Pennsylvania Regulatory Agencies & Resources  

Housing Financing Agencies

Each housing finance agency will establish financing incentive programs based on specified borrower guidelines. The agency works through local lenders to implement these programs. Typical programs may include mortgage loans with low down payment requirements, below-market interest rates or closing cost assistance; loans to rehabilitate existing property or build new homes, and home loans with interest charges that can become a tax credit. Some agencies even offer financing incentives for developers to encourage the building of rental housing.

These programs can vary widely by state and are often subject to change, so potential borrowers should contact these agencies frequently for program availability.

Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
PO Box 8029
Harrisburg, PA 17105
(717) 780-3800

Are you having problems dealing with your mortgage lender? Talking to your friends and relatives about your plight may get you sympathy, but it won't get results. How do you complain about (and solve) these types of problems?

How to complain.

Contact an officer of the institution. If the officer does not give you satisfaction, then try a senior manager or the institution's consumer affairs department, if it has one.

If the institution does not solve the problem, contact the proper regulator. Some agencies will send you a standard complaint form to fill out and return. If the regulator has no form, it will want your complaint in writing.

The complaint must contain:

• Your name, address, telephone number, signature, and date;
• The full name of the institution and its address. Also include the address of the institution's home office because that determines the proper supervisory region.
• The type of account (mortgage loan) and the account number.
• Description of the problem, including specific dates and the actions taken by the institution. These dates and actions must be documented, with correspondence, monthly statements, canceled checks, tax bills or similar evidence to support your complaint. Agencies won't review undocumented complaints.
• Names and dates of contacts with individuals at the institution while trying to resolve the problem.

When the regulator receives your complaint, it will send you an acknowledgement letter, describing the actions it will take to resolve your problem. The information in the complaint will be forwarded to the institution, asking for a written response. The institution has a limited amount of time, usually 30 days, to respond.

When the institution does respond, the agency will review the response to see if your concerns have been addressed. It will also check to see if the institution is in compliance with the applicable federal and state laws governing real estate, lending, and fair housing.

The regulator that you should contact depends on the type of lender/broker institution that you are dealing with.

• National chartered Banks

  Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
  1301 McKinney Street
  Suite 3450
  Houston, TX 77010
  (800) 613-6743
  Fax: (713) 336-4301
  Email: Customer.Assistance@occ.treas.gov
  Website: http://www.occ.treas.gov/index.htm

• Federally-chartered Savings and Loans or Savings Banks

  Office of Thrift Supervision
  Office of Consumer Programs
  1700 G Street, NW
  Washington, DC 20552
  (800) 842-6929
  (202) 906-6000
  (800) 917-2849 (TDD)
  Email: consumer.complaint@ots.treas.gov
  Website: http://www.ots.treas.gov/

• Federally-chartered Credit Unions

  National Credit Union Administration
  1775 Duke Street
  Alexandria, VA 22314-3428
  (703) 518-6300
  (703) 518-6510 (ombudsman)
  Fax: (703) 518-6539
  Email: ombudsman@ncua.gov
  Website: http://www.ncua.gov/

  Pennsylvania Department of Banking
  Secretary
  Department of Banking
  333 Market St.
  16th Floor
  Harrisburg, PA 17101-2290
  717-787-6991
  Toll free in PA: 1-800-PA-BANKS
  TDD toll free: 1-800-679-5070
  Fax: 717-787-8773
  Website: www.banking.state.pa.us

HOUSING COUNSELING AGENCIES