Consumer complaint received 2021-01-12
Company: AMERISAVE MORTGAGE CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
I applied for a mortgage refinance on a 3-unit investment property with Amerisave Mortgage Corp ( MLS ID # 1168 ) on approximatelyXX/XX/XXXX 2020. I worked through Mortgage Loan Originator XXXX XXXX ( NMLS ID # XXXX ). Mr XXXX indicated I qualified easily for the loan. I agreed to their {$500.00} upfront fee in order to proceed and submitted all requested docs through their online portal. I submitted proof of military retirement income and also leases for the rental units as proof of rental income. However, Mr XXXX indicated he did not need the rental income, and referred me to Loan Processor XXXX XXXX ( NMLS ID # XXXX ). Both men were very customer friendly and cordial in their communications. 

My application then moved into the Appraisal phase for the property and I was contacted by United States Appraisals on XXXX XXXX. I learned that this company is a subsidiary of Amerisave Mortgage. I was placed in contact with Appraiser XXXX XXXX. I coordinated access to the property in Oklahoma through my Property Manager there. There was some understandable delay in the Appraisal due to weather and also coordination revolving around Covid protocols. However, the Appraisal process seemed excessively long and the actual Appraisal was not complete until XXXX XXXX. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Processer and Appraisal company started to lose interest in my application and Appraisal. Despite a number of emails and calls to the Processor and Appraisal company, I literally had to reach out to the Appraiser directly through text and phone messages multiple times before the Appraisal was finally completed. ... The Appraisal alone took over 60 days, which seems entirely unacceptable. 

Once the Appraisal was received, the Processor informed me that I needed to provide a written explanation of recent credit inquiries on my credit report. ... I agreed and provided the document. Notably, however, there were 3 recent inquiries on my report that were the result of Amerisave itself repeatedly pulling my Credit score ... yet they still asked me to provide the explanation of those inquiries. 

Subsequently, on XXXX XXXX, I received an email from the Processor and a call from Amerisave Manager XXXX XXXX ( NMLS ID # XXXX ) stating that my loan would need to be " restructured ''. Mr XXXX stated there was a problem with my debt to income ratio. After some discussion, I learned that the Processors had not even considered rental income for purposes of qualification. I became frustrated at this point and initially asked Mr XXXX for a refund of my {$500.00} application fee so I could move on to a company that could actually perform. However, after some discussion, I agreed to provide my previous two years tax returns so they could reconsider.

I didn't hear any response until I reached out again via email to Mr XXXX and Mr XXXX on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. They replied that the loan was still in processing. ... I then received a letter of " Credit Denial '' on XXXX XXXX, XXXX indicating I have " excessive obligations in relation to income ''. ... I'm obviously not happy with this outcome and replied via email to Mr XXXX and Mr XXXX requesting a refund of my {$500.00} application fee. ... Unfortunately, I received no response whatsoever. 

In summary, I feel that Amerisave slow-rolled my application the entire time. ... I didn't have the sense that they ever really wanted to close the deal. I don't understand their business model but it certainly does not seem legit. I was asked to submit and re-submit the same documents multiple times through their online portal. I can certainly state that I have an excellent credit rating of around 800. I also have solid cash-flow, strong net worth and liquid assets, and only a small amount of mortgage debt. ..It seems very strange that Amerisave kept me in their pipeline over 90 days and then changed the " structure requirements '' of the loan midway through, only to inform me that I don't qualify for a refinance to a lower rate on an investment property that cash-flows over {$1000.00} per month. ... My finances are not complicated and they could have easily qualified me properly from the start ; before taking my {$500.00}. 

I would like to reiterate that the people I worked with were all very cordial and courteous in their communications. However, the company 's ability to properly qualify a customer and then properly analyze, process and close a loan in a timely manner is clearly awful.

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