American Advisors Group (AAG)

I mainly wanted the reverse mortgage to cover my property taxes. Before AAG, I had $15,000 in a bank HECKL and $5,000 in credit card debt. By being required to do all repairs to the property, my credit card debt went to $10,000. By closing, my HECKL was paid off, which left me with no emergency funds. At the end, my mortgage is now $47,000 and my credit cards are still over $10,000, which I am still struggling to pay off. I felt the appraisal was low compared to other properties in the area; as a result, the funds available the first year were relatively low. As a final note: I am sorry I did this because I feel I am in worse shape financially then I was before.

It was a long road to finally get to signing on the dotted line. Mr. ** was extremely patient and knowledgeable. For a few months I was back and forth with questions and he would periodically check with me. He went out of his way to arrange a convenient place for us to handle signing paperwork and the closing. He helped me every step of the way.

We had Dorie ** as our AAG advisor, very straightforward and precise about the program, was very patient with us and took all the time we needed to explain answers to our questions and how things worked. Also kept in touch with us as things were progressing.

My interaction with AAG was primarily through Rob **. Because of him, my impression of the company is such a good one. He was forthright, made himself available, returned phone calls and made the whole experience a real pleasure. Whatever contact I had with other AAG representatives was generally unremarkable.

We were very happy with our experience. Everyone was very helpful and answered all our questions. When we would come up with other questions, Ms. Ashley ** was very helpful. We could call her anytime and she would help us in any way she could, or put us in contact with someone who could answer our question.

I had a very satisfying experience with Greg. He was most courteous and thorough in explaining the process, what is needed, what to expect and most important, the low pressure sales approach. I learned a lot about AAG, and that from his office he could see Disneyland (I worked for Disney at one time). I would surely recommend Greg and your company.

This was one of the worst mtg lending I've ever experienced. It took close to a YEAR to get this done. Everything from no one calling back to the appraiser not showing up and not being told that the first one had quit or something. Then it took too long for another to be sent. I was EXTREMELY disappointed with how this was handled. I would not recommend AAG to anyone who is looking for a reverse mortgage.

Very good and timely experience working with AAG. I did everything from home which really helped me out as I have cancer. Always kept in touch with me when they said they would. A good company to work with.

I don't know what you pay her (Jean) but I do know she's worth every cent! It was a real pleasure to talk to her because she really listened and answered any questions that we had. If a problem came up she was on it 100% and stayed in constant contact. I really can't say enough about what a pleasure it was to deal with her, she's one in a million!

Up to this point I have had no bad experience with AAG. They gave me what I ask for when I needed it. I still have some concern about the final outcome but overall I am satisfied. I have had this loan just a little over a year. Thanks Phyllis for your help.

The company you had doing the repairs barely spoke English. Their work not good at all. Painting needed 2 coats on the house. Only got one. So coverage is sparse. They said paint and scrape house, nothing about pressure washing so ran my well dry. What was paid out was hardly worth the effort. Very dissapointed in my situation now.

AAG agreed, in writing, to pick up the appraisal fee. I was charged with this expense at closing (and included in my closing costs). In addition, interest is accruing on this amout. Complaint has been filed with BBB since I haven't been given courtesy of hearing from AAG since my call of 10/31. If not satisfactorily resolved, legal action will be pursued. Glad I pursued reverse mortgage, but not pleased with AAG's not honoring its commitment!

Christine ** walked me through all the steps and there are a lot of steps. Her guidance and support got me through some of the more difficult tasks. I am grateful for the AAG loan. It is making a difference in my mother's life.

The process to get the loan in place was extremely professional and went very smoothly. Now that it is in place (and we have such great peace of mind having done this!), my only complaint is the lack of an online presence. The paperwork is very primitive in that we have to wait for a monthly paper statement that comes in the mail (and we fear mail theft). Please implement an online presence! Thanks!

I am so thankful for AAG. They are the best understanding, accurate company that was able to all they said they could in and on time they said. Each step was just as I was told. No hidden fees or surprises.

Speaking for Jackie **, we were pleased with the overall process for this process. The only complaint is that Jackie had to receive the full amount of money from the transaction. The plan was to draw a portion of the money and additional funds at a later time. The option was given to return most of the money to the account to be drawn on later. We have been unable to talk to a live person about returning some money to the account to be used later, and Jackie was to receive paperwork in the mail within a month to make that happen. No paperwork was received. I request someone contact us about how to make this transaction happen.

We love having the extra income coming in every month. It has made our lives very comfortable. Sue and I are still having a little trouble understanding the monthly mortgage updates. Something clearer, in an easier format would be very helpful. Thanks again for your help!

Our experience in getting a Reverse Mortgage Loan was very easy. We appreciated the ease with which we got the loan. The fact that we needed a counselor was very important and we appreciated that feature in getting the loan. Thank you for making this a memorable experience and I have recommended AAG to a friend and her husband and they have also used AAG and are very happy with the program.

I would recommend a reverse mortgage to a friend but I would tell them to check all other financial possibilities before applying for one. That being said I would recommend AAG for their reverse mortgage because of the fact that their advisors (in our case Sean **) were very professional and explained the process in terms that could be understood and were very good about answering any questions we had.

2 disappointing encounters: 1. I was hoping to go paperless with my monthly statements. I made a phone call and left a message to an AAG number and never heard back. 2. I received a letter from AAG saying that I hadn't paid my taxes, which I had. I called to discuss with the number listed and got a very unfriendly rep, who seemed not to believe me. When she finally acknowledged that the taxes had been paid, she was still rather grumpy. Very different than the experiences I had when I was obtaining the mortgage when everyone was very helpful.

Overall this was a pleasant experience. Especially dealing with Ms. **. She was very helpful and professional and pleasant in her dealings with hiccups in the process. However, the rest of the experience was not as pleasant. I felt that the people dealing with the finalization were slow and lacked communication among themselves. There were a couple of items we had to deal with that could have been avoided with proper communication. The most glaring was the double payment of property tax and trying to find someone to deal with it. The person I was given to call was never in the office and it took quite some time to get this issue resolved. Requests for withdrawal are also slow and can take up to two weeks to complete. I realize that many of these processes are farmed out to other entities under contract. I don't believe that these entities receive very good supervision by AAG.

I am real pleased with AAG. Nathan ** was great. He was understanding with my questions. So far no trouble. It has sure help me living mouth to mouth with paying my bills with the AAG help. Thanks a lot.

Sean ** took care of us and helped us through every detail. He never betrayed our trust and gave us the best outcome possible. We felt as if he was our own son watching out for our best interests. He kept us informed and arranged for personal help with documents and guidance with all requirements. Everything happened as explained and described and on schedule. Couldn't be happier with experience and results. Thank you Sean and AAG.

I thought I had a good relationship with Michele **, but after I was told final amount I was told $50.000 was being held because of bad credit with a past mortgage co. I sold my previous home because I couldn't make mortgage payments. I was upfront with this. So why wasn't I told this from the beginning. I had already committed to pay my rent with the $38,000 I got so I had to go through with mtg. Now I have no equity in my house and still have debts I was going to pay with $50,000 that was withheld.

Steve ** was and is a gentleman. However, he obviously is held under the thumb of a money grabbing jerk! Your program is an absolute scam to older folks. I was dragged through the mud for about 5 months. I was asked to provide info a little bit at a time instead of altogether. I was almost accused of hiding info and assets. I'm still not sure why I just didn't just walk. I ended up paying you way too much and then saddled from the start with $14K I owe and am paying interest on. Rip off artists like you should be in jail!

Tara ** of AAG was wonderful in guiding our application through the process to approval and funding. As the owners of multiple businesses, our situation was complicated and required extra steps and persistence which Tara provided.

I called AAG to get more info on a letter I received re a jumbo loan which is now available. I wanted to know if my situation fit. I was particularly interested in the feature that no MIP is required. It took awhile to get a call back on some messages I received. The person who wound up responding to me did a good job of explaining things.

It took longer than expected, but the people that worked with me were professional and amazing. Didn't realize it would take a year later to get the balance of the funds, that is the biggest problem I have with it.

The people I dealt with were fantastic. The actual reverse mortgage experience has not lived up to hype. It is probably because I live in a small rural town, because nothing has been what was told to me. Guess that is my fault, should of asked more questions. This process seems to be suited for large cities where houses are worth more, cause this hasn't helped me at all and now I'm stuck. But I'm sure that's my fault, always been told if it sounds too good to be true it usually is.

Your frontline people ie: Ryan **, Susana ** were the best and THEY are the reason any stars at all. Helpful - courteous - THEY are the best. Your behind the scenes people, the decision makers were absolutely the worst people I've dealt with in 60 years of dealing with humans. Their approach came across to me in such a way that made me believe they did not know what they were doing.