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AmeriSave Mortgage Review: Pioneer of the Digital Mortgage?

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While perhaps not a major household name yet, there’s a good chance you’ll stumble upon AmeriSave if actively shopping your home loan.

They have quite a presence online and are a top-rated mortgage lender with LendingTree, despite a lack of physical branches and national advertising campaigns.

In August 2021, the company inked its first partnership with a professional sports organization, the Miami Dolphins.

They will receive prominent branding at Hard Rock Stadium, along with marketing spots on radio broadcasts and team content.

Let’s get some more background on AmeriSave to see if they could be a good choice for you.

Table of Contents

Who Is AmeriSave?
What Does AmeriSave Mortgage Offer?
AmeriSave Rate Match Guarantee
$500 Application Fee
AmeriSave Mortgage Rates
AmeriSave Reviews
AmeriSave Pros and Cons
AmeriSave vs. loanDepot

Who Is AmeriSave Mortgage Corp.?

  •  Direct-to-consumer mortgage lender that offers home purchase and refinance loans
  • Founded in 2002, based in Atlanta, Georgia
  • Has originated over $55 billion in home loans on over 230,000 properties
  • Claims to have pioneered digital loan origination process
  • Licensed in 49 states and D.C. (not available in NY)

AmeriSave Mortgage Corp. is a direct-to-consumer mortgage lender lender based in Atlanta, Georgia that has been around since early 2002.

They refer to themselves as a fintech company responsible for “pioneering the first truly digital mortgage experience,” a claim Rocket Mortgage might disagree with.

Regardless, they are a mortgage lender that lives online, which hopefully means they can pass the savings of brick and mortar expenses on to you.

Over the past decade, AmeriSave has “invested heavily in its proprietary technology” to create a “highly automated” loan process, similar to other fintech lenders like Better Mortgage and Figure.

The company says many of its customers choose to go the “self-serve” route for all or most of their transaction thanks to the intuitive loan origination platform in place.

AmeriSave is licensed in 49 states and the District of Columbia, with New York the only state they don’t lend in.

Since inception, they have funded over $55 billion in home loans on over 230,000 properties nationwide.

In January 2019, they acquired the origination business of The Money Source (TMS), which had been a growing force online as well.

AmeriSave took on some TMS employees and their Plano, Texas and Chandler, Arizona offices via the acquisition, with expected volume of $1.5 billion for 2019.

They also have a wholesale lending arm that works directly with mortgage brokers, so it’s possible your loan could come from AmeriSave if you use a broker.

What Does AmeriSave Mortgage Offer?

  • Home purchase or refinance loans
  • Conventional (Fannie/Freddie) and jumbo loans
  • Government loans including FHA, USDA, and VA
  • Fixed-rate loans: 30-year, 15-year, 25-year, 20-year, and 10-year fixed
  • ARMs: 5/1, 7/1, and 10/1 varieties
  • Home equity lines of credit (HELOC)
  • Personal loans

AmeriSave has all the typical loan options you’d expect from a national direct lender, including home purchase, rate and term, and cash out refinances.

They recently launched a suite of home buyer perks including a certified approval letter, certified closing promise, and a lock & shop option.

All three can make you a stronger candidate in a bidding war, or simply give you peace of mind that you qualify for a mortgage if and when you find your dream home.

In terms of loan type, they offer both conforming and jumbo loans, along with government loans such as FHA, USDA, and VA loans.

You can get a fixed-rate mortgage in 30- or 15-year terms, along with less common loan terms of 10, 20, and 25 years.

With regard to their adjustable-rate mortgages, they offer the 5/1, 7/1, and 10/1, which are the most popular available.

They have caps of 2/2/5, meaning the most they can adjust initially is 2%, then 2% periodically, and up to 5% during the life of the loan.

The company also offers a home equity line of credit (HELOC) if you need cash, but don’t want to lose the low fixed interest rate on your first mortgage.

Lastly, they just launched personal loans up to $50,000 loan amounts that come with a fixed rate and a 3-, 5-, or 7-year term.

AmeriSave Lock & Drop Program

In February 2023, AmeriSave launched the “Lock & Drop Program,” which a temporary mortgage rate buydown.

The way it works is simple. You get a 1% rate reduction the first year of your mortgage term. So if you qualify for a rate of 6%, you’ll get a rate of 5% in year one.

This is known as a 1-0 buydown. And it is a lender-paid buydown, meaning AmeriSave covers the cost.

Of course, be sure to compare their mortgage rates to competitors, as the cost could be passed along to consumers.

In conjunction with this new offer, they are extending a $750 credit that can be applied towards a future refinance transaction.

If mortgage rates drop and you refinance with them, you can qualify for that credit as well.

AmeriSave Rate Match Guarantee

Like some other mortgage lenders, AmeriSave offers a Rate Match Guarantee if you find a better deal elsewhere.

Here’s how it works. Once your mortgage rate is locked with AmeriSave, you are given three calendar days to shop around with other lenders to find a better deal.

If you’re able to locate a better deal for the same loan terms in which you locked, they will either match it or give you $500 if you go with the other lender.

The guarantee applies to both purchase loans and refinances, but excludes jumbo loans and ARMs.

It’s a tricky situation though because you aren’t given much time to shop, and they seem to charge a $500 non-refundable application fee.

So if anything, you’d maybe get that fee back if you found a more competitive lender to work with.

$500 Application No Longer Charged

At last glance, AmeriSave had an A+ Rating with the Better Business Bureau, but it doesn’t take into account customer reviews.

In terms of customer reviews, they have 4.09/5 stars on the BBB website. A good share of their negative reviews seem to stem from their non-refundable deposit taken at loan application.

As of August 10th, 2022, they no longer charge this fee.

Prior to this change, they used to collect the $500 non-refundable application fee to cover loan processing and other “miscellaneous costs” incurred by the company.

Assuming you closed your loan with AmeriSave, they would refund the fee at closing and it would be reflected on the Closing Disclosure (CD).

For the record, it’s not uncommon for lenders to charge these fees, either for rate locks or appraisals, but not all lenders impose them.

Other complaints are related to the home appraisal fee they charge, which varies in cost by loan.

It appears that those who complained on the BBB about either the $500 deposit or the appraisal fee received a refund in many cases.

AmeriSave Mortgage Rates

Another plus is that AmeriSave openly advertises their mortgage rates on their website. Or at least a couple sample rates.

In order to view their daily rates, simply click on “rates” from the top navigational menu.

If you want a more personalized quote, you have to complete a short questionnaire that is akin to a mortgage lead form.

It should be noted that the sample rate comes with loan assumptions, but on the day of this review, it was a 30-year fixed loan set at 2.125%, which is pretty ridiculously low.

Digging into the fine print, it was based on a hypothetical loan with a $250,000 loan amount set at 80% LTV with a 740 FICO score.

Oh, and it was for a refinance on an owner-occupied, single family home with lots of discount points being paid.

Still, it sounds pretty competitive relative to what else is out there. But your rate will vary based on your own unique loan parameters.

By the way, you should actively shop your mortgage if you want to save money – there are legitimate studies that prove you can save real money by doing so.

AmeriSave Reviews

AmeriSave comes highly rated on the LendingTree platform, with a 4.7 out of 5 score from nearly 11,000 customer reviews.

Not only that, but they also claimed the #1 spot for customer satisfaction for home lending in the first quarter of 2021. And also the #1 spot in Q4 2020 and Q3 2020.

On Zillow, they have a 4.66-star rating out of 5 from about 2,000 customer reviews, which is pretty solid.

It’s possible to see who the customers worked with if you want to fine-tune the reviews and perhaps ask to work with the highest-ranking individual.

Over at Google, they have a less convincing 3.9-star rating from about 1,700 reviews, which I’d consider average-to-good. Somewhat of a mixed bag.

The company is also accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has been since 2020. They currently hold an ‘A+’ rating based on customer complaint history.

AmeriSave has a 4.09/5 rating on the BBB website from roughly 3,100 reviews, which is pretty good for a more complaint-driven site.

AmeriSave Pros and Cons

The Good

  • Offer what appear to be competitive mortgage rates
  • Can apply online in minutes and close quickly
  • Digital process – can link financial accounts via AccountChek by FormFree
  • Plenty of loan options to choose from including HELOCs
  • May retain and service your loan (as opposed to selling it to a third party)
  • Could be a good choice for those with straightforward loan scenarios (good credit, lower LTVs, W-2 employment)
  • Mostly excellent reviews from past customers
  • Claimed top spot for customer satisfaction on LendingTree in Q1 2021, Q4 2020, and Q3 2020
  • A+ BBB rating

The Potential Bad

  • Numerous customer complaints on BBB website

AmeriSave vs. loanDepot

AmeriSaveloanDepot
Digital applicationYesYes
Branch locationsNoYes
Loan types offeredConventional, FHA, USDA, VA, jumboConventional, FHA, VA, jumbo
Minimum FICO score600580
Application feen/an/a
Will service your loan?YesYes
Loyalty programNoYes
Licensed to do business in…49 states and D.C.All 50 states and D.C.
BBB ratingA+A+
Zillow rating4.7/5 from 2,000 reviews4.88/5 from 4,700 reviews

If you’ve been shopping your home loan, you may have also come across loanDepot.

They are similar to AmeriSave in that they’re a direct lender, but they also have physical branches across the country.

Another differentiating factor is that AmeriSave offers USDA loans, while loanDepot does not.

However, AmeriSave isn’t licensed in the state of New York.

At loanDepot, you can get a mortgage with a slightly lower credit score, and they offer a loyalty program to customers who refinance in the future.

Other than that, both come highly-rated and are BBB accredited with A+ ratings.

41 thoughts on “AmeriSave Mortgage Review: Pioneer of the Digital Mortgage?”

  1. Terrible experience. I started an application for refinance. I was greeted with stellar customer service by rep. Peyton Chapman. He presented with many promises up front, including working around specific procedures to get this application moving as quickly as possible (specifically, getting an appraisal waiver, but still charging me for this with total fees and expenses) giving the impression this will be the case throughout. Promises of specific exclusive rates, fees and waivers of fees including a refund of a $500.00 deposit. Informed that there was not way to proceed without a $500 deposit. I was told that this was non-refundable, but also informed that this will be refunded at the end of the transaction. I was also told that this was to replace the appraisal waiver (which is contradictory as it was waived). After paying the deposit, this representative disappeared as if he never existed on earth. No response to phone calls or voicemails. This continued to be the theme with other representatives I was able to reach either getting hung up on, or transferred and dropping the call. My initial gut was this seemed to be a scam of some sort to sweet talk into paying for the deposit, but never fulfilling their promise or services and being unreachable nor have reached out whatsoever once receiving the deposit. I have attempted to cancel my loan application and get refunded but was unsuccessful as I am getting the run around and speaking with staff who present as oblivious to any situation and no effort to assist whatsoever aside from offering to transfer the call (to no one as it is then dropped). After this, I researched reviews regarding Amerisave and came to find that this was not new practices and there are a plethora of complaints akin to mine. This of course, reinforced the notion of unethical practices by this corporation including a lawsuit in 2014 which cites the specific concerns I have noted above and was deemed then as “illegal practices.” I then spoke with Quicken loans to get a comparison and was told by the loan officer that he was “shocked” at the low rates Amerisave was offering. This again reinforced the notion of the classic bait and switch scheme which this company seems to adopt. They quoted me with a great interest rate at 2.5% but was told this could not be “locked.” With added concerns from research indicating past bait and switch operations in this nature by Amerisave, having Quicken Loans representative report he was shocked of how low this rate is and it was not normal, and with the rate not being locked and getting no response, the only logical thought is this will turn into a bait and switch down the line. Since receiving my deposit of $500, there has been a lot of inaction and unresponsiveness from Amerisave staff altogether. With a reputation of getting customers to invest with fees upfront, they use this leverage to change the price and quotes when it becomes time to sign. After speaking with a couple of different companies about interest rates, I received the same response “that rate seems to good to be true.” In attempting to speak with a representative from Amerisave to clear this up, I have not been able to reach anyone, and when I contact customer service line, I am transferred to no one and the call ends. This occurred 4 times. I also left several messages and emails for other loan officers through Amerisave with no luck. Lastly, the explanation of new costs by representative Peyton Chapman was poor as he could not explain how my payments were lowered by $170 monthly, but the reduced interest cost added up to $100.

  2. I got a quote from Amerisave today. They began the application, and I was able to access the initial Loan Estimate without paying the $500 application fee.

    However, like the commenter before me, I was also told that my rate could not be locked, and that they would float it until 10 days before closing. If I proceed farther with Amerisave, I will insist that the rate be locked.

  3. Yeah, I just closed. The lack of communication was horrendous. All good in the end, but lots of emails requesting the CD numbers match phone discussions. Lock disclosure was different than discussed. $500 app fee with no refund kept appearing on the closing disclosures. Finally his boss allowed him to remove $500 from the discount points to get it right…1 day before closing. Nightmare but great rate/terms. Surprised it actually turned out. Think I got lucky that rates stayed low.

  4. Similar experience as DMAN. The rates are extremely good, but you had better be prepared work to get them. Otherwise you might as well abandon your $500 application fee. Sometimes the phones don’t work and sometimes the emails are not answered in a timely manner. There is no reason to get upset at them. They may be overworked! If you make sure that they never forget you (keep in contact every other day if needed) and kindly stay on top of them, they won’t forget you and you will close on your mortgage. Best Wishes!

  5. I had a horrible experience with them. Once they got the appraisal done I could never get a return call, text, or email. Worst customer service ever. I would go with another lender.

  6. I just closed last Saturday. Similar experiences to those above. My rate never changed from the initial estimate despite daily mortgage rates changing down, way up, then down again. I feel good about the rate and handling the document submittal was easy. I closed with a notary that came to the house. 30 min top.

    Similar to others, communication shut off after the deposit was paid. Texts or emails for info I would respond immediately with a question and would never get answered.

    Application to close was about 5 weeks for me. I had a little but of an unusual situation with proof of funds that added about a week.

    I did receive some contact from a loan processor, (not my originator), that was very helpful about a month into the process.

    My rate savings of 1.5% versus my prior mortgage was enough to make the hassle worth it. I would push through it if you are fairly certain the savings will be worth the headache.

  7. Is there anything you would do differently or recommend to do about the whole experience? How did you get them to refund the $500 app fee? I was shocked to hear it was so much. I didn’t have to pay for the appraisal because I had one done in 2018 when I refinanced then. I just paid the app fee today. And signed everything. Now I am getting ready to send the documents. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am doing this on my own and only have my 2018 refinance experience with my banker that was horrible. Thanks!

  8. Hey Donna,

    In general, the best approach with mortgage lenders is getting them all the required documentation ASAP and ensuring you satisfy each and every condition they ask for without delay. While there can certainly be fault on both sides, borrowers who are proactive and fill out complete applications and provide all required documents tend to have the best experience. Also don’t forget to decide whether to lock/float your rate! Good luck.

  9. Thank you for that. I just got off the phone with someone else in the company because I already keep getting my person’s voicemail. I asked about the float and locked rate thing. Mine is floating, but he explained that as long as I had my 31 page loan estimate they will go off of that if the rate goes up. If it gets lower/better they will honor the new rate/cost. Did you run into that or did they not honor that ? These are the kinds of things that worry me.

    I was also told that their loan reps are all working from home right FYI. That might also be why things are taking longer for them. All of my documentation, they were already able to see from being in the system. I guess some things they have access to. Then I already uploaded insurance and other statements. My insurance agent was in contact with my guy too. We heard back from loan guy but now I am worried what else could make things take a long time like other reviews stated. And that $500, wouId love to know more about how I get that back. Thanks

  10. I was told that I cannot lock my rate until I get a processor. They said that could take 3 weeks. My rate itself will not change, but the amount I pay for the rate can keep going up. It can go down too. But I want to lock it today. Does anyone know if this is really true with this company or is there a way of getting this locked today? Sorry I don’t remember this happening with my previous home buying. I didn’t know if that is one of things that goes on with doing this online as opposed to in person. Thanks for the help.

  11. Donna,

    That’s a new phenomenon in the industry due to capacity issues – lenders are so busy they don’t want to lock rates too far out in the loan process.

  12. I will still get the rate that I want. But not sure what it is going to cost me. That bothers me but way faster than dealing with anyone locally because of Covid. Thank you for your advice. I will post when everything is said and done about my whole experience.

  13. didn’t pay any application fee, looks like a VERY good rate, but after a month, still hasn’t made it to underwriting! Very slow, Very poor communications, rep won’t answer email for several days. Several really oddball requirements from them : what exactly is a “Property Tax transcript”? And how about “terms for early withdraw for retirement account ” when I’m over 65. If the loan finally goes thru with the terms given, I’ll be…..satisfied, but not happy over time it takes

  14. I am in the middle of this process right now. Lots of communication at the beginning and now I can’t get any answers to my questions. Won’t call me or return emails. And when I do get an email it doesn’t answer the question I asked.

    I was very upfront about my concern with a rate lock in my initial texting with my loan originator. I kept asking him over and over and he wouldn’t commit, and then he said it would be done TODAY. Of course it’s been almost a month and it still hasn’t happened. I do agree with above poster that most likely the rate that I was guaranteed I will get. But I’ll be paying more in points for it if the rate goes up! So really no guarantee at all.

    I was told that many of the documents I was being asked for were automated and they didn’t apply to me and that he would keep in touch with me directly via email. I sent him everything he asked for but once I got online I realized there were a lot of things they still needed and they were waiting for.

    I am hoping it all turns out in the end but I’m a bit concerned about fees that will be on the ending documents that are not what was promised. And I won’t have any way to get a hold of somebody to get them changed. And while I am fighting them the rates could go up! For instance, I was told that one of my refinances would be a drive by appraisal. Then I got a notification that they couldn’t find an appraiser to go out in the suburbs. The house wasn’t in the suburbs. I also got a notification that the appraisal was now almost $800 even though I was told that the $500 I paid was for the appraisal and that I would not have to pay the application fee. Then I heard from the mortgage company and they wanted to go in the house. This has never been cleared up for me and I am assuming I am going to have an extra $800 fee at closing.

    On the portal there were some documents that needed to be signed and I didn’t sign them because I wanted my loan originator to explain the fees to me. But when I went back it said the documents had been signed!

    I am hoping for a good outcome, but I will tell you that if I had known it was going to be like this I would never have gone with them.

  15. That is true Donna. Even your rate is not locked yet, they will honor that rate. If the rate is lower during closing, the will give you the lower rate. I just got my final docs e-signed where rate was locked. It is also my first time with them and it took me 60 days for this final stage. Now that I have e-signed the locked rate, I am wondering how long and what are the next steps in getting our cash. Most review says a notary agent comes to your house for signatures. I wish they were all online transactions as I am not usually am at home during day time.

  16. The worst experience ever. I think they are scammers. They only want your 500 dollars deposit that they will never refund. They had many promises of low rates in the beginning. It took three months of back and forth demanding the same documents. I was denied after three months of back and forth. Poor communication, and lack of organization. I am glad I did not close with them.

  17. Worst experience ever. After 500.00 payment, bogus excuses, (I’ve been the owner since built) started 08/31/2020. Still waiting for closing date. I’m worried.

  18. I started my application and paid the $500 fee on 10/30. No closing date scheduled yet and my experience is very similar to the others I’ve read above. The loan originator, after being very available during the first few days of document requests, has vanished. The appraisal shows data for a different house! I’ve brought this to their attention twice, in writing, the error has not been acknowledged or corrected. Are these folks scammers?

  19. We need an Amerisave support group. My experience has been the same as those above. I cannot understand what is going on. I applied the refinance in early November. Loan officer very responsive until I paid the $500. Non-responsive and I follow up almost daily but email and voicemail – never get anyone on the phone. All the time customers waste following up with them can totally to used more productively. Such companies should not be allowed to operate because they are a drain on customers time and energy. Complete waste of time. Of course I have absolutely no idea when or if I will ever close. The teaser loans may be good but absolutely not worth the effort even if I get the loan. I may yet pull the plug. The $500 is not even worth all this nonsense!!!

  20. Man, I wish I could have read these first before I decided to go with Amerisave! My experience has passed the 2 month mark now, started middle of November. Some of the docs they ask for are ridiculous. My loan officer either quit or got fired six weeks in. At least I heard from him regularly. Just keep getting more requests for the same stuff just different day. Since they have my $500 maybe they think I will get tired of waiting and go elsewhere.

  21. We FINALLY closed on a re-fi about 3 weeks ago and have not yet received our final loan package. We are self employed, so the entire process took 90+ days of supplying the same info numerous times due to their inability to finalize this deal. The last straw was asking for “verification that the IRS accepted our 2019 tax return”. Really? It was the most frustrating process we have ever encountered and we are very happy to be done with them. However, we still don’t have final documents and were just notified that Amerisave has already sold our loan to Fannie Mae and it will be serviced by Dovenmuehle Mortgage. The saga never ends.

  22. We started our process in November- supposedly in underwriting – no line of site to a closing date as of today 2/8.. Chasing down contact info is a part time job.

  23. I cant imagine their business model is to charge the $ 500 and then delay and hope you pull out. It wouldnt make any sense but thats how it feels. I agree with others the requests from the underwriter are crazy and something i have never dealt with in 30 years of various mortgages. If you are reading this and considering Amerisave stay away at all costs.

  24. Applied for FHA loan. They wanted the $500 lock in rate fee right away. After getting the fee it was like a ghost company. My loan officer never answered the phone or called me back. Multiple Multiple emails with no response. Was told would only get the money back if the loan officer told me something in error. They are only open Monday through Friday 8am-4pm. Very difficult to talk to anyone. I got a quote with quicken loans who are open 24/7. They give you your loan officers name email address and a phone number you can call or text anytime which my loan officer was completely amazing! He was in constant contact and answered every question which was great because this is my first home loan and I’m not familiar with this process. He’s walked me through every single little thing. Also gave me a better rate. He also worked one step ahead of the process and made sure everything including the next step would go Smoothly. He found a caivrs block from a student loan from 20 years ago that no one else mentioned and didn’t show up on any of my credit report files. I was able to clear that up before it even popped up in underwriting before we even started underwriting! They didn’t request the $500 until underwriting started! Like 2 weeks into the process unlike amerisave who wanted it the first day I talked to them. When I went to get my $500 from amerisave it took me over a week to get my loan officer to answer repeated calls and emails. He said it would be closed within 24 hours and refund in 7-14 business days. 2 weeks later still hadn’t closed the loan and no refund. Also no response to emails or calls or voice-mail messages. Tried calling the amerisave hotline but those who answer the phone can’t even see the loan let alone help you. They can only transfer you to the same loan officer who doesn’t answer or return calls. They even emailed his manager multiple times and no response from him either. They put me through to customer service with again no answer with a voicemail that promises a call back by the end of the business day and surprise no return call after three attempts on 3 days in a row. There was one guy who tried to help me but he couldn’t find a real life person who would talk to me. With most people shopping for houses on the weekend who can afford to have a company that’s completely closed on weekends? It was a very bad experience with amerisave and in comparison to quicken loans I dont know why anyone would choose amerisave.

  25. This is a dishonest company, they will not lock your rates (even if they promise it), they will drag the process for as long as they can to get the best rate, FOR THEM. After 6 months, they changed the terms on me, and never informed me. They never give you any information or updates why, always blaming someone or something for the delay. I am cancelling my Refinance with them and will work with someone else. I urge anyone to save your headaches, but if you decide to work with them, make sure to get your term locked and make sure the paperwork states locked rate….

  26. Amerisave is 100% a scam. They will offer you a better rate than anyone else, charge you a $500 non refundable fee, then ignore your emails for weeks. Once rate goes up, they will tell you that you need to pay them $10,000 for them to honor the rate they initially offered. None of their initial disclosures are binding so they can do this scam in total impunity. I hope my loss is your gain, and that you will select a real mortgage company for your refinance needs.

  27. We are going through the same thing. We were given a closing date that came and went, We called her on the closing day and was told it was in underwriting and it would take about 48 hours, Here it is now 7 days later and nothing We can not get our processor or her manager to communicate with us, We did email the loan originator and was told that it was turned over to her, I do not know why a case action lawsuit has not been filed against this company. I emailed her today and told her if we did not hear from her by the end of the day we want our $500 fee back and I was reporting them to the BBB and government for deceptive practices.

  28. I started the loan process on Jan 23rd. It’s now March 25th. Every time I ask if they have everything they need, I am told yes- but there’s always something new. I received an estimate that says “Amounts and interest cannot go up, only down”. I was asked to pay the $500 fee and sign a notice of intent, so that I would drop connections with other lenders.

    The agent kept telling me “I don’t know what’s going on, I can’t imagine why this is taking so long.” Since time was dragging and I didn’t see that we were getting anywhere, I demanded an email stating what I had been told about the estimate, that they would honor it. My agent emailed me not to worry if rates go up, because Amerisave will buy them back down and honor the estimate.

    After ignoring me and allowing weeks to lapse, interest rates started going up. All of a sudden, we actually DID NOT have an agreement. I was mailed a new estimate with 0.5% more interest. I was told by my agent that Amerisave needs to make money in this deal, too. The closing costs are about 12% of the loan (typically they are 2-6%). The most ridiculous part is that I had been warning him that rates were predicted to go up starting in February. His response was that nobody could have known rates would go up. Now how is it possible that in his occupation he wouldn’t have any idea about interest trends???? I, too, had looked at their BBB ratings before choosing them, but this is absolutely a bait-and-switch. Now I owe an extra $16,000 on my loan than I did before. Considering just cutting the ties.

  29. Oh Boy….my situation verbatim…I applied in Dec 2020 here it is March 26,2021 and still going around and around…Constantly adding new “documents needed” “we can’t read what you sent” “the photos were bad” “we could not read the fax.”
    Amerisave paid over 16 mil in costs for bait and hook in 2016. I believe the same practices exist. My unlocked loan at 2.50, suggested by the loan officer AJ.(several times) “Don’t worry the rate will remain the same at closing has now informed me they need more documentation that my 2020 property taxes were paid and the rate would be 2.61.
    I have never been so frustrated or felt more betrayed.
    They have until Mon to get this done or i am going to contact my House Representative and file every complaint I can. It is the principle not the money….I will get my 500.00 back!

  30. WARNING. AVOID AMERISAVE AT ALL COSTS.
    READ ALL THE REVIEWS ARE THEY ARE WARNING YOU OF THE TRUTH. I DIDN’T READ AND I PAID THE PRICE.

    I’m incredibly frustrated, upset, and confused about my experience with Amerisave and with your team, specifically Michelle Clark, and Chris Scianimanico.
    Last week Michelle emailed me on the 24th of March to say the loan is in final underwriting and it should be done “this week” (4th or 5th time I’ve heard that one)I emailed on Friday of last week to ask for an update. No response. I emailed again Monday. No response. I emailed again yesterday. No response. All of these emails were to all 3 of you. All I’m doing is going off of YOUR words and asking for an update based on those words. This is approximately the 15th time that I reached out and have gotten no response back after multiple days.
    Today I find out after calling Michelle that on the 24th the underwriter put in a note that it needs to be restructured. I didn’t get any communication about this at all. And from what Michelle told me, no one took action on it, making this a entire week delay a totally avoidable, a delay upon delay that’s already 8 months into this. This shouldn’t take longer than a pregnancy.
    I have no choice now but to call each of you every single day since I have zero trust or faith that anything will be done or any of my messages will be responded to or even read.
    I also have no choice but to start filing BBB complaints and leaving detailed honest reviews about my experience with your team and you as individuals. I have so much energy from my anger that I will be spending the entire day doing this.I run a business based on integrity, trust and customer satisfaction and I am horrified about how you guys operate. I think everyone else needs to know as well before getting into a deal with Amerisave. The way things are done is totally unacceptable, it feels like a DMV from a 3rd world country but it’s called Amerisave. All you guys have done so far is waste my time, not save.
    I’m sorry about my harsh words but at the same time I’m not. I hope this is the honest feedback you guys need to change your ways.

    Sincerely, Rao Fu

  31. I had a very similar experience to so many other people here. TERRIBLE. Poor communication, poor responsiveness, poor guidance as I went through the process. Not a good experience, and I would not recommend to others.

  32. Horrible experience for my clients just now. The guy told me and my clients that the contract was good on his end, but a month goes by and we still never received even a date for appraisal. The original loan originator that we spoke to we could not get a hold of for weeks then they pass us off to someone else who does not even understand how to read our NH Purchase and sales agreement. Then we were not able to receive a denial letter from them weeks later when the seller got tired of pushing back our commitment date, and they were non responsive again, and never gave us a denial letter just left us out to dry. I reached out constantly and it was if they just disappeared. Horrible experience.

  33. Run Run Run.
    Once you pay the $500 application fee getting any communication is hard. You will get lots of document requests and when you send the documents its like no one is looking at them. They just keep sending the same requests. If you own rental property they can seem to separate it from your personal home. If you own rental property definitely stay away.

  34. Yes everything that the bad reviews are relating about Amerisave is correct: get you in the door, secure your $500 deposit, promise the world and deliver garbage. I closed later than anticipated because of their negligence and incompetence, no communication past “thanks for the application & $” the processor/agent didn’t call or email me back for weeks, on a 4.5 week loan process! the closing rep was almost the same, and finally did just stop replying the last week. Lied about their products, false information on the lock process and rate, false information on the closing date, no closing oversight, no communication or verification on closing, no signed docs yet, I only know I am closed (hopefully!) because my previous loans are paid off but I’ve waited for the SUPERVISOR to call me back for 3 days now after I demanded action & complained to everyone else I had contact info on. Was told I could give them a check for a transfer – nope wire only at the 11th hour! My notary agent was sent the wrong docs. I mean seriously, horrible performance and service, on a VERY simple smooth refinance with people with excellent 740+ FICO, plenty of equity and 30% DTI. I hate to know how they perform for actually difficult loans.

  35. I had a great experience with them on my refinance. Yes I paid the $500 application fee. No big deal! Started process on 8/19/21 and closed on 9/4/21. Original loan paid off by 9/10/21. Saved a ton of money by switching to 15 year. My payment only went up by $5. Very happy with them. Quick and painless. I would definitely recommend AmeriSave!

  36. I learned this the hard way when I decided to go with an AmeriSave mortgage. After going through this process with other mortgage companies, including at the end of 2008 after the financial crisis, I had a reasonable understood how the mortgage process worked.

    But I had an unfortunate wake-up call just a few weeks into my AmeriSave mortgage experience. From my perspective, the banking company was putting pressure on me just for sport. It seemed they almost took pleasure in making my life a living nightmare. Making me struggle to get documents that were difficult to acquire. The fact that they are asking me for some of these documents was absurd…

    What type of documents, you might ask?

    First was the number of documents. At first, it was 10, then 20, when I finally thought I was done, I had 10 more, then another 10. All in all, by the time I finally completed the process, I must’ve submitted somewhere between 50 and 60 documents.

    Some of the oddest ones included:
    • The current year K-1 tax documents from stocks that I didn’t even own anymore. I didn’t have those and unlike other documents, tracking those down proved to be extremely difficult. In the end, I learned that those documents didn’t even exist. Then I had to provide proof if they didn’t exist.
    • I had the chase down one of my rental property’s HOA invoices. This shouldn’t have been a big deal, as I provided AmeriSave with the document initially, but as it turned out, the HOA invoice I provided was from the previous quarter, and that wasn’t good enough. I had to get the HOA invoice from the current quarter even though it was the same dollar amount.
    • Since my wife had sent me a gift to help purchase the property, AmeriSave wanted the bank account statement from my partner. Not a big deal, I asked for it and received it. Unfortunately, they also demanded that she provide her other bank accounts that were NOT part of the gift. Why would someone not on loan have to provide bank accounts that have nothing to do with the loan? My partner was reluctant and for a good reason. What business is it of AmeriSave to demand to see someone’s private bank accounts that are not connected to the loan and not on loan? Good thing they did not ask for my mothers bank accounts!
    • AmeriSave also required me to contact my accountant and have him write a letter stating that my business was currently active. This seemed like it didn’t make a lot of sense for several reasons. For one, I had been in business for almost 20 years, and I just gave them a fresh tax return. Did they think I would dissolve my business? Secondly, my accountant only does my annual return, so he doesn’t have any firsthand knowledge about my business other than what’s in my tax return, which AmeriSave already had. Finally, they had already provided my business was active by providing real-time statements showing company receipts. So, they can see with their eyeballs firsthand that money was coming into the company. So why did they want me to contact the third party who had less information than they did and plead that they would create a document for me? It’s one thing to make me chase down documents. Still, it’s even more complicated when I have to go to a third party and ask them to create a document, especially when that party doesn’t have firsthand knowledge of the information AmeriSave wants them to provide. Why would that even matter when they see the money being generated by the business. It would be like demanding a copy of a document when you already have the original.

    It took some time, but after completing all the requirements, I finally got a Certified Loan Approval that was good for eight weeks! That should’ve been no problem because the loan was closing in four weeks. I worked hard to get everything they needed, including pleading with other parties to give me personal information or create letters for me to get the certified approval before we would lose our earnest money.

    I was set… or was I?

    One week before the closing, AmeriSave hits me with another huge list of requirements! What? Oh, No! Wasn’t I already certified? The official document I received stating I was certified is not real? Do I have to start this painful process again? Why did you wait nearly three weeks to tell me I would have to do all this again?

    The first time I went through this process was stressful enough, but now I’ve already given my 30 days’ notice to my landlord and sold half my belongings in preparation for the move. I did this because I was relying on the fact that I was certified.

    Now we have another massive list of new absurd requirements, despite already being certified.

    • AmeriSave wanted a disclosure and waiver document from my broker. When I asked him for it, his response was, “Lol. I can honestly say I have never had a lender ask for those before!”
    • AmeriSave wanted me to provide a lease agreement on my rental property because it wasn’t in my tax return… The problem was, it was in my tax return. Stop wasting my time!
    • They wanted a copy of the earnest money check. The problem was we paid by wire, and they already have the wire documents. Are you morons?
    • They want another letter from my accountant that my business is active. So now I have to contact my accountant again and ask them to write the same letter he wrote three weeks ago?

    It’s like AmeriSave is making me do stuff just for the sake of making me do stuff. I frantically called and emailed my loan originator, trying to figure out what was going on, asking her to please call me ASAP. I received no return phone call. Instead, I got a short, dismissive email stating that I had been preapproved, but now a few things need to be updated.

    However, that’s not the case! I had an official loan certified approval that was good for a specific amount and good for eight weeks. I sent another email asking her to contact me ASAP, and with only a week to go till closing, I think it was warranted, but I heard nothing back.

    I ended up missing my closing date because they would not approve my loan. Again, they wanted more documents. I missed the second closing date because they were still late on approving me.

    The worst part is, when they don’t approve the loan by the deadline, they delay the process. When the process gets delayed, many of the documents that were submitted now become old. So now they demand new documents again.

    Wait… So I have to get new documents now because you did not do your job in time?

    In the end, I must have submitted 120 to 140 different documents and missed two closing dates, finally closing right at the third deadline after complaining to AmeriSave management about my loan officer, who had no sense of urgency.

    I got lucky to barely squeak through one of the most stressful situations of my life as the sellers were threatening to pull out, of I missed my third deadline.

    In the end, it worked out okay, but I can tell you I would never work with AmeriSave again. My warning to all home buyers, unless you want to deal with lots of extra stress and a bank that could care less about their client’s closing date, stay far far away from AmeriSave.

  37. I decided to give AmeriSave a try after reading so many positive reviews. It’s one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made in my life. The loan officer stated that he would beat any competitor’s interest rates in order to earn my business (1st broken promise). Next, he stated that if I provided all the requested documents within 48 hours that the loan would close in 10-14 business days (2nd broken promise). Then he stated I wouldn’t have to pay any points and that they would waive the appraisal fee since I had already paid for an appraisal (3rd broken promise). The same loan officer’s communication was horrible (went a week before replying to emails and voicemails). Finally, he entered the wrong information for the loan on numerous items (eg, I requested to borrow $495k and he entered $510k; he entered points totaling $5k; he entered a desktop appraisal of $675k when I had three independent appraisals showing the house valued between $730-$750k; he never adjusted the incorrect debts shown on my credit report even though I provided statements showing lower debts; etc.) which affected my DTI and LTV and then stated he couldn’t get me approved through Fannie Mae (4th broken promise). When I brought this to the attention of his sales manager, the sales manage said he would take care of the matter and fix everything which never happened (5th broken promise) and like the loan office the sales manager was slow to reply and never replied two voicemails and one email. After such a horrific experience, I contacted a customer service rep. out of Atlanta informing her of my experience with loan officer and manager out of the Troy, MI. office. She spoke with her manager and was able to get my loan transferred to a different loan officer out of the same office. I was hoping for the best with a new loan officer unfortunately the new loan officer was just as incompetent and unprofessional as the previous loan officer making matters worse (eg, allowed the rate lock to expire, increased loan interest rate, increased points to $20k even though I stated that points were a deal breaker, kept loan amount at $510k event though I asked to reduce the loan amount down to $475k, didn’t reply to voicemails or emails for a week, made numerous promises and broke every one of them, etc.). Since I had to deal with the same issues all over again, I contacted their Customer Service department again letting them know that things were worse than before. The CS rep. said she would contact her manager and that they would take care of this matter asap. Several days later the CS rep contacted me to see if anyone from the Troy, MI office had contacted me with regards to all of the issues I was having. I told her that nobody ever contacted me about the matter and that I was going to take my business elsewhere. In reflection, I wouldn’t recommend AmeriSave to anyone. Their loan officers over promise and under deliver. Their communication is horrible and they don’t listen to the customer (eg, neither loan officer ever reduced the amount I wanted to borrow even though I said something to them every time we spoke, etc.). If you value your time and money, do NOT use AmeriSave. There are other lenders that are more professional and keep their promises. Luckily, my story has a happy ending. I switched lenders and within two days of submitting my application, it went to underwriting. The underwriters approved everything, it’s been approved by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and now we’re waiting for the appraisal to come back. My new lender has been amazing and we’ve started discussing which title agency we will be using along with a projected closing time frame.

  38. You made mention about Lending Tree and the BBB with both Amerisave and Loan Depot. (Let’s also add Freedom). I know the inner-workings of them all having worked there and the reason I exited the retail channel. For a lack of better words, (which includes Quicken and so many others) sweat shops with the mentality that their employees do whatever it takes to get the business. I’ll not get into specifics here, but they all provide the lip service everyone wants to hear, but the opposite behind closed doors.

    Both Lending Tree and the BBB are a waste of consumers time as their ratings are bought and paid for. I know for a fact that one of these giants simply cancelled their BBB membership in one city, opening it up again in another. At that time, they sported a D, even F rating flipping it to an A+ overnight! Lending Tree only rates those who put dollars in their wallet! It’s why the CFPB is now looking into the online lead companies as they too are nothing but fluff on ratings.

    I had, and still have enough to bury a couple lenders, and reporting these large lenders simply goes on deaf ears. I know because I felt compelled to do just that, giving regulators multiple infractions, even exactly where to look yet they did nothing.

    It’s still a great industry with lots of good people and companies. However when the Fed’s simply place a fine on them without any real accountability, it’s but a slap on the hand and will continue. Apologize for the novel, but I’m tired of seeing companies who have no integrity continue doing business as they know nothing will change and they’ll be placed in timeout a short period.

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