Consumer complaint received 2021-02-15
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: AMERICAN FINANCING CORPORATION (AZ)

My circumstance is not something would be similar with the majority of the population, and I have not contacted the company first, because I feel this is somewhat of a predatory action that does spill over to the majority, especially in the presence of such a buying frenzy period like we are seeing today where the companies/people are more concerned about running people through the funnel than actually listening to their situation offering sound information and advice. 

I am XXXX XXXX, I already knew my I would never qualify for any mortgage based on my tax return information - different story why that is for XXXX on back, and from XXXX forward they will be more to my advantage. So I was doing research for alternative programs for people like me, and I found information about Non QM lending. I contacted one company from the article I read, who told me straight up they had temporarily suspended their Non QM program due to both Covid and this buying frenzy. 
Then I found another article that referred me to the XXXX XXXX where I was able to put my lending offer in front of several supposed Non QM lenders - with an absolute minimal amount of info about my situation I might add on the presentation form. 
Of course I received a number of emails, phone calls, and texts from this submission. The call I answered was from XXXX XXXX of American Financing - the company XXXX XXXX advertises for. 
***Side Note : Two days later when I was clearing out all the voice and text messages about this from my phone, there were literally about 8 contacts from other Am Fin agents, and I even ended up taking calls from two of them who had no idea I was already working with another agent from the same company as their system was still hosting my open search request for them to see as, not yet contacted - Quite annoying, to the point my thinking about canceling all together with XXXX . 
I did not cancel because, After I had very clearly explained to her everything I was wanting to accomplish, the details about my financial picture which outlined very clearly the need for the use of some form of alternative program/product to get this done, and, after denying her initial request to run my credit until she went to her higher ups to find out if this was something they could actually do, given all this information I provided, from which she came back assuring me they could, I had already approved her to go ahead and run my credit report. 
Once I gave her that go ahead, I also threw in the incentive of refinancing my current primary residence and very probably getting a twofer out of this connection - Which I was serious about, IF we could get the primary subject property of my initial reach out done. 
So here 's what happened.

1 ) She comes back shooting straight out the barrel with what she can do on the Primary Res, not the Primary Subject. I stop her to remind her the purpose of the connection, to which she says they can't do it, because there is no loan " in my name '' to refinance. 
***Side Note : This was Very Cleary explained to her from the onset in what I was wanting to accomplish. 
2 ) She goes back to her " manger/ or Superior of some sort '' - I forget the term she used - and comes back saying great news they figured out that they can actually do what I was looking to accomplish 3 ) She sends me the start up package, which won't work. 
***Side Note : So far all this has already taken darn near weeks just to get here. 
4 ) She gets me on the phone to run through this sign up paperwork, and when we get to page like 3 or 4, here is the authorization to review my tax returns! Obviously this is a HUGE Red Flag to which I stop and question as once again, this was all clearly laid out from the very beginning that my tax returns alone will kill any chance of me getting financing. 
Side Note : So at this point I'm thinking they are not even trying to put me into a Non QM, or Stated Income program/product, and did they every have any intention of doing so from the beginning! 
5 ) Again the process Stops Cold, on a Thursday early afternoon with the now infamous " let me go talk to my, whatever term she was using, manager '' 6 ) The following Tuesday I receive an email from Am Fin with a " Statement of Credit Denial, Termination or Change '' Stating " We regret that we are unable to approve your application '' 7 ) I call XXXX to ask if this is the final word on the whole enchilada or if this is maybe from one of the incorrect attempts to get this through and we are still moving forward,,,, I explained that I wanted to know so I could go elsewhere before my credit pull grace period on multiple reporting expires - because honestly I have not found the truth on that yet and have heard XXXX 15 days and 60 days - - And Crickets!! 
No Call back that entire week, and I left maybe 3 messages. Leaving messages again come Monday through Wed and again No call back, Not even a chicken XXXX email to explain whether or not this is the final word - Which by now, obviously it is! 
So they leave me hanging for another full week+ dragging this entire process out now to 3+ weeks - So if the grace period is only 15 days, 21 days, or even 30 days they have completely blown me up on that!

So my complaint is this : 1 ) Didn't hear a word I said about my situation from the beginning 2 ) Hornswaggled me into approving them to pull my credit report 3 ) Seemingly never even attempted to put me into the type fo product I knew and informed them that was needed, right from the start.

4 ) The Biggest factor - NO Response whatsoever to my query about the termination email form I received, thereby leaving to flail in the wind and waste precious time from moving on to another possibility 5 ) I have not even Mentioned this yet - I called XXXX to request that Am Fin send me everything they have worked up, and my credit report so I can use that information with the next person I am now working with - And AGAIN Crickets!! 

Special Note : As a XXXX XXXX XXXX - that is my business - I am not your averagely uneducated about real estate matters Average American, nor am I Complainer - I do not ever make formal complaints, unless someone really goes over the edge, which is very rare for me. 
I am lodging this complaint for the following reasons : 1 ) I want my documentation ASAP from this company so I can move on 2 ) If AM Fin is in general, pushing unqualified people into their funnel just so they can run their credit, you need to know about this. 
3 ) Something needs to be done - especially in todays hyper entrepreneurial environment - to give self employed people a better opportunity to get financing on housing for personal use. 
***Side Note : There are several ways I can get around this where no one is either going to check or care so long as the payments arrive every month, but I am a person who likes to do things the right way. 
4 ) So when the system is so jacked up that a person who's business brings XXXX and takes XXXX personally from that business in both wages and disbursements, and shows evidence if their wages doubling for the upcoming year to equal XXXX, not even counting any disbursements, can't get financed on measly XXXX loan on house valued at XXXX, I feel you guys need do something to alleviate this environment for the future entrepreneurs of this country. 
5 ) Maybe the standards for the Mortgage lending industry to do a better job of qualifying non W2/self employed applicants in order to be able to put them into the proper products, without making their overall plight even more difficult by wastefully pulling credit in an attempt to do something else needs some attention *** Special Closing Note : I do not blame XXXX XXXX for anything other than not listening in the first place, and her failure to respond to my query 's in the termination of this application and request for my information. 
As for AM Fin I do blame them for anything specific, unless XXXX  attempts to gain clarity from her superior are what ultimately lead to their failure in producing what they said they could do, and thereby initiating an unwarranted credit pull - which I would then consider a serious issue! 
I do not blame Dodd-Frank regulations for it's attempts to protect the uneducated American consumer, but I do blame this legislation for it's failure to recognize a difference between them and educated self employed people - ***I completely realize there are many uneducated entrepreneurs when it comes to real estate matters too, so all this can be a little tricky, but one simple tell tale sign is simple - Real estate educated people cali themselves as Real Estate Professionals on their taxes. 
My Complaint is mostly about the mortgage lending industry as a whole and it's attempts to create cookie cutter protection solutions which end up excluding as many as they help. Cookie cutters are fine, just create more than one!