Consumer complaint received 2020-10-22
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 tried to refinance my property in California to take advantage of low interest rates. I chose to work with AmeriSave Mortgage. 

What a mistake! 

We started the conversation with AmeriSave Mortgage on XX/XX/2020 with XXXX XXXX, Loan Originator NMLS ID # XXXX. They ran my credit, and it was a hair under 800. I gave them all the documents they requested ( bank statements, tax returns, property insurance and tax bills, etc. ) by the end of May and our application was officially submitted on XX/XX/XXXX. They sent out an appraiser to verify the condition of our property and confirm that the property was worth an acceptable amount compared to the loan we were seeking. The appraiser mentioned a couple of repairs that the lender was going to need done to approve the loan. We made those repairs. 

The title company reached out to us on XX/XX/2020 to confirm vesting information and clarifying our intentions of the refinance. 

Then AmeriSave came back to me with a few clarifying questions about my revocable living trust and wanted to see some additional documentation. Although hesitant ( since I have gotten several different loans throughout the years and they have never needed this additional documentation that AmeriSave was demanding ), I gave it to them anyway. 

Then we waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... 

Our originator was apologetic but offered no hope as to why a processor was not assigned to our file. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, ( 45 days later ) I was notified that a processor was officially assigned to my loan. His name was XXXX XXXX. I sent a communication to him with my contact info letting him know that if he had any questions, he could contact me directly. A week later, I reached out to him again asking for an update. 11 days later, the processor still had not done anything on my loan and was removed from my file. 

In our XXXX month of the process, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a voicemail from another processor, XXXX XXXX, who said she was taking over my file. I called her back, leaving multiple voicemails and sent multiple emails over the next several days. 8 days later, on XX/XX/XXXX, she responded saying she had been out sick for a few days and apologized. 

After she looked at our file, she said she needed all of the documentation that we had previously submitted to AmeriSave ( bank statements, tax returns, income verification, property tax bills and insurance bills, etc. )! I  could not believe it! We gave them all that information 3 months prior! 

Nonetheless, since I had all that information still accessible, I sent it all to her by email. I waited until I was on the phone with her to verify that she in fact received my email and the documentation that they needed. She said that she got the email and would process/look over all of it on XX/XX/2020. 

AmeriSave sent out the same appraiser on XX/XX/2020 to confirm that we did the repairs they requested. 

10 days later, over 4 months after we started this process, we still had no confirmation of the status of our loan, had no closing date, and no hope of it being done anytime soon. 

On XX/XX/2020 ( 4 months and 11 days after we started the process with AmeriSave Mortgage ), we hear from the underwriter as to what would be needed to approve the loan! Woo hoo! Finally, we are getting somewhere! 

All they needed was all of our tax returns, bank statements, verified income, property tax statements, insurance bills, etc. 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!?!??!! 

They asked for all our documentation for a XXXX time and acted as if we had never submitted any of the documentation before! UNBELIEVABLE!!! 

I had given all of that information to our processor, XXXX XXXX, while I was on the phone with her to confirm that she had everything she needed, and now she is telling me she didn't have any of it. She even acted like it was my fault that the documents were not there. 

On XX/XX/2020, I officially asked XXXX to have her supervisor contact us to talk about our file and all the hassle and delay that AmeriSave had put us through. She said she forwarded my request to management and that they would be in touch with me. 

Did not hear from anyone. 

I emailed her again 3 days later asking for management to call me. 

3 days later, on XX/XX/2020, still had not heard from anyone. 

I notified the processor that I would be filing a complaint with the appropriate governing bodies if management would not contact me to discuss my loan. 

6 days later, I got a letter in the mail saying that my loan was declined because the value of my home was insufficient. It appraised for nearly {$500000.00} and I was applying for a {$300000.00} loan. The loan-to-value ratio was just under 62 %. For them to say that is insufficient collateral for the loan is a complete joke. 

I emailed our processor and asked if they are serious that 62 % LTV is  insufficient and asked for her to please investigate where the problem was and let me know what is going on. 

No response. 

[ I have an XXXX credit score, owner occupied loan with a 60 % LTV ratio  with fully documented income with investment brokerage accounts with a couple XXXX XXXX dollars in cash equivalents, I own 2 other free-and-clear properties worth a XXXX dollars, and AmeriSave has turned me down for the easiest loan you could possibly underwrite. ] Well, 10 days later, still had not heard from the processor, the originator, or the illusive " management '' department Finally, 163 days after I started the process, on XX/XX/2020, I officially asked for a refund of our {$500.00} deposit that was required to start the process with AmeriSave Mortgage. XXXX told me she has forwarded my email to " management '' to have them answer my request of issuing a refund. 

It has been another 2 days, and " management '' has not gotten around to calling us quite yet. I am not holding my breath either. 

So, at this point, AmeriSave has taken my {$500.00}, has wasted 5 months of my time, and will not call me to discuss the situation despite my request to speak to them over 10 times throughout the process. Now I am finally filing a complaint with the consumer financial protection bureau, the department of real estate, and the department of business oversight,  and the better business bureau. 

Do not deal with them. They are at best incompetent, and at worst, unethical. From my perspective, they charge an upfront deposit and then never return your phone calls. I will never give them my business and hope no one I know ever does either.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation