This is by far the worst Mortgage Lender. I am unsure if they are a scam operation, incompetent, or unethical. They recently bought my original mortgage from Home America Mortgage Company. The area I live in is designated as a Flood Zone and we must have flood insurance. I had flood insurance in place and provided the "bound" insurance certificate, policy, proof of payment, and credit card receipt to Valon showing my property was covered. The total cost of the Flood Insurance was $718.00 per year. Valon originally sent me a revised escrow payment of $309.87 PER MONTH for a total of $3,718.44 a year. No backup documentation, no explanation! I contacted them and they were adamant that FEMA and the Biggert-Waters Act for flood insurance required it. I reached out to FEMA by email and phone and was told and provided the information to Valon that in fact they could only Escrow if I did not have Flood Insurance in place. They initially would not budge on this. Out of the blue, I got another notice that they had reduced the escrow from $309.87 per month to $129.66 a month. This is still twice the amount of the already in place Flood Insurance. I reach out to them again and receive no explanation. They also state they are about to make a payment for Flood Insurance, however my policy is in place until December 31, 2025. I contacted the State of California and was told and provided documentation to Valon that they are not allowed to Escrow and even if they could it is only 1/12 of the estimated cost which would have been $59.81.
It appears initially that Valon was attempting to make $3,000 per year on Flood Insurance coverage if they purchased it, which they did not. When I caught them doing this they did back down but still tried to make an additional $837.92.
At this point, I took the necessary steps and refinanced my mortgage with Rocket Mortgage. Their advisor was shocked at the way Valon operated and checked with their Escrow and Legal department and verified in fact, if I had flood insurance in place they could not Escrow or charge me for flood insurance that was already in place. Due to the next payment being due on January 1, 2025, Rocket expedited the process and we closed in thirteen days paying off Valon.
Finally, Valon is a horrible operation and I would advise individuals from doing business with this Mortgage lender. read more