Consumer complaint received 2021-05-17
Company: AMERIFIRST FINANCIAL, INC.
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I was provided the contact information of XXXX XXXX at Amerifirst Financial Inc to assist me with the purchase of a home in XXXX XXXX Nevada. The information was provided to me by my Buyer 's agent, XXXX XXXX from XXXX and XXXX who highly recommended XXXX and advised me she would definitely be able to provide me with a loan. I proceeded to make an offer on a home on XXXX XXXX and proceeded with an XX/XX/XXXX loan application. XXXX assisted me with my loan requirements and provided me with a pre-approval letter with the intent of closing on XX/XX/XXXX. I put a deposit in escrow of {$25000.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from XXXX to advise me that the investor who offered XX/XX/XXXX loans pulled out of the XXXX XXXX market and is no longer offering these types of loans and we would have to source another investor and extend closing. My loan contingency was extended through XX/XX/XXXX and subsequently to XX/XX/XXXX with closing extended through XX/XX/XXXX. Despite being qualified for the loan and meeting all requirements and providing all the documents being requested, Amerifirst was not closing my loan. On XX/XX/XXXX I receive a call from XXXX and my broker advising me that their systems were hacked and they can not access my files and will need to extend the closing further to XX/XX/XXXX while they work out how to submit all the documents manually. i'm asked to resubmit all the documents to XXXX to her personal email so she can forward them to the underwriters. At this point my loan contingency had lapsed due to delays from Amerifirst that continued without any clear communication as to what had transpired and why. I was assured my loan was approved and that it was a matter of time to close. Despite multiple requests from me and from my agent to get an update on the status of my loan, my lender did not return calls or emails including an email that I sent to the CEO of the company and a voicemail that I left for him explaining my predicament and asking for urgent assistance, no one got back to either myself or my agent. Every day until XXXX, I was assured by my lender that my loan was approved and that the XXXX 's were going out that week. On XX/XX/XXXX, when I was due to close escrow, I was informed by XXXX that they needed another extension as the underwriters were still reviewing the file, but I was assured my loan was approved and that I would be closing by XX/XX/XXXX. I kept asking about my deposit and I was assured I would not lose my deposit as I will be closing on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from my agent who asked me to send an email and call XXXX asking her to transfer my entire mortgage file to another lender so that I didn't run the risk of losing the house as Amerifirst had failed to produce my loan approval and failed to send my closing disclosures. The other lender was the seller 's agent lender and the seller had agreed that if I transferred the file over to the new lender, they will extend my closing by 2 weeks to allow time to close on the house. I called XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and explained that I needed her to transfer my entire file which she confirmed she would despite being upset for losing her commission, and I sent her an email the same day requesting the same copying my agent and the new lender. She called me back and confirmed she would send my file but she failed to send my file to the new lender, and instead issued a loan approval letter and an email on XX/XX/XXXX saying that my XXXX 's had gone out. This letter and email went to the seller 's agent, myself, and my agent. At this point, her email served as a confirmation of a loan and my agent told me there was no need to move forward with another application to the new lender. I had already started the application on XX/XX/XXXX, but didn't proceed upon instructions from my broker. On XX/XX/XXXX, the seller put the house back on the market. I immediately contacted my agent XXXX and my lender XXXX to let them know and pleaded for help. XXXX did not respond, but XXXX called to tell me that she will contact the seller 's agent as the XXXX 's were on their way and I should have no issue closing on XX/XX/XXXX. She then asked me to provide a few letters of explanation for minor items/amounts in my bank account. I provided all that she asked for on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I chased XXXX and XXXX and XXXX was not responding. XXXX kept telling me that the XXXX 's would be going out that day. For 2 more weeks, I kept chasing the lender and my agent only to be told they were " working on it ''. In the meatime, the seller proceeded with marketing the house and selling the home. Despite meeting every request made of me by the lender and despite giving me a firm loan approval letter, the lender failed and fraudulently tried to impede me from going to another lender to save her commission on the transaction at the expense of me losing my home purchase, losing my deposit of {$25000.00}, incurring extensive additional costs for temporary housing, moving expenses, hotel stays, and losing my ability to purchase any other home due to the hiking market prices. I am filing a complaint against XXXX XXXX, her manager XXXX, the CEO of Amerifirst, XXXX XXXX, for giving me false information, failing to protect my earnest money deposit, and for failing to close my loan despite providing a loan approval and confirming that XXXX 's had gone out. This was pure misrepresentation and deceptive practices.

Company public response: Company believes complaint caused principally by actions of third party outside the control or direction of the company
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation