AmeriSave Mortgage Reviews

The rep was wonderful. I had a lot of stress and chaos going on, but she was always readily available to check on things or add things to my account. She was there to calm my nerves. There was a period of time I noticed when buying a house that you don't know what you can afford until you start putting things out there. She was always very available to check on houses, let me know the numbers and the down payment that would be needed. I was able to tweak my search as needed based on her information. I texted her a few times very chaotically or emotionally and she remained very calm throughout the whole process. She reassured me very much that this was going to happen and we were gonna make it work. There were a few moments where I was ready to walk away almost but she was able to take that energy and redirect it, give me some facts and keep me going forward.

It was very confusing for a while because she would ask for paperwork and I would submit what I was able to get. Then, I kept getting told the format is wrong. I tried submitting PDFs and that was wrong, and needed something from the bank or a generated statement. If I had more understanding of it before I went, then it wouldn't have been so much back and forth. But it was worth it. When I found my house and we were trying to go forward, things went through very nicely. This was a great experience especially me ending in the home. Working with AmeriSave gave me everything. Providing a home for my son was the most important thing, especially with the divorce and the violent situation we had come from.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but I don't think it was Amerisave's fault. It was just a lot of stuff and I had to keep an eye on myself. I bought points to bring down the rate, but it was the best rate that had been offered to me yet and I had talked to two other mortgage companies. The one before Amerisave couldn't help me due to some other issue, and I wasn't happy with that. I was also talking with my current mortgage company, because they wanted to do a refinance, but they were waiting to start things until a specific date. I like the fact that Amerisave was willing to get the ball rolling before this pivotal date that they couldn't go any further with. At least we could get stuff out of the way. There was a lot of questions around my particular scenario and some of the document processes that went along with it.

I'm an old-school Gen Xer, and I like to talk to people. I look at personality, and how someone interacts with another person is a big plus. Joanna was super friendly and knowledgeable. I can be quite the annoying consumer, but nobody seemingly got angry with me, at least to my face. Amerisave was responsive and we took care of it and they clarified things. They did what they said they were going to do. They did a great job and I don't think they could have done it any better. I was always on it, checking things daily and messaging them, and I didn't give them the opportunity to respond to me or to be proactive in certain situations because I was always super in their face. I would recommend that people give Amerisave a shot.

I got a couple of more quotes from some other companies after I spoke with Russell. I was considering three companies and gave them all equal shots. In the end, I felt most confident with Russell. He seemed pretty good and quick. He answered my phone when I called him back. I'm used to using the local banks and credit unions because I can talk to somebody. If I got a question or problem, I don't want to wait or email. I got a good vibe from Russell and he was really thorough.

AmeriSave had a good rate too. The other companies said they could match the rate but I said I was already working with somebody. Unless they can really beat it by a lot, I’m not gonna switch because if they matched things, there would be no sense for me to change. As for the closing costs with AmeriSave, they were more than what I thought were reasonable. I’m like, “I'm saving 2.25% in interest and it was a bunch of money, $290,000. I was paying a principal-only payment right now. And it’s like 5,000 bucks a month. So, I’m pissing money fast anyways..."

Russell quoted me a rate and in the long run, it was going to be higher than that. It was like 9,000. By the time it got all said and done, it was 12,000. I was already 90% through the process. I looked at the closing cost numbers and it is what it is. It seemed all legit. AmeriSave made some errors. I told Russell, “I don't have any money at closing right now. I just got hit, with three properties I own, with taxes." I already rate-locked and Russell said he could adjust that and he took care of it. I was just really happy with Russell.

I recommended AmeriSave to my son. He's looking for a new house and I told him to talk to Russell when he was ready to go. I said, “He helped us out. He did good. There was nothing that was a big surprise.” I’m in my mid-50s and I've refinanced a thousand times and this one went really smoothly. Russell was a point guy, which I liked. I get calls from other departments and they would ask for something that I already sent. Russel would an email saying he would take care of things and to not worry. He was always there to help through the process. When it went to underwriting and they wanted stuff, I'd send something. When I don't hear anything back, Russell would go, “Oh, let me get back to you.” “Yup, we're all set.” “Okay, good. I got some feedback.”

When it started reaching up to the level above Carlo, it started getting a bit challenging because there were some things that were lost in translation at communication as far as my benefits as a veteran. That was one of the biggest things that I was looking for like the tax exemption that I'm entitled to as a 100% disabled veteran. I had to resubmit that two or three times because they were not receiving it. They were simply forgetting certain things that I had told them as far as documents that are required for appraisal.

One of the common things is there being a termite inspection that's required but in the state of Minnesota, it’s not required because termites don't like the climate here in the super cold. I had to repeatedly tell them that. That was half of the reason why the process took a bit long. Near the back end of the process, it got a little bit frustrating because there were some things that I was really banking on and it fell flat. When we did the final closing, it still wasn't reflecting this is what the first mortgage payment is gonna be and how it’s gonna look in the future.

When I told them that I had submitted the property tax exemption form from the county tax office, they said that they were going to submit it, process it, and it should reflect by the time the first statement comes. That first statement came and it still didn't reflect. I had to call customer service and explain the issue but they said they can't change the mortgage payment. Once it gets processed and I make that first mortgage payment, they'll send the difference via check, but that was not what I was hoping.

That aside, Carlo kept me up to date on everything, even when it was bumped up on higher levels like the underwriters. He kept them in the loop as far as our conversation of what we have, what I was looking for, and the rates I was looking for so everybody would be on the same page. There was one point in the process where I thought the whole thing was gonna fall through. But Carlo gave me a call and reassured me that it wasn't quite a done deal as far as the plan falling through to do a refinance. He was very persistent and comforting throughout the whole process. The process took about five or six weeks.

The rates were fair, considering where the current rates are right now. With certain bypasses that the V A offered, there were a lot of things that I was able to do that the traditional applicant wouldn't be able to do. I'm satisfied with the rates. I was also assured that after my sixth mortgage payment, AmeriSave will revisit the APR rate. If it has lowered, they'll reconfigure the rate. Carlo has been very informative as far as the options that I have as someone who can use the VA to their advantage.

The person that reached out to me just at the tail end of all the repairs was from AmeriSave and said that I had inquired and asked if I was still interested. I said yes. Both of those people had left the company during my time of working with them, so that part was a little bit delayed in trying to get all the paperwork. It was a slow process of getting paperwork back and forth.

The third person that things got transferred to was Ernest and he was absolutely amazing. He took away all of the reservations I may have had from that initial stuff. He was really on it as far as getting everything through and in explaining exactly what I needed and getting it sent to him and everything getting loaded. He kept in touch almost daily every step of the way, all the way up through the closing.

There was a little switch right at closing where I needed to be titled a certain way. It was a joint survivorship title and not a regular title. Ernest was able to assist with as well to get connected with everybody. It left me with very positive thoughts about the company. In fact, I've already sent Ernest a few people to work with as far as getting preapproved to buy a home.

Unfortunately, by the time I got done with my repairs, it was right at that cut when the rate started going up. So I had to pay a little extra fee to buy down the rate a little bit. My fees were a little high, but that was not on Ernest. In fact, he may have lowered it just a little bit to make it a little bit more user-friendly. The initial fees were applied by the first person that was no longer there. But he went through and adjusted it. So the rate was not so horrible. I do hope one day the rates fall, and I'll definitely refinance. But for the given situation, it was fine. Overall, it was a quick simple process. Anything difficult about the process was self-induced. It was not on AmeriSave.

The rates and terms suck massively. It was very bad. It was the most expensive house I bought. I took a bit of a gut punch on that. I ended up choosing the 7/6 ARM variable rate. Amerisave had a competitive and somewhat unique menu among the companies that I looked at for that rate. So I was able to get a lower rate than a lot of the six mortgages or other similar products. But I'm a little bit of a cheapskate and it scratched that itch. From a sales standpoint, they did a good job. There were a couple of buggy things that I found frustrating, but nothing insurmountable. Amerisave plays a fairly standard game from what I can see as an individual. But I was happy with Amerisave, all things considered. I'd recommend them.

The application went in on June 12th and I closed on July 28th. It was roughly 50 days. The loan officer boasted that it was gonna be roughly a 30-day timeframe. We went well over that. I feel the loan officer is disconnected from the processor/closing. They get the loan application in, and then you just sit there. From the day that I applied and got the loan locked in, the appraisal was a one-day turnaround. So, I was sitting for the rest of it, waiting for processing to occur.

Then there were several hurdles I had to jump through in order to close the loan. Their processor to closing could be vastly improved because there were several stages I was asked to provide more and more information. They never had a set, “This is what we're gonna need from you. And this is how long it will take to review and close.” So, I was constantly finding myself reaching out to the loan processor. One interesting thing on the closing part was they sent the disbursed funds to pay off things. They sent it to the subject property instead of my residence. This was a second home. So, I had to have my mother who lives in that property send me the funds. Luckily, she said, “Hey, there's a mail here for you from AmeriSave.” I said, “Oh, well, I've been waiting on some stuff from them. It's probably that. Can you send it over?” So, luckily, I got that all to occur. I didn't even get things in the proper amount of time.

When I did the online application, there were some things that were confusing but then Eli walked me through some of it and it worked out great. For the most part, it was still relatively easy to do. It took about 30 days for everything to complete. I've dealt with some bad experiences doing this kind of stuff before. So, this one was smoother. It's the first time I've ever done anything online. By doing it online, it was reaching out online and talking to someone that way instead of going to an office here locally and speaking to somebody or having someone physically nearby you. So, the experience was good. It was well done.

If I have any questions or concerns, I have the process center. I had a gal back there who was helping me, Leane, and she was good. She answered all my questions there. Also with Eli, if I had a question or was concerned, I would ask him and he would give me the response relatively quickly via either text message or email. The portal they used was effective to get information out to you and to use. Eli was assigned to me to be the loan originator. His willingness to work with me impressed me. From the very beginning, I told him if he was upfront with me and told me his bottom line best deal he could do, and the truth, I would use him from start to finish, and that was what he did.

The rates and terms were fair across the board for what it is. They were good compared to what other people were doing. Other people are trying to play games and set you up at different kinds of rates, giving you this lower rate for this amount of time, but then it switches to this rate. Now, everything was locked in. Mine was what Eli said it was gonna be and that was how it worked out well.

Working with AmeriSave helped us out of a big financial bind. We had damage from Hurricane Ian which depleted our savings and we needed the loan at the time. I did the process with many other lenders, filled out all the questionnaires, the paperwork, and at the last minute, they all rejected us. The only one that didn't was AmeriSave. Even though we paid off four previous mortgages and we both have excellent credit ratings, the other companies were very reluctant to help us because we had too many credit cards. And the whole purpose of refinancing was to get rid of our credit card debt.