is just the way it goes somtimes... Please re-read my entire comment in full and in detail before commenting. This is a case of a low value appraisal. ALL LENDERS have approved appraisers...they are appraisers that have been checked out by the lender to be legit, licensed, and bonded. Otherwise, just ask you uncle Bob to become an appraiser and he can do the appraisal for you...oh guess what your home just appraised for $10,000,000...come on.

In my last "discussion" with the Quicken SalesBanker , I mentioned that I wanted to use MY 3rd party, unbiased appraiser. He broke out on a sweat on the phone, saying, "NO, YOU CAN'T DO THAT - that's COLLUSION!" I calmly said back to him, "Well, if Quicken chooses the appraiser, then Quicken is guilty of Collusion. Appraisers that are hired by a company in hopes of having repeat business just because the company is a mortgage / lending company will be more likely to do anything remotely SUGGESTED by the company - unlike if the appraiser was hired by a one time buyer (the homeowner)." He had nothing to reply that made sense. It was just, No, No, it's not like that. Ok - then tell me WHY I'm wrong and you're right. He couldn't. Why is MY hiring an appraiser MORE of an instance of collusion than if Quicken hires their own appraisers? You'll read more than you want to posted by HONEST appraisers on this website: As you read through this website that pushes for ethics in appraisal companies, you'll see how rampant fraud is - perpetrated by companies very much like Quicken Loans. If Quicken closed 11,000 loans a month, sure, there are lots and lots and LOTS of appraisers that want to get on that money wagon. Let's do some simple math here: Average Loans per month: 11,000 Time 12 months in a year: 132,000 loans per year BESIDES the interest from the loans being pushed (interest only for 10 years) where Quicken rakes in all their interest for 10 years while STILL basically owning 100% of the person's home, each person that has a loan closed has also paid that $500.00 fee. Hmmmmm - that means that at least 66 MILLION dollars per year is made off of the APPROVED loans only. And Jay, Michelle and Brian (who all seem to be employed in the PR department of Quicken to perform damage control) say that Quicken doesn't make any money off of this "fee". I think for 66 MILLION dollars a year, they can put quite a few "appraisers" in their portfolio that would willingly do whatever it takes to keep the lions share of the monthly "fee" pool. That doesn't take into consideration the thousands of "pre-approvals" that DON'T go through, who ALSO pay that $500.00 fee. The average US appraisal costs around $350.00, more or less but close to that according to housing and real estate statistics from reputable real estate industry resources. Let's say that a credit report (which I will also address) costs $25.00. That adds up to $375.00. So, if all of that is honest charges and there is a $125.00 balance, why is the total $500.00 charged instead of the actual charges, why isn't there a receipt for the "appraisal" given to the client since the client "purchased" it, and why do consumers have to fight so hard to get the balance due to them? Would it be due to the fact that Quicken Loans perhaps might use the balance in a bank account to accrue interest for as long as they can fraudulently hold on to the money? Hmmmm again, let's do some simple math. Let's say that 1000 people in Georgia got turned down for loans this month. Let's say that the real cost of appraisal and credit report is $375.00. Their balance of $125.00 times 1,000 equals $125,000.00 per month. Even at 1% per month interest - that is $1250.00. Big deal you say? Yep. Multiply that times 50 states. Per MONTH. 50 x 1250.00 = $ 62,500.00. OK, so still not a big deal? Multiply that by 12. So in a year, Quicken can effectly sluff off an extra 3 Quarters of a MILLION dollars ($750,000.00) just by holding refunds for 30 days or more. So - Quicken approves 11,000 loans a month eh? If they tie up or delay or deny 12,000 applications for 30 days and hold onto $125.00 refund of the $500.00, they'll make A MILLION and a HALF - $1,500,000.00 just in INTEREST alone based on the paultry 1% interest from a real bank savings account - and you KNOW they get a higher percentage rate than that. Most likely would buy a batch of 30 day CD's that yield 6% interest over 30 days and have a batch (a couple million dollars) expire every day of the month after they collect interest which would free up funds for refunds to people who actually fight to get what little they can manage to get back. They'll hold it forever if you don't fight for it. Just to let you know - this was discussion concerning the papers the boiler-salesperson sent me. The papers had totally different terms than what he told me. I did not sign nor submit the papers. I don't sign anything that isn't what I agree to and what they had on paper WASN'T IT. We will certainly see if my card gets "charged", now won't we?

What planet do YOU live on? It has been standard, albet illegal, practice in this country for more years than I care to recall for lenders to use "their" appraisers. There have been lawsuits over this, there have been FTC suits over this, there have been 60 minutes reports over this - it's rampent throughout the country and when you find a company that is leading the industry in loans, I can guarantee you they are using "approve" or "selected" or what-ever-term-they-want-to-use appraiser. I've seen it happen live in several states. When you find companies that do a good amount of loans, but are no where near the top of the volumn list, they are the ones that are using honest appraisers who don't always "come in" at the right amount. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of lawsuits where testimony has shown the lend will call the appraiser and tell them something along the lines of "well, we're hoping to lend them XXX number of dollars and we kinda need to make sure the house will appraise at YYY dollars". Guess what, the appriaser isn't stupid and a lot of them will "magically" create an appraisal that comes in right on the dot. There ARE appraisers out there who wouldn't dream of compromising their integrety like that, but they seem to be falling along the roadside and aren't used as much anymore. In a pure righteous world, Brian would be right, but lets face it folks, it ain't righteous anymore.

When I worked at Quicken, if you put the deposit into the Lakewood system, accounting would run the card within a couple of days, regardless if you had the paperwork or not. Has the policy changed or something? The reason behind the deposit is it's a commitment from the borrower. If the borrower tried to back out of the loan, Quicken can use it as a leverage. If I wanted to refund a deposit in full, I had to get permission from my sales director. Normally when they refunded, it would be at least minus the cost of the credit report. Now on to the "Smart Loan." These loans are perfect for 1.) commissioned employees, 2.) self-employed borrowers and 3.) employees who's income will be increasing greatly over the next few years. The problem with Quicken is they will put anyone (including fixed-income clients) in these loans without going to far into detail about the negatives of interest-only loans. It's one of the biggest ways that Quicken can be competitive.

OK so from what I am hearing, a deposit was given, no documents were signed (in pen or online), and the deposit was charged. The steps to take is to make a formal complaint with client relations about what exactly happened. They will conduct a formal and thorough investigation on the subject. If they find that the documents were not signed then you will get your money back. If they find that the documents were signed by someone other than yourself (either in pen or online because there are ways of tracking both) they will refund your deposit and take legal action against the culprit. I apologize if no one told you the correct way to battle the situation but this is the most efficient way to go about it. Keep in mind that Quicken Loans underwrites 11,000 loans per month and have an outstanding record of issues resolved with the better business bureau. I'm confident that the company will do the right thing when investigated properly.

It is real simple. You give a deposit. That deposit is used to cover incidental cost incurred by the lender. You agree to the deposit. The lender then sends out and appraiser (one of the incidental fees). The appraiser is NOT connected to the lender in ANY way other than an order is placed and they accept to fill that order. The appraiser then does a complex comparison. This is where most of you get confused...if appraisal hits value needed or not... If the value needed comes in...then the loan closes and no issues. Now remember that deposit...it gets credited towards all of your closing cost. If the value does NOT come in then your loan may need to be re-worked if it can be...if it can be then you will be presented with that offer and you can choose to close or not. If you close then guess what happens to your deposit...you guessed it, it gets credited towards all of your closing cost. If you do not like the re-worked loan OR the loan can't be re-worked OR you CHOOSE not to close your loan. Your deposit is used to pay the INDEPENDANT appraiser and the other incidentals like credit report. The appraiser gets paid no matter if the loan closes or not, that is what your deposit is for, that is what you are told at the time of application, and that is exactly what happens and you still "file a complaint"...I don't get it. Quicken does not control the value of your home. 99% of ALL of the "complaints" against this company is in regards to the deposit and everything is fine until the appraisal is too low. If Quicken did that with its appraisers...if they said to the appraiser "get the value we need so we can do the loan or you will not get paid"...that would be illegal and they would be in as big of trouble as Ameriquest. That is exactly what all of you are trying to do. You are saying that if my appraisal does not come in at where we need to close...then please do not pay the appraiser and give my deposit back to me...

It's annoying

Michelle is obviously nothing more than a low level company shill flunkie who is trying to brow beat everyone and justify her compay's unscupulous activities. It seems to be the norm now in over bloated corporations in america. Here's hoping that Quicken Loans gets bitten on the arse on this.

You are going to have to clarify, as you seem to be saying two things at once (this seems to be a recurring theme with those employed by your Company). Was I misinformed or did the loan officer give me the correct information? Do you apologize for your Company or do you believe I made a mistake? I commend your allegiance to your employer, that is not often seen any more in America, but you're being naive to think any Company as large as Quicken doesn't have bad actors or just plain incompetent / inept employees. Revenue padding is a reality. I never mentioned "stealing". Its Quicken's business practice and if folks give up their $500, that's their problem, I'm just not letting it happen to me, especially since I was told I wouldn't be charged. Obviously Quicken makes a great many loans to people and were able to start their ascent at a very unique crossroads of internet use explosion (and trust in internet information and security), consumer friendly interest rates brought on my several disasters to the American economy and the genesis of many new forms of home loan instruments to allow people who would never before be able to buy a home, bury themselves in debt with things like interest-only loans. Finally, I pose a question to you. What "third party fees" is my $500 supposed to cover? If you could actually give me (and anyone else reading this thread) a detailed list of the costs that this money is supposed to cover with no margin built in for Quicken Loans I would be VERY surprised. Go ahead, list out the services provided, by whom these services are provided and their cost. I doubt you can. Until that point, you are unfortunately just toe-ing the company line and giving un-informed propaganda.

Unfortunately you have been misinformed on many levels and i apologize. I will tell you that being the largest online lender in the country we didn't get there by stealing clients 500 dollars. That money goes to third party fees...none of Quicken Loans costs. If you did not sign any documents then you should not have been charged. The loan officer gave you correct information. The company upholds the most integrity and is always willing to correct wrong doings. I do not beleive your claim and unfortunately i'm sorry for your mistake.

Maybe you didn't read my initial complaint. I DID ask, and was assured by the Quicken Loans representative, several times, that my charge card would NOT be charged unless I proceeded with a home loan from Quicken Loans. I did not sign a mortgage or any other paper, there was nothing to READ, READ, READ. That is the whole point of my complaint! Isn't the processing someone's rate quote a cost of doing business in the loan industry? If I am supposedly the only person in America that feels he's been ripped off by Quicken Loans, this should not be very big cost to a company whose owner is able to buy a professional sports franchise. How much did it cost to pull my credit report, $12? Look, I'm sure you like your job at Quicken Loans, but have no idea how the Company actually works. I am an accounting consultant can guarantee you that ALL companies in ALL fields of business have these little revenue generators, which is exactly what this is. They hope the people who turn down their products just take it in the shorts and don't complain. That's why I asked the rep on the phone in the beginning. Lucky for my I have an American Express card and they are VERY dilligent for their customers. Either the woman I was talking to on the phone was misinformed on the actual procedures of your company, or this is a bait and switch, where you tell someone you won't charge them, and then just do it anyway.

It's funny to me how everyone feels that they have been "ripped" off. DO consumers these days read their loan documents? This is the biggest asset you will ever own in your life and you aren't taking it seriously. I have been in the loan business for a long time and when people don't read their documents it makes our job harder. Pay attention people this is a big deal. Everyone is so quick to play victim when the real victims are the companies having to put up with the stupidity of the public. #1 Read, Read, Read and then Read the documents over and over. #2 if you have questions ask them. If you don't have questions, ask them anyways. #3 The deposit is simple. It is located on the Interest rate disclosure and is charged to your account AFTER the loan documents are received from you, the borrower. If Quicken Loans pre-paid for every appraisal the majority of the clients that fall-out would not pay it. There are 60,000 lenders and mortgage companies in the country, these complaints are minimal. Go to QuickenLoans.com and read all the awesome things the 97% of satisfied clients have written. Have a great day and if you haven't gone through Quicken don't let others determine your experience for you. Once again people love playing the victim.