Quick but Extremely Frustrating Mortgage Process.
Written: Jun 21 '04 (Updated Jul 09 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
| Web Site Experience: |
 |
|
| Web Site Load Time: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Unbeatable fee schedule and reasonable rates. Cash back incentives. Ability to close on time.
Cons: Not knowledgeable about application. Uncaring about individual situation. Lack of communication. Redundant paperwork.
The Bottom Line: Only helpful if you have a tight closing deadline and can endure the total frustration and stress during the process. The employees are not knowledgeable, not responsive, and not caring.
|
|
|
| inphri's Full Review: Navy Federal Credit Union |
First of all, I want to specify that this Customer Service rating is only regarding the Mortgage Division. I will talk about the other aspects later in the full review.
Conclusion: If you are getting a mortgage, stay away from NFCU if you are not in a hurry. Or, at least be aware of the (lack of) service and communication, as well as the frustrating process, you might experience. On the other hand, they were indeed able to meet tight deadlines.
Below is a list of the full text of Pro's and Con's.
Pro:
1. The loan processors had polite and positive attitude and they sounded nice.
2. The employees on the general service hot line were nice and helpful.
3. You get incentives (cash back) for applying online and using MemberMove service.
4. They had super low fees and reasonable (but not the best) rates.
5. They were able to close my loan on time.
Con:
1. I was never able to reach the person I was calling. My voicemail was never returned in a timely manner.
2. The loan officers did not care about the members and was not willing to work with me when the credit bureau mistakenly put someone else's debt on our credit report.
3. I was never notified of the additional required paperwork until 3 days before closing.
4. The loan officers did not even review my application before they intended to decline my loan 2 days before closing.
5. The assistant was not knowledgeable and falsely promised things she could not provide.
6. It appeared that I was required to provide redundant paper work throughout the process.
So, here is the full story. I recently had to purchase a house with a very tight deadline (I had a surgery scheduled and I wanted to get it closed before the surgery). Therefore, I did not have time to shop around the Internet for a great deal on the mortgage. I went with Navy Federal Credit Union because it was my husband's primary bank, and they had a reasonable rate with an extremely competitive fee schedule (Note 1). My primary bank was a different online-only bank, and they did offer a lower mortgage rate, but I was told that they would not be able to close on time.
Before I started the application with NFCU, I called their mortgage hot line on the phone. The person on the phone was in fact very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately I did not get his name. He introduced me to the MemberMove program and told me there would be additional incentives if I used NFCU for my mortgage. Therefore, I called the MemberMove program to find out more (Note 2). In the meantime, I also realized that I could get extra incentives if I applied for the mortgage on line, and therefore that was what I did. And speaking of that, some of the questions on the online application form were not very clear. I had to stop and call the hot line on the phone to figure out what they were asking.
After I submitted my on-line application, I never heard anything back (via phone, mail or email) for 3 days. Therefore I called in the mortgage service line to check on the status of my application. I was told that my loan was assigned to processor S. (I do not want to disclose the names here). I obtained her extension and called her right away. I left a voicemail message and she called me back in a reasonable time frame, and gave me a list of documentation that she needed, including the Sales Contract, Contact Information for my closing company, my insurance company, and a payment confirmation for an outstanding collection reported by the credit bureau on my husband's SSN. She also told me I had to actually pay for the insurance "before" closing (not "at" closing), and fax her the binder receipt.
I followed her instruction, paid for the first year of home owner's insurance premium, faxed the sales contract, faxed the contact information, faxed the binder receipt, and paid for the outstanding collection. I called processor S to confirm whether she received the faxes, but I was never able to get a hold of her. I left many voicemail messages but she never called me back. Finally her assistant J called me back. She said the faxes were never received. I had to fax the sales contract for a total of 3 times before she received it. Therefore, their fax-receiving system was not very efficient.
In addition, in the process of obtaining the payment confirmation from the collection agency, it was revealed that the credit bureau had made a mistake and the outstanding collection did not belong to my husband. Since the debt was not on my husband's account, the collection agency was unable to give me any payment confirmation -- even though I paid for it. I called processor S right away, but was never able to reach her. She never called me back in a reasonable time frame. Assistant J started to communicate with me on this matter. She sounded friendly but she was not able to do anything for me. I understood this was the credit bureau's mistake, but I did not understand why Navy Federal Credit Union was unable to understand the situation and provide remedy to honest members. One would think when the Credit Union provides a loan to a member, they would look at the situation and not just follow the documentation based on an incorrect credit report. When I was told about this outstanding debt, I paid for it right away without delay. Did she consider this? No. I was trying to explain the reason the collection agency wouldn't give me a payment confirmation was because it wasn't our debt to begin with. Did she understand? No. I even filed a dispute with the credit bureau, but it was still not sufficient for her. Yes, I know they have their "rules" for approving a loan, and she was simply following the rules. But I think it was rigid, uncaring, mechanical, and unreasonable not to consider the individual circumstances. I was finally able to get this resolved by having the collection agency contacting processor S directly, and explained the situation to her.
As I mentioned, I had a very tight closing schedule, and therefore I was very personally involved in the process. I did not just submit the application and wait for everyone else to work for me. I was monitoring the process very closely. I made sure all the requested documentation was received. There were more than one time, when I spoke to Assistant J, I asked specifically, "Do you have everything you need for my loan now?" and she told me, "Yes". However, just 3 days before closing, I received a package with the paper application forms in the postal mail. On the form, processor S asked me for my "green card". I was furious about this request. First of all, when I asked whether they had everything they needed for my loan, the answer was "Yes". No one had ever told me about the need for my green card until the package arrived in the mail 3 days before closing. The package had a postal stamp that indicated it was mailed a day before. And I had been given the answer, "Yes, we have everything. You are all set," way before then. Therefore, it was not something that was old and got crossed in the mail. It was a new requirement that was never communicated to me. I could not believe that they did not even have the decency to give me a phone call about this. Secondly, this requirement was invalid. On my application (when I submitted it on line at the very beginning), I had indicated that I was not a permanent resident. Therefore, I never had a green card. I was wondering whether she even looked at my application at all. If processor S had looked at my application, then she should have known that I did not have a green card. Then, why did she even ask for it? I called processor S right away, and of course, could not reach her. I spoke to assistant J, and apparently she did not even know what a green card was. I had to explain to her the different alien status allowed in the United States. If someone does not have a "green card", it does not automatically mean this person is an illegal immigrant! I believe I was not the only foreigner in this country that purchases a house before obtaining the permanent residency. NFCU really needs to educate their employees that "green card" is not the only alien status allowed. I was really surprised because I would expect that NFCU know all about alien status, especially when they are serving Navy sailors based all over the world. On the application, we also disclosed that my husband is Active Duty Navy, and he is a US citizen. Was that not clear enough? It was extremely frustrating, but I was finally able to resolve this by faxing her my H1 visa.
On the paper application forms, it was also revealed that the house did not appraise to the selling price. Just to give you an idea: the selling price was $179,000, my down payment was $75,000, and my loan amount was $104,000. Based on this, the down payment was $75,000 / $179,000 = 42%. The house turned out to be valued at $131,000. Therefore, processor S calculated that the loan ratio was $104,000 / $131,000 = 79%. Ok, we paid too much. So what? During a phone call conversation with assistant J 2 days before closing, she told me she would not be able to give me the loan and our application would be turned down. I was furious and I asked her why that was. She told me my house did not appraise as high as the selling price. I had been very polite when I spoke to them during the whole process, but at that moment, after all the frustration and unbelievable mistreatment, I finally raised my voice at her. She had absolutely no reason to decline my loan. Even with the lower appraised value ($131,000), my loan ($104,000) was still less than 80%. Can you think of a reason why she should have attempted to decline my loan? The next thing out of her mouth was, "Well, are you going to make up the difference?" This was just absurd. Had she not read my loan application? I clearly stated that my down payment was $75,000 and my requested loan amount was $104,000. Where was this "difference" she wanted me to "make up"? She just automatically assumed that I was applying for 100% financing. It was 2 days before closing, and we had been working together all this time. And she did not even know the amount I was applying for? After I pointed out these facts, she finally realized that she made an incorrect assessment, and continued the loan process.
I also asked assistant J to provide me with the appraisal result. She told me no problem and she would fax it to me right away. I never received the fax, so I called her back. The first few phone calls were, of course, forwarded to her voicemail. When I finally talked to her, she told me she was a new employee and did not know that she was not allowed to release such information to me. This was very annoying because she really needed more training before coming to the front line to work with the customers. She could have told me that she did not know whether she could give me that information or not. That way, at least I would not have had a false expectation. In the same phone call, she again attempted to decline my loan. This time she told me that she got information that the seller was not willing to sell us the house any more because of the low appraisal amount. After I hung up with her, I called my realtor right away, and confirmed that it was incorrect information. The seller never told anyone that the deal was off because of the appraisal amount. I wondered where assistant J got that information from.
In addition, there were numerous mistakes on the paper application forms I received in the mail 3 days before closing. I crossed them out and hand-wrote in the correct information. I was instructed that I must fax back the paper application forms "before" closing, with both my signature and my husband's signature. I understood I needed to do that, but I would have appreciated if I had more time. I live in Fairfax VA (for employment reasons), which is 200 miles away from my husband, who lives on the Naval Base in Norfolk VA. We were buying a house in Norfolk so we could finally stay together. Therefore, the night before closing, I had to fax the forms with my signature to my realtor's office in Norfolk, had my husband get out of his duty day (if you are in the Navy, you know how bad this was) so that he could go to the realtor's office to complete his signature on the paper application forms, and then had the realtor fax the whole package (with the corrections I made) back to processor S' office. This fax included the page where I allowed NFCU to directly deduct money from our joint savings account every month for the mortgage payment. After all these troubles, I found out at closing that we had to sign exactly the same paper application forms (which contained all the mistakes that were not corrected on the forms). I could not believe it. This seemed very redundant and unreasonable to me. If we had to sign these at closing (with the mistakes), then why was I instructed to fax back the paper (with corrected information) before closing?
A few days ago I just got my first billing statement for the mortgage payment. I called NFCU to confirm whether the automated payment deduction from the joint savings account was set up correctly. This was faxed the night before closing with the application form package. Well, it was not set up. Fortunately, I was able to set it up over the phone. So, what did processor S do with the request form I faxed to her?
I had purchased a house before, and I know what I should expect. This whole mortgage application / approval process was just ridiculous and stressful. The mortgage product employees did not seem to care about the members, did not know the application details, and did not provide timely communication. Almost every time when I called, I got the voicemail. I left messages asking them to call me at my office or on the cell phone, but they almost always called me back at my home phone number. Why do they expect me to be home during normal business hours, if I specifically left my office phone and cell phone numbers?
There were, however, a couple of things that I did appreciate. First of all, there were more than one person working on my application. I believed it helped to speed up the process and allowed me to close on time. I was able to find assistant J to help me, even if processor S was not available. Secondly, when I was speaking to processor S and assistant J on the phone, they both sounded polite and patient.
As you can see, there were a few special situations happened in my case. They may never happen to you. However, I feel that it is my obligation to let you know about the employees' intolerable behaviors. It is the best test for "customer service" when things don't go smoothly.
Additional Notes:
Note 1: NFCU Mortgage Rates and Fee Schedule:
NFCU has a lower than average mortgage rate offering. Of course, the rate changes from time to time, but I can give you an example. When I was searching for my mortgage, NFCU offered 5.35% with no point. At the same time, the cheapest rate I could find was 5% with no point, and the highest was over 6%. Therefore, NFCU has reasonable rates, even though it was not the best offer. Another good thing is, they have many different mortgage products (different types of mortgage loans), and you can get all the rate information on their website. When you apply, you get what you see on line, not like some other mortgage company, they would advertise one rate on line, and then tell you that you only qualified for another higher rate. You can apply for the NFCU mortgage right on line at their website (and if you do so, you actually get a $50 cash back bonus).
In the meantime, you also need to consider the fees. NFCU has the best fee schedule ever. And they disclose it up-front, see:
http://www.navyfcu.org/prodserv/mort_main.html#advantages
Note 2: MemberMove program:
This is a program offered by Navy Federal Credit Union. However, you can sign up with this program without getting a mortgage from Navy Federal at the end. It is free to NFCU members. What happens is that you sign up for free, and they will assign you with a specialist. The specialist will then hook you up with a realtor (provided that you don't have one already). After closing, you will get cash back for using the assigned realtor (the amount will depend on the purchase price of the house), and you will get additional cash back ($100) for eventually using NFCU as your mortgage lender. If for some reason, you did not get a mortgage from NFCU, you will still get the cash back from using the assigned realtor. You just don't get the $100 extra cash back.
My specialist contacted me almost right away. He did not actually do anything for me (in terms of the loan process and house-buying process), but he checked back with me on my status at least once a week by email and by phone. It was really nice to know that someone cared. He was also very sympathetic about the incorrect credit report issue. I was sure that he couldn't really do anything about it, but he expressed concerned and told me he would try to make some phone calls if it did not get resolved in time. I appreciated his thoughts. I had very good experience using this program. So, sign up with them regardless -- remember, you do not have to get a mortgage from NFCU at the end. However, the advantage is only maximized if you do not have your own realtor yet.
Note 3: Savings/Checking Account Products:
As I mentioned earlier, my primary bank is an online bank. However, I use Navy Federal Credit Union as the "convenience bank". What do I mean? Well, my online bank allows me to make electronic payment for free, and I can deposit with postage paid envelopes. I use credit card for almost all my purchases (99%), so I usually don't need any interaction with a bank branch, or even the ATM machine. However, having NFCU as my secondary bank has the following advantage for me:
1. There is no monthly fee to maintain a checking/savings account. The minimum balance is either $5 or $10 -- it is so low that I didn't have to care. Therefore, there's no obvious cost for me to hang on to this local account for occasional use.
2. I can get a Cashier's check for free (good for buying a used car from a private party, paying for house down payment, and more). This is the main reason I wanted an account with them. My online bank would charge $25 just for issuing a cashier's check, and it would take a week to be mailed to me.
3. I can get past statements for free, as long as I go to the branch. My online bank would charge $5 per statement.
4. This is not a major thing for me because I seldom use cash -- but, you can unload your loose change and deposit them using the coin machine in the branch. And unlike those machines in the grocery stores, this one does not charge anything.
However, it also has the following disadvantages:
1. Even though you also have online access to your account information, the things you can do online is very limited. You can only view the transaction history for the past month, which is not nearly enough. For any transaction history older than a month, you will have to go to the branch and wait in a long line. NFCU recently added a new functionality that you can make online payments from your account. However, it is free only if you make at least 3 payments per month.
2. They do not have many ATM machine available. There is an ATM Locator on their website that you can look for all the branches and ATMs. Some states don't have any at all. The fee they charge for foreign bank ATM's ("foreign bank" does not mean overseas. It just means any other bank that is not NFCU) has recently been increased, and I think they will keep increasing the fees.
3. They have so many customers that the wait at the branch is always very long.
4. The interest rate is not good at all. I don't keep my money here. I keep my money at the online bank, and when I needed a cashier's check (such as the down payment), I transfer money from my online bank to NFCU, and then withdraw the money as soon as it becomes available. The interest rate offered at my online bank is almost 10 times higher than the rate offer by NFCU.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
inphri
|
|
Member: Selene Nieh
Location: Fairfax, VA, USA
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
I intend to actively share my experience and opinion. Information is never enough! ^_^
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.