questions about closing documents

[aglick]

I posted on the predatory lending area and didn't get a response but have found a lot of valuable information on this site. My question is what disclosures/documents should you get with a HELOC mortgage or 2nd mortgage which is also an equity line of credit. I requested from our loan company in writing copies of all documents pertaining to the origination of our loans, including the original loan application, right to cancel, truth in lending, settlement statement. I also wanted to know our gross balance and what our net pay-off is. Also I requested copies of the loan history, which would include all payments made, all fees incurred, what has been paid and how all payments were applied to the entire life of the loan.

They did give me some documents that I requested, but there are some that I know we didn't sign, we never received copies of, and they only gave me a good faith estimate, with the average range of fees, and it doesn't look like an example of a settlement statement that I recently seen, many lines were left out. I received a copy of the right to rescind but we didn't sign it, and there were some other papers that were initialed, that I know we didn't sign.

Does anyone know what documents we should have received and what information would be contained in them. Also what does it mean when it says "additional fees paid to lender--440 points".

As I stated in a previous post, we were first time home-buyers, didn't realize what we were getting into. We thought we were signing mortgage papers, then found out a couple of years down the road that it is actually an open-end HELOC mortgage. Nothing was explained to us, we signed on a Saturday, in a rush, as it was the only option we had available for my husband to be there to sign. We didn't know we had a balloon payment, prepayment penalty or mandatory arbitration. What a mess, now we don't know how to get out of it. We paid $50,000 for a modular and I estimated it would in the end cost us approxiametely $180,000, probably more as there is the balloon payment, etc. IF anyone has any advice or information I would definitely appreciate it.

[Moe Bedard]

Hi aglick,

The NHSF (National Homeownership Sustainability Fund) assists and educates consumers who feel that they have received problematic loan products from their mortgage lender.
The NHSF is a National Approved HUD Counseling Intermediary.
Click on the link there is an orange box to the right that says: how can we help you..........

FAIRLENDING.COM

[LHarveyMadman]

I'm a little confused - do you not have a first position mortgage? I didn't think it was possible to purchase anything with a HELOC alone.

I have a HELOC, and the application was fairly simple. In fact, my initial application was taken over the phone; I didn't sign anything until closing.

A lot of HELOCs have fairly simple paperwork. My entire loan document, other than the deed of trust, was only 5 pages long. There was no HUD-like closing statement, but the fees were spelled out clearly, as were the interest rate, payment terms, early closing fees, draw period duration, and repayment period duration.

I don't understand the "440 points" statement. Is there a decimal point before the 440? This probably represents a fee for buying down the interest rate.

There are obviously a lot of details that you need to clarify, but silver lining to all this is that your interest rate on the HELOC has been dropping, thanks to the Federal Reserve's aggressive cutting of interest rates. I'm assuming that your interest rate is tied to the prime, like the vast majority of HELOCs.

[aglick]

When we purchased our home, we were given documents that said it was an open-end mortgage. We didn't receive any other information, until my husband became sick a couple of years ago, and I was questioning some of the things that were going on with this loan. That is when I found out it was a HELOC with a fixed rate, 15%, the fees were not spelled out clearly, we had no idea what the payment terms, early closing fees, or early draw period duration. We were told it was a normal thirty year mortgage. In the paperwork that I have now it states additional fees paid to lender 444 points. I tried to look on the somewhat settlement statement that they gave me recently, and it has only a few lines on it, it is actually a good faith estimate that they are trying to call a settlement statement.

[LHarveyMadman]

Your situation sounds really convoluted, and from reading your post on the other thread, it does seem that your loan officer did you a serious disservice. Once you have all the necessary, you might want to consider consulting a real estate attorney. I'm no expert, but I think you have a pretty good case.

You might be required to go through arbitration as a first step as you mentioned, but read the terms of the arbitration agreement to make sure that it is binding.