E-Loan

Full review
I applied for a home equity loan with E-Loan early in September. I have 100% of equity in my home (no mortgage), no other loans, small credit card debt, but I do have quite a bit of old debt from a prolonged period of unemployment, which was the purpose for the loan, consolidate that debt at an affordable monthly payment.

My credit rating is average. I have a discharged Chapter 13 bankruptcy from when I owned a business that folded many years ago and some old satisfied judgments. One account currently in collection but I assume that is not unusual for someone seeking a consolidation loan. I was upfront with E-Loan on everything. Also, I am paying a higher monthly amount self-servicing my debt than my loan payment would have been.

Some things being more urgent than others, I was hoping for approval and funding in a maximum of 45 days due to one specific debt with a hard deadline.

It took two weeks for them to let me know they needed an additional pay stub. At that point they ordered a proof of title and put all my paperwork into underwriting. Then at the end of September I was told my file kicked out because my Chapter 13 still showed up on one of my three credit reports. I had requested this be removed earlier and when I re-ran my own report it was gone. I let them know, but in the meantime I had discovered some fine print on their website that said any bankruptcy had to be 10 years in the past to meet their requirements.

My 10 year anniversary date was less than a month away, so I borrowed enough from friends to cover the urgent debt and told E-Loan it was fine to wait out the clock on the bankruptcy anniversary in order to complete the equity loan (BTW, the loan they quoted me was a very desirable one, hence the reason I wasn't going elsewhere).

A couple of weeks later they contacted me again and said they were all set on the bankruptcy but that I only had two open credit cards while their template called for three, that it wouldn't affect the loan but that they would have to do a little more paperwork. I assumed it was a way of stalling until after the bankruptcy anniversary date so I said fine.

Well, guess what? They just declined me for the loan by e-mail -- no phone call -- saying it's due to the old, satisfied judgments on my credit report and also due to the one old debt in collections (which, of course, would have been paid off by the loan). They knew about all these things the week I applied!!!

I could have gotten the same result from my local credit union and had the verdict much sooner than 66 days. Worse yet, due to their screwing around I have now missed the 45-day window for credit report requests that don't count against you. Thanks, E-Loan, for nothing. Actually, for less than nothing.