I have a mortage with them, and I got a very good deal on my house. I went to refinance after a year to get a better interest rate and they had snuck into the contract that if I tried to refinance before a two year timeframe that I’d have to pay this HUGE early termination fee. (25,000!!) Is that legal? I was never told that at closing, now I have to wait until November to try to refinance this home or pay through the nose. Needless to say that it will be a cold day in Hell before I ever refinance with Countrywide. They’re a bunch of lying, cheating buttheads!!!
Yeah, I used a guy in Knoxville. He was slick, sly, and gave me a crappy mortgage with an early termination fee. A year later I re-fied with a reputable company, and saved myself significantly. I am now fixed at 5.5% for 30 years, with no PMI, points, buy down, or other crap.
I’d never use them again. Although they are now under new ownership I think, so they will probably be changing a lot.
Yeah, I used a guy in Knoxville. He was slick, sly, and gave me a crappy mortgage with an early termination fee. A year later I re-fied with a reputable company, and saved myself significantly. I am now fixed at 5.5% for 30 years, with no PMI, points, buy down, or other crap.
I’d never use them again. Although they are now under new ownership I think, so they will probably be changing a lot.
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I was previously a mortgage broker and have worked with CountryWide in the past. A prepayment penalty is very common but, in most cases, isn’t snuck in on your loan but rather just not explained or covered by your loan closer. Items like this are usually inserted in the loan because loan origination officers don’t request there not be one or they may even get a bigger paycheck if they sell it. The more you pay= the more they make.
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There is nothing sneaky about it, if it was in the terms of your contract. After all, you had every chance to read it, and even have it reviewed by an attorney. It is your responsibility to understand what you are buying when you finance a home. And no, it is not unusual. Banks finance homes for the interest – not for the home. So it is not unusual for a bank to have a prepayment penalty for early payment. It is your job to go shopping for a good mortgage, or negotiate for the terms you want.
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Girl…they had posted 3 of my monthly payments to my escrow account and said that I was behind almost to foreclosure. Then they "offered" to move the almost 4grand in overage to pay the months I was behind…how nice, but it still left me with a ton of late fees….how convenient. That’s my only complaint LOL.
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Sweetie, that isn’t an early termination fee, that is called a pre-payment penalty.
If you go back though your note and your paperwork, you’ll find that it CLEARLY explained your loan had one.
If you can PROVE that you NEVER signed it at closing, by law, you don’t have to pay it.
In fact, Countrywide has a SEPARATE disclosure for prepayment penalties…you know what they call it? You won’t beleve it!! They are SO SLICK that they have "PREPAYMENT PENALTY DISCLOSURE" written right across the top of the disclosure.
I mean, that’s sneaky isn’t it?
PS: Prepayment penalties LONGER than 3 years are illegal in EVERY state.
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Realtor…see profile for more.