Consumer complaint received 2022-04-07
Company: AMERISAVE MORTGAGE CORPORATION
State: SC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, when I was going through the application process for a cash out refi on an investment property ; XXXX XXXX of AmeriSave Mortgage asked me what I thought the house would appraise for and I told him {$120000.00}. He asked me how much I wanted to cash out and I said {$90000.00}, 75 % XXXX. 

He entered {$120000.00} for the estimated appraised value and {$90000.00} for the cash out. 

He said everything looked good, credit score, debt ratio, etc but he was having a problem. I thought he had a computer problem or something like that. He put me on hold while he talked to someone else in the organization. 

When he came back, he said he was going to change the estimated appraisal to {$130000.00} and the cash out to {$100000.00}. 

Why did he enter an estimated appraised value of {$130000.00} for a {$100000.00} cash out refi? 

Why didnt he enter the {$120000.00} estimated appraisal and a {$90000.00} estimated cash out? 

In hindsight, it seems to me, that he may have change the estimated appraisal value and increased the loan amount to either : 1. To get a better rate quote and to get me to lock in at that rate and pay the {$500.00} application fee or 2. Just to get loan approval. 

I hindsight I feel that he knew that the house probably would not appraise at {$130000.00} and he didnt care because when the appraisal came back lower ( the property appraised at {$110000.00} ) then he could renegotiate the loan and/or not match the competitive loan estimate from XXXX XXXX because the loan estimate from XXXX XXXX no longer based on the same numbers. 

He mentioned during the application process that AmeriSave would match any competitive offers/rates. He even sent me that information in an email. 

I had been working with a couple other lenders, XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and I got loan estimates from both of them that were better than AmeriSaves loan estimate. The loan estimate from XXXX XXXX was the best, so I forwarded it to him so he could match the rate and total loan cost. 

On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX sent me a loan estimate with : 5.25 % interest rate with only XXXX points and a total loan cost of {$3900.00} I submitted this loan estimate to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I want AmeriSave to match the 5.25 % interest rate and the total loan cost of {$3900.00}. 

The following is from an article on consumerfinane.gov from XXXX : Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) took action against Amerisave Mortgage Corporation, its affiliate, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and the owner of both companies, XXXX XXXX, for engaging in a deceptive bait-and-switch mortgage-lending scheme that harmed tens of thousands of consumers. The Bureau found that Amerisave lured consumers by advertising misleading interest rates, locked them in with costly up-front fees, failed to honor its advertised rates, and then illegally overcharged them for affiliated third-party services. Amerisave and XXXX will provide {$14.00} XXXX in refunds to harmed consumers and pay a {$4.00} XXXX penalty. XXXX XXXX, as an individual, will pay an additional {$1.00} XXXX penalty. 

Amerisave lured consumers in with deceptive advertising, trapped them with costly upfront fees, and then illegally overcharged them for services from an undisclosed affiliate, said CFPB XXXX XXXX XXXX. By the time consumers could have discovered the advertised low rates were too good to be true, they had already committed to pay hundreds of dollars to Amerisave. Todays action puts an end to Amerisaves unacceptable bait-and-switch scheme and holds XXXX XXXX personally responsible for his illegal actions. 

Amerisave Mortgage Corporation, an XXXX online mortgage lender, advertises and lends in all 50 states and the District of Columbia . Between XXXX and XXXX, Amerisave advertised its interest rates and terms using online banner ads and searchable rate tables on third-party websites. The Bureau found that Amerisave posted inaccurate rates on these banner ads and rate tables, inducing consumers to pursue a mortgage with Amerisave. When consumers were directed to Amerisaves own website, Amerisave gave consumers quotes based on an XXXX XXXX score, even where consumers had previously entered a XXXX score below XXXX on the third-party website that led them to Amerisave. This resulted in Amerisave offering many consumers misleadingly low quotes. 

Amerisave required consumers to order and give payment authorization information for an appraisal before it would provide a XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) for the mortgage, and did not tell consumers until later that the appraisal orders were being referred to its own affiliated company. At closing, Amerisave also charged consumers for appraisal validation reports, without disclosing that the service was provided by its affiliate XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and that XXXX had marked up the reports by as much as XXXX percent. Consumers trusted that Amerisave had bargained in good faith for this third-party service, which Amerisave described as being a special deal for Amerisave customers. ( End of quote ) It seems to me that AmeriSave is once again involved in a similar fraudulent activity. This time, instead entering inflated credit scores, they are entering inflated appraisal estimates, in an attempt to lure in customers and then worry about renegotiating the rate and loan cost at a later time. 

I appreciate your help on this matter,

Company public response: Company believes the complaint provided an opportunity to answer consumer's questions
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief