I inquired about a refinance with West Capital Lending, a partner of Rocket Mortgage. After reviewing my initial documents and pulling my credit, they assured me they could complete the rate-and-term refi. When asked for an estimate of my home’s value, I gave them the exact amount we paid for it. The loan officer simply said, “Okay.”
Shortly after, I received conditional approval—pending the appraisal. The appraisal came back at the exact purchase price, just as expected. Then out of nowhere, I got a call and email asking me to pull comps so we could dispute the value. I was completely blindsided. I had been under the impression that we *wanted* it to appraise at the original purchase price. But no—turns out it needed to come in $15,000 higher, and no one bothered to mention that upfront.
So now I’m out $650 for an appraisal that was never going to cut it, because I was misled and left in the dark. If you're buying or refinancing, be careful who you trust—make sure you're told the full story before you waste your time and money.