marketleader
Birmingham,#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sat, June 11, 2011
A few things here...
I worked for Amerisave for 3 years after working for Wells Fargo and Countrywide previously. Amerisave has far superior standards, technology, customer service, lower rate and fees, and business practices than the Wells Fargo or Countrywide whom at the time were two of the largest lenders in the country. Amerisave is far smaller in comparison but far more reputable.
1) During my tenure Amerisave was closing around 3,000-5,000 loans per months among 120 sales reps which is amazing and of those loans around 80% of them were closing within 10-20 days which is unheard of in the industry today given new regulation requirements and high demand due to lower rates. Keep in mind that not all loans close quickly with no issues. Of that remaining 20% around 5% of them do in fact take anywhere from 60-90 days to close due to major issues or hurdles. In this industry it's virtually unavoidable. Unfortunately it sounds like you were among that few that had issues.
2) You mentioned using GI which I'm assuming you're referring to VA loans which Amerisave does originate. VA loans typically do take longer to close. The reasons why are completely out of Amerisave's control unfortunately. Secondly, all loans have fees or costs associated with them. However, in certain situations you can reduce or eliminate those fees in return for a higher rate in the form of negative points or a lender credit. In other words, some lenders will pay your 3rd party loan fees for you in return for accepting a higher rate. Also, all VA loans require a VA funding fee unless you recieve permenant disability. Nothing is free but for some reasons people don't understand that. Lenders are in business to make money and they do that by charging interest and fees. Otherwise you wouldn't be living in your the home that you live in unless you paid cash for it. There's no such thing as a free lunch and if the lunch is free to you then somebody else is paying for it.
3) During the process you have to acknowledge, fill out, and sign many disclosures and in some cases given the circumstances you have to do that many times. However, this has nothing to do with Amerisave and everything to do with your Federal Government so you'll need to complain about that to them as they believe filling out 40+ pages of garbage protects you as a consumer. HaHa
4) Lastly, mutliple appraisals simply tells me that the appraisals completed did not satisfy the current guideline or regulation requirments. This can be due to many different factors from the condition of the home, lack of comparables, acreage, type of home, etc. This is also 100% out of Amerisave's control and is why they and every other lender charges the appraisal fee upfront in order to cover that costs when these situations arise. For this you can also thank you Federal Government for over regulating the industry and making the refinance process far more complicated than it should be.
Most of these complaints I'm reading should be directed toward due deligence, your state or federal representatives or doing your homework rather than blasting one of the best online lenders in the industry. Lets get our facts straight people!
Good Luck!