Pleasant Valley Home Mortgage Company offered the most competitive rate on a 30 yr. fixed mortgage. We locked at the bottom at 4.375% in October. We paid $400 upfront for a home appraisal (red flag) and believed we were moving forward. As rates began to move up PVHM became less and less responsive, and created obstacles towards our closing. They blamed our current lender for the delay when in fact it took PVHM several weeks to request the information needed to close. When our rate lock expiration approached we became frantic because PVHM would not give us a close date. They offered us a rate extension at an additional cost to us of $100/day. We begrudgingly accepted because rates had move up 50bps. We continued to request a closing. Many calls to PVHM went unreturned. They even sent us important documents password protected so we could not open them, then ignored our inquiries as to if they were important. They lead us to believe the only thing needed to close was information from our current lender. PVHM made half-hearted attempts to get the necessary document timely. We had to provide them with contacts at the lender. When we finally received confirmation that the document was received PVHM notified us that a name was spelled incorrectly and that our rate was due to expire that day, a fact disclosed in the password protected document we inquired about but were told "everything was in place to close". Ultimately, PVHM told us that there was not enough time to close and our rate would expire. They would not offer another extension but did offer another loan at current market rates (100 bps. above our lock). Bottom line, PVHM did not want our loan because the rate became unattractive. They became unresponsive, withheld important information, and dragged their feet so the rate would expire. We lost $400 for home appraisal and the opportunity to refinance at low rates with a reputable lender which will cost us over $500 per month for the life of our loan.
Do not use Pleasant Valley Homemortgage - they are a bait-and-switch, hidden fee operation.
I spoke with a sales representative on July 18, and he promised that he would be able to provide a decent rate with negative points such that my up front costs on a refinance of just under $100,000 would be largely covered, with only a couple hundred dollars extra on top of escrow amounts. I paid for the appraisal and apparently locked in a 40 day rate lock on that date.
In order to get everything kosher, he knew that I would have to pay off a piggy-bank second mortagage on my property of about 2400, which I planned on doing August 1, but noting that paperwork sometimes takes extra time to get. This was fine.
I got the application through the mail (not electronically as promised) a couple days later. The appraiser called and I scheduled the appraisal for August 3, which I had off from work. I had provided a prior appraisal of the property from 2-3 months earlier in the year. There was no complaint or objection from the mortgage company. I even managed to turn around all documents, including the evidence of the piggy back loan payoff, by AUGUST 2, 2012. The PVHM appraisers report came on I believe August 8 or 9. There were still almost 20 days in the rate lock period left.
On August 10, 2012, they called and said they'd need an additional $175 to process the refinance because lateness of recieving the appraisal. Thay said that this wasn't their fee, it was "the lenders" - but they also advertise that they are a direct lender. In short, they lied on the phone. I pushed back They had never given me a date to get the appraisal done by, had not objected to my scheduling of the appraisal on August 3, and that they had given me no warning of the fee or that things were even running late. I also pushed back on the fact that rates had not risen over the intervening period, so there should be no actual need for a "lock."
The above is compounded by the fact that the broker knew that I had to pay off the 2nd loan and, despite being able to do that by August 2, this could easily have taken an other week or so just to get written confirmation of the payoff --- but that was also fine for getting my money.
They waived the $175 fee. Notably, this request for more money was not put in writing.
We continued processing the mortgage. They asked me for additional documentation, which I provided within a day of request. They even asked me to do a conference call with their credit company on some confusion with the credit statement and/or confirmation on September 12, 2012. That actually only lasted 5 minutes to just clear up things that the broker should have cleared up (since I had already explained the information).
On Thursday, September 13, 2012, they called and said we are ready to close but need to do so soon, Monday or Tuesday of next week. I called back and told them that I was going to be out of town for work, but could do either that Friday (Sept. 14), or the next Friday, when I'd be returning. I offered to have anything pre-signed or done remotely that they wanted. They told me that next Friday (September 21) would be fine, and we would close then.
On Thursday I recieved a voicemail that closing would not occur on Friday, and that we needed to talk. I called on Friday, the day we were supposed to be closing, and Mr. Sozio, the sales rep, stated that they needed an additional $750 (again, not in writing) to close the loan. There was no other options - not doing a new loan (since they already had the appraisal and the ultimate rate isn't as important to me as not having up front costs - I want to retain flexibility).
At this point, I would have been willing to pay an extra nominal fee, but a hidden, unannounced, nowhere in the GFE $750 fee with no warning is, well, not just bait and switch, but a pretty good sign of consumer fraud. They tried to blame the fee on me, even though this had nothing to do with any actions I took as they were still doing things with the loan the week before.
I have filed a complaint with the NJ BBB (requesting a refund of the $400 fee for the appriasal which they induced me to pay based on their representations, confirmed in their GFE which they never had any intent of delivering on). They already have 10 complaints in the NJ BBB in their 3 years of existence. I will also be writing to the NJ AG, the FTC and anyone else who handles these types of fraudulent and predatory business and mortgage practices.
Do not use them. This company appears to have bait-and-switch and hidden fees as their business model. Hopefully a criminal investigation is launched.
I had a bad experience with a loan officer. He started off nice as could be before he took my credit card and then made a racial comment about me under his breath on the phone. I simply asked Mr. Cioci why I needed additional documentation to support my loan after he told me that we were clear to close. I could tell his patience was getting thin with me but, as a consumer I deserve to know why.
After about 15 minutes on the phone I heard him say "friggin dot head" because I'm of Indian decent. I was shocked and asked him what did you say? He said "nothing just get me over what I need to close this". After that experience I will make sure to let the Indian community know what kind of people work at Pleasant Valley Home mortgage and notify civil rights activist on him.
Why a company would employ a man like this in this generation is a disgrace. It has been getting to me for some time but a colleague told me about this site to get my point across. I'm sure there are good people there as well, but if you do decide to use the company and get Mr. Cioci move on. He is ignorant and rude. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and good luck to all.
Reading these makes me wish I never applied. My refinance transaction never closed. It was a long drawn out process. My loan Officer treated me well I have to say and you could hear in his voice his was exhausted as well. He told me he has to deal with multiple departments treating him like crap to get additional supporting information. I'm sure the industry is tough but do not take over 40 days and then tell me my bank statement did not support my loan. I went with another company and did close. Needless to say, sounds like a crappy company to work at.
This company lures people in with their promises, then cannot deliver. They approved my loan, took my money for the appraisal, then decided that they could not approve my loan. The denial had nothing to do with the appraisal!!! I told them that my home was on the market and they said it was no problem. Then after they made me pay for the appraisal, they conveniently decided they could not do my loan. It took over a week for someone to finally return my call. Someone named John took my call. He said he was the VP, and that he worked his whole life to be called VP, and asked that I call him Sir. He actually reminded me three times during the conversation that he was the VP. He snickered at me and finally said that he did care about my loan since he had plenty of other customers that he could make more money off of!! I hope everyone shopping for a mortgage reads this and stays away from this company!!! This company is exactly why the mortgage industry is in the sad shape it's in. There are plenty of honest people with integrity to do business with.
Pleasant Valley Mortgage Corporation Reviews
Pleasant Valley Home Mortgage Company offered the most competitive rate on a 30 yr. fixed mortgage. We locked at the bottom at 4.375% in October. We paid $400 upfront for a home appraisal (red flag) and believed we were moving forward. As rates began to move up PVHM became less and less responsive, and created obstacles towards our closing. They blamed our current lender for the delay when in fact it took PVHM several weeks to request the information needed to close. When our rate lock expiration approached we became frantic because PVHM would not give us a close date. They offered us a rate extension at an additional cost to us of $100/day. We begrudgingly accepted because rates had move up 50bps. We continued to request a closing. Many calls to PVHM went unreturned. They even sent us important documents password protected so we could not open them, then ignored our inquiries as to if they were important. They lead us to believe the only thing needed to close was information from our current lender. PVHM made half-hearted attempts to get the necessary document timely. We had to provide them with contacts at the lender. When we finally received confirmation that the document was received PVHM notified us that a name was spelled incorrectly and that our rate was due to expire that day, a fact disclosed in the password protected document we inquired about but were told "everything was in place to close". Ultimately, PVHM told us that there was not enough time to close and our rate would expire. They would not offer another extension but did offer another loan at current market rates (100 bps. above our lock). Bottom line, PVHM did not want our loan because the rate became unattractive. They became unresponsive, withheld important information, and dragged their feet so the rate would expire. We lost $400 for home appraisal and the opportunity to refinance at low rates with a reputable lender which will cost us over $500 per month for the life of our loan.
Do not use Pleasant Valley Homemortgage - they are a bait-and-switch, hidden fee operation.
I spoke with a sales representative on July 18, and he promised that he would be able to provide a decent rate with negative points such that my up front costs on a refinance of just under $100,000 would be largely covered, with only a couple hundred dollars extra on top of escrow amounts. I paid for the appraisal and apparently locked in a 40 day rate lock on that date.
In order to get everything kosher, he knew that I would have to pay off a piggy-bank second mortagage on my property of about 2400, which I planned on doing August 1, but noting that paperwork sometimes takes extra time to get. This was fine.
I got the application through the mail (not electronically as promised) a couple days later. The appraiser called and I scheduled the appraisal for August 3, which I had off from work. I had provided a prior appraisal of the property from 2-3 months earlier in the year. There was no complaint or objection from the mortgage company. I even managed to turn around all documents, including the evidence of the piggy back loan payoff, by AUGUST 2, 2012. The PVHM appraisers report came on I believe August 8 or 9. There were still almost 20 days in the rate lock period left.
On August 10, 2012, they called and said they'd need an additional $175 to process the refinance because lateness of recieving the appraisal. Thay said that this wasn't their fee, it was "the lenders" - but they also advertise that they are a direct lender. In short, they lied on the phone. I pushed back They had never given me a date to get the appraisal done by, had not objected to my scheduling of the appraisal on August 3, and that they had given me no warning of the fee or that things were even running late. I also pushed back on the fact that rates had not risen over the intervening period, so there should be no actual need for a "lock."
The above is compounded by the fact that the broker knew that I had to pay off the 2nd loan and, despite being able to do that by August 2, this could easily have taken an other week or so just to get written confirmation of the payoff --- but that was also fine for getting my money.
They waived the $175 fee. Notably, this request for more money was not put in writing.
We continued processing the mortgage. They asked me for additional documentation, which I provided within a day of request. They even asked me to do a conference call with their credit company on some confusion with the credit statement and/or confirmation on September 12, 2012. That actually only lasted 5 minutes to just clear up things that the broker should have cleared up (since I had already explained the information).
On Thursday, September 13, 2012, they called and said we are ready to close but need to do so soon, Monday or Tuesday of next week. I called back and told them that I was going to be out of town for work, but could do either that Friday (Sept. 14), or the next Friday, when I'd be returning. I offered to have anything pre-signed or done remotely that they wanted. They told me that next Friday (September 21) would be fine, and we would close then.
On Thursday I recieved a voicemail that closing would not occur on Friday, and that we needed to talk. I called on Friday, the day we were supposed to be closing, and Mr. Sozio, the sales rep, stated that they needed an additional $750 (again, not in writing) to close the loan. There was no other options - not doing a new loan (since they already had the appraisal and the ultimate rate isn't as important to me as not having up front costs - I want to retain flexibility).
At this point, I would have been willing to pay an extra nominal fee, but a hidden, unannounced, nowhere in the GFE $750 fee with no warning is, well, not just bait and switch, but a pretty good sign of consumer fraud. They tried to blame the fee on me, even though this had nothing to do with any actions I took as they were still doing things with the loan the week before.
I have filed a complaint with the NJ BBB (requesting a refund of the $400 fee for the appriasal which they induced me to pay based on their representations, confirmed in their GFE which they never had any intent of delivering on). They already have 10 complaints in the NJ BBB in their 3 years of existence. I will also be writing to the NJ AG, the FTC and anyone else who handles these types of fraudulent and predatory business and mortgage practices.
Do not use them. This company appears to have bait-and-switch and hidden fees as their business model. Hopefully a criminal investigation is launched.
I had a bad experience with a loan officer. He started off nice as could be before he took my credit card and then made a racial comment about me under his breath on the phone. I simply asked Mr. Cioci why I needed additional documentation to support my loan after he told me that we were clear to close. I could tell his patience was getting thin with me but, as a consumer I deserve to know why.
After about 15 minutes on the phone I heard him say "friggin dot head" because I'm of Indian decent. I was shocked and asked him what did you say? He said "nothing just get me over what I need to close this". After that experience I will make sure to let the Indian community know what kind of people work at Pleasant Valley Home mortgage and notify civil rights activist on him.
Why a company would employ a man like this in this generation is a disgrace. It has been getting to me for some time but a colleague told me about this site to get my point across. I'm sure there are good people there as well, but if you do decide to use the company and get Mr. Cioci move on. He is ignorant and rude. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and good luck to all.
Reading these makes me wish I never applied. My refinance transaction never closed. It was a long drawn out process. My loan Officer treated me well I have to say and you could hear in his voice his was exhausted as well. He told me he has to deal with multiple departments treating him like crap to get additional supporting information. I'm sure the industry is tough but do not take over 40 days and then tell me my bank statement did not support my loan. I went with another company and did close. Needless to say, sounds like a crappy company to work at.
This company lures people in with their promises, then cannot deliver. They approved my loan, took my money for the appraisal, then decided that they could not approve my loan. The denial had nothing to do with the appraisal!!! I told them that my home was on the market and they said it was no problem. Then after they made me pay for the appraisal, they conveniently decided they could not do my loan. It took over a week for someone to finally return my call. Someone named John took my call. He said he was the VP, and that he worked his whole life to be called VP, and asked that I call him Sir. He actually reminded me three times during the conversation that he was the VP. He snickered at me and finally said that he did care about my loan since he had plenty of other customers that he could make more money off of!! I hope everyone shopping for a mortgage reads this and stays away from this company!!! This company is exactly why the mortgage industry is in the sad shape it's in. There are plenty of honest people with integrity to do business with.