American Advisors Group (AAG) Reviews

Now they have put my application in the hands of someone from California and they never call!!! I have contacted management who tells me I will receive a call but this never happens.They appraised my home for 577 thousand, which is low and I owe less than 160 thousand. I pay homeowners insurance of around a million on this property. This is absolutely the worst company for any senior 76 years old to have to deal with.

Their review takes 24-48 hours and a check may be requested, which takes another 10 days before it can be mailed. They act like we are going to take the money and run. This process holds up repairs and contractors go to do other jobs until they get paid. A repair job that should take about 2-3 weeks, now takes 6-8 weeks because of these rigid processes. I understand they have to protect their assets, but they have to realize it is our asset as well as our home and we want to protect it as well. I regret the day we decided to do business with them.

The property was appraised at $85.000 but AAG was only going to give me $48.000. But I still had to put out over $1500 to cover the repairs, paint the house and wait for the appraiser to reinspect the house.. On March the 15th I received an email stating that there was an income shortfall on my end and all communications has since stopped. No reason, no explanation, no nothing.. What a rip off.. Never again.

We don’t know if it was the underwriter or his assistant, but we are very disappointed and will not recommend AAG to anyone. Also, we did not find out the new borrowing amount until the day of closing. We signed closing documents on 12/11/2015 got cashier’s check on Sat. 12/12/2015, which was picked up by Topflite employee who overnighted it on Mon. 12/14/2015. Security First Title came back and said we owed additional interest because AAG didn’t get loan funded until 12/21/2015. Not our fault. We also had to sign new closing papers again with 12/21/2015 on them instead of 12/11/2015. We hold AAG totally responsible for all of the delays and extra charges on things we had to pay. We had to do two consumer counseling sessions at 125.00 each, two appraisals at 450.00 each plus the 10,000.00 plus at closing. It not only cost us money out of our own pocket which we hadn’t planned on, it caused us to make several months of additional house payments.

We are extremely disappointed and frustrated. To add even more displeasing news, we received an overdue notice from PNC saying December's payment was past due so we have a late fee notice due of 16.52 which we are not paying because everything should have been funded and closed by the 15th or 16th as we were told.

I went to my daughter's home in Sitka, AK, on 6-8-15 and had all documents signed and sent to the company for processing. I then was waiting for an appraisal to be completed. I had informed the loan officer that the appraisal could take place after 6-23-15 since someone would be available at my home. In addition, I was not able to get calls on my cell phone in AK and had notified the person about this and gave him other contact numbers to reach me. I also gave him contact information to set up the time and date for the appraisal.

Needless to say, this did no good, he continued to attempt to call me on my cell phone and gave the appraisal company my cell phone number to schedule the appraisal. So, I was getting calls I couldn't pick up and would need to drive into SITKA about 10 miles to open any messages and get the phone to stop alerting me. I had to depend quite some time to get back to the appraiser because the number on my phone was a fax number, so I needed to go into the library to use the computer to do a reverse number lookup in order to see if I could figure out who to call -- luckily I was able to get this information. I then called the appraisal company in Minnesota and gave them the contact information for the person who would be present for the appraisal.

Additionally, weeks had gone by this time, and my stress was growing due to the limited time I have to get a loan to stay in my home. On 7-9-15 at 4:00p.m., the appraiser finally appeared (over 4 weeks after my application was complete). I had been told that the appraisal fee of $450 would be taken out of my loan, then told they couldn't for that and I needed to pay that amount; getting this settled took several days, and I had to keep requesting communication from the loan officer which never happened in a timely manner.

When the appraisal was complete, it was done through Broad Street Valuations Management company and performed by an appraiser in a city south of Faribault, MN. The appraisal was much lower than it should have been. Properties located much further south if my area -- much further south if the Twin Cities in MN where property values are much, much lower. I was told that a rebuttal would be submitted, but I was the person doing all of the research and getting better comparisons etc. AAG did not submit the rebuttal for 2 weeks. The loan officer told me his manager would be submitting the rebuttal because he is very good at doing that.

The rebuttal was submitted by my loan officer not the manager, and I never got a copy of it -- I'm not certain the rebuttal was really completed. The communications during this was just as bad as ever. When I was notified by the loan officer that the appraiser did not adjust the appraisal, he didn't call me; he sent me an email and didn't answer my calls for days. No contact was ever made to my current lender. Also, I was never told that the FHA appraisal stayed on file for 6 months, and I was never told that I was required to do some work on the property (painting) to get a loan approval.

I am now working with a GREAT company located in the Twin Cities area to obtain a different type of loan. Things are going good, but now we cannot get the loan and appraisal released. My requests for calls from them and provision of the needed documents have not been successful. If I cannot get a new loan very soon, I will lose my house and will not have time to sell it. My balloon on my current loan is due October 15, 2015. My life has never been so stressful, which is not what I need at 70 years of age.

Additionally they said there were student loans that apparently my mother had co-signed for on behalf of her grandson. After some research these loans turned out not be his or for that matter hers and we had a letter from our attorney to verify this. So now we reduced the monthly debt ratio by 90%. I have made at least 6 phone calls to the manager Cindy ** in California and apparently she does not care to return my calls. It is obvious to me that they have made up this excuse not to do the loan and apparently it was not profitable enough for them. Even though they were charging closing costs of around fifty per cent of the disbursement.

If not for the endorsement of Fred ** whom my mother has always respected she would not have gone through this. Shame on Mr ** for taking money to represent an obviously reprehensible organization. As for the people who work there there is no excuse not to return calls especially that would be mutually beneficial. Obviously a scam.

I spoke to a Mr ** who refuse to assist and I spoke to complaint dept supervisor Jose who shared there is nothing they can do because he's only handles complaints. He's so dumb that he can't understand I called him to complain about the poor performance of one of his cowgirls and he can't understand that or willing to confront the issue. But he tells me he can understand my frustration. He and that office is so damn frustrating it really sucking. A piss poor operation of a Government funded program. Meant my money goes to support that kind of foolishness and worst TREATMENT!

A few weeks later upon sharing that with them they told us we had 30-days to pay the amount of now $37,000 or they would begin the foreclosure process on the house. My mother hadn't even been dead for 45 days. Continuing to sort through her financial affairs to figure out how we could pay them the $37,000 they would not provide a payoff amount and instructions for the loan until we received the administrator certificate for the estate. Upon keeping them informed of the legal process and setting up her Estate they refused/deferred any and all request for a pay-off amount.

The Estate was completely established through the legal processes in Florida by Mid-April and proof of this was provided to AAG. They then told us they needed 10-business days to provide the pay-off. Those ten business days pass and we called them again and were told the balance they showed was now $39,000. This amount included interest and fees but didn't include the attorney fees for them beginning the foreclosure process. This was April 29th. The next day both my brother and I were summoned a foreclose notice stating we had 20 days to respond in writing or we would lose our case.

Three days later on Monday we received our first written correspondence from AAG advising us the pay-off amount was $44,882 and this amount was good until May 29th. Our mother hasn't even been dead five months. It amazes me they are legally entitled to foreclose on the house if they do not receive their payment with 30 days of the last borrower leaving the house. This is the date noted on the death certificate. It amazes me that AAG doesn't have to go through the probate process like other creditors to get their money.

They refuse to work with established administrators of an Estate and push to add additional cost to the loan amount and seem more motivated to foreclose on the property. As we continue to work through the probate process with our Estate Attorney to be able to liquidate assets to pay them their money we have had to go a different direction to divert them from foreclosing on the house. We have paid them the $44,882 owed but still have to work through the foreclosure summons as paying them doesn't remove the lien.

In addition this policy applies to people who are unable to continue to live in their home. Annually AAG requires the borrower to file a domicile report which they mail to the borrower to confirm they are still living in the home. Failure to return this document allows them to provide 30-day notice for payment of the loan and can foreclose on the house. Buyer Beware! A reverse mortgage may be a good way to supplement your retirement, but when you die or can no longer live in the house they are most aggressive about foreclosing on the property. What a criminal way to do business.

So every week he told me, "Next week I will get that approval for you." We are now almost 2 months now. Suddenly I get a letter from a woman with UPS stating that I had to fix the roof, gutters and paint the house immediately. The loan officer never said a thing about it. So who is going to pay for this of course it would come out of my loan. Try finding someone who likes to get paid when all the work is done, is not easy. But this weekend I told my husband, "Listen we are only getting $20.000." I already know, from that they want to pay the bankruptcy with $10.400, their fee around $7.500 and pay the contractor which we had estimates of almost $10.000. Something is not adding up here. I send the estimates to the loan officer and he said I look them over which he never did. I already know that I would be stuck paying this contractors myself, get no money out of this deal and my house is gone.

Well I wrote emails to all involved including to the CEO of AAG and told him what for rip-offs they are. Especially the woman barking orders about getting this house fixed up a whole list and when I asked "would the value go up", she said "of course not, if you have questions talk to your loan officer". The deal is off and I am glad, I might be a Senior Citizen but not a stupid one. So watch out you other Seniors, this company is crap - look at the reviews first. I wish I had. I would have saved myself a lot of hassles.

Updated on 6/3/2015 - After the reversed mortgage fell thru I wanted my $450.00 back but they won't give you back one dime. The appraisal fee is your concern not theirs Thank God that I never went with this crappy company.

AAG agents are nothing better than well trained, smooth talking sales people who will sell you on the number of loans AAG closes every year. But they only know the basics about what borrowers need to start the application, and clueless about actual FHA underwriting guidelines! They will demand an immediate appraisal and ask you to pay for it, but don't take the time to read it only looking at the bottom line amount. Had our agent been knowledgeable about unincorporated areas, he would have noticed on the very first page of the report that our property is one of 6 users on a community well. But FHA in its infinite wisdom (or lack thereof) only allows only 4 users.

A property must qualify almost more so than the borrower itself, and AAG's first step procedure should be to submit basic property details to an underwriter for preliminary review, who would have immediately rejected the application although we qualify, but clearly our house does not! Instead they let us jump through hoops for FOUR months, while we complied with all demands and sending them dozens of documents with highly personal information, including a full Trust! And the agent didn't even have the guts to call us and rather had the processor give us the bad news.

The other clue of our agent's incompetence in this botched application is about a technicality he deemed unimportant. If either one of the borrowers is about to turn 62 (minimum age for an RM), the application cannot be submitted MORE than 100 days prior to his or her birthday. He did it 104 days prior to my husband turning 62. He should be aware that FHA does NOT budge on their guidelines! We were forced to re-apply, signing 50-some pages again, and then finding out the agent had no idea that AAG subsequently sent us a letter saying they can't process the loan because (unspecified) documents were missing. But he had them from the first application and just didn't pass them on to whoever needed them.

As a former Realtor of 25+ years and having worked with countless extremely savvy and experienced lenders, I do have an understanding of what a top notch loan agent can and cannot do. I called several of them - they all knew about the above guidelines! AAG does not hire people with such knowledge and experience. I urge anyone who wants a reverse mortgage to do their homework and ask the right questions! AAG is not the answer!

I reviewed the CD, I paid the 100.00 for the FHA counseling. I thought it was a bit odd some of the comments by the FHA councilor but nothing that would be a red hot warning. A woman showed up at my home to sign the application, that's when I started to get even more questions and that little voice telling me don't do this. She had no identification, all the paperwork was filled out in advance including copies for me and she was in and out in 30 min. Also the "agent" wanted to coach me before I met with the FHA councilor why? I did not accept that offer. I prefer to be upfront and just answer.

Next the appraisal which was $450.00. That is way too high when I know an appraisal is only $250 in our area. Questioned the agent about it and was advised they would pay most I only had to pay 100. Ok fair enough. Then the appraiser showed up, my son and I both did not care for him at all, he took all of 15 min on this home, I told him all the improvements which apparently he ignored because his appraisal was really LOW. Also he compared it to NON like properties. How do you compare a house with two full living quarters, and a over 5 bedrooms plus a 28x40x16 garage with its own separate power to 3 bedroom homes with only one bath and zero or 1 garage/carport???

I asked the agent what is going on and I was very upset. He advised well I would get the mirage psid off, own the home, and he would investigate and discuss with his manager. I advised I was not sure I would take the offer, I needed the money badly. He asked how much I owed, I would not release the info. I was counting on the money I had been led to believe I would get. And led is the key word here. I was to go out find properties that sold higher, so prove this agent wrong which in 20 min I had done, so why had this appraiser not found them. Because he AAG's direction to them was check only 1/2 miles from my home!!!

I have what I need, I have called this agent back. I have left messages and guess what - no return call right back. Odd in the past he would return a call immediately. So do I think AAG will just drop me, yes. Do I think they take advantage, yes. Will I complete the deal, probably not as I am sure they will cancel it or come up with a reason why its a no go. Shame on AAG but it does go around but as for me, not sure what I will do now.

Today, four and 1/2 days later, NO funds have been received by our bank to be disbursed to our account. This constitutes BREACH OF CONTRACT in that American Advisors Group failed to abide by the terms set forth by them in THEIR OWN CONTRACT. Therefore, I would advise NO ONE to consider obtaining a Reverse Mortgage from AAG. They are NOT TRUSTWORTHY!

To add insult to injury the customer service rep actually said "we don't care." Boy do I wish I had heard that when I got involved with them. All those calls before I signed, now I can't even get a call back. Mr. Thompson...... do you know what kind of unethical greedy lowlifes you’re representing? Again with way less than 1/2 value of house promised me, they took $8000 in closing, made me pay appraiser and still withhold $925 for illogical repair when I have added to the value of property they will eventually gain. GREED...lack of ethics....LOAN SHARK and quote from them "we don't care". SHAME SHAME.

Our home is worth $210,000 and had a $40,000 payoff and all we saw out of this whole procedure was $9,000 in the end. The actual loan amount is $70,000. The TV ads made it sound so simple and it was anything but simple. In addition, a few months later I received a notice from my insurance company stating that my homeowners insurance had not been paid. It seems that the premium notice was sent to AAG and they never notified me. I was under the impression that they had paid it as part of the closing costs. It took numerous telephone calls to get this mess straightened out as well. They are located in California and we are here in Pennsylvania, so getting in touch with someone was nearly impossible. When I did talk with someone about the insurance snafu, I was told about how they have over 800 employees and it is difficult to keep track of everything and everyone. Signing the mortgage papers consisted of a notary coming to our home and signing what seemed like hundreds of documents which were impossible to read. I can't believe that this company is doing everything legally and above board. They obviously withhold information when talking to their clients in order to get them to apply for the reverse mortgages.

I received my HUD advising from GreenPath who didn't charge me for the consultation because of my low income. As soon as the mortgage closes, AAG bundles it up and sends it down the road to investors so they are not motivated to cut you the best interest rate. Maybe it is just a coincidence that I also received a low-ball appraisal that made my first application fail - so I had to reapply, get a new appraisal (at my expense) and receive counseling again. I wanted to get as much cash out of the reverse mortgage as possible because of accumulated debts and made promises to several people based on the amount of money I would be able to receive at closing.

There was an important deadline at the end of September 2013 when new HUD guidelines would dramatically reduce the maximum amount you could receive. I got my application in before the deadline and was assured that AAG would meet the deadline. The 2nd appraisal was much more in line with the market value of my house and it looked like everything would go well the 2nd time around. Through their own incompetence and bungling, AAG MISSED THE DEADLINE!!! They didn't tell me that for several months and then tried to make light of that fact saying I would be eligible to receive "a little less cash" when in fact it was less than half - about $25,000 less!

I believe they also committed fraud because they told me they were negotiating with the lien holders on my house and had been successful in reducing the amounts to be paid out - even up to a few days before the closing date they were pushing for. One of the lien holders denied ever agreeing to terms that AAG claims they got from them in writing, but were unable to produce the document despite my repeated requests. They tried to pressure me into closing with a promise of $13,000 but I would have been short at closing because they had not actually negotiated with the lien holders after all. Besides that, because they missed the deadline, the appraisal was done before the application was filed with FHA/HUD and had to be "updated" at an additional cost of $350. I wanted them to pay for the update since it was their fault that it was necessary. They refused.

AAG does have a complaint department, and when I talked to them they claimed to be "objective" in their investigations. This must be the case because they did finally reimburse me for the updated appraisal even after I transferred my application to another company. When I searched on the internet for other companies, I found one that came through for me and transferred my application to them. They waived the origination fees and their 3rd party closing costs were less than half of what AAG wanted. I met with one agent who told me that I could file an official complaint with FHA/HUD and they would be required to investigate within 30 days. I plan to follow through with that.

I wish I could provide you with that link but I have misplaced the information. The company I finally went with was Proficio Mortgage and the loan office I spoke to throughout was Stephanie **. Proficio ends up buying a lot of AAG's mortgages. You can check it out for yourself to see if you can receive better treatment than AAG has shown you. 866-839-9521. She answered her phone every time I called and frequently called me with updates while we went through the updated appraisal process. This company did everything they said they would and enabled me to complete the reverse mortgage - which never would have happened with AAG.

Your take-away from my rant should be 1) you can transfer your application to another company at any time, 2) Even within AAG there seems to be a functioning complaint department and 3) You can register serious complaints with FHA/HUD. I am also looking into contacting the Attorney General's for Michigan - I see that AAG has run afoul of AGs in other states (Massachusetts) and even been banned from doing business in them for a period of time. I am also going to write a letter to Fred Thompson (check out his website) and encourage him to disassociate himself from this company, if his reputation means anything to him. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A VICTIM!

So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that the up front half was the entire amount of my loan! Not one soul ever told me that my loan would be $30,000 of which I would actually have in my hand $22,000 after AAG clipped $8,000 from it. Then, more recently, there had been a repair set aside of my money requiring the repairs be completed by December 1, 2013. I hired a subcontractor to do these repairs which he completed November 25, 2013, and submitted the paperwork that day. By December 20, 2013 he had not been paid because AAG had not released the repair funds. I paid half the amount. By January 10, 2014 the funds were still not released by AAG. I made another payment. By February 7, 2014 the funds were still not released so I paid the rest of what was owed to this workman.

That's a span from November 25, 2013 to February 7, 2014 - going on 90 days now - that AAG left this man flapping in the breeze without being paid with me so embarrassed by this that I borrowed some of the money and let some bills go unpaid to use social security funds to pay him off. AAG has aged me, literally, with all their stalling and other stress provoking feet dragging and they beat me out of half the promised loan with no notification whatever during that whole six months of rosy promises they didn't deliver on. That's okay, though, it's just less money to pay back and believe me I will. They are NOT ending up with my home after putting me through that unnecessary and unjustifiable emotional wringer.

Oh, HELL no, they're not. I would not ever recommend this company to anyone at all for a reverse mortgage or any other kind of business. And, as for the other reverse mortgage companies why would they be any better? This is a giant ripoff set up by the government who are in cahoots with these very shady, unethical mortgage companies to prey on senior citizens like the parasitic vultures they all are. Not only do I not recommend AAG, I tell everyone I possibly can how corrupt and dirty dealing they really are. I have all the documentation to prove everything I say about them. And, finding this website with all the so familiar stories of dirty deed after dirty deed done to all the other people testifying here it just supports my statements even more.

Fred Thompson should be ashamed of his part in this downright evil enterprise. And that is exactly what it is: evil. They who worship together at the altar of insatiable greed do no good; they do only this evil. Warn everybody you possibly can, people. We can, together, spare a whole lot of people from our experiences with AAG being repeated with them. And every one we warn off is one more that they are not going to get to. AAG lies, cheats, steals, and cause a stress level so high it leads to illness. I know this because of the sickness I have succumbed directly due to their actions.

September 2013, I was told that my application was sent to processing and I would receive a check in 30 to 45 days. During this time I continued to call but could only leave a message and no return calls. October 2013, I received a letter that my property was unacceptable. I made several phone calls and mailed certified letters and no response as to why. December 2013, I finally reached the Complaint Department and was told that the unacceptable property was due to no comparable home sales within 20 miles of my residence. I was told I could reapply since the 6 months was up and could pay for another appraiser. December 2013, I ended the application process and asked for my abstract back. AAG representative stated they would check on it.

In January, I again requested my abstract and AAG again stated they would look into it. I have asked for a complete copy of my file. Nothing. I have since checked my paperwork and found the $700 for the appraiser is to be refunded whether a completed reverse mortgage or whether it has been cancelled by either party. Again, AAG has ignored any requests. AAG had now ceased responding to me. I have contacted the State Attorney of California, my home state Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission, etc. Still waiting. Nice to know that a company can Keep your private property as valuable as an abstract and NOT return it or the $700.00 they charged me for their appraisal company which was to be refunded.

At first they said carpeting in the 2 rooms would be set aside until loan was finished. Well now it must be finished. They said many things that they changed then we found out our contract had expired Jan 1, 2014. They never said anything until Feb 8, 2014. What a horrible experience. I made loans to do everything they asked me to do. Now without the loan I'm close to bankruptcy taking their word that everything is approved. This has been horrible. If you're thinking about AAG for your reverse mortgage, think again. They're con artists that will lead down the yellow brick road but there won't be a wizard at the end, only heartache.

Gary also informed us that we needed to make numerous repairs for the house to even qualify for FHA approval, which is needed on FHA-guaranteed reverse mortgages. It seems Ms. Danni-with-an-"i" did a complete house inspection instead of just an appraisal. She was so nit-picky as to want a certain kind of light switch cover and she even wanted us to paint our solid oak window sills and sashes with "two coats of matching paint"! She wanted us to completely paint our house, inside and out: walls, trim, windows, and siding. She wanted the electricity upgraded and the house inspected by an electrician, roofer and structural contractor or engineer.

Well, I immediately called Gary and asked him what the ** was going on. He told me not to worry, they would take care of it. This is when his manager, Harold **, got involved. We were told to just paint or cover up with a board some of the things she was complaining about and they would "override" her about the rest. "After all, it's our money and if we want to give you the loan, that's at our discretion! I can guarantee we'll never use this appraiser again!" We did have to upgrade the electricity because Gary told us they wouldn't budge on that since it was a safety issue, but we would be "getting the money back when the loan was closed."

Gary had been calling me once a week with updates, but a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving he stopped calling, so I began calling him on a regular basis. On Thanksgiving Eve, Harold called me and told me he would be handling this personally from now on and I was to call him with any questions. I specifically asked him if we should cut our losses (which I had also asked Gary on numerous occasions) and he assured me that, "No, we'll get this through." He wished me a "Blessed Thanksgiving" (what a hypocrite!) and told me to enjoy the holiday and not worry about a thing. He told me he would call the Monday after Thanksgiving and he would have answers for me.

Well, I waited until Wednesday and when he still hadn't called, I began calling him. He has never, to this day, answered his phone or returned any of my phone calls despite my leaving numerous messages. Then I started calling Gary again. When he finally picked up after numerous calls to him he told me he would have Harold call me ASAP. Another week went by - no phone call. This went on for several weeks with more promises of phone calls which never came.

Finally, around Christmas I got really fed up (talk about a steep learning curve) and made one more call to Gary. The HUD Certification was due to run out on January 20 and we would have to reapply for certification and start the process over again - NOT!!! He did answer the phone on this occasion and informed me that in order to proceed they needed our credit card number so that they could hire the inspectors that Ms. Danni wanted and if the loan didn't go through they would use our credit cards to pay for them since they would no longer be liable for any costs. He said, "I told Harold you wouldn't go for that, but he insisted that was the only way the underwriters would proceed." I said I thought they were taking care of everything and he said Ms. Danni was threatening legal action and they had to get the legal department involved. I said, "I guess we now have our answers and finally know where we stand," and he said, "Yes, I guess you do."

I emailed Gary about a week later and asked for a copy of the appraisal which we paid for and never got a copy of. That was over a month ago and have not heard from them since. We never got the copy of the appraisal, nor the return of the $275 we paid for it (they claim they absorbed the other $200 - it was supposed to cost $475) that we were supposed to be reimbursed if the loan did not go through. All in all, we have paid out close to $2000 in fees and repairs that we could not afford to spend, but were told we would get back when the loan closed. We have gotten behind on our bills so that we could expedite this process and ended up worse off than we were before we started this nightmare. I would NEVER recommend AAG to anyone. As far as we are concerned they are the lowest of low scam artists whose sole purpose is to prey on senior citizens!

I am amazed to read that other customers have experienced the same unprofessional treatment from AAG that I have and still am experiencing from the "sincere" employees working my case. Since my 62nd birthday was in October and I was preapproved, I had my heart set on Closing to happen around Thanksgiving so I could make arrangements to visit my kids, grandkids and great-grandkids for an extended visit in Sacramento, CA for the Christmas and New Year season. Then just around the time I was expecting to Close, I got a call from a local realtor who'd been contacted by AAG to set up an appointment to RE-appraise the house, because AAG had sat on my claim so long the original appraisal had EXPIRED!

Mind you, I have been waiting since early July and in December I'm finding out that my Christmas and holiday travel plans had to be cancelled due to their negligence. Another appraisal appointment was scheduled before the week of Christmas and I was assured there was a rush on my claim. I was sure I would hear the results of the new appraisal by Christmas, but instead found out that my Loan Officer, Michael ** was on vacation until Jan. 6! I wasn't even able to know the amount of the new appraisal until two more weeks of waiting for him to get back from HIS vacation! You'd think if he was trying to get my case into Closing, before the end of the year, he would have the courtesy to notify me of his intended time off rather than saying he was getting my case expedited.

My emails and phone calls are now being unanswered by both Mr. ** as well as his supervisor, Michael **. even though I have left messages for them to contact me on a daily basis this week of the 13th of Jan. Being ignored or avoided by my case workers has me so angry that I got involved in all this mess, I wish I had gone with another company.

It has been 6 MONTHS since I was considered eligible for my reverse mortgage, and here I sit, my holiday plans crushed...I spent Christmas and New Year ALONE, I couldn't afford to buy gifts for anyone, much less my family and friends in CA... and what I should have received within weeks of my birthday, I'm still waiting for! I consider the ethics and business courtesies of AAG to be despicable and rude, and urge any consumer looking into AAG as a financial means of assistance to LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE! I am NOT condemning reverse mortgages as a concept. I still believe it is the way for me to go IF I ever actually realize it. But I'd highly recommend doing your homework on the institution you are considering before starting the process. A Senator's endorsement does not guarantee an efficient, attentive financial institution!

I have tried calling for a supervisor within the company and can't get anyone to return my calls or emails. They are hiding behind their caller ID and emails and won't respond to me at all. I spent $650.00 for the appraisal that they ordered as well as time and postage to send them the documents on my property and they are so unprofessional that they cannot answer any of my attempts to contact them. Anyone that would want to work with this company should be warned by my experience with them as they will try and lowball the value of your property and make you spend money and then totally ignore you. I am upset and may seek a legal remedy for my experience with AAG.

They essentially left us at a Real Estate closing (we were buying a 2nd home in VA with the proceeds of this reverse mortgage) with INSUFFICIENT funds to close the deal & didn't care less. Reps were phoned & e-mailed repeatedly by our Real Estate attorney & by us and simply refused to answer calls & refused to return voice & e-mails. We now owe AAG money (should we not wish to lose our home through sale eventually) and owe family & friends thousands of dollars. We were essentially forced to sign over TWO HUNDRED pages of documents in front of a notary (which they never informed us of until he showed up with hundreds of pages of documents & stated he had NEVER had to have anyone sign this degree of paperwork) - which our Real Estate lawyer eventually told us: "God only knows what you signed. I would find it nearly impossible to comprehend all that paperwork & you are lay people."

A month after closing? We still have YET to receive our promised "welcome packet" & have NO idea where to send mortgage payments to. We now have been forced to pay our lawyer to send AAG a letter demanding this information. AAG is dishonest & untrustworthy and having Fred Thompson who is a former US Senator stand behind these fraudulent dealings is unconscionable. But money talks & the former Senator can't decide whether he is/was a US Representative of the people or an actor. But then again, these days those are both the same thing. DO NOT USE AAG. Move onto a different lender - FAST!!!!!

I informed them that I had a number of concerns and questions about the mortgage. They answered my questions and concerns making it sound that my concerns were a non-issue and I had nothing to worry about. They informed me that I would get copies of the documents at closing and after I signed them, I would have three days to review them and if need be rescind the contract. There were 142 pages of closing documents for this contract. I expressed my dissatisfaction and after reviewing the documents, found that the information they provided to me was false and misleading. This was a bad mortgage and the only ones that really profit from this mortgage is the lender and HUD. You really end up giving up your home for a fraction of its value.

I rescinded the contract. I was criticized for wanting to rescind the contract. After rescinding the contract, I requested my appraisal fee refunded, as was my right and stipulated in the contract. I contacted them and informed them that I wanted my refund. I was then told that I was not entitled to a refund. I had to send them a copy of the contract that stipulated the refund, along with a registered letter. I received criticism and push back on getting my refund. The letter was received and signed for by their representative. Nothing happened after they received the letter. When I spoke with management, they informed them that I had to make my request in writing. I then had to inform them that I did make the request in writing and they received the letter and copy of the contract.

They then took the attitude that because they spent all this time on the contract, I should not be entitled to the refund. I had to call them on a daily basis, most of the time having to leave voice mail messages that were never returned. This took close to a month's worth of phone calls. They only confirmed that I would get my refund after I informed them that I was contacting my attorney and prepared to go to court. I am continuing to have problem confirming the refund amount and when I will be receiving my check. I would not recommend AAG for a reverse mortgage now or in the future. I do not believe they live up to their claims or perceived reputation.

I asked Mr. Harold ** what the name of the person whom he was e-mailing and he flat out refused. I then had to ask if he was even the manager. As I was scrapping my jaw from the floor, then he proceeded to cast out insults and deflect from the original question. He said I should be happy that we were even getting a response and that they are not obligated by state law to keep us informed. That was my first indication that this was predatory behavior. I am genuinely concerned that they have absconded with the money.

I am now currently waiting to hear back from this mystery woman and I am contacting a consumer affairs attorney as well as sharing this on as many websites as possible. We started the process in June of 2013 and it is now September and they still don't have any answers. YEAH RIGHT! BEWARE, BEWARE, BEWARE! I will post a follow up so stay tuned.

I personally made multiple calls the local appraiser and Broadstreet Appraisal Management Company. Broadstreet is contracted by AAG. After many conversations, we were informed by Broadstreet that we could request a reconsideration of the appraisal as our right as homeowners. Steve, at AAG stated that we were stuck with that appraisal for 4 months no matter what. My last phone call was to Steve this past Friday. It did not go well as he lied about how many parties were involved in the overall process and that he had filed all of the proper requests to Broadstreet and the local appraiser. STEVE! This is false. I spoke with these companies personally and they have not received any communication from you or any other party at AAG.

My parents will not use this company! They want to get out as easy as possible and hope elderly homeowners won't question their integrity and business practices. You will lose money on your home if you use this company. They have no interest in the customer. Hey Steve, don't ever call me "Pal" again. I'm not your pal.

When she called to say she wasn't going through with it, the rep pushed her (verbally), and she told him to talk to me. I explained politely that my mother didn't need the money and apologized that she had wasted his time. The rep was polite and said he understood. He then immediately called my mother, told her she had to "come clean" with me about her financial situation, and to tell me she wasn't able to make bills. My mother told him that wasn't the case, and she pretty much repeated what I had told him. He then told her that it wasn't my decision anyway, and she should go ahead and do it, and I wouldn't even know until she was dead.

Can you believe the nerve? He didn't do anything illegal, and he is correct in that it is her ultimate decision, but it definitely shows the character quality of the rep. Definitely scummy!

I called ** many times, and he has never returned my calls. AAG sold our mortgage to Generation Mortgage in Atlanta so I called them. Of the many calls to a Cindy ** at Generation, she never returned my calls or messages. I did get one call from someone at Generation informing me that if I needed money, I should get it from our family. I realize that AAG trapped us and now, they have a home worth $130,000, more than AAG allowed us. They, apparently, do not have the courtesy to even return any calls. Is there anything we can do? My wife and I are 76 years old and in poor health. Please advise.

As stated in an earlier post, the sales rep was polite and professional throughout the process and that carried on into recent conversations with other members of their organization. It is unfortunate AAG was unable to help my mother but as I have called other companies, AAG figures are comparable and are slightly better than competitors. I am pleased that they took the time and dedication to make me feel at ease and I firmly believe this is not a scam. I believe there are hard working, respectful and concerned employees doing an outstanding job representing their company. Thank you for easing my mind and responding to my complaint, AAG.

Original Review: Dec. 21, 2012

So today after I emailed AAG the link to what I had posted earlier, I received a phone call from a manager. AAG's point of view is that based on a preliminary call to order an informational DVD, we mentioned the payoff on my mother's home was $70,000. The home then appraised at $106,000. Since she owes actually closer to $77,000, the house would have to be appraised at $115,000 - which is fine if they would have said upfront this was a possibility. But don't worry, they will not tell you everything upfront. They will lead you down a path that makes you think they are looking out for you. I demanded a refund for the almost $500 that was paid for the appraisal under false pretenses. Yes, I swore a few times especially when I thought I was hung up on, which was not my mistake.

I told them they were a scam and that they take advantage off the elderly. They informed me they apologized for the inconvenience and yes, they should be more upfront. Hmm, you think. Anyway, several times while trying to deflect from the actual misleading part, which is the point here, I was told I am scamming them out of money because I was utilizing their time to deal with this. My response was "Wow, so that's truly what you think of your customers." Dear AAG, I am not stopping until you are exposed for the fraud you are. As I stated to them, owing $70k and appraising at $100k is the same difference as owing $76k and appraising at $106k. It's just insane how they can get away with this.

I hope I don't scam you out of your precious time as you did my mother out of $500. Do what's right and give her that money back.

My mother owed close to $80,000 on her home. The appraisal was $106,000 all along the goal was to pay off her mortgage and maybe bills if any money was left. Well after she paid for the appraisal, she had her hopes up of being released from a mortgage payment. They then informed us, “Oh well you owe closer to $80,000 and therefore if you come up with 8 or 9 thousand dollars, then we can help you.” It is just sickening to me how they can do this. They lead an elderly person on thinking a major stress will be reduced just to pull this. Merry Christmas AAG, thanks for leading us on. Thanks for soaking an elderly woman out of almost $500. I hope you all enjoy your Christmas and your bonuses.

The FHA insurance covers any further financial obligation to the lender, the borrower does not. Furthermore, the borrower only pays for the maintenance of the home, property taxes, and insurance--not interest. My advice: perform your own research. There is a lot of incorrect information about reverse mortgages out there, so do your research. HUD has a great website as well as AARP.

"The Massachusetts Division of Banks has issued cease and desist orders to four mortgage lenders/brokers for allegedly violating the state's reverse mortgage laws.nThe orders on three lenders, First Call Mortgage Company Inc. of Andover, Mass., Sun West Mortgage Company Inc. of Cerritos, Calif., and Gold Reverse Inc. of Anaheim, Calif, were in response to allegations that the companies were making loans to Massachusetts seniors without an approved plan that included counseling on the mortgage.The Division's order against broker American Advisors Group was for engaging in unfair and deceptive marketing of the loans through a direct mail campaign where reverse mortgages were marketed as government benefits."

As per any FHA-approved HECM reverse mortgage, interest fees are added to the loan and are not repaid until the loan reaches maturity--normally, when the last borrower moves out of the home. This is clearly disclosed in the loan documents and is part of the government required counseling each borrower undergoes before closing the loan.

Also, the complainant's assertion that the loan will reach $300,000 and will leave her family unable to pay it off is again, untrue. Part of an FHA-insured loan includes Mortgage Insurance Premium which ensures that a borrower can never owe more than the value of their home. The complainant was clearly not present at any document signings nor the counseling and has a complete misunderstanding of the product and the program. Frankly, we are surprised that consumeraffairs.org would post a complaint like this without doing any kind of diligence on the facts behind the complaint. Please take down this posting or provide us the appropriate opportunity to respond.

The kicker to this story is our bills are current but that they can have them paid off in 4-6 years but we do without credit for the next 7 to 10 years. But they will repair your credit to better than new, where do all these credit repair companies come from and how do they access your credit information as they know more than you do. Then comes credit card cancellation notices. We don’t have that credit card anymore. But these dept helpers keep on coming out every day. Also, we were not told anything about making interest payments monthly like the other lady. If you’re over 60 years old, you must have sucker stamped on you. Get out of this mess as it only gets worse as to whom all now has your credit information and how they obtain it is the question of the day.