Stay Away! I wanted to add the cost of renovations to my mortgage - Bridgewater said OK but it had to be set up as a holdback (so that I would be paying interest on the holdback amount). No time limit was discussed. Now two years later I am nearing completion of my renovations and they are refusing to release the funds, instead they are taking them back, saying 2 years is too long for a renovation.
I am carrying the cost of the renovations (WELL over the $26K that I had estimated) on various high-interest loans and credit cards. After 2 years of paying high interest on these funds AS WELL as interest on the holdback Bridgewater refuses to negotiate on a partial renovation and insist on taking back the full amount, leaving me flirting with bankruptcy - they aren't even willing to credit me the interest I paid on the holdback.
Patti Adamson was my underwriter, and she was downright rude on the phone. These guys are shady and only interested in making money - they don't care about their mortgage holders, only about milking us for all that they can. read more