"They were waiting for Gadot's checkbook."

Godot, I think.

I sympathize with your pain, and plight. Sorrows, here, at Amygdala Central.

Not so sympathetic with the abuse of the Internet by calling for Google-bombing, but I've never liked any of those, no matter how more noble the cause. That's just me.

Back on the sympathies with your annoying situation.

Thanks for the heads-up on the typo, Gary -- got it fixed.

And you DO know I'm serious about the ID Bash, right? Take a bus, take a cab, do whatever -- the booze and food are on the house.

Mortgage lending is a highly regulated industry -- Federal and state. You have some recourse. Also never forget that in this scenario you are just a lowly consumer--call Ken Salazar's office--he lives for consumer issues. See http://www.ago.state.co.us/CONSPROT/Mortgage.stm

Also, why do you need a broker--what is he doing for you and how much is he being paid?

I recently had a very good experience with--believe it or not-Wells Fargo-- but we live in Denver.

Good luck.

PS--I like your blog--except you are wrong about the cheesesteaks--the steaks in Denver are a poor copy of the real thing (which I miss very much)

Did they not even care, that you are Stephen Green, scion of the Green family? I mean, grandad did _found_ the damn company.... (or so you could tell the phone jockey!)

K

Get all over your local Better Business Bureau and possibly the State Attorney General about those guys. There's no possible legit reason why you would need to close 4 times.

Some name dropping to the company wouldn't hurt either. Like when I had problems getting things fixed in an apartment I rented, uttering the word "escrow" made me feel like Harry Potter. Things magically get accomplished...

Don't think mortgage companies are infalliable either. In central Ohio, one (Ameribank) recently went out of business and was busted for pocketing the money from a dozen or so refinances they closed, sticking the customers with a double mortgage. Trials are pending. Be careful with your money!

Nightmares like this, at times, make me very happy I rent.

Well, that is until I get wistful about having walls that are painted in something other than white.

Rob-
The Mortgage industry is hardly regulated at all when it comes to the general public. They have more guidelines then actual rules. Lenders are not licensed nor are they required to follow any state proceedures unless outlined through a contract which can only hold them to a commitment, not the actual giving of money. Lenders are actually one of the largest lobbies that arn't required to pass a state approved licensure.
Sure Hud and fannie mae are there for you on government loans with guide lines mortgage companies must adhere to. Millions of ways for a lender to hide things from hud also.
Yes, call your local congressmen. cause the industry needs qualified people leading it not unlicensed, unregulated joes lending money at 125% of value and and saying their doing the public a service.

Pete, that reminds me of a story.

About ten years ago, I finally convinced my grandfather I'd developed a little business acumen -- because he called the time & weather line.

No, really.

A local radio station had a nifty little time & weather phone number, but they'd started running ads on it. Listen to the annoying commercial first, then and only then, they'd give you the weather forecast.

Grandpa told me, "Listen to this ad," while he turned on the speakerphone.

Some mortgage company, talking very excitedly about how they'd loan you up to 125% of the equity of your house. Grandpa asked, "What do you think of that?"

I said, "Sounds like they're really in the foreclosure business, not the lending business."

He just smiled as if to say, "You've learned something."

Is it too late to say something like "Call Steve at Provident Lending and tell him Jay and Marianne sent ya?"

If it is, never mind.

Here you go.

Let me know what you think. I really fluffed it up! ahahah

Stephen,

Being a mortgage banker and a realtor I have a bit of a different opinion of the source of your problems.

In the past 4 years I have closed hundreds of loans and at least 80 of them with Green Point Mortgage with no problems, and especially nothing like you are describing has ever happened to me. To be honest I have done one of my own loans in the past through Green Point Mortgage. They are nothing but a lender, a source for funds. They only do what they are asked by your broker.

None of the steps that you feel were missed by Green Point were things that ANY lender would take care of. It is all the brokers’ responsibility to make sure things were handled in the proper order and it was also your broker’s job to keep you informed throughout the process. It appears on the surface that your broker did not give the proper draw amount to the lender for the loan to begin with, he did not give the necessary information to the title company and then abandoned you before the loan was finalized in hopes that you would work things out yourself with the lender and the title company. All of these steps, including many others that I saw, are all a good brokers’ responsibility.... not a lenders! The lender does not even have full information on the loan for at least 2-3 weeks after a loan funds. Once the loan funds; they receive the loan in. verify that the note was recorded properly, verify the file has all necessary documents required incase there is an audit of their files, and then enter the loan into the system so the customer service folks can assist you down the line if you have questions about your loan.

All of the questions and problems that you had on your loan should have been addressed by your mortgage broker who should have been working with his lender rep from Green Point Mortgage. And that is what you pay brokers to handle. We are here to find you the best rates and programs for your families needs by understanding what your long term and future financial goals are. It is not always about finding the best rate out there on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage.

Here is an example:

90% of home owners out there think that the 30-year fixed loan is the right loan for them, but if you sit down and talk with a qualified and knowledgeable mortgage broker who looks at your complete financial situation, you will come to realize and understand that in most cases that a 30-year loan will not be right for you. You may have shown a history of refinancing several times in the past; your disposable cash flow may not be as good as you thought, you have children who are getting closer to going to collage, your retirement savings plan comes up short of what you want to accomplish and so on.

There are many different things that one has to honestly take into consideration when doing a refinance, and unfortunately from this stand point I agree with those of you in this post, there are far to many unqualified mortgage brokers out there who do not know how to do their jobs and give borrowers the level of service and financial planning that they need. They are just talking head out there giving quotes on programs to borrowers not knowing if it is the loan the borrower actually needs, or if they can even get them to qualify for the loan. Their only concern is telling the borrower what they want to hear just to get them to the signing table and hoping that since they have gone that far and things are not as promised the borrower will just go ahead and sign them at that point.

It is sad but true.

Just another point of view from someone in the business who sees that services levels need to be higher if you want to create a relationship with your client that translates to a life long financial partnership.

Sincerely,

The Mortgage Banker

Dear Stephen,
Sounds like your were financially an intellectual midget back with Grandpa and still today. What lender would want to take back a home with liens greater then the value??? I think Grandpa was smiling because you confirmed that his genes never made it to you! You certainly confirmed that you choose brokers poorly.

Brad,

What you describe is, indeed, typical. It is not, however, the case this time.

The events transpired exactly as I described. The papers drawn up by Green Point were incorrect on the first and third closings. The second closing was the one we insisted on, because of bad information given to us by one of Green Point's customer service reps. The wire transfer following the fourth closing was due, once again, to a paperwork error on Green Point's end.

The initial draw was further delayed because Green Point dithered in sending instructions to the title company on what to do with the original wired money.

And even if the errors were all my fault, my broker's fault, or the title company's fault (none of which was the case), how does that excuse Green Point's failure to return phone calls?

In fact, during a conference call today with a Green Point GM in Chicago and the manager of the Denver office, they were both shocked and angry to learn that their southern Colorado area rep kept her phone number a closely guarded secret. It was only by going over her head, to the HQ in San Francisco, that I was ever able to contact her directly. Same goes for my broker and the title company.

Had we been able to reach her directly, our recent (and final) problem would have been taken care of Friday, sparing us the further delay.

I doubt Green Point is as bad as my experience -- otherwise, they would never have grown so large. But there's clearly something seriously wrong in their Denver office.

Pete,

Speaking of intellectual midgets, check the mirror sometime.

The loans offered in the adds were for 125% of equity, not of value. Do you understand the difference?

Do you also understand why a company (with an eye on potential foreclosures) might want to tempt homeowners into more debt than they can afford?

If you answer either one of those questions with "no" or "I don't know," then it's off to the mirror for you.

Stephen- Wish I'd seen your advice a year ago, before I signed a mortgage with Green Point. (I just found this page by googling "greenpoint" and "incompetent".)

I've spent the last month of my life trying to get a delinquent tax bill paid. Greenpoint neglected to pay it last year when it was due. I've faxed the information to their tax office (twice, after they lost the first fax). I've been reassured a dozen times that the bill would be paid, had been paid, a check had been sent, I have nothing to worry about, etc. Yesterday they told me a check had been FedExed, and gave me a tracking number to prove it. Several calls to various taxation authorities later, I learned that this check was sent to the wrong person, for the wrong amount, and was intended to pay this year's tax bill rather than the delinquent taxes.

I just called Greenpoint (again), armed with your line "who do I have to sue...", which got me through to a supervisor surprisingly quickly. She assured me that they're still working on it, yadda yadda, and told me to call back in another 5 days, at which point she guarantees that things will be taken care of. In the meantime I plan to contact the better business bureau, the state AG, and anybody else I can think of to complain about these people.