Consumer complaint received 2023-10-18
Company: AMERIS BANCORP
State: GA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage
Sub-issue: Changes in loan terms during or after closing

Complaint:
In XXXX XXXX XXXX we were approved for and closed on a Construction to Permanent Loan with Ameris Bank for {$680000.00}. We were told on several occasions that this loan would be a XXXX time close upfront. The interest rate that we locked in at was XXXX, we paid roughly about {$180000.00} at closing. We were told that at the end of the construction process, all that would be required is to modified the loan from construction to into a mortgage and in the event we didnt use all of the funds, they would make that adjustment. We were told that we would not need to go back to closing. I was told by the loan officer that our credit reports would not need to be pulled again or any financial documents would be requested or required as long as the construction was completed within XXXX  months. A few months into the construction phase we realized that the loan we received would not be enough to build the house due to inflation and higher cost of materials and supplies so I went back to the loan officer and asked if he could request for a loan increase. He said that the bank would not give us anymore money and if I could ask family members for help. I told him that our family didnt have those kind of money and that I would look into obtaining credit cards to help with the construction cost, at no point was I told or advised not to. I asked again via email if our credits would be pulled again and he assured me that as long as the house was finished before the XXXX months period our credits would not need to be pulled again. XXXX months before the XXXX month period I received an email from the bank stating that they needed to pull our credit reports again. I explained to them that our credit had changed due to us having to get credit cards to finish building the house because the loan amount given was not enough. They said that I would need to go back to closing and the loan would have to go back through underwriting. I reached out to the loan officer with my concerns and he said something had changed with the loan terms why that is required. I asked him if we were at risk for losing our home and if I should contact a lawyer he said no. The construction of the house was finished a month before the XXXX month period where we obtained the Certificate of Occupancy. The bank went on to the send the loan back through underwriting and had us believe that they would not finance the mortgage and that another lender would have to take over the loan. At this point our rental lease had expired and we had no where to live and we feared that we would lose our home that we just spent the last XXXX  building and invested all of our lives savings, we were essentially forced to sign new loan documents which they still labeled as a modification, we had to go back to closing with more money for closing fees and got a interest rate of 7.625 %. We reached out to a law firm after the fact and had them reviewed the documents and they informed us that Ameris Bank was wrong to take us back to closing and given us a higher interest rate which made our mortgage payment higher. He said that the bank illegally refinanced the loan without them using that exact terminology which they called a modification. He advised us to to fie a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I filed a reviewed detailing the issues that weve had with the hopes that someone from Ameris Bank would reached out to us to rectify the situation but after waiting for a month with no response we had no choice but to file to CFPB and hope that the wrongs done to us will be made right and to hopefully prevent this from happening to another customer. I have attached a few copies of email transcripts that I was told that our credits would not be pulled again. I have all emails if required.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation