Sunday, October 8, 2017

Another problem with Fidelity National Title Insurance and Claim Issues


Here is the email I received and unfortunately not being an attorney I can only lend support and no advise.

Following is a brief summary of my situation. I welcome any suggestions you may have!



I purchase a condo in August of 2016. The financing was through Scott J of xxxxxx Bank, which, according to the Purchase Agreement I filled out per the lender's instructions and last Loan Estimate he provided me, was to be a fixed rate conventional loan with a Fannie Mae Homestyle Renovation Loan rider for $20,000 attached to renovate it. The contract had a close by July 15 date but due to a ton of additional requests for documentation, including tracking down people who purchased household goods from my garage sale to have them sign receipts, the closing was delayed for over a month.



I finally received the 2nd and final Closing Disclosure via email on the evening of August 17. We closed at 9:00am on the 18th. The time since then has been nothing but a nightmare.



A couple of weeks post close, I received an email from Scott J stating that xxxxxx Bank had been purchased by Chemical Bank and that he had switched to another bank. Although that didn't feel right, little did I know what all that would entail. Not only am I able to only communicate exclusively with a Mike R from Chemical Bank on the other side of the state about the issues with my loan, but this man has no idea about mortgages, is rude and has repeatedly and out rightly lied to me. 



I finally received my closing package after repeated requests on January 17 of this year. I understood why refused to provide it until called on the carpet. Not only was I given a "Construction Loan" for the entire amount of my home rather than the FMHRL for $20,000, but they failed to follow the Instructions to the Closer (these instructions were included in the closing package Lawrence D, ESQ, said he personally put together and sent to me) which REQUIRED the Licensed Residential General Contractor who was present at the closing to sign the FMHRL Contract, the Construction Indemnity Agreement, present Sworn Statements, etc. 



Their failure to hold the Contractor accountable allowed him to file a lawsuit against me for almost $55,000 and put a Notice of Lis Pendens on my property, making it impossible to obtain a Home Equity Loan or any other financing to pay for the repairs needed. He had contracted himself to do the work for $20,000 which I later found out was manipulative and deceptive. 



The contractor, however, provided a perfect smokescreen for the bank and title company. They have refused to correct their countless violations until after the lawsuit filed by the contractor is settled. As well, the refuse to discuss the situation with me, stating they will only talk with an attorney, which they know I don't have the funds for. 



I filed a claim with Fidelity National in April, asking for the legal representation my policy not only clearly covers, but states to be their obligation to provide. 



Additionally, the ALTA and Closing Disclosure show very different numbers. The Closing Disclosure states the Purchase Price to be $142,000 and doesn't show the $23,000 "construction" holdback. 



The ALTA states the purchase price to be $119,000 and does show the $23,000 holdback. That resulted in incorrect numbers being publicly recorded, which is just one of the many Covered Risks in my Owner's Policy and which they refuse to acknowledge or help me with. 



All I've received is two letters stating they are "still investigating" and "hope to have a determination soon". The last one came last week. The person assigned to my case is a man who has demanded I provide personal information, claiming it's needed to make a determination. I refused to provide personal/private information.



Both the bank and title company have refused to provide an accounting of the $23,000. This fraud/theft is supposed to be another Covered Risk that they refuse to acknowledge or do anything about. 



There's much more, but I'm hoping this gives you an idea of what I'm dealing with. Please feel free to ask me to change, add or discard anything you feel should be.



Thanks in advance for any help you can get in the works for me!