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Amerisave Mortgage Review

amerisave-reviewIf you are considering taking out a mortgage to purchase your new home or refinance an existing home loan with Amerisave Mortgage, it’s well worth your time to check the lender out before signing on the dotted line. One way of checking out a mortgage lender before taking out a loan is to look at customer complaints. Here is RefiAdvisor’s review of Amerisave Mortgage to help you make an informed decision before taking out your next home loan.

Amerisave Mortgage

Amerisave is a nationwide direct mortgage lender.

Rating by Robert Regehr: 4.0 stars
****

Amerisave Direct Lender. Over Six Billion Funded.

Claiming to make shopping for mortgages easy and straight forward, should you choose Amerisave for your mortgage refi?

Visit Amerisave’s website and you’re greeted with this claim of six billion dollars in loans funded. They claim to have closed over 10,000 loans in all fifty states and offer an “on time closing guarantee” that will pay you $1,000 should they fail to fund your loan in time. They also offer a “$500 low rate guarantee.” Of course these “guarantees” come with lots of fine print so you should carefully review the conditions before basing your decision on Amerisave’s “guarantees.”

Amerisave Mortgage Company Contact Information

Phone Numbers:

866-970-7283
404-736-1798
404-260-7524
404-424-0632

Address:
Amerisave

Mortgage One Capital City Plaza 3350 Peachtree Rd Suite 1000 Atlanta GA, 30326

Amerisave Mortgage operates their business as a Mortgage Broker Bank, similar to Ditech.com and eLoan. This means they close their home loans in their company name and fund the loans themselves, making Amerisave exempt from the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Because Amerisave is exempt from RESPA disclosure legislation you’ll never know how much money they’re making off you by marking up your mortgage rate. Amerisave mortgage actively purchases mortgage leads from the likes of LendingTree.com and LowerMyBills.com, two internet lead generation sites with less than sparkling reputations. If you’re a regular reader of this blog you know that Lending Tree’s computerized loan origination fee is passed on to the consumer, as much as $1200 at closing.

Amerisave Mortgage Complaints

According to the Better Business Bureau, Amerisave mortgage had 145 complaints filed during the past 36 months and only 57 of them were resolved in twelve months. Searching Google for Amerisave mortgage complaints reveals 684 listings, which could be worth your time in reading.

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{ 58 comments… add one }
  • J. Helffrich May 30, 2009, 6:08 am

    I suggest you take the rates they publish with a large grain of salt. Yesterday, one of their ads showed 4.25% for a 30 yr. fixed rate loan. I clicked on it, went to get approved, and found that I could only get 4.75% in real life, even though I have an outstanding credit rating. Needless to say, I was pissed off. Calling them resulted in two different interpretations of the difference. One was "rates change fast". Oh yeah, like in 20 minutes by a half percent? The other was that I didn't qualify for their best rate. Well, what is the use of posting a rate if nobody can qualify for it? My credit scores were all over 760, so what does it take to qualify?

    • Bob June 14, 2012, 8:26 pm

      Credit score is one of the inputs to get a quote, so it’s not that hard to answer your question. Their default quote is for an 800+ FICO. 799 down to 780 gets a lower rate. Below 780 an even lower rate. Sorry, but you’re two steps below what’s needed for their best rate.

      • tim June 26, 2012, 9:21 am

        actually there are no adjustments after 760 to interest rates almost always with a conventional loan under $417k. 760 is largely considered top tier if adjustments are featured they are marginal. Meaning you may receive something that is an .125% difference in rate but most likely not, that would be a rare occassion. Also with a loan balance under $417k Amerisave would not be putting you in a “portfolio loan product”, but rather placing your loan with a big bank where your scenario is most competitive. In this case what I have just communicated is absolutely true.

        • jerry July 6, 2012, 11:19 am

          Bob is correct. Amerisave quotes different rates for 800+, 780-799, 760-779, etc. They use your middle credit score.
          I found them very difficult to work with and they would not lock my rate until after the appraisal.
          I am not doing my next refi with them even though they have the best terms by almost $1000 in lender credit.

  • David August 21, 2009, 4:52 pm

    Certainly a bait-and-switch

    Quote: 4.75% at zero cost (no points, no fees). So paid the application fee and appraisal fee and agreed to "$500 lock cancellation fee"

    1) Credit rating is 50 points higher than I thought.

    2) Mortgage rates have fallen another 0.05%

    3) Loan docs show 5.316% with $7443 in points!

    RIPOFF

  • tony August 26, 2009, 11:18 pm

    charged me $35 dollars for pre-approval and qouted 0.5 percent higher than my local lender. the $35 dollar fee should have been a warning not to continue

  • MauiDreams December 8, 2009, 7:15 pm

    Amerisave is a rip off and unfortunately I found out too late after I gave then $500.

    With perfect credit, 820 credit score, a low loan to value ratio of less than 40% , and no debts except mortgage, they find a reason to weasel out of their loan commitment to me. Why? because my loan was not profitable enough.

    They say yes to everyone at first, and then after you have given them money and made a commitment, they decide whether or not the rate they quoted you is profitable or not. If not, you wasted your time and money. If they do make you the loan, it is because you agreed to a higher rate than what they advertised.

  • MP January 1, 2010, 1:46 am

    Got enticed with their low rates on website and paid the initial credit report fee. The rates that came back were almost 0.5% higher because "my credit rating of 750 was not good enuf". That was my first red flag. I was dealing with someone on the phone and email at 10PM on a Friday night, which was another red flag. Then he started to pressure me to provide a credit card number for an appraisal that could be wrapped up by the weekend. That is when I did an extensive internet search and came across several complaints. I haven't seen a copy of my credit report from them. I consider myself lucky that I abandoned the whole thing at an early stage, but am concerned that they have a lot of my personal info.

  • yoitsandy January 17, 2010, 7:12 am

    Do not recommend Amerisave at all. I applied, paid for the appraisal and credit check, got all the paper work sent in three days, and understood I was locked-in at the rate and points at the time of application. Amerisave took over five weeks to process, telling me to be patient, and in the meantime the rates went up a half point. After five weeks Amerisave comes back and says because my appraisal was 5% less than I estimated, still under the industry standard of 80% loan to value, they rejected my application. My credit was excellent without any blemishes on my financial record, so obviously to me they did not lock-in my rate and because rates went up would not honor the original agreement with me. Luckily, I was only applying for a refinance to save some money, and even though I'm out almost $400, it could have been worst if I trusted them to obtain a new mortgage to purchase a home. To add insult to injury, when I sent a note to their customer service they did not acknowledge my complaints, just said "Thank you for your interest in Amerisave. We understand that you are not in need of our services currently. However, please keep Amerisave in mind for your next home financing transaction, because we are dedicated to your satisfaction". What a Joke!

  • J Chang January 25, 2010, 4:31 am

    Be careful with AmeriSave. Like all others leaving the comments, AmeriSave doesn't provide vital information up front and I only found it out later after I paid $325 for appraisal+$35 for credit report+$400 for extension of maintaining locked rate. I refinanced my house and never had any problem before (4 loans prior), I has some many troubles with them. Here are some examples of their deficiencies:

    1. They were very slow to respond my request or to clarify some misunderstanding (I was always the one finding things out).

    2. Inexperienced underwriting department & loan processor. I have two different last names on the files I sent (got married in between) and they were not able to figure out it's the same person by using SSN. Then didn't verify with me until I called to see what delays the process.

    3. They misplaced my documents A LOT. I called them countless times to check and always heard "I am still waiting for this … or that …" and I already sent them ALL of the required document. Of course, after I confronted them, they would say "oh, I have it!! I thought I didn't".

    4. It took them "7 days" to pay off my previous lender (yes, 7 days – from the day of "closing" till the day my previous lender finally received the money to be paid off). 7 days?? and I paid extra fees to "expedite" the process.

    If you have time to mingle, energy to waste, don't mind to stay worried, you may choose them. Because that's me during the whole time.

  • Jeff February 12, 2010, 11:00 am

    I had similar experience. No communication since money paid. documents sent but no lock. Are they a legitimate mortgage company? how does BBB give them an A rating?

  • R. Smith February 16, 2010, 10:13 am

    i wish i would have seen this website before i paid them $450 for a credit report and appraisal. they did the same thing to me…. quoted me a rate, took my $$ and then changed/raised the quote. i've been scammed.

  • Kevin March 26, 2010, 3:01 pm

    They would never contact me with updates to the loan process and I began to wonder if I made a poor choice in going with Amerisave. They are not to be trusted in any way. Avoid at all costs sending them your vital information if you don't want to worry that it will end up in the wrong hands. The rates are a scam, as with others the rates would be raised for no other reason but to make a profit on you. There customer service is horrible but was lucky enough to become so fed up that I walked away. Thank God!

  • Kurt Foreman April 6, 2010, 10:09 am

    Working with Amerisave rep — after 4 weeks of submitting paperwork, and requesting throughout the process to lock my rate and was verbally assured that it would be locked to find out each time it wasn't — then to get an email that my rate was finally locked above 50 basis points above my original quote — I would not recommend them — I've gone to another lender — was able to lock the same day — for lower rate, and for thousands of dollars less. DO NOT USE AMERISAVE!

  • Robert April 12, 2010, 6:52 pm

    I applied a few weeks ago. What started out with a 4.875% rate quote and approximately $2500 in lender fees ended up with a 5.00% rate and approximately $7600in lender fees. They just kept coming up with more “issues” on why my particular loan situation merited a “specialized” underwriter (I believe that they refer to them as “investors”). My credit scores varied from 730 -780. The loan-to-value was in the mid 50’s. My net worth is around 830k.. I have guaranteed income for the rest of my life. All of this information was verified by Amerisave themselves! In other words, I am a good "risk." Yet, Amerisave kept coming up with reasons to milk me out of more money.

    Make no mistake. Amerisave will increase fees/rates from the rates that you applied for on the date of your initial application. Their “system” is geared toward NOT granting you the lower rate that lured you to them in the first place.

    Shop and compare. Amerisave is the ONLY online lender (that I am aware of; and I looked at a lot of them) that does NOT lock in the quoted rate, just by you stating that you want the rate locked in. They make you go through submission of paperwork and then, when they are satisfied that they can't get any more money out of you in the form of either fees or a higher rate, they MAY lock your rate in, if it is to their benefit. The actual forms that they have you “e-sign” are actually “defaulted” to a “float-rate,” which leaves you at the mercy of the market. NEVER, EVER agree to e-signing anything UNTIL you read everything! The fact is that they are pressuring their customers to get the “paperwork” in to lock the rate. That puts pressure on the customers and they tend to sign (including e-signing) paperwork in their haste without reading what they are signing. Again, they have their system aimed at getting the most money out of their customers. Shop around and compare and you will see that Amerisave is not the way to go…

  • Christy Pierrepont June 9, 2010, 8:26 am

    Let's just bend over! Apprasial was ordered by them, came back great then they said they ran it again (what ever that meant) & now they want PMI insurance. I'm looking into unfaithfull practices. I can't believe that this is legal. I have all my emails & will hopefully find someone who will look into these guys.

  • Heather O'Meara August 11, 2010, 6:04 am

    I wish I had read this website before I lost my mind with Amerisave. They didn't lock in my rate like they said they did, they wouldn't let me "get out" when I wanted to jump and run away, they inflated their fees, lied, cheated, didn't return phone calls–it was the WORST experience of my life. Unfortunately, I stayed with them to the end of my re-fi since I had no idea that this wasn't typical–since this was my first time doing this. I am now horrified to learn of all of my fees that I paid, and wish I could take it all back. I called numerous times to file complaints with them and their supervisors NEVER returned my calls or emails. Save yourself the headache–stay away from these guys.

  • jase August 16, 2010, 9:23 am

    Amerisave wants your $35 upfront… After reading the reviews I should have known. They emailed me some generic boiler plate emails, in 3 days havent returned a call from my assigned rep. Front page of their web site said APR 3.96 but with excellent credit (795) and after the $35 they emailed me that they could only offer me 4.6…huge difference on $320,000. I found American United Mortgage and they backed their promised rate, low fees and Andrea couldnt have been more responsive even over the weekend. They may me have me fooled but so far so good…

  • KAREN August 17, 2010, 12:21 pm

    I applied for a refi on Friday and just like everyone before me I allowed them to take $35 for pre-approval, then $325 for the appraisal which was done the very next day!! I started to suspect something strange at that point but still sent them all my documents the following Monday because they pressure you to do everything IMMEDIATELY! However, when I called my rep many times, e-mailed over and over he never responded. Thank goodness I found these reviews because I am pulling out. I am very concerned that they have so much personal information of ours.

  • Radha Mundada August 24, 2010, 6:58 am

    Karen,

    I am also in the process of refinancing with Amerisave but now I dont feel comfortable going with Amerisave… How did you manage to not let them charge you $500 cancellation fees ?!

    Thanks

  • Don Nyal September 1, 2010, 3:41 am

    My name is Don Nyal and I am a loan consultant with Amerisave. I am an outside rep. Amerisave has many inside reps at their main office that handle a lot of loans due to our low rates. As an outside rep i mainly do purchase/refi loans through realtors/referrals and they love how i work and navigate each customer through the process. I handle fewer loans and have more communication with my Clients. Here's a few suggestions to people looking to apply but have questions.

    1.) The $35 preapproval/credit report fee is credited back at closing. So we are not scamming anyone. If anything we are weeding out false applicants that are not ready, serious or probably have reasons that they would not be approved. It is not refunded if you do not qualify.

    2) The lock REQUEST. That's exactly what it is a request. Until we have the application, credit report with all three scores and needed income documents nothing can be locked. No lender will lock you just because you completed an application ( they need all of this too). Now because of the volatile housing market many loans will not be locked due to value problems in many markets. So we need an appraisal before we can lock a loan unless there is clearly a lot of equity an exception can be made. YES we do have a $500 lock-in fee and i tell all my l clients that if they cancel for whatever reason they will be charged once locked. However if the loan is declined it will not be charged.

    So how do i get the rate i want now? Well you cannot lock just based on the application and what you see on the website without having the above mentioned. so here is what i tell all my clients BEFORE they go online:

    Have the following list of documents at your side when applying online. You will fax these once you receive an email of list of items needed with a fax number of the loan consultant.

    1) W2's- Most current years. So right now 2008 and 2009 ( If self-employed or receive other income other than W2 income to qualify we will need your last 2 year tax returns n addition to any 1099 or w2 forms)

    2)PAYSTUBS- 1 month most current and in order ( Last 2 if bi-weekly pay, Last 4 if weekly pay)

    3) BANK STATEMENTS – Both saving and checking ALL PAGES for the last 2 months

    3) LIQUID ASSEST STATEMENTS- ( IRA,401k, CD, money market etc. Most current Quarterly Statement if not monthly) AGAIN ALL PAGES

    4) CURRENT MORTGAGE STATEMENTS(S) on current and any other properties owned ( If you own rentals have your rental/lease agreements for all )

    5) PROPERTY TAX BILL(S) – Current statements on current and all other properties owned

    6) HOMEOWNERS FIRE INSURANCE DECLARATION PAGE- for current and all other properties owned

    7) DIVORCE DECREE – May be needed if divorced or may not but good to have available if requested

    If you have all these before going online the application will be more complete. You will have all documents ready to fax and i suggest paying the $35 and appraisal or your application will not be a priority. The $35 will not be refunded if you do not close so i'll admit you will be out of that but for the appraisal we charge your card but if you cancel the appraisal appointment no charge incurred and your credit card is credited back the appraisal amount.

    I will say if you have all documents ready to fax, complete the application as accurately as possible and follow all steps including, the $35 prapproval, order appraisal and choose your rate you would like to be locked at. Then you will have an easier time in processing and closing. I usually can have a loan locked right when the appraisal is back. About 48-72 hours. But if you have a very solid loan, good equity, good debt to income ratios, liquid assets, High fico, then i can usually have a lock exception request to my manager and lock in 24 hours. I personally like to talk to my clients and figure out one if a loan is right for them and two if i see any potential issues to resolve before applying.

    Hope that helps. Every company out there, even the big banks, have complaints and it is tougher these days for home finance but doing your homework first and being prepared will make it easier.

    • carlos balbontin June 7, 2011, 8:45 pm

      i applied for a second home mortgage,everything was going great but at the end of the process the underwriter decided that this was going to be an investment property so everything went higher,i backed out and then they charged me a $500.00 cancellation fee….now i have sent several emails and messages to their customer service,nobody calls….great company,yeah,right…

  • Bill October 9, 2010, 1:58 am

    Be very careful when dealing with them. The they use high pressure sales and say you are "pre-approved" to get you to commit to an expensive appraisal. The low rates on the site are a come-on because you can't actually lock in the rate until after the appraisal is done and they have full underwriting approval on the complete documents (ie they have presold the loan). Once you approve the appraisal the attitude changes because you are locked into working with them. The representative was vague with me on the phone and kept telling me that I was "pre-approved so I should commit to the appraisal. In my case the credit scores were over 800, the appraised value was more than twice the loan amount but they tried to get me to increase the loan and get a more expensive one. I walked away from the nearly $500 in fees because it was clear they were leading me on. I'm sorry I ever fell for the low rate come-on.

  • Joe Scandura February 3, 2011, 7:09 am

    My Name is J. Scandura. I worked with Don Nyal at Amerisave and he asked me to post the experience i had working with him and Amerisave. First i want to say my loan closed in 24 days and Don was awesome to work with. A lot of paperwork but he walked me thru everything. I read some of these complaints and have to admit if i read these first i would've of run. Glad i didn't. My experience was totally opposite. Don spent a lot of time on the phone explaining the loan process with an online lender. He told me he couldn't lock me until full application was complete, my doucments were faxed in and reviewed and we may have to wait for the appraisal to be complete unless i have a lot of equity. He explained the $35 preapproval charge ( I still don't aggree with it but it was credited back at close ) He explained that appraisal is a 3rd party non-refundable fee ( I already knew that and no bank or mortgage company ever refunds appraisals ). He also told me that the initial rate and fees from the website were for those who are ready to lock, other than that it is a tool to check rates while we're waiting to lock. I did what he said and was able to lock the next day but rates had gone up slightly. So Don asked do you want to float the rate or lock at today's rate. I chose to lock. He emailed me the lock confirmation for my records. He explained the $500 fee to cancel once locked. Anytime i called Don he answered or called me back right away. Not sure if Amerisave is changing its practices or if it was just working with Don but i had no problems and i am already working with him again on a purchase. My advice call Don before even starting. He'll answer every question. And by the way i originally went to Chase and they wanted over $2000 more in fees at a rate .25% higher. Guess who my loan is being transferred to from Amerisave? Yep Chase.

  • Craig September 26, 2011, 8:24 am

    I have to say I had a great experience with Amerisave. I refinanced my home to a 15 year at 3.25%. The entire process could not have gone smoother….Called on a Monday, locked on Tuesday, home appraised on Weds…got appraisal results back on Friday.

    For me, the most appealing aspect of dealing with them is that everything is done online and you can follow your loans progress day to day by just logging into your account.

    We are fortunate in that we have lots of equity in our home, good income to loan amount, and excellent credit. It was a no-brainier loan so I would have expected this to go smoothly with any lender we chose.

    I’ve recommended them to 3 friends that have all refinanced through them with good experiences.

    • Rebecca September 9, 2020, 8:25 pm

      When I was submitting my documents there was all sorts of info available on my online account. Once everything was in the website changed and I have zero access to all the documents I signed. Thankfully I downloaded most of them when I signed them, but it was super suspicious. The website changed completely.

  • Steven Erickson September 29, 2011, 10:06 pm

    I paid them several hundred dollars up front… then when everything was good to go, they made up a bunch of extra documents that I had never heard of…They stole my Money!! TOTAL SCAM!!

  • Eugene Mannacio October 10, 2011, 5:36 pm

    My experience is also negative. After being promised a locked rate the point suddenly changed. Then when I made a counter offer based on their online rates the points misteriously went up just 30 minutes later. The banks were closed for Columbus Day so why do you imagine this happened? Could it be that their word can’t be relied upon?

  • LEM March 2, 2012, 12:03 pm

    December 1, 2011 inquired about AmeriSave to refinance a vacation condo. Submitted all information requested timely. No issues with my credit – Excellent Credit Rating. Today I cancelled my refinance processing due to the fact of absolutely the worst communications. And, most importantly – I AM STLL NOT CLOSED. Thats more than 92 days and they are not able to close my loan. There is not another side to this story. AmeriSave is not worthy of anyone’s business. Run!! Run very fast.

  • Katie April 26, 2012, 10:23 am

    Thank you all for the helpful comments! I know no other company that refuses to give a Good Faith Estimate up front. More than a bit suspicious…

  • Linda Jordan June 2, 2012, 4:10 pm

    Are you kidding me with all these negative commnents? I am currently on my FOURTH refi with AmeriSave and I think they are very professional and excellent to work with. I deal with Geneva Walters and she’s great. Look, there is something wrong with the people on here who say they have stellar credit and lots of equity yet still get “jerked around.” I don’t buy it. And, of COURSE you get a Good Faith Estimate up front! They are totally by the book. YOU have to do YOUR part and have everything ready and be prepared to answer any and all questions. That’s just how it is these days.

  • Tom in San Diego August 1, 2012, 4:42 pm

    I’m on my second refi with amerisave. I have had no problem locking in a rate with either loan. The rates and fees were exactly what amerisave advertised. My only complaint was that it took 60 days to close the first loan. Amerisave did pay for the rate lock extension so it wasn’t a big deal. The employees were kind and responsive to my email. I am not sure why I have had such a different experience than the negative posters here.

  • Max Phelps August 31, 2012, 6:28 pm

    I read most of these before I applied; it sounds like these clients think they are “entitled” – what? Didn’t they hear about the mortgage meltdown a few years ago? You can have an 800 credit score or a 650 credit score, the rules apply to everyone and they have become more stringent and Amerisave is probably the most stringent because they probably have the best rates out there! With interest rates so low, everyone is backed up – Citi tells you that it will take 90 days to refinance and like everyone else, they want to know where those deposits into your bank account comes from if they are not related to your job. Oh, another thing, you the client actually lock your rate as you go to their website and click what you want, duh, you choose, not Amerisave – if you are trying to be slick and hide something (child support payments in your divorce papers, it won’t happen anywhere)

  • Tom B. September 6, 2012, 1:07 pm

    My wife and I went through three separate loans with Amerisave on our house. The first was Sept 2011, followed by Jan 2012, and then again in August 2012. Each time the rate got low enough for us to re-finance. With the last one we wound up a 3.375% with $3,800 coming back to us at closing, so it made sense to refinance each time. The on line process is great, especially if you can fax or scan and email the information required. If not, find someone local to go to.They did ask for a lot of documentation, but it looked typical of what is usually required. For the last re-finance this summer (of 2012), the underwriter took about 50 days but we got two extensions. While we waited on them, the rates continued to drop, which worked to our advantage, as Amerisave lowered our lock twice. The process did go quickly each time we re-financed. The two people I worked with were always quick to respond, especially by email. So, I would definitely recommend Amerisave, but I would recommend you discuss their process when them in detail, because it is involved and you need to send information in quickly. Best to assemble all documentation required, prior to authorizing an appraisal. Thanks to Craig and Marie in Atlanta, Ga.

  • Cathy September 12, 2012, 3:31 pm

    My husband and I have had the same good experience as Tom B and a couple others. I’m refinancing with Amerisave for the third time because I love their rates. The whole process has been smooth each time – all the fees were as disclosed upfront, the rate matched my quote and locked the same day (before my appraisal, as soon as they had a copy of the current mortgage statement), and I’ve worked with the same person each time and he has always answered any questions quickly. Granted we have great credit, a great LTV ratio and I have all my documents in order when I make the request so they can be uploaded or faxed immediately. It couldn’t be more straightforward. I’ve recommended them to friends.

  • John October 4, 2012, 1:27 pm

    The last few to comment obviously work for Amerisave

    • Tom in San Diego October 4, 2012, 8:10 pm

      Don’t expect the best rates unless you: Have a LTV <= 80%, Have a 740+ FICO, housing/income ratio <= 28 %, total debt/income ratio <= 36%, and at least 2 years of employment at the same salary or higher. With consistent month-to-month income to show you can make the payments regularly. Add another house and forget about getting the best rates on a second mortgage no matter what.

      Most people do not meet all of the requirements but they expect the best rates. Amerisave and all other lenders follow the same guidelines because otherwise they can not sell off your loan to banks like Wells Fargo, which in turn sells it to Freddie Mac. Amerisave never holds the loans when I refinance. The get rid of them right away.

      I would suspect that the people complaining that a rate was changed or were denied a loan are not telling the whole story.

      Quit complaining and become educated on why you are being charged a higher rate or rejected for a loan.

  • Barry November 8, 2012, 1:49 pm

    I’ve closed a loan with Amerisave was mostly satisfied. I don’t like their practice of locking in your interest rate. Basically, when you apply for the loan the website makes it look like you are locking in at the rate that you select from a listing of various rates with different closing fees listed. YOU ARE NOT LOCKED IN when you apply. They will usually lock you in a day or two later. If interest rates go up they will not lock you in and you either have to let your rate float or lock in at the higher rate. If interest rates drop from the time you applied THEY SHOULD LOCK YOU INTO THE NEW LOWER INTEREST RATE, but instead they lock you into the higher rate that you selected on your application. This practice seems dishonest and it only serves to increase Amerisave’s profits above what they are making off of your closing costs.

  • Richard November 14, 2012, 4:33 pm

    When you consider the bottom line — Amerisave paid me over $2000 to let them refinance my house — it was worth it.

    If you are buying a house it’s probably the biggest expenditure you’re ever going to make — you have to pay attention to details. If you start making assumptions you’re very likely to be disappointed.

    They ask you to enter your information and if you are optimistic and reality doesn’t match your entries you aren’t going to get the best rate. Take your time. Play with the credit score — see how it will affect your rates if it’s lower than you hope. Play with the appraised value of your home — see how it changes your rate to have it appraise for more or less than you estimate. Then, once you feel familiar with how it all works compare it to anyone else. I refinanced $177,000 15 year loan at 4.375% back to a 30 year loan at 3.75%. I paid the $15 credit check up front. My middle score came back 806 so I got the best rate. I knew that if it came back at 799 I wasn’t going to get the best rate. I then paid the $375 appraisal fee. I knew that it had to appraise for $222,000 or I wouldn’t get the best rate (I had played out all the scenarios from $180,000 up to $225,000 so I knew what to expect). It came back at $235,000 so I still qualified for the best rate. At that point I had several choices to make. Did I want 2.75%? I’d have to pay $7k in fees to get that rate. Did I want 3.5%? I’d get $180 credit toward my fees if I took that rate. I choose to lock at 3.75% which showed me getting $1800 credit. The good faith estimate was for $1375 in fees. I paid nothing at closing — they paid my new escrow from my refund. A few days latter I got a check for $1200. About a month latter I got a refund of $1400 from my old escrow. Now the new loan was for $2000 more than my old loan, but that included 2 months of interest (I got to skip 2 payments which was very nice). Now there were some glitches along the way. It took more than 60 days to close — they extended the lock for free. They said I they needed a document once that I’d already sent — so I had the send it again. The underwriter was obsessed with a 2nd home that I own, despite the fact that it’s paid for free and clear. I had to get a lot documents regarding the 2nd home that I thought were unnecessary. But in the end they delivered on every promise. They were not good at returning phone calls, but they were phenomenal about returning emails…like within minutes usually. So in the end I got a 30 year mortgage at 3.75% and got paid to do it. Maybe I would have had to jump through fewer hoops to get the refi at another place, but I would have had to pay a lot of fees for the privilege.

  • Nichol December 21, 2012, 10:03 am

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  • Kristin January 1, 2013, 9:49 pm

    I have refinanced with Amerisave 3 times for 2 different houses over the past 7 years. I have worked with the same loan processor (Neal) all 3 times and was unable to get a better rate elsewhere in any instance. On my second refi, Amerisave beat my current lender rates then Amerisave sold my mortgage back to my current lender so Amerisave got me a better rate than I could get with the current lender. The rates on the site always matched what I got. Be sure to enter accurate and realistic inputs and you will get accurate and realistic estimates. I was able to manage Ll documents online but my mortgage And closing processors always answered my calls. Excellent experience three times over.

  • Bob January 7, 2013, 12:42 pm

    We refinanced with Amerisave in Sept 2012 and everything went okay. The problem that has yet to be corrected is that they paid our property taxes due in Nov/Dec at closing and again in November. Notified Amerisave/Dovenmuehle on Dec 1, 2012 and have yet to get this resolved. During this time we refinanced to an even lower rate, and feel that this escrow money should be refunded to us in a timely manner. At this point it was their mistake, so I think they should have refunded it by now.

  • Victoria Vika February 15, 2013, 2:23 am

    Really a great post. I honestly appreciate your blog. You went with great post.

  • Michael M February 15, 2013, 8:17 am

    I chose to refinance with Amerisave. I have had nothing but an OUTSTANDING experience. They have been helpful and emailed me every day for the past few months. My rate is a 1% lower than Chase (my current bank which denied me for no apparent reason) and less fees. I just closed a week ago, and they even informed me that they will probably sell the loan to a bank soon. WHO CARES? I am still getting my 3.25% rate. All i need to know is what bank to set up the auto pay with. People complaining about not getting a $35 deposit bank, grow up. I paid Chase $800 ($400 for appraisal and $400 for application fee) and they denied me for no reason. That is the dice you roll. If Amerisave denied your loan, I am sorry. I understand how mad that can get you, because I felt the same way with Chase. But for me, Amerisave was the lowest rate and very helpful.

  • J. D. KaPow February 15, 2013, 1:12 pm

    Just finished my third refi on my home, all with online lenders, first with Amerisave. The bad: They took forever. Took 100 days from start to closing. No holdups, no issues, just looong stretches where nothing was happening. The good: Everything else. They had the best rate/fee combo (credit in my case), and I got exactly what was originally offered. They extended my lock multiple times with no changes and no cost to me (even though rates had gotten a bit worse). And except for the delays, there were no surprises along the way. Would I use them again? Not sure – my other experiences were about the same without the interminable delays.

  • Terry April 8, 2013, 1:29 pm

    Amerisave refi’ed my home loan at rates exceedingly better than any competitor. Mr. Shaun Barry, Senior Processor and Ms. Valerie McMullen, Processer did an excellent job closing my loan in 30 days from application to funding (on a 45 day lock). I would gladly use Amerisave again and have already recommended them to others.

    I had attempted to refinance my house with absolutemortgageco in Nov 12. After 30 days they had not even sent the loan to underwriting and were asking for more money to extend my lock. Not a good experience.

    In early Jan 13. Amerisave was advertising fantastic rates, so I started reading their reviews on-line. Standout complaints included not getting loan through underwriting to closing; as well as underwriting asking numerous ridiculous questions (conditions) multiple times, thereby delaying closings. Also, they had just settled a class action suit for charging for appraisals before approving their loans.

    I went on Amerisave’s on-line chat, I was assured that they had hired additional underwriters and were closing loans within the lock period. So, I went on-line to apply for a loan with Amerisave. Here is my experience.

    [NOTE: Throughout the process I never once spoke with anyone at Amerisave but communicated extensively through e-mail and their on-line system.]

    On January 14, I went to Amerisave.com and plugged in the information and hit search.

    [TIP: When you go to Amerisave’s website “personalize” your search to reflect your credit score. Their rates are very credit score sensitive and the system defaults you to 800.]

    I clicked the apply button and completed a short on-line application. I was asked to pay $9 for a credit report. After paying, the system told me I was “pre-qualified.”

    [NOTE: pre-qualification does not lock your loan.]

    I e-mailed Amerisave and shortly thereafter I received an e-mail from Mr Barry directing me to go on-line to complete a formal application and upload 29supporting documents. Since I had just applied with absolute mortgage (avoid them like the plague) I had the bulk of these documents scanned in pdfs.

    [TIP: Scan your financial documents (past 2 years W-2, tax returns, past two months account statements, pay stubs, insurance declaration pages, mortgage statement, property tax bills, etc.) prior to applying.]

    I spent 4 hours that evening completing the application, scanning additional documents, answering questions, and uploading documents.

    [TIP: When answering Amerisave’s questions I repeated their question and tried to use the shortest answer possible.]

    The next day, January 15, I e-mailed Mr Barry asking when I could lock. He told me my documents would have to go through a review. About that same time the system asked me to pay $550 for an appraisal fee. I paid the fee (with great hesitation, based on the class action suit.)

    After paying I e-mailed Mr. Barry again. Shortly thereafter my loan was showing it was locked on-line.

    After getting locked, I then started e-mailing Mr Barry about getting this loan to underwriting. I was told they needed the appraisal first. The appraiser contacted me set a date for a Jan 18 inspection. There was no issue with the appraisal and it came in on January 23, over the amount I had told Amerisave what my house was worth.

    [TIP: When you go to Amerisave’s website to apply, reflect your home value lower then you think. By putting a value lower I believe I saved any problem with them changing the loan terms due to the appraisal.]

    On January 25, Ms McMullen was assigned as my processor and I received notice on-line requesting 14 different documents from underwriting. Some items were previously provided, I just resent them. About a quarter focused on my child’s condo 1500 miles away. I got the info and had everything uploaded by January 28 and began asking Ms McMullen when I could expect approval.

    On January 31, 4 more underwriter requests popped up on-line, for previously provided documents and about my child’s condo. I uploaded the info that day and e-mailed about the underwriting status. It was back in underwriting by Feb 4. I was shocked on Feb 7 when on-line they showed my loan approved.

    My closing was set for February 15. Prior to closing I keep in e-mail contact with Ms McMullen and my closing agent. At closing my agent told me how good Amerisave was to work with. I read and signed the closing documents and closed without a hitch.

    I will say that I was hyper-vigilant on this loan. I kept daily e-mail contact, even if just to “check status” and made a point to get Amerisave any requested document or answer any questions within 24 hours and e-mail them when I uploaded documents.

    [TIP: Do not get upset over (1) strange requests (e.g., child’s condo info) or (2) repeated requests (e.g., asking for insurance agent contact info three times – after the third time I took the additional step to give my insurance agent Amerisave’s contact info and asked her to contact Amerisave.)]

  • Duped in SD May 16, 2013, 3:14 pm

    I must preface this review by asking you to forgive me if it jumps around or is incoherent as I am extrememly mad. It’s hard to gather ones thoughts into a concise formatt while shakinginly angry. Same goes with my grammar skills as well as spelling….As of now all I can think of are words that probably would make Satan blush with embarassment

    First, we were supposed to close at a great interest rate…My financial advisor and I both asked him to confirm rate and closing cost…He tapped danced and finally told us to “stop insessantly emailing him. My advisor waashed her hands and said she would not work with a person that conducted theirself in this manner. He said that he had told me the rate already, it was in the paperwork and he didn’t need to confirm it….Well guess what? The rate offered was not the rate he said….He they back peddled and tried to act like we were the stupid ones…The great thing about email is that you can throw it back at sombody if need be to be humbled and refute what they are trying to strong arm you into believing. Next, we were told we would close at the new rate, which is still better than my current rate so I just bit my tongue. We were told we would close at the end of the week…..12 days later I received an email that it had been FWD’d to the underwriter. I said, “Great so we close this week?” Nope! Guess again and he again told me to “let them do their jobs”…I told them if they had been doing their job and knew their ass from a hole in the ground we wouldn’t be having this coversation. Note sure wehre they get their employees…TSA? Job Corps? Having an extensive background in customer / client service for the last 13 years I know this is not the way to conduct business. If I treated my MD’s like he has treated me, my wife and my financial advisor, I would be unemployed and probably unhireable again due to the recomendation I would get. At first, I ignored the yelp ratings, the BBB complaints and the other reviews but now I know they are true. They may have some good rates but their service absolutely sucks for lack of a better term. If a person spoke to me like this on the street they would receive a punch in the mouth. Perhaps I will meet this Brad C someday….I already know what he looks like as you can Google his mugshot. Sad, just sad.

    PS we still have not closed….Guess what they told me, again?

  • DeAnne Girton July 18, 2013, 12:00 pm

    After wasting my time on the phone with a “salesperson” and filling out the application to the point where they wanted my credit card to pay for the credit report, I had to shake myself. Wait a minute here…a company who is going to make thousands of dollars off of you wants YOU to pay for your own credit score in advance? When you refinance through a bank, at least if they make you pay for appraisals, credit reports, etc., it is in your closing costs and not up-front. That way, if you aren’t approved, you aren’t out them money. This raised a red flag for me.

    • Adam October 29, 2013, 8:03 am

      Its not feasible for Amerisave or any other mortgage company to pick up the tab for all the credit reports. Think about the number of consumers that aren’t credit worthy, but apply to Amerisave. The applicants don’t qualify, and Amerisave’s time & money is wasted. Now, multiply this scenario by thousands. They would incur a significant cost.

      The method of having the consumer pay some fees, would help draw only the serious loan applicants. Also, those fees are minor compared to the overall savings one might get from refinancing. The assumption here is that you’ve picked a financially favorable rate to you…

  • Fred Stokley August 7, 2013, 6:14 am

    I have to agree that something is fishy with all the negative complaints. I am closing today on my loan with Amerisave with the rate I locked in on my first visit to the website. I have already received my HUD and all the fees are as agreed as well. Not to mention that I am at my Debt to Income ratio limit and with only a 760 credit score and re-financing with cash out. I do not know of any banking institution which will pay for your appraisal and then allow that appraisal to come out of your closing cost. I also do not understand why so many complain about the cost of the appraisal fees, the appraisal fee I was charged, $425.00 is the average fee for every appraisal I have ever had on a property. I will say that they are thorough and they want a lot of documentation, but which lending institution doesn’t after all the past trouble with foreclosures. As for what service they have provided for me, they closed my loan within thirty days at the promised rate and fees and that is with a delay from the appraiser getting the report back to them. I cant say anything truly negative about Amerisave.

  • Adam October 29, 2013, 7:47 am

    Hi All,

    I did not read every single comment posted, but at first glance it appears that Amerisave has a lot of things going against them. I think that unhappy consumers may be more inclined to post comments compared to satisfied consumers.
    I live in Massachusetts, and not sure if its due to our state laws for consumer protection, but I’ve refinanced with Amerisave twice now, and haven’t had any issues. Yes. The paperwork is cumbersome, but that is not an exception to Amerisave. The appraisal is necessary for ‘lock-in’, but that is to ensure that the 80/20 criteria is met, and no PMI would be necessary. All part of the terms.
    I find their document uploading feature, and ‘stoplight’ loan status indicators are useful features.
    My first experience with a home loan (not with Amerisave), I paid 1/2 point to get a lower rate because I felt that the rates were as low as it could ever get. I was wrong, and within 1 year, the rates were even lower. Based on this experience of poor decision making, it became about ensuring that I get a lower rate, as well as not paying a single dime for closing cost. With Amerisave, you need ~$2000 credit. So just check their website, examine the rate that provides the $2k credit, and see if the rates are favorable. You may have to cough up money for escrow, but you’ll get that back from your current lender, so its a wash.

    Overall, I’m very satified to do business with Amerisave, and would not hesitate to call them should the rates go lower (very doubtful now).

  • Heather C. January 17, 2014, 11:34 pm

    hi….really great post.Thank you all for the helpful comments.

  • Ted February 6, 2014, 2:42 am

    I have to agree that one thing is suspicious with all the negative complaints. I’m closing nowadays on my loan with Amerisave with the speed I bolted in on my initial visit to the web site. I even have already received my Department of Housing and Urban Development and every one the fees square measure as in agreement yet.

  • Diana Martin May 29, 2014, 7:16 pm

    I wanted to refi my 1st only and leave heloc open as it is estranged husband’s debt. I specifically asked prospective lenders if they are willing to subordinate the loan with the holder of the 2nd. I even asked if there was a situation where they would not subordinate. They only said “it just depends on the other bank’s policy regarding subordination.” The loan-to value ratio is an incredibly low 16.7%! my credit rating is 780. After three weeks of the most rigorous document demand of any closing I’ve ever been through (including 3 business property closings) they denied me because the heloc had a pre-payment penalty. They won’t subordinate when there is a pre-paymment penalty. They conveniently forgot to tell me that when I *very specifically* asked about subordination and what would prevent subordination. Two bankers at Wells Fargo told me AmeriSave never even *requested* subordination, only *payoff* information. Secondly, I’m in the 2nd year of the heloc and the pre-payment is a whopping $500 at this point. And besides, *I was not going to prepay* Can you say *smoke screen* *only interested in the up-front fee*? Plus they recently lost a lawsuit regarding other misrepresentations. Beware! If already in process get a Buyer’s closing attorney and owner’s title insurance to protect yourself at the very least!

  • April April 29, 2020, 11:49 am

    I started the process of refinancing my home with amerisave in February. Due to the coronavirus things like inspections and appraisals went rather slow but I had immediately signed a rate lock at 3.8% when we started the process. Finally we were going to
    Close the last week of April the day before I was supposed to pay my current mortgage which they had told me not to pay because they had included it in the payoff amount. After not hearing from them I decided I better call and see how things were going. All of a sudden there was a problem with my loan my rate had jumped up to 4.375% which was the same rate I already had with my current mortgage. Im glad I decided to call so I can cancel the whole process and just pay my mortgage on time instead of listening to them and not paying it at all this month. I am now sticking with my current lender and am extremely upset at amerisave because they were misleading and had no problem with my home or mortgage rate until the last possible moment. So basically the rate lock is a scam and means absolutely nothing to anyone at this company. Just because you sign that piece of paper means absolutely nothing when closing rolls around.

  • Sala M September 24, 2020, 7:39 pm

    I applied to refinance my home with AmeriSave. I submitted all requested docs along with $500 fee I called often and he always replied politely yes we are waiting for underwriter to finish everything everything looks great. The week that closing was suppose to happen the rep was out of office for a week. I emailed his supervisor he didn’t bother to email me back few days later they send me automatic indicating I was denied due to incomplete application.

  • sean January 20, 2021, 2:51 pm

    The WORST customer service. I have a credit rating over 800…I have very low debt of 7% my gross monthly…and half of that is the mortgage I am doing a refi for…so I could actually easily approve for FOUR TIMES THE MORTGAGE, yet underwriting keeps asking for the same docs OVER AND OVER…they all have to be within 20 days of closing and they take so long they keep expiring. I will NEVER go with this company again and I STRONGLY suggest u pay an extra .2% interest and go with a better company like Quicken. Just awful.

  • David Holley February 3, 2022, 12:14 pm

    I fell for their bait and switch and for the $500 fee.
    They jerked me around for over six months and got my credit file and documents crossed with someone else. They started asking questions about other companies that I am not connected with and even sent me financial documents from this other company to verify. When I confronted them, they immediately sent me a denial on my loan. They had even changed themselves as the payee on my property insurance before approving the loan. It’s been a mess since trying to unravel their unprofessional and unethical practices. Stay far away

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