Amerisave Mortgage
Reviews and Complaints

I was recently denied a refinance of my home by Amerisave. Their reason for denial was that my documentation was not complete. They made no offer to allow me to submit any information that would comply with their required documentation

I had sent Amerisave many, many personal documents including bank statements, bank account numbers, personal tax information, retirement information, etc., etc.

The list of personal information is quite extensive, potentially compromising ones identity and opening one up to identity theft. I had asked their agent if there was a secure method (besides email or fax) to comply with their requirements. He replied with a negative response (no secure method).

Several times, I asked their agent if I was in compliance with their required documentation. I did not receive a reply addressing my question. He was rather non committal and gave no answer.

I am not sure if the proof photos of my emails loaded properly. Please contact me if they did not and I will try to offer them some other way.

Wish I had read about Amerisave on this website.. This looks like a scam to make money out of Appraisals & application fees without doing any actual service.

I applied for refinance through Amerisave and provided all the documentation on the same day they asked for. I've a credit
score of more than 800. After 2+ months, they came back with loan rejection reason that my new home community has not
sold 70% of the possible homes (56 out of 130 sold as against 91).

I paid for the appraisal and credit history pull expenses (400$). Also, eventhough the home insurance is covered by my Association, they forced me to buy Personal property insurance with 125k limit which costed me additional 500$. I never had to have a Personal property insurance for my current loan with Bank of America. An additional 100$ for Condo questionairre. I lost 1000$ by working with them and also lost my chance of refinancing with other Companies as I wanted to honor my commitment. Rates went down drastically down to 4.25% during this period.

I locked the interest rate on July 26th — 45 day lock and they didn't close the loan within that period. They have a policy of not re-locking the rate when it goes down. But when the rate lock expires, they say it is extended without notifying the customer. No communication goes out unless I follow up with them. One of the worst companies to do Business with.

Found Amerisave online when I was searching for lenders to refinance my house. I should have known that things were too good to be true.

When I first started the application process, the appraiser pressured me to get it done within the first 3 days and he said that was time of the essence. He charged me $500 for it even though the Amerisave website quoted substantially less... I checked today (9/30) and it says $400... so I paid 25% more than their good faith estimate!

This should have been a no-brainer loan...$225K on a home that was appraised at $600K... and I am a full-documentation borrower making well into the 6 digits income.

Slow to respond and after 45 days, they are saying they are not sure about my debt ratio... which hasn't changed when I first got approved for the loan.

They are very slow to respond and though they demand all kinds of stuff. I know that mortgage lenders are getting tougher, but this is incredible. BTW, I'm refinancing a mortgage that I had with Wells Fargo from 2 years ago (when I thought it was much harder to get a loan) but these guys are much worse.

I've probably gotton over a dozen home mortgages over the last 20 years and these guys are easily the worse... and now I'm out the appraisal and who knows what else.

Be careful with these guys!

Amerisave's Teresa Lykstad told me the loan was approved and would settle with a month. I then received a notice of denial by email from Michael Capell. Mr. Capell told me it was the system that kicked out my loan because of the 30 days it was supposed to close in and that Teresa would call me. I emailed her the next day because she did not call me. She emailed, "There is a debt to income issue. Therefore they sent the file back to me. I am trying to work it out. I will be working on your file this weekend to see what I can do with DTI issue. As soon as I do I will have the file reinstated. I will call you Monday." That was Monday the 20th of September and this is the 28th and I have yet to hear from her despite many emails and messages left on voice mail. Yesterday I emailed Michael Capell and he has yet to contact me. I fear the loan has been denied for reasons I am not aware of. I can't imagine how my debt to income ratio became a factor since absolutely nothing has changed. I told the truth and submitted all documents. Beware

Having mortgaged or refinanced several times over the past 25 years, we felt fairly comfortable with the process. So, in spite of the unsettling number of poor reviews we read prior to selecting Amerisave, we were lured by attractive refinance rates and decided to give Amerisave our business. Never again. Fortunately, we were able to successfully close our loan last Friday, but the service Amerisave offered throughout the entire process was in every way, substandard.

First, communication was nearly nonexistent. Not only were our phone calls typically unanswered, our emails were acknowledged with "read receipts", but rarely responded to in a timely manner. And when we did receive response, vitally important questions were not addressed. But that was only the tip of the iceberg.

Amerisave took 57 days to complete the process and close our loan. And with phone calls and emails going unanswered, we were never really sure where we were in the process. This was even more frustrating considering the fact that the Amerisave website has a built in Loan Status feature that is designed to keep the client informed throughout the process. Unfortunately, our status was never kept current. In fact today, 6 days after our closing, our loan status still warns that Amerisave urgently needs Compliance Disclosures signed and returned. It also indicates that our title has not been ordered! Note to amerisave: if you are too busy to return phone calls or emails, at the very least, make every effort to keep the clients loan status up-to-date. Otherwise, it becomes a source of angst and disinformation.

Furthermore, despite having had 57 days to process our loan, Amerisave did not deliver our HUD and settlement statements in a timely manner. We received all of our paperwork via email less than 4 hours before our scheduled closing. And when they did arrive, they were incorrect. Taking a quick cursory look at the HUD, I immediately noticed that winter/summer taxes had been added to our principal. When I immediately contacted our loan processor, she acknowledged the mistake and said she would correct and reissue the paperwork. Unfortunately, when the corrected HUD arrived, it was still incorrect; showing summer taxes that had already been paid!

When I promptly emailed our loan representative (with tax payment receipt attached) to bring her attention to the over-charge error, she replied, I believe the HUD Settlement statement is accurate...

The proof was sitting right in front of her!

It took Amerisave 3 more tries to correct the errors and when we finally signed all the papers, the tax foible had STILL not been corrected! The statements we signed at closing DID NOT represent accurate financial information. When Amerisave finally did acknowledge the error, we were emailed a final corrected HUD; two days after we closed! Unfortunately for us, this meant it was too late to deduct the summer tax overpayment from our loan amount, which in turn, increased our principal.

I might also mention that during the last-minute rush to closing, Amerisave mistakenly emailed me another clients Final HUD statement! No further comment necessary.

Also be aware that the Up-Front settlement fees that Amerisave touts on their website are anything but Up-Front. The origination fee for example, can and will change by the time you close your loan. We were distraught by the fact that we had absolutely no control over our Rate Lock. Apparently, out rate locked at the very moment underwriting approved our loan. I say APPARENTLY because no one explained the process and we obviously had no control in the process.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this experience has to do with our final Origination Fee. Obviously, your loan origination fee is an important consideration in choosing a lender and/or interest rate. When Amerisave notified us that our rate locked, effective 08/03/10, I immediately went to their website to find out what the advertised loan origination fee was for that particular day. It was $297.85 So, I copied the information (their webpage) and emailed it to myself for reference and verification.

We would later discover that THE Amerisave actual origination fee for 08/03/10 was something quite different: $626.08. We protested, sending Amerisave a copy of the webpage I saved on 08/03/10. But it would have absolutely no bearing on the matter. Amerisave explained that origination fees can change throughout the day and that my loan-to-value could also have a final affect on the rate. (Remember that THEY increased my loan amount when they added my Summer taxes to the loan amount!) Whats the bottom line? The borrower has no control over the final origination fee. Amerisave would like to make you think you do, but you are completely at their mercy.

Stay away from Amerisave. They will rip you off. They are deceptive and should be shut down by the regulators. They waisted hours of my time. This is a high-pressure scam operation.

Here is a summary:
- I saw a great rate (4.375) on a 30 year loan
- I entered all my information online and paid the $35 credit check fee.
- I provided full documentation including income, assets, 2nd heloc, etc.
- I was preapproved for the loan and then was pressured to pay $625 for an appraisal by the mortgage processor.
- I did not pay the appriasal fee yet because I wanted a rate lock first.
- About a week later they called me and said that they could lock
in the rate, so I paid the $625.
- The appraiser came and the house was appraised at the appropriate value (1.23M for a 729000 loan)
- All lights were green and I was expecting a smooth close
- Then, nothing. Day after day, no communication from Amerisave. A month pasted.
- Everytime I asked them something he would say that the Sales Manager is talking to the investors trying to get an exception.
- W-T-F? What exception? Oh, apparently now my second heloc from Wells is a problem because it has a prepayment penalty of $500 (a fannie may guideline). They did not tell me this before they waisted my time.
- I know that they are lying about this because I just refinanced 2 months ago from another lender (aimloan.com) and this was not an issue.
- I have told Amerisave to F*Off and I am back refinancing with aimloan.com again.

Beware, do not fall prey to them. Protect your time and money. Look at all of the other horrible feedback online. I think the only good feedback has been created by Amerisave.

STAY AWAY FROM AMERISAVE!

Prior to spending any money, even on a credit report, ask for a copy of the mortgage contract in advance. They will tell you they are unable to until you apply, but that is crap. They can give you basic details using your city, state and loan type. Amerisave refused to even respond to my request. I talked to Sean Park (Atlanta, GA) who assured me that I would be given every piece of info I wanted prior to starting but then I never heard from him or Amerisave again. Beware of anyone who won't provide basic info aside from government mandated disclosures. Beware.

Do not use this company until you go on line and research them. they will give you a lock in rate and then lose all the paper work and stall until it expires and then tell you either pay the higher rate or pay them 500. I can document this with all the emails they send me.
I could go on and on about how they do not have an office but they all work out of thier homes and will not call you once you sign the papers.
So beware

xx:
your e-mail says I have not finished the application..
xx:
Are you there?
Josh:
What is your email?
xx:
[protected]@yy.com
Josh:
You'll have to forgive my response time - I am very busy.
Josh:
You need to complete a 3rd application... the 2nd one has not also expired.
xx:
why?
Josh:
You need to complete the application in FULL - including the appraisal.
xx:
I just got 2nd one couple days ago?
xx:
What do you mean why? ---- because you didn't complete it...
xx:
once I finished application it does not say to anything
xx:
I been waiting for good rate to lock..
xx:
You need to select a rate when you apply... there is no point apply until you are ready to proceed.
xx:
I wanted get pre-qualified..it does not say to you have lock right away..
xx:
how long do I have once I get pre qualify to lock the rate?
xx:
when I ask one of AmerSave agent, he said there is no time limit..
xx:
That is not correct.
xx:
You need to select a rate within 48 hours - That rate will not be locked in but that allows us to generate your loan disclosures.
xx:
where on web site this item is mentioned?
Josh:
I am not going in circles with you... do some research, it is a RESPA law..
Josh:
Have a good day;l
Josh has left the conversation. Currently in room: XX.

I was planning on writing a full length dissertation on how incredibly dishonest Amerisave is but after reading all the other complaints it appears its already been done. I will say this...my "Sr Loan Specialist" Mark Metzger was the epitome of a "shady" saleman with avoiding phone contact and criptic 4 and 5 word answers when asked about possible changes in closing cost or recieving a good faith estimate. Yup...he refused to give me a good faith estimate stating in an email that "all costs are on our website". Once my wife and I realised the scam that was in progress we actual starting sending Hank questions via email to see how criptic and few word answers he could muster...it was actually kinda fun...but I digress...needless to say AVOID AVOID AVOID these guys. You have been warned!

I was in the process of refinancing my mortgage and looking for the BEST rates available. I already was about to close with another lender when I saw an AD for amerisave.

I took a look at it and contacted amerisave and began asking questions.

I spoke with a gentleman with the initials HM (name not disclosed for privacy) there from the start. From April 20-23, I have 43 emails in my INBOX from HM.

The very first one starts with this question I asked: "A bank gave me a new refi offer of 4.375%,
$2263 monthly total with tax and escrow, And 15yr term. Can you do better?"

HMs response was: "of course click on the link below to get rates"

So from there the emails began. I am not a broker nor do I know much about mortgages, rates, and so on, so I proceeded to ask every detail I was confused about. I did not want to LOSE out on my other lender and needed to make sure amerisaves pricing is actually what they tell me before I paid any fees.

After several emails and a few phone conversations, HM sent me this email: "Go ahead and complete the application and pay for the appraisal. Call me if you have any questions."

Still not convinced, I did more research and continued with my emails to HM. Email after email, HM was persistant. I kept asking him are there any hidden fees, anything that can change my rate once I paid, he kept insisting that is what it is. The application states to enter your home value and loan needed. How do I know my home value? I can only go by what I have on my paperwork from my last appraisal, right?

Only two years ago I did my mortgage and Chase appraised my home for $350K. So all I did is enter this info in the application. HM NEVER told me if your home value dropped then the rates will be higher than what you see. He just wanted to lure me in so kept pushing the LOW rates on me. So being unaware of this, I finally ended up paying the fees and applied. After 43 emails of HM telling me he has a better rate, and before the appraisal came, he REDID the quote for me at $2233/mo, and I was satisfied. But once the appraisal returned at $285k, the monthly rate was MUCH higher!

I requested for a refund, but was totally declined. I told them I was mislead and misguided. Amerisave did not want to listen to anything. I even told them my other lender appraised my home for $335k. This was like taking candy from a baby for them. I am clueless when it comes to mortgages. It was HMs job to tell me what surprises lies ahead and certain criteria needs to be met before those rates apply. I was not steered properly.

I would keep away from this company totally. I wish I can post my 43 emails to show you just how badly I was lead. THanks

Steer clear of Amerisave! If you fill out the on-line inquiry you get bombarded with emails and phone calls from them. They talk a good game, and if you decide to do a refinance with them they require your credit card number up front to charge you for a credit report fee. Then comes the $425 fee that you have to pay their appraisor, who appraises your home value super LOW. I cancelled my refinance with them within a week and a charge for $500 appeared on my credit card for "mortgage services". When I questioned them I was told it was for them "locking in" a rate for me! No matter that an escrow file was never even opened due to my cancellation so early on...these people are scam artists at best. Go to a REPUTABLE mortgage company instead.

BEWARE - Amerisave Mortgage engages in deceptive and unethical business practices.

Easily qualifying for a cash-out refinance loan, I was offered competitive rates and terms from Amerisave -- too good, it turns out for Amerisave. AFTER paying $400 for the required appraisal, Amerisave changed their rules, contradicted their loan officer and backed away from the loan.

Any responsible company would cover their error and make good on behalf of a client that was mislead. Amerisave is not such a company.

I have never been scammed until we decided to trust these decietful people. We like everyone else got "pre-qualified" and paid the upfront app fee and appraisal fee. They hired an appraiser to do the appraisal (that we had paid for) and then decided they would do an inhouse appraisal based off computerized info (all incorrect, they had us with a 2 bedroom house when we have a 5 bedroom house) "to make sure the appraiser did a good job" all of the sudden I get an email telling e that they are refusing to use the appraisal from the appraiser they hired, they dropped the appriasal by 35, 000 and told us they could not do the refinance as our appaisal was not high enough... the best part is they refuse to refund the money for the appraisal they insisted we do using the appraiser they hired! Of course no one will talk to us or return our calls, the most we have gotten is an email saying they would not refund the appraisal fee. If they are going to use a computerized in house appraisal, why do they have us pay for a legitimate appraisal? do yourself a favor and shop around, believe what people are telling you here. They are taking advantage of people getting 400 bucks from you and then deciding if they will make enough money on your loan and if not... they find a reason to decline your loan... tjere are plenty of legitimate loan programs out there that do not make a living scamming people. hey claim to have an A rating with BBB and when I filed my complaint... they do not even have a rating! Oh and by the way one of the "managers" that emailed me told me they respond to "all the complaints" that they get on BBB and elsewhere... that says enough..."all the complaints we get" I don't think most people are just filing complaints with the BBB unless they feel they have truly been scammed and clearly they have plenty of compaints filed. I will find any site I can to let people know what type of company this is, taking advantage of people who work hard for their money is disgraceful!

I wish I had found this complaint board before applying for a loan with Amerisave. I have been in the real estate business for 17 years and have never had such a bad experience with a mortgage company. Once they have your credit card, they stop anwsering their phone. I sent the information that they requested only to have them ask for more and more. I complied, faxing document after document. This was a total waste of time. They didn't even fill out the paper work correctly...like left off my income...dud! The loan processor is always "out of office" when I send her an e-mail. On top of that they want to charge me an extension fee of $375 because it has been more than 30 days since I locked the rate. I was promised one rate and closing cost but are now being told it has adjusted. You can't trust these people they are fast talking scam artist. I have no idea how they have stayed in business?

Twice now this company has maneuvered to remove legitimate posts to other forums about the deceitful employment practices. I am reposting here to alert the public and future employees of their lies.

Want to know what Amerisave truly pays it's loan officers? Refer to this sales speech below with my note with a * next to each section

AS Mgt: We are lowering the loan loss reserve from 30 basis points down to 20 basis points.
* 20% off of LOAN VALUE, not markup+YSP. Previously it was 30%.

AS Mgt: We are also increasing the pay for outside sales to a true 70% or 80% (no longer taking 20% off the top and paying 74% of 80% but rather paying a true 70% or 80% as long as you do $5, 000 for 70% and 10k for 80% in revenue which is only approximately 2 to 4 loans a month.

* You will be fired if you only do 2 to 4 loans a month. I was terminated for low production and had closed consistently anywhere from 5 - 8 loans per month with my last month closing four. The real reason was my "revenue" was almost zero due to Amerisave Underwriting jerking around my perfect clients for months to the point that I could not consciously charge them sometimes up to three lock extension fee's because they had provided everything needed up front. So I paid for the lock extensions by reducing revenue.

AS Mgt: We couldn’t pay enough under the old system for production because we had obligated out so much in the generational overrides.

*They pay out overrides to upper management. That is why they take such a HUGE cut right off the top based on loan amount and not revenue.

Example:

Your Commission Rate 22.00% *Inside sales commission structure
Loan Amount $500, 000.00
Revenue (Markup) $2625.00 * 0.725% markup = $3625, but they take $1000 off your revenue for "processing" and they list the rest as revenue for you on your pipeline report.

Commissions
Gross Loan Markup $2624.00
- Loan Loss Reserve (30 basis points) 1, 500.00
Field Commissions $1124.00
x Commission Rate 22%
Paid to Originator $247.28Commission Statement Details
Revenue Listed * $1124.00
Commission Listed $247.28

Your actual commission is: 6.8% NOT 22% (3624.00/500, 000 = 6.8%)

It gets worse: This loan was hedged... when Amerisave sold it, it was sold to a different investor who paid higher than original pre-lock investor, and the actual revenue was 2.534250% which works out to $12, 671 in ACTUAL REVENUE that Amerisave made on this loan, but only paid me on the pre-locked pricing. When questioned on this, they said they pay employee's on pre-locked pricing... not ACTUAL revenue received on the loan. So my actual pay on this was: 1.952% (247.28 / 12, 671 = 1.952%)!

They are all about PROFITS FOR UPPER MANAGEMENT, push the sales people HARD constantly for sales, sales, sales and pay them squat! You don't even get any benefits other than they pay your w2 FICA tax. Forget about insurance or anything else if you are not in their corporate office in Atlanta.

Sure wish I had read the complaints before I let the "high pressure, used car salesman" hook me for the credit check and apprasial.

After several unreturned calls and emails, to Jerry Vichcales, I finally was told that Jerry was laid off. He had promised me the rate was loecked in at 4.625% for 30 yrs and had taken Apprisal and credit check fee. Then after 3-4 weeks I started inquiring then they told me that Jerry has been laid off and my rate was not locked, they only lock in the rate, once they recieve ok from my second mortgage, it was company policy.. WHICH THEY FORGOT TO MENTION, NOT ONLY THAT THEY HAD FIRED their own employee and forgot to mention to me. As a result the rates went up and I was stuck with $425 bill. After couple of months, they HAD THE GUTS TO DENY MY APPLICATION SAYING IT WAS INCOMPLETE...I URGE ALL FELLOW AMERICANS...BE AMERICAN AND NEVER REFINANCE WITH THE CON CALLED AMERISAVE!... SAVE YOURSELF THE TIME AND ENERGY