Riana R.

Customer service can be a struggle at times and I dread calling into customer service. I typically have to talk to multiple reps to get help. My experience with Francesca today left me in tears. She made assumptions without probing or checking for more information or clarification. She talked over myself and my agent multiple times. She was overall hostile and hard to communicate with. When told that my agent submitted my insurance declaration page on their online portal it seemed as if she had no idea that CHFA even had an online portal and simply proclaimed “we got nothing and I don’t know where youre submitting” without really verifying. When I politely asked if someone else maybe available to help she yelled “everyone is going to tell you the same thing”. I think this was a highly unprofessional response and frankly it wasn’t true. As I usually do, I called back and got another rep who helped me with ease. I tend to be overall happy and great full for CHFAs program. Customer service is just a real barrier.

JoAnna L.

I usually have decent customers service experience with chfa but I called them December 31st 2024. And I had a horrible experience with one of the customers service representatives. This individuals initials are VBL if anyone else has had the same encounter with them. I called to ask a couple simple questions about a loan modification and they started talking down to me. And yelling at me over the phone about not having money to make a payment. Even though I am currently under a forbearance. When I realized how rude this individual was being a asked if my questions were bothering them since they were acting like answering them was such an inconvenience. They continued to raise their voice over the phone and tell me they already answered my questions when they really had not answered anything. They then threatened to write on my file about how I couldn't make payment. When that individual realized how rude they were being they told me i should call back so i could speak to someone else. I usually do not complain about bad customers service encounters but this one was one of the worst I have ever experienced. No one deserves to be talked down to in the manner that this individual did to me.

Fabian M.

WARNING:

CHFA doesn’t honor the terms and conditions of their own documentation. Their BBB rating is ~1.5, and their employees are don’t even try. They told me to consult my tax professional for interpretation of the CHFA form 407 and when I did they simply decided to go against the facts presented. Absolutely deplorable.

The positive reviews you see here are regarding the buying process. They say that their downpayment assistance is a grant, but what they don’t say is that you have to stay in the first house for 9 years or you have to repay the “grant”. If you sell prior to 9 years it is considered a second mortgage that can be recaptured aka paid in full at the time of sale, which is extremely difficult to do if you are buying another property AND selling at a loss.

Loans under certain CHFA programs are, in accordance with IRS requirements, subject to Recapture Tax. The CHFA program must be funded using tax exempt financing and ALL THREE of the following conditions must be in effect to trigger the tax:

1) The home is sold or transferred in some other way within nine years of the original closing date

2) The borrower has a net gain on the sale of the property

3) The borrower's income has increased to more than an amount prescribed by the Federal Tax code. This is assessed by your adjusted gross income on your federal return for 2024, and by using an Income Table for your geographic area.

These are the conditions listed on CHFA form 407, but CHFA does not honor these terms. You will be forced to pay the entirety of your fake grant at closing and if you’re not financially prepared to do so you will not be able to close. If buying your new home is contingent you will not be able to do so and you will lose any earnest money or downpayment made towards the new home.

FT M.

Beware of CHFA's Down Payment Assistance Grant (Deferred loan) Zero Stars***

CHFA’s down payment assistance grant for first-time homebuyers comes with hidden strings attached. Despite being called a "grant," it’s actually a deferred loan that you could be required to repay under certain conditions. If you don't live in the home for 9 years, sell the house at a profit, or your income increases, you'll have to pay it back. This crucial information was not clearly disclosed to us, and despite not meeting all the criteria, we were still expected to repay the "grant." The rushed process left us with little time to fully understand the terms, and we now feel misled. I strongly advise anyone considering this program to seek legal counsel and read the fine print carefully before signing.

Aaron

Been with CHFA for 3 years and they are absolutely horrible at customer service. I am convinced that they have no idea what they are talking about or what they are doing. First time home buyers do not use CHFA. I hope this message saves you from the BS.

Chris C.

CHFA has been a terrible organization since the beginning. If a loan officer, real estate agent, or anyone ever recommends them for a mortgage, drop them immediately and run. Their customer service is terrible. They use canned responses as to not help you. They're not understanding in your situation which you think they would be since they're an organization to help new and low income home owners. They're response time on messages are canned and slow. They will not notify you if your payments change. When we tried to get off auto payments they ran us around the track for several months which almost made us delinquent on payments. They're worse than the DMV and USPS. . If I could get away from them I would, but they're like a black hole. In the end, I do not recommend CHFA.

Update: At the beginning of June I put in an escrow money because of insurance change. They sent me a letter saying they'd reevaluate the mortgage payments so they'd be lower. They lied. Instead it took me calling them a month later and"customer service" said she had to put the request in. Then what was the letter for?! Now it's going to take two months for it to lower the payments! This organization needs to be rebuilt with integrity.

Samantha S.

This is by far the worst mistake I have made. I bought my first place in 2020. I got Covid and lost my job about 2 years ago, and got a new job and I have been struggling since. I can't answer my phone when they call during working hours as I could lose my job. I have paid multiple times a month. It's hit or miss with customer service. (I've had two maybe three really nice people.) They took away my ability to pay online and wait days to freaking take out a payment! I get paid twice a month and they don't take it out for days which of course causes late fees! One lady said "You should look for a second job and cancel subscriptions." Excuse me?! I work 9 hour days already! I can't reach anyone after hours. The last time I called I got rudely hung up on and had had to go through the whole process again. I ran out of time on my lunch to finish going through the number pressing. I will never EVER go woth this company again. Stay far away!!

Michelle H.

I haven't had hot water in 6 weeks and my apartment has been infested with mice for months. our property management company has been scamming low income disabled residents out of money for years. I was told to report everything to CHFA. they sent me an email with a housing list. don't waste your time, the machine consumes us all