Complaint Review: Ameriquest Mortgage Company - Orange California

To let you know when Ameriquest caused us to lose our home because of the crooked way they did business. Washington Mutual was the one who foreclosed because they serviced the loan for Ameriquest. So there is another company that should be named Ameriquest, AkA Washington Mutual!We never knew that Washington Mutual had anything to do with our home until foreclosure time , when the reared their ugly head !! I will never do business with Washington Mutual either , I met what type of people they are when we were at the court house fighting to stop the sale.Thats why Ameriquest and "WAMU" work hand in hand , same kind of people!

AMQ is ripping off home owners! POINT BLANK!!! Fraud on the Mortgage contract, VOIDS THE CONTRACT!!!

If I am reading your comments correctly, you are asking why would they refinance the loan internally and then ask you to pay the penalty, adding 9,000 to the loan balance after all the fees, etc. The reason that Ameripest requires that their customers pay that penalty is that it is a clause in the loan contract during the first 3 years. If you refinance with another bank --or with Ameriquest-- the prepayment penalty clause states that you must pay Ameriquest 6 months of interest. Either way, they profit. It looks like you are also asking why you must pay $750.00 for paper search. I don't understand the question exactly in order to answer it exactly. If you look at all the fees that show up on the HUD-1 form (legal size balance sheet with all the costs) then you might find the $750.00 figure there. If you are saying that the $750.00 is the title insurance policy cost -- this would make more sense. Most title companies charge around $250 or $495 or $500 for escrow fee + a sliding scale fee for the title insurance policy, which would be that $750 figure you quoted. In addition to all the wire transfer, check preparation, courier, fax fees that a title company charges, the bulk of their profit per transaction lies in that title insurance policy. If you have more specific questions, you can contact the Title Company and ask them directly to explain their fees. Be well.

I am a AMC mortage customer. And as well I have been screwed by AMC. I was promised to have my house refinanced before the rate went adjustable. As long as my payments was made on time to AMC. But low and behold when I went to refinance the loan. AMC would do the loan only if I pay the pentlity fee. Now my question is how can they promise one thing and do another. And pay themselves a prepayment pentlity. I have not refinanced with AMC. Because of the pentlity but refinance would of cost on a what I owed on my house was 78,000 but they told me I would have to refince it for 87,000. With no mony out this was all fees. If all my information is already there why would I have to pay 750.00 for paper search, now this is not title but paper and documents.

I left AMC in 2003. They treated their employees as badly as their borrowers. We were not subprime employees, but I believe that is how the company viewed us. I never did, nor did I ever see, any document signature falsification. While it really doesn't matter in the long run, my interest is piqued when I read about these "sophisticated machines that can duplicate signatures". Maybe a limited number of branches? Also, "tracing borrowers' signatures" is entirely new to me. That said, the commission structure encourages an Acct Exec to maximize the revenue on loan programs by selecting terms such as a PrePayment Penalty. It's a see-saw relationship between the PPP and the Interest Rate & Points charged. No PPP = higher interest rate and points. Accept a PPP = lower rate / points. I had always wondered how the software came up with such random numbers of points until I researched Section 32. For example, the rate on a 2/28 loan could be 7.25% and the points could turn out to be 3.217. "Why not 3.25?", I asked. "That would violate the maximum AMC can legally charge for this loan program." RE: Borrowers accepting a PrePayment Penalty clause in their Note. Sometimes, the loan would generate very low revenue --- according to the SNAP software that was being used by the Acct Exec. If there was a 3 year PPP for the loan, however, the revenue would sometimes double or triple. Strong incentive there. Especially at month-end when your job is on the line and your Area Mgr or Branch Mgr is demanding a certain level of revenue from each Acct Exec. My job was directly threatened several times. Same with others in my position in our branch. SNAP! is a piece of s/w that allows the AMC employee to merge an instant credit report with the an instant online valuation of the borrower's home and select different types of loan programs in order to make an offer to the borrower --- during the initial telephone conversation, within about...6 minutes. Very powerful tool. For a loan with a debt-consolidation purpose, we were guided by the Branch Mgr to steer the borrower into a loan with a PPP, explaining to the borrower that once the borrower's credit improved by paying off the delinquent revolving credit accounts, or the high-balance revolving accounts, that the borrower could return after say, 6-8 months, and could refinance again --internally within AMC by interfacing with a Portfolio Retention branch-- to get a lower rate and a corresponding lower payment. The file/loan had to be 2 years old minimum for a regular branch to deal with the borrower. Otherwise, it went straight to Portfolio Retention. Later, I discovered that PR would require the borrower to pay AGAIN! in points on the new loan, the dollar amount that equaled their prepayment penalty dollar amount. This was typically 6 months' worth of interest. EXAMPLE: If you borrowed $300,000 at 7% on a 30-year loan, the monthly payment is nearly $1,995.90. So, six months of interest is $1,750 x 6 = $10,500. This is AFTER the borrower paid some insane amount of points to get the original AMC loan six months earlier! Were people doing this? You betcha. Why? Because they HAD TO. Borrowers were shown that w/o a PPP, the interest rate would rise (as set by the software) and their monthly payment would sometimes disqualify their loan, based upon Debt-to-Income Ratio maximum of say, 50%. Many people had to re-structure their finances in order to continue living check-to-check. Many of us in our branch felt compassionate and were sympathetic toward the borrowers. In many cases, a direct lender was their only chance to save their homes. Combining the instant approval with the fact that we could print their loan documents within an hour or so, we could provide them with checks from the title company to payoff their debts through escrow ---- all within 7 days. What AMC did at the time (can't speak for anything more recent than 2003) was to push the envelope in each compass direction, enabling them to offer loans that were just a little bit more risky than their competitors. No income documents? No problem. Debt-to-Income Ratio over 40%? No problem. 90% Loan-to-Value Ratio? No problem. 3 rolling 60 day late mortgage payments? No problem. And more. When I learned that there were far better alternatives for some clients --- and learned that many of the borrowers who had declined AMC's offer were refinancing elsewhere, I decided to find out how and where. That's when I jumped ship. It's one thing to have to decline a customer, but it's something entirely different to be declined BY THE CUSTOMER. In closing, I left AMC and studied to earn my R/E license so that I could continue on my original vein of helping people -- and earning a living while doing so. Be well.

mortgages to WaMu, big time. Interesting that WaMu is the one that bought Long Beach Mortgage from Ameriquest/Arnall and continues to do quite a bit of business with AMC. HBSC also buys loans from AMC.

Everyone is attacking Ameriquest because this particular section of this website is devoted to Ameriquest. If you enter any other company, you will see all the gripes about them also. But you will sure not see as many. I've searched for many companies and I have seen a couple of hundred at the most. When Ameriquest is searched, you see 500 plus with stories that are too horrible to imagine. And David is right. I did not sign a pre-payment penalty either and can find no such document. Like he stated, who would ever sign such an agreement? That is ridiculous. Ameriquest not only rapes their customers everyday but then want MORE money to refinance with a reputable company. Unreal! And to Bill & Ted, your comments are always fun and informative to read!

It kind of hard to read documents that you never even saw at closing. When I requested copies of docs from both the title company and Ameriquest - without informing the other I was doing so - I got two different sets of docs with my "signatures" on them. Some of the docs I never saw or signed - my and my wife's signatures appeared on all of them. There are some docs, like the "prepayment penalty" doc, that there is no way I would have signed. I had the house for sale at the time (in a slow market). Why in the world would I ever sign a doc saying I would be penalized for selling a house that I had for sale??? Many of these docs were so fraudulent that it is laughable. My attorney is going over these now. So, I repeat, how can you "read something thoroughly" that you never saw in the first place, Celilia? I'm sure you have gone through some of these threads from ex-employees where several have stated they saw fraud daily, that staff members were taught to "trace" consumer signatures, and that many of these branch offices had "high tech machines" that produced fraudulent docs that were difficult to distinguish from actual, legal ones. Hope that was short enough...

I have a question please, what about the loans in a lawsuit, Do they still sell those? and do they still make money on them? And what about the loans that lawyers advised to not make payments to Ameriquest anymore, due to such fraud, the lawyers feel the loans are VOID. Thanks Kay

I have a question please, what about the loans in a lawsuit, Do they still sell those? and do they still make money on them? And what about the loans that lawyers advised to not make payments to Ameriquest anymore, due to such fraud, the lawyers feel the loans are VOID. Thanks Kay

I have a question please, what about the loans in a lawsuit, Do they still sell those? and do they still make money on them? And what about the loans that lawyers advised to not make payments to Ameriquest anymore, due to such fraud, the lawyers feel the loans are VOID. Thanks Kay

I have a question please, what about the loans in a lawsuit, Do they still sell those? and do they still make money on them? And what about the loans that lawyers advised to not make payments to Ameriquest anymore, due to such fraud, the lawyers feel the loans are VOID. Thanks Kay

I would like to know WHO? ameriquest sell their stock to? JP Morgan and Chase are 2 that I know of. To all of ameriquest x or not, we all know that not everyone did bad things, but that does not help the homeless children or elderly or the people that are here seeking some way to get help. Ameriquest Employees only had 15 minutes to get out, then the guards shut the Internet down as soon as they came in and told every one to leave and not to come back. so they didn't have time to get each others email address or any possible evidence. that's why they are here the have no other way to contact each other now that they don' have an Ameriquest email address anymore, HMMMM,EX_Employees, is ameriquest reading all your emails or did the government get them? something to think about, you have 15 minutes............. DUDE!

Hi Kathleen, I completely understand your frustration on this subject. I have a friend that actually took out a loan with a FREMONT loan officer, oh he promised her an escrow account, low rate, etc, etc, etc! only to find out that her low interest rate after closing was a whopping 14% and her payment DID NOT include the escrow account she so badly needed. All I am saying is that everyone seems to be attacking one company here, what about the others?? Ameriquest is just the biggest fish, thus easier to attack, at least they are trying to do right by their customers after the closing.

I read your comments of people not able to own a home if not for Ameriquest and others. Maybe it would have been a lot better for the consumer if they were unable to purchase a home due to poor credit. Then companies, such as Ameriquest, could not charge the customer their outrageous fees and make false promises of lower interest rates and refinancing opportunities after their "fixed 2 year period". After depleting a customer's finances by adding fee upon fee and raising interest rates so high the customer cannot possibly pay their monthly payment, this is the sad state it has become to own a home. So this second chance you speak of is actually no chance at all for a home buyer to retain the home they have worked so hard for only to have a company such as Ameriquest take it all away. A company who regularly practices deceit and fraud and who, in the end, forecloses on the poor individual who had the misfortune of becoming their customer. Before you comment on being rushed, you obviously have not closed on a home refinanced by Ameriquest. The money hungry reps, trained to deceive the customer, have learned many ways to convince a customer of how beneficial it will be to refinance, in a great rush that is, with their grand company. And you obviously have not experienced the lies told to the customer to sign the so-called contract they had received AND read and was the very same contract they sign at closing. Reps who rush the customer through closing while all the time knowing the contract is totally different than what the customer received. I am not saying this is not the customer's fault. The customer should read the contract at the time of closing AGAIN since we all know there is predatory lending happening more and more. But, in my case, I was under the assumption that people were decent, honest human beings who worked for reputable companies. How wrong was that? Very, I have found out way too late. I do not blame others for signing a falsified, completely fraudulent contract. I should not have allowed the lying reps rush me into doing so. I did not have bad credit until I became an Ameriquest customer. They made sure to destroy it. They, to this day, continue to attempt to further damage the credit score I have struggled to build with non-posting of ON TIME payments and fees they cannot explain. You state that take Ameriquest away and people would be in apartments? People would be in a hell of a better position if they had not refinanced with Ameritheft and remained in an apartment. Ameriquest is evil and prey upon the elderly and desparate. I happened to get caught up in this nightmare because I did not research this company as I should have. No where in Ameriquest's tv advertisments or website is there any mention of "poor credit financing". I only learned this later. Your parents, in the 60's, taught you to read before you sign as my parents did. But, my parents did not teach me that companies such as Ameriquest would take advantage, disrespect and steal you blind. Because at that time, predatory lending was not an issue. Ameriquest had not been founded. In the 60's, there were far more honest individuals AND companies, unlike today. So, yes I do dispute your claim that the 21st century is the same because it is definitely not. In the past, we actually had some presidents who did not elect thieves such as Ameriquest officials as ambassadors due to the fact they received enormous contributions. In the past, we did not have dishonest Ameriquest officials sponsoring mega-millionaire casino owners. And lastly, we did not ALLOW fraudulent companies to sponsor sports associations only because they invested millions in the game. So, Cecilia, I would take your comments much more seriously if the above had not occurred since 1960.

FYI: Having been in the mortgage field for over 25 years with both A lenders and B/C lenders, A=good credit, B/C=mediocore to bad credit. All loans that originate are sold to investors, they have to be, otherwise the companies would not be able to exsist essentially! BofA, WAMU, most sell off the loans and retain servicing rights, or service for other lenders, loans are bought and sold every time one is funded, and normally only purchased back if a breach in contract happens. and for those of you with bad credit, do you not remember a time when EVERY bank turned you down?? Without Ameriquest, Option One, Fremont, etc, you would not own your homes at all, because BofA, Wells, WAMU all got out of the "bad credit" loans! These lenders are giving people a second chance, or another chance! Geez, read before you sign docs people, DO NOT let yourself be rushed, INSIST on reading your "Note" completely through before signing it, and if someone (a loan officer, etc) tries to rush you? Tell him/her you will go elsewhere if they do not relax and let you read the docs first! If you see a pre-pay? DON'T SIGN, higher rate than promised? DON'T SIGN! If you do not read any of your docs at all, read only one THE "NOTE" This is where the terms of your loan are, whether it is an adjustable rate, a fixed rate, what the rate it, if there is a prepay, what the late charge cut off is, name it IT'S THERE! THATS ONE - TWO PAGES PEOPLE. Do not blame others for signing stuff you are not reading! You HAVE to take some of the responsibility here. Take Ameriquest and the others away, and you with bad credit will find yourself in an apartment! You can get good terms, but you must demand them and READ READ READ BEFORE SIGNING, I think I have heard that term since I was a kid and heard my parents saying it, and that was back in the 60's, don't tell me that in the 21st century things have changed.

I still don't really understand this loan selling process. Could you possibly explain a little more? When I first bought my home, I financed with a local bank but I never made one payment to them. They sold my loan to a really good company (Suntrust) with 4% fixed interest rate and a monthly payment of only $545. Oh, if I could only go back to those days again. So I began making my payments to Suntrust. Can you tell me the difference if there is one? My prepay penalty will not end until November of this year. The bad thing is Ameriquest can raise my interest rate yet again in June and you know they will. They're already gouging me for over 10% and payments of over $1,300. A couple of months ago, I requested the prepay amount. It was over $6,000. Ridiculous. I am not sure if I should look to refinance now or just wait it out until November. What do you think? I actually had excellent credit when I refinanced with Ameriquest. I had never paid a payment late so my credit score was really high and I had about 6 credit cards with minimal balances and low interest rates. I had no idea Ameriquest mostly refinanced to individuals with poor credit. I didn't see this anywhere on their website and you know the reps certainly didn't tell me. My ex had poor credit but I was the primary borrower so his credit didn't really account for much. Now, after my divorce, bankruptcy and this mess with Ameriquest, my credit has really suffered. I will check out that website. Thanks. The local banks will not even consider me due to the bankruptcy. I have another year to go before that will happen. I received an inheritance not long ago (way after the bankruptcy, don't want anyone thinking I filed a bogus bankruptcy) and put a sizable amount in a CD at my bank. I thought they would consider refinancing me since they would have that for collateral but, after they beat around the bush for a couple of weeks, they said no. Isn't that the pits? When it matures in August, I will probably invest in another CD at another bank. The interest rate was not that great anyway but it wasn't good anywhere a year ago. And we all know that savings account interest is horrible. I have been offered refinancing at various companies (not banks) but I'm just scared now. I might jump from one crappy loan to another. It couldn't be worse though. Do you have any suggestions as to where I might seek refinancing? And should I before November? I appreciate your help. If you guide me to a reputable mortgage company, I might just let you pay my payments for a couple of months! HAHA! Thanks!

Ameriquest is a private lending company, but they don't keep the loans. They service them, but they sell it to investors. And in some cases to other companies. They're not making any more money on your loan, but their aggrement to those investors, is that they will continue to receive the checks, and then give it to them. I am extremely happy that I'm out of the company, and I do hope your prepay ends soon. If AMC killed you with a high interest rate, sometimes it might be worth trying to refinance with another company for a lower interest rate. Even if they charge you the prepay. If you refinanced with AMC due to your credit, I recommend monoring it. I personally use www.myfico.com At first it might cost you like $50 bucks, but after that, it's only $8 dollars a month. I LOVE IT... Again... I recommend talking with some LOCAL banks to see if they can help you. If you have any more questions, please let me know...

I am one of Ameriquest's screwed customers. Thank you for the apology. I think you are one of very few that were honest. This is the most corrupt company I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I just wish I had known of this website before I refinanced with Ameritheft. I took the word of the lying reps and you must admit their website is very misleading. But I believed, at that time, that Ameriquest was a fine lending company (not a lender to people of poor credit standings) and I would be treated with respect and honesty. What a joke that was. I still find it hard to believe there are good people working there since I've read so much of how they are trained. I'm glad to see that most of the good people have left this company. Just wish I had refinanced when there were good people still there but I did not. You say that AMC sells every single loan on Wallstreet and keep nothing. I so wish they would sell my loan. They have not sold my loan yet. I would pretty much give anything to get away from this horrible, rotten company. After the grief I have caused them by forcing them to respond to letter after letter, I was hoping they would sell my loan but it hasn't happened yet. And it probably won't happen since they are making so much money from their bogus fees and charges and the interest they made from me last year alone. Too bad you weren't the rep who sold me to the devil because I do have a prepayment penalty but soon will go away since I've found it is illegal in my state to do this. Anyway, good luck and I'm glad you have left a company who deceives their customers and who will deceive and discard their employees as well. Thanks for your comments. It's always good to hear from an ex-employee who actually has a conscience.