Consumer complaint received 2019-03-10
Company: AMERICAN FINANCING CORPORATION
State: ID
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
In XX/XX/2019 we contacted American Finance looking to refinance two duplex properties. The banker told us there was no problem and that the value would easily allow us to refinance. He encouraged us to move ahead with both duplex 's instead of one which meant two separate appraisals. I ask if we could get a discount on the appraisals because the duplex 's are identical and on the same street but was told that two appraisals were required. When the appraisals came back they were only a few thousand dollars more than when we built the properties ten years ago. We were shocked and told that our only recourse was to submit a reconsideration for the appraisal. One of the big frustrations we had was that the comparable used by the appraiser were over three years old and the duplex 's were over 40 years old and ours is only ten years old. I repeatedly told that banker that these were not comparable and that I would not pay for these appraisals. He told me to submit the reconsideration. We submitted it with new comparable properties of a duplex that was newer that appraised for much more money and also requested that since duplex comparables were obviously difficult to come by that they consider single dwelling properties of the same size and year built considering that our duplex 's were built to townhouse standards and the city of XXXX, ID had allowed us to have zero property lines if we ever chose to sell them separately. The banker told me that the chances of the appraiser reconsidering were very low but we didn't know what else to do. We submitted the form with comparables that were provided by a realtor and the appraiser would not even consider changing the appraisals. I got a call from the banker telling me that the appraiser would not reconsider, he called while I was at the hospital with a grandson that had been life flighted with a XXXX XXXX, I shared this with the banker who continued to try to sell us on paying for the two appraisals and then going with a new company and paying for another appraisal with a new appraisor. I told him it would have to wait. He called a few times and left messages but my grandson was in critical condition and I could not deal with the mortgage application. I did tell him repeatedly that I would not pay for the appraisals as they were useless and unfair considering that the market in our area had increased dramatically over the last few years and there was no way the properties were only worth a few thousand more than we paid for them 10 years ago and the realtors also verified that the appraisal was bunk. He called again and left a message and when I returned the call he pressured me telling me he needed an answer immediately. I told him this was no longer a worry as we needed to focus on family and he said he would close the application. Within minutes I received two invoices for the appraisals. This is the first time we have not dealt with a local finance company for mortgages and it was a huge disappointment. I feel like we were pressured into two seperate applications and two appraisals and that the company did nothing to mitigate the issues with the useless appraisal. I withdrew the application and as far as I am concerned American Finance owns the appraisals and I am not intending to pay for them considering they are completely useless. I will be dealing with my local lendor. As a final note, the banker was very nice to work with but did enforce alot of pressure throughout the process. This is the last time we will ever go outside of a local lendor for a mortgage.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation