JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dozens of Northeast Florida families say they were blindsided by steep increases in their monthly mortgage payments, some jumping by $600 to more than $1,000, after buying new construction homes from D.R. Horton, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders.
The issue is now at the center of a class action lawsuit accusing D.R. Horton and its lending arm, DHI Mortgage, of deceptive practices that attorneys describe as a “Monthly Payment Suppression Scheme.”
The lawsuit claims the companies misled first-time buyers by underestimating property taxes in their monthly mortgage projections, making the homes appear more affordable than they actually were…