NVR Mortgage Gouges Family In Low Income Housing Program
A family of three, searching for the American dream as legal immigrants from China , came to the U.S. as father, mother and son in December of 1999...The Zhu's have since learned a costly lesson in mortgage financing. They had signed the mortgage paperwork not understanding the extent of what others, including professional bankers, consider to be exorbitant broker fees. Along with other abusive loan terms, this included a higher than average 30 year ARM that actually had a higher starting rate than most normal fixed rate mortgages.

NVR Mortgage Gouges Family In Low Income Housing Program

by Ronald Reed Jackson  

 A family of three, searching for the American dream as legal immigrants from China , came to the U.S. as father, mother and son in December of 1999. They refer to themselves as the family of Zhu. Father Zheng Rui Zhu and mother Bing Liu gratefully worked long hours for relatively low wages, scrimping and saving every penny possible, to try and realize the American dream of having their own home. Their hard work and the MPDU program finally made that possible in late summer of 2006.  

 Unfortunately,  after almost 7 years of living in the U.S. , the family of Zhu was not fully advised of all the pitfalls of certain American business, in particular mortgage financing and predatory lending practices. As low income housing candidates, suffice it to say they couldn’t afford to have a family attorney on retainer. As many would, they understandably believed that applying through a government managed program offered certain protections.   

 The home they were awarded from MPDU was built by Ryan Homes , whose representatives then guided the family to their parent company, NVR Mortgage, to arrange the necessary financing. Although MPDU arranged and controlled the purchase, they were not involved in arranging or overseeing the financing process. The Zhu’s felt blessed just to have access to affordable, quality housing. It mattered little to them that they couldn’t choose their home’s builder and consequently had little choice as to who handled the mortgage loan. Ryan Homes all but requires their customers to finance through their parent company, NVR Mortgage.  

 The Zhu's have since learned a costly lesson in mortgage financing. They had signed the mortgage paperwork not understanding the extent of what others, including professional bankers, consider to be exorbitant broker fees. Along with other abusive loan terms, this included a higher than average 30 year ARM that actually had a higher starting rate than most normal fixed rate mortgages.  

Only after the deal did they come to discover there was a lower “non-immigrant” interest rate given to others in the MPDU program, and that other qualified buyers paid significantly lower broker fees. The Zhus’ paid thousands more in closing costs than others had and were stuck with a higher interest rate than the other non-immigrant MPDU candidates. They feel this is a direct result of being immigrants with some technical language barriers, which left them confused about the explanations of the mortgage terms. They believe their limitations as immigrants essentially acted as an invitation for NVR mortgage to gouge them on both terms and fees.  

Still, the Zhu’s say they are grateful to have a home in America . They are hardworking, honorable people, who are willing to work day and night if they must to meet their financial commitments to keep their dream home. Sadly, with the mortgage terms they signed, they  may very well have to. Like many home buyers that have been lured and/or manipulated into taking ARM loans in recent years (only to find their rate goes sky high in only a few short years), some rather shady loan terms could force the Zhu family out of their American dream. As a result, the good will behind the MPDU program will, in this case, be completely lost...perhaps leaving an indelible stain on an otherwise good program. 
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