Consumer complaint received 2021-08-10
Company: AMERICAN ADVISORS GROUP
State: WV
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Reverse mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
XXXX  months ago, my husband and I expressed interest in getting a reverse mortgage, from American advisors group ( AAG ), as my husband was hoping to retire in XXXX of XXXX, and we wanted to set ourselves up to be better prepared for his retirement. We contacted AAG in XXXX of XXXX, and were approved for a program ( XXXX ) they had available that would pay off our home, and provide monies we could use to do some improvements and give us more stability in his retirement. 
We were told the program would pay our property taxes and home insurance for the time we owned the home and the process would take 6 to 8 weeks. We had to pay {$700.00} for an appraisal, which we did. The appraiser came out on or about XX/XX/XXXX. The process of getting the appraisal results took until XXXX, and was blamed on COVID-19, and that HUD was running behind because of the virus and that HUD had to approve the appraisal. Once that was completed, we were told the loan could close in 2 weeks. 
We received a call from the financial advisor we were working with, XXXX XXXX, in early XXXX stating that everything would be completed and the loan would close before XXXX. A couple of weeks later, we were told it would be just after the XXXX XXXX. Then we were told we needed to now have a foundation inspection be completed before the loan closed. I expressed concern that this was not revealed at the beginning of the process, and was told that he didnt know, that normally this is not something that is taken care of last minute. He set up with a national company for us to get the foundation inspection completed. The cost at that time was approximately {$450.00}. This amount could be paid at closing of the loan, if we did not have the cash available at the time of inspection, but at that time the charge would be {$650.00}. We agreed to these terms because my husband was retiring in a month, and we wanted to have this completed by then. 
The inspector came out and checked the foundation, and my husband spoke with him before he left and was told that everything was fine. Weeks later, I contacted XXXX for results of the inspection and when we could close the loan, as it was time for my husband to retire. I was told that they were waiting for the report, and that my husband should not retire, as this would cause problems and more paperwork for us to complete the loan. 
XXXX finally called to give us the information from the foundation inspection, and we were told that our home was not secured properly, and that we needed to have that repaired before the loan could closed. He provided us with an estimate to complete the repairs of almost {$5000.00}. They could get the foundation corrected and the proceeds could come from the loan at closing. I asked for time to think about this, and requested the report from the inspector. 
Our home is a double wide mobile home on 3.3 acres of land. It is on a permanent foundation. The inspector found that to follow HUD guidelines that the home also needed to be anchored with tie downs. XXXX informed me that it was great that we found this problem so it could be corrected, and that we were lucky because the house was going to be blown away or some other catastrophe. Even though it was anchored to the permanent foundation. He had me afraid that not only was I not safe, but in the future, I would never be able to sell the house as it wouldnt meet HUD standards. I still wanted to give this more consideration. 
I contacted the company that installed the home on the permanent foundation 25 years ago, and they came out and put in the tie-downs and anchors required at no charge. Once this was completed, I called and told XXXX that we would not be having them or their company repair this issue, or pay that much money to have it done. And that in fact, I had the company that sold and set up the home come out and add the additional anchors. I also told him we needed to complete the loan, as my husband was retiring soon, and property taxes were due, etc. XXXX advised me again to tell my husband not to retire, and in order to keep more cash in hand, that I should also not pay my property taxes that were due. That once the loan closed they would take care of the taxes. 
I had pictures taken of the anchors we had installed, so that AAG could see we were within HUD standards so we could finally close this loan. 
My husband retired, and thankfully, I didnt listen to XXXX, and paid our taxes. Soon after I was told that my home was still not anchored properly, according to HUD specifications. That the engineers at AAG were saying that the way our anchors were wrong, that my home was still unsafe and could be blown away, and that we still did not meet HUD requirements. That while the anchors/tie downs were there, they were wrapped incorrectly and would allow my home to move in strong wind. ( We live in Wind XXXX XXXX ). 
I asked XXXX to send me the specifications that HUD was requiring and that AAG was using, so that I could see exactly what they needed/wanted. What XXXX emailed me was not HUD specifications at all, but was an instruction booklet prepared by a Commercial company that sold anchors and tie-downs for mobile homes. I responded to XXXX, after doing some research with actual documents I downloaded from HUD.gov, that described how mobile homes were required to be tied down. HUD does not specify how the anchors are wrapped as whether it goes over or under does not make a difference. HUD specifies how far apart and how many anchors are needed, and how the anchors are attached to the footers. 
I have been told each time that I call, that AAG is waiting for their engineers to approve the loan. That they are looking the HUD requirements. 
My complaints are these : AAG has approved my husband and I for a reverse mortgage program, and eleven months later, while our case is still supposedly open, that we have had no results. This is a process they told us would take 6 to 8 weeks, 12 weeks at most. We are now 11 months in. 
After we would not allow their company or their affiliates to charge us almost {$5000.00} to repair my foundation and bring it up to HUD standards, and had this fixed ourselves, the contact between us and AAG dramatically went down, and we were constantly told we are still waiting for approval from our engineers. They are holding us to standards not of HUD, which we meet, according to HUD manuals and regulations for anchoring mobile homes. Instead they are holding us to an instruction manual from a commercial company that sells mobile home anchors. 
The home appraisal that was done, the delay was blamed on HUD approval of the appraisal, which took months and we paid out of pocket for. However, I have researched and found that HUD appraisals also include a home health and safety inspection that would have included an inspection of the roof, foundation, Heat and Air system, among other things. These were not done at the time of the inspection. Someone simply came out and took pictures of the outside of the home and the property, and never made contact with us. Had this been a true HUD approved appraisal, the issues with the foundation would have been found at that time, if they actually existed and were not just a way for AAG to take more money from us. 
The stress and anxiety that we have dealt with during this eleven months has caused me to have concerns about the safety of our home and our future in it, loss of sleep, etc. Also of the stress and anxiety of waiting for approval, lack of contact, the lies they have told, and the misleading scare tactics they used when communicating with me when they tried to get us to agree to pay someone they were recommended money we could not afford in order to make sure we were safe. 
This company should be held accountable for how they have treated us and handled our process, and those of probably others that are reaching out hoping to make their retirements better. They have lied, misled us, and in my opinion used sub-standard business practices during this process. 
Please let me know if you have any questions, or if I can provide more information on our experience with this company. If contacted through email I can provide my phone number or other information or answer any questions you have.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation