wrote:

Over the past few weeks I have been given quite the run-around by a
local bank. I locked into a good mortgage rate before they started to
climb. It was for a 30yr. fixed with zero points. Two weeks after
locking in I was informed by the bank that Freddie Mac requires a point
on any muli-family dwellings (it will be owner occupied, though). So
even though the lender never told me that, I eventually conceded the
point and continued on with the million things that need to be taken
care of when buying a home (this is my first time). Well, now, 10 days
before settlement, the bank says that Freddie Mac "doesn't like" the
appraisal because the comparison properties are too far away! The
nearest multi-family that sold is 3.5 miles away... and is well over
the price I agreed to pay for the property I am purchasing. It appears
that the bank is unhappy with the rate they promised and are trying to
kill the deal.

So, my question is: do I have any legal recourse to force the lender to
honor their promise? In the consumer world there are bait & switch
laws, does something like that apply to banks? Who can they be held
accountable to?

Your suspicions are probably correct. Bankrate.com told of a similar story
a few weeks ago where the bank lowballed the appraisal to attempt to get
out of the loan. What happens is the lender doesn't lock in the rate with
the underwriter, and then they try to back out when rates rise. Or the
underwriter wants to back out when rates rise, although that is less
likely. See
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/story_co...9&prodtype=mtg

Good luck and let us know what happens.