acehernandez
New Member
Hello all,
I had a question that I really needed help with. Last year both my husband and I decided to build our dream house. We had a pre-approval from a mortgage broker and the "new home specialist" kept re-assuring us that we would be fine if we start the building process. We kept asking her repeatedly before, during, and after the signing of the purchase agreement that if we didn't get approved for a mortgage would we be able to get our deposit back. She repeatedly told us over and over again that it would be "no problem" and that her boss is such a great and understanding guy that if we took every step asked of us to get an approval and we could not then our money would be returned. Like an idiot I did not get that in writing but that was my mistake for actually thinking that there were people in this company who kept their word.
Well we went through a credit counselor, upped both of our credit scores by over 100 points, and spoke with around 8 or 9 different mortgage brokers who ALL told us that with the debt/income ratio and the purchase amount, that we wouldn't qualify. I mean we tried everything that this company told us to try and went to every single person they told us to go through. We got so sick of it and my son has severe asthma and the place we're living at right now is clearly getting him sicker and sicker, because of these reasons we asked for our money back. Well I know some of you may be shocked by this =) but she kept telling us that it would be no problem but she would need to ask her boss. Guess what, her boss said "NO." We have recorded her on numerous occasions and also had her on speaker phone in the presence of my friend where she openly states that she did tell us this. She then goes on to tell my hubby essentially that a written contract trumps a veral one. I know this but I thought that she would at least attempt to do something but I was wrong.
She then quietly tells me to get an attorney to look over the contract. The contract does not have a clause in it that states something like "subject to mortgage agreement." To us this is a substantial amount of money and we were given this amount by a family member who saved up for YEARS to give us this gift. So he wants to be unjustly enriched by this situation because we were under the impression from day 1 that we would be able to get our money back if we couldn't get an approval. I mean it's not like we didn't try our hardest, come on now 8 or 9 mortgage brokers is sufficient enough don't you think?
Anyways, they are now trying to get us to sign a short-term lease agreement that basically states that if we don't get a mortgage approval by the end of the lease that "all monies deposited under the Purchase Agreement shall be retained by the Landlord." They are also trying to get us to sign a letter of intent stating that if we don't keep our score up or improve it, if we don't pay our debts, and if I don't graduate by the end of December and gain "immediate employment" that both the lease and the purchase agreement will be declared null and void and they get to keep all the monies. First of all they know that we're still in the process of working on our credit, including filiing suits against some collections agencies for their illegal practices so those companies can easily lower our score at any time. The other issue is the letter of intent is so vague that does it mean that we need to pay on all current debt or past debt as well? Like I stated above, we're working on our past debt so we haven't been paying on those. The last one is who the heck are they to demand that I graduate and show them proof of my graduation by the end of December? Wha if I find another line of work and decide to put my studies on hold, will they use that to back out of the deal and keep my deposit? So who knows how the housing market will be here in Michigan and I'm just supposed to sign a lease agreement essentially stating that I "guarantee" that we'll get a mortgage approval and if not they get to keep the house and also my deposit? Isn't there some sort of law against this?
Can someone please help me with this situation or give me some sort of advice. Because of this builder's actions we've already given our 30-day notice to leave in this place (because they told me it was ok to tell them that) and we have until mid-October to leave this place. Also, I NEED to get out of here asap because of my son's declining health and the lack of circulation in here (we had specifically put things in the new home to help with his asthma, such as a machine that literally shocks the dust particles).
This woman had us sign this agreement under the understanding that we would get our money back and she lied. They shouldn't get away with this. Also I honestly believe that he doesn't have my money, which is why he doesn't want to return it. Shouldn't our money have been put in some sort of trust/escrow account until we completely purchased the home?
Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks to all that respond and give me points/tips/advice on this situation.
I had a question that I really needed help with. Last year both my husband and I decided to build our dream house. We had a pre-approval from a mortgage broker and the "new home specialist" kept re-assuring us that we would be fine if we start the building process. We kept asking her repeatedly before, during, and after the signing of the purchase agreement that if we didn't get approved for a mortgage would we be able to get our deposit back. She repeatedly told us over and over again that it would be "no problem" and that her boss is such a great and understanding guy that if we took every step asked of us to get an approval and we could not then our money would be returned. Like an idiot I did not get that in writing but that was my mistake for actually thinking that there were people in this company who kept their word.
Well we went through a credit counselor, upped both of our credit scores by over 100 points, and spoke with around 8 or 9 different mortgage brokers who ALL told us that with the debt/income ratio and the purchase amount, that we wouldn't qualify. I mean we tried everything that this company told us to try and went to every single person they told us to go through. We got so sick of it and my son has severe asthma and the place we're living at right now is clearly getting him sicker and sicker, because of these reasons we asked for our money back. Well I know some of you may be shocked by this =) but she kept telling us that it would be no problem but she would need to ask her boss. Guess what, her boss said "NO." We have recorded her on numerous occasions and also had her on speaker phone in the presence of my friend where she openly states that she did tell us this. She then goes on to tell my hubby essentially that a written contract trumps a veral one. I know this but I thought that she would at least attempt to do something but I was wrong.
She then quietly tells me to get an attorney to look over the contract. The contract does not have a clause in it that states something like "subject to mortgage agreement." To us this is a substantial amount of money and we were given this amount by a family member who saved up for YEARS to give us this gift. So he wants to be unjustly enriched by this situation because we were under the impression from day 1 that we would be able to get our money back if we couldn't get an approval. I mean it's not like we didn't try our hardest, come on now 8 or 9 mortgage brokers is sufficient enough don't you think?
Anyways, they are now trying to get us to sign a short-term lease agreement that basically states that if we don't get a mortgage approval by the end of the lease that "all monies deposited under the Purchase Agreement shall be retained by the Landlord." They are also trying to get us to sign a letter of intent stating that if we don't keep our score up or improve it, if we don't pay our debts, and if I don't graduate by the end of December and gain "immediate employment" that both the lease and the purchase agreement will be declared null and void and they get to keep all the monies. First of all they know that we're still in the process of working on our credit, including filiing suits against some collections agencies for their illegal practices so those companies can easily lower our score at any time. The other issue is the letter of intent is so vague that does it mean that we need to pay on all current debt or past debt as well? Like I stated above, we're working on our past debt so we haven't been paying on those. The last one is who the heck are they to demand that I graduate and show them proof of my graduation by the end of December? Wha if I find another line of work and decide to put my studies on hold, will they use that to back out of the deal and keep my deposit? So who knows how the housing market will be here in Michigan and I'm just supposed to sign a lease agreement essentially stating that I "guarantee" that we'll get a mortgage approval and if not they get to keep the house and also my deposit? Isn't there some sort of law against this?
Can someone please help me with this situation or give me some sort of advice. Because of this builder's actions we've already given our 30-day notice to leave in this place (because they told me it was ok to tell them that) and we have until mid-October to leave this place. Also, I NEED to get out of here asap because of my son's declining health and the lack of circulation in here (we had specifically put things in the new home to help with his asthma, such as a machine that literally shocks the dust particles).
This woman had us sign this agreement under the understanding that we would get our money back and she lied. They shouldn't get away with this. Also I honestly believe that he doesn't have my money, which is why he doesn't want to return it. Shouldn't our money have been put in some sort of trust/escrow account until we completely purchased the home?
Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks to all that respond and give me points/tips/advice on this situation.
