eLEND.com

Review: I am the seller of a home which was scheduled to close on February 26 (over two months ago). American Financial Resources is the lender on this sale. For over two months, they have delayed and delayed final approval of this loan. Both the buyer and I have IMMEDIATELY complied with every request they have made. A week ago, we were told it was all ready to go and then they decided I needed to put on a new roof ($4500). I got a roofer to interrupt his schedule and put it on and send them the certification form that they require. They received that Monday. Still no approval, although they haven't given us any reason except that they are busy. The buyer moved out of their previous home in February and have been living in a hotel room waiting for the close. We are all terribly frustrated with their incompetence.Desired Settlement: Reimbursement of both seller and buyer expenses (about $10,000) unless IMMEDIATE approval is forthcoming.

Business

Response:

Can you please ask the applicant(s) to contact me directly with their Application number and I will look into the matter immediately. Please do not reply back through the Revdex.com with any personal or private information such as their application number. Please ask the applicant(s) to call me at [redacted]. Thank you

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

We were constantly told that it was AFR in New Jersey that was the holdup. I can forward a dozen emails from them that verifies this claim. Here is a partial one -- written on 4/17 by AFR. The file was not reviewed and sent to title until 5/1. I have emails from way before then basically stating the same thing.

Regards,

Business

Response:

The company your buyer is doing business with blaming another company for their delays should not constitute the Revdex.com accepting a consumer complaint against us. You are not our customer. Your buyer was not our customer. Your buyer's mortgage company could have and should have closed the transaction when they were ready to do so. If you are not satisfied with the timing of the closing of the transaction, your complaint should be against them, not us regardless of any e-mails you may or may not have that suggests otherwise.

Review: My husband and I applied for our First Home with an USDA loan home loan the first of February 2015. The lender told us we would close in less than 30 days, but we had to have the house appraised first...we did that. Elend change our bank card $475. We then had our credit ran three different times. We turned in all needed paperwork and then we had to turn in the same paperwork again. My husband and I were emailed after 35 days from Elend to tell us we did not qualify for USDA loan, that we had to apply for FHA...which we did...and we still have heard nothing, but when I call or send an email we do not hear from this guy...it's been 45 days and guess what he needs more paper work of stuff we already sent...We are done with this company...stay away from these folks...Desired Settlement: Refund of the appraisal house fee credit back of $475 to our bank card.

Business

Response:

Dear Ms. [redacted],American Financial Resources, Inc. (“AFR”) is in receipt of the complaint that you made to the Revdex.com. In your complaint you state that you initiated a USDA loan application with eLEND in the beginning of February of 2015. You state that the loan officer you were working with at eLEND told you that you could close in less than 30 days, but you would have to have the house appraised quickly. As such, $475.00 was charged to your bank card to pay for the appraisal. You go on to state that after 35 days, eLEND indicated that you did not qualify for a USDA loan, and that you had to apply for an FHA loan. You agreed and applied for an FHA loan. You finally state that you did not hear from eLEND on the status of your FHA loan and that after 45 days from initiating the loan process decided to voluntarily withdraw your application. Throughout the process, you indicated that you were asked to provide documentation for the loan, and that the requests were duplicative and burdensome.After reviewing your loan and the file, please note that the initial application for the USDA loan was taken on February 4, 2015 to purchase [redacted]. After receiving the completed application and the signed disclosures, a review of your credit picture was completed and it was determined at that point that you did not qualify for a USDA loan. It was suggested then that perhaps you would qualify for an FHA loan. An FHA loan is a completely separate and distinct loan product from a USDA loan. In order to process an FHA loan, new documentation needed to be prepared and executed. Those new FHA loan disclosures were sent to you on February 24, 2015. Also, FHA has different lending guidelines than the USDA. AFR is a direct endorsement FHA lender and is legally bound by their underwriting Seller’s Guide. Our company accepts tens of thousands of applications on an annual basis, and our experienced staff reviews each and every file submission. All individual applicants, receive a full credit analysis. The lender is concerned with financial risk analysis and the credit profile of each potential borrower. Applications involve complexunderwriting and detailed analysis of income and asset documentation, collateral review, appraisal standards, etc. It was in an effort to place you in an FHA loan product, and under those FHA guidelines that your income, assetsand credit history were reviewed. After that review, on February 26, 2015 it was determined that you did not qualify for the FHA loan at that time.In order to process your loan as efficiently as possible, it was explained that an appraisal of the [redacted]. property would need to be completed quickly. The cost of that appraisal was $475.00. The appraisal was ordered, and then received by us on or about February 26, 2015. As a regulated institution, we must adhere to all FHA appraisal and underwriting guidelines. These legal requirements mandate that all appraisals are ordered through a non-affiliated Appraisal Management Company; any monies expended were received by a third-party. Please be advised that our company neither charges application fees, underwriting fees, nor any lender fees whatsoever. Our company does not generate any revenue unless a loan actually closes. While we cannot speak directly for an unaffiliated vendor, the appraisal companies’ invoices are generally reasonable and customary for valuation services.In summation, we do appreciate you reaching out regarding your loan experience with AFR and eLEND and are saddened that it did not result in a closing. As an Equal Housing Lender, we strive to provide financing to all qualified candidates.AFR has helped tens of thousands of families achieve homeownership, and work tirelessly to handle all transactions in a transparent and professional manner.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: your company lies. We were never told we not approved for the FHA loan. We were approved through another lender. Stop giving false advertisement! Your company will not survive with corruption.

Regards,

Review: I completed an application for a refinance and submitted all additional information necessary for the reviewer, this was all done within any time frame provided to me by the business. I also provided credit card information which was to be used for the purchase of an inspection (directed by the business) in order to provide approval of my loan application. I was told application was approved and appraisal was ordered. Appraisal came in way over the required amount in order to complete my loan. It was after this occurred that I was told that my application was being reviewed for finalization by the underwriter. 10 days or so passed and I tried to reach out to the person who took my application [redacted]) I called numerous times and left multiple voice mails. I also e-mailed him as well to which I never received a response. It wasn't until 15-20 days after that, that I received a call back from [redacted] who left me a message stating someone else contacted me and asked me to add my spouse to the application, to which I said "I am not interested". I never received a phone call asking to add my spouse, I never heard from anyone at the company which means this statement was fabricated by someone at eLend. I then tried to contact [redacted] again, who never returned my call. In my call (Voice Mail Message) I stated I wanted a refund for the appraisal of my house since the company misled me and ordered the appraisal on my behalf without providing the end service (the refinance). I am still waiting for a response, its been over 2 weeks.Desired Settlement: $450 (Cost of the Appraisal)

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

American Financial Resources, Inc. (“eLend”) is in receipt of your consumer complaint pertaining to the proposed refinance of your property. Our company is a nationwide mortgage lender with Direct Endorsement Authority from the Department of Housing and

Urban Development. We are also an approved seller/servicer with [redacted] and [redacted]. As evidenced by our strong customer satisfaction ratings, we take all consumer inquires very seriously.

The borrower applied for a conventional ([redacted]) loan. As an approved seller/servicer with [redacted], our company is legally bound to abide by all statutes, regulations and GSE guidelines relating to credit analysis and review. Our underwriters are tasked

with analyzing complex documentation, and rendering a credit decision based upon their government underwriting guidelines. This includes a review of income, assets, tax return verification, collateral valuation, etc. Unfortunately, your application did not result in an approved financing and an adverse action notice was generated. We apologize if there was any perceived lack of communication between you and anyone from our company; we pride ourselves on transparency and delivering a high level of customer service.

Please note our company charges zero lender fees; we only generate revenue if and when a loan actually closes, prompting equal motivation to close loans in a quick and efficient manner. Any expenditures or fees were collected by unaffiliated third parties; we did not earn any fees on the transaction. Over the past fifteen years, we have helped tens of thousands of families achieve homeownership. We work tirelessly to handle transactions in a professional manner. As an Equal Housing Lender, we strive to provide financing to all qualified candidates on all qualified properties. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Review: I began a mortgage application almost 6 weeks ago. This has dragged out endlessly but on 16 Oct 2014 I was charged $495 on my credit card for an appraisal on the property applied for. On 3 Nov 2014 I was contacted for even more information including some I have already provided and have still not received an appraisal although I was told that it had been done. I am terminating this attempted mortgage application as I keep getting the run around on what is going on and have no confidence this will be resolved. My purchase and sale contract is nearing the expiration date and the seller is not very interested in continuing in this with another one. Elend has not performed satisfactorily or provided the services I have paid for.Desired Settlement: I want my Credit Card refunded the $495.00 I was charged for the appraisal.

Business

Response:

American Financial Resources, Inc. (d/b/a eLend) is in receipt of your consumer complaint relating to your recent mortgage application. Our company is a nationwide mortgage lender with Direct Endorsement Authority from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. We are also an approved seller/servicer with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As evidenced by our strong customer satisfaction ratings, we take all consumer inquires very seriously. As an Equal Housing Lender, our company strives to provide financing to all qualified individuals on all eligible properties. As a regulated institution, we must adhere to all FHA appraisal and underwriting guidelines. These legal requirements mandate that all appraisals are ordered through a non-affiliated Appraisal Management Company; any monies expended were received by a third-party. Please be advised that our company neither charges application fees, underwriting fees, nor any lender fees whatsoever. Our company does not generate any revenue unless a loan actually closes. While we cannot speak directly for an unaffiliated vendor, the appraisal companies invoices are generally reasonable and customary for 2014 valuation services. Nevertheless, our company strives for complete borrower satisfaction and timely receipt of documents. Therefore, we have lobbied on your behalf to have the Appraisal Management Company reimburse you for the entire cost of your appraisal. Additionally, for your records, eLend has transmitted a complete physical copy of your appraisal via United Parcel Service. We apologize if there was any perceived lack of communication; we pride ourselves on always delivering a high level of customer service. Over the past sixteen years, we have helped tens of thousands of families achieve homeownership, and work tirelessly to handle all transactions in a professional manner. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: It does not reimburse my expense of $495.00 for the appraisal which was not done in a timely manner regardless of how much or little money ELend procures from it's services. I contacted the appraisal company and they told me that they contracted through ELend so it was essentially ELends problem. If ELend truely values its reputation and customers it will reimburse this unhappy and dissatisfied customer the money I am out in this and go after the appraisal company for its lack of professionalism. I do not need another copy of the appraisal. I have one that was emailed to me 21 days after my credit card was billed for this service and which is now worthless as I do not have a property to buy.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted],Good afternoon. We are crestfallen to see that the Complaint response was rejected; we strive for 100% customer satisfaction. Upon our notice of the rejection, we confirmed with the Appraisal Management Company that the requested refund was properly administered. We are attaching a copy of the correspodnence reflecting the refund amount of $495. We trust this is to your complete satisfaction. Thank you again for the opportunity to address the issue.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

The third party refunded my credit card for the faulty inspection with no help, indeed roadblocks and outright refusal to do anything before this dispute was filed and then putting it off on someone else who also refused to do anything until the credit charge was challenged and the threat of a case being filed with both the Revdex.com and The Consumer Protection Bureau. The customer service exhibited by your company was sub-par in every way and I can not recommend your company nor the Appraisal Service for any reason.

Regards,

Review: About 3 months ago we started the process of doing a HARP(stream line process) refinance through [redacted] Mortgage. They were able to get a company by the name of American Financial Resources. We were given an interest rate of 3.75% which is down from our current 5.8%. We were told by our mortgage advisor that everything was approved but the payoff and underwriting was taking a while(have saved all of my texts). After another 30 days they changed our loan interest rate to 4.25%, we locked in at this rate, suppossedly everything was still approved and moving forward. Today (7/10/2013) I get an email from my mortgage advisor that we need to sign the rate lock form again, this time at 4.625%. I feel they are running a scam and pushing up the rate to take more money from us. They should treat their customers with respect and honor the orginal amount quoted to us. I have all the paperwork for anyone that wants to see it or any of the text messages that I have received from my mortgage advisor telling me that they have been pushing it back on their end. The rate should not have gone up that much and this process should not have taken 3 months and counting to close. Please look into the unfair practices they are performing to consumers. We were also told to skip our payment for June to use toward closing costs because the mortgage company told our mortgage officer that it would close by the end of June. By June 28th, 2013 I got a call from my mortgage advisor stating it was not going to close on time and that we would have to make our payment so we didn't show a late payment on our credit. On top of that we had to pay a $200 late fee for the month through our current mortgage company, [redacted]Desired Settlement: Would like our loan locked in at our original quoted interest rate which was 3.75% and the $200 late fee we paid because they failed to close on time.

Business

Response:

American Financial Resources, Inc. (“AFR”) is in receipt of your inquiry. Our company is a nationwide mortgage lender and an approved direct seller/servicer with Freddie Mac. As evidenced by our strong customer satisfaction ratings, including an A+ rating with the Revdex.com, we take all consumer complaints very seriously.

As a regulated institution, we must adhere to all Freddie Mac appraisal and underwriting guidelines. Please be advised that our company neither charges application fees, underwriting fees, nor any lender fees whatsoever. Our company does not generate any revenue unless a loan actually closes. Our company does not own any whole loans; all transactions are sold into the secondary market. We do not receive any additional compensation for delivering higher interest rate loans; therefore, we are incentivized to close loans as quickly and efficiently as possible. Our company maintains internal controls to operate a prudent underwriting environment, and certain anti-fraud provisions (i.e. multiple re-verifications) can be a time consuming process.

Please note this file was registered through our wholesale division. Therefore, your mortgage loan originator is neither employed nor affiliated with our company, and we cannot speak to what that person may have communicated to you. We strive to only associate with licensed and reputable third parties, and I can assure you our company would never direct any consumer to skip any mortgage payments. Additionally, we attempt to consistently keep our business partners informed of the loan status, and work hard to close all loans expeditiously. As an Equal Housing Lender, we strive to provide financing to all qualified candidates. Over the past fifteen years, we have helped tens of thousands of families achieve homeownership, and work tirelessly to handle all transactions in a professional manner. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Review: On April 25, 2013, I called [redacted] to refinance my home. Interest rate 2.5% for 15yrs. He told be it would be locked in for 45 days. But said we should close in 30 days. I had the home appraised for $425.00. It was paid on May 5. When 30 days was up I kept trying to call [redacted]. And kept asking [redacted] what was going on with my loan. She replied I don't know I would transfer me to [redacted]. I would also ask her what else they needed to process my loan. She would tell me items that I sent already. I would also call her after I would fax an item and verify that they got the item. After 45 days I was really concerned about my loan and would call [redacted] and [redacted]. And emailed [redacted] also. Never did I get back a response from [redacted]. After 60 days [redacted] called me back and said my loan was not voided because it passed 60 days. He told me I could talk with [redacted] which I did. He told me there was nothing he could due. He said [redacted] had some personal problems during my loan time. I told him it was not acceptable. And someone should have notified me. I felt like I had wasted 2 months. I could have gotten another loan. But [redacted] kept telling me everything was on course. Now the interest rates have skyrocketed. Making me lose thousands of dollars. I kept emailing [redacted] and [redacted] asking them if I should get another loans when it was around 45 days. Never will I do business with them again. Now the market is back up and I can't refinance. This is a crime.Desired Settlement: I would like at least a refund of my home appraisal for $425.00.

Business

Response:

American Financial Resources, Inc. (“AFR”) is in receipt of your inquiry. Our company is a nationwide mortgage lender and an approved direct seller/servicer with Fannie Mae. As evidenced by our strong customer satisfaction ratings, including an A+ rating with the Revdex.com, we take all consumer complaints very seriously.

As a regulated institution, we must adhere to all Fannie Mae appraisal and underwriting guidelines. Please be advised that our company neither charges application fees, underwriting fees, nor any lender fees whatsoever. Our company does not generate any revenue unless a loan actually closes. Our company does not own any whole loans; all transactions are sold into the secondary market. We do not receive any additional compensation for delivering higher interest rate loans; therefore, we are incentivized to close the loans as quickly and efficiently as possible. Please note that our company maintains internal controls to operate a prudent underwriting environment, and certain anti-fraud provisions (i.e. multiple re-verifications) can be a time consuming process. Nevertheless, we apologize if there was any perceived lack of communication; we pride ourselves on delivering a high level of customer service.

We are crestfallen that you are less than 100% satisfied with the transaction. Per legal requirements, appraisals are ordered through a non-affiliated Appraisal Management Company; any monies expended were received by that third-party. Although we collected zero fees, in the interest of your customer satisfaction, we personally issued a check for several hundred dollars to cover the cost of your appraisal. As an Equal Housing Lender, we strive to provide financing to all qualified candidates. Over the past fifteen years, we have helped tens of thousands of families achieve homeownership, and work tirelessly to handle all transactions in a professional manner. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Review: I applied for refinance of my home on June 4th 2013. The loan officer was very eager to help me and I told them completely of my current situation. The home I live in was owner financed. I was in a bankruptcy 3 years ago. I make plenty of money and I can pay off this mortgage 155K in 2 more years by current schedule. I just wish to establish some credit history by doing my own loan, if I could get it refinanced from the current owner financed mortgage. By mid June, the home appraisal was done and I paid 500 dollars. I gave them all the paperwork they requested in a very timely manner. Then the ignorance of my file began. Somewhere between the loan processor and the underwriter, my file was kept. No one called me to see what was going on until I call every ten days or so. Then they would ask me for things like 2 years of banking history, payment history, bankruptcy papers, loan promissory notes, bank receipts, my business and personal tax returns, etc etc. They could have asked for everything at once and I would have given them all I could. They would only request these documents each time I call in. Now it is August 28th and still do not have final answer if they are going to do the loan or not. Last week when I wrote a complaint email, some manager or sort named, [redacted] got involved. He sounded like he was on it to take care of it. 6 days ago I sent him some more additional documents he requested. He said he will get back to me in 24 hours. It has been 4 more business days and I have sent 2 emails requesting action. Total ignoring of my email and not giving me yes or no answer. It is like they locked in a mortgage rate back in June and now they don't want to honor it since it went higher since. They put me through nearly 3months of waiting and running around to get different documents and they still have not come back and told me one way or the other.Desired Settlement: 500 dollar refund for the fees that I paid or close the loan ASAP with the terms originally outlined.

Business

Response:

American Financial Resources, Inc. is in receipt of your Revdex.com consumer complaint. Our company is a nationwide mortgage lender and an approved FHA lender. As evidenced by our historically strong customer satisfaction ratings, we take all consumer inquiries very seriously.

As a regulated institution, we must adhere to all underwriting guidelines promulgated directly by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). We maintain internal controls to operate a prudent underwriting environment, and many anti-fraud provisions are implemented throughout the loan origination cycle. Assumptions of mortgages can be a very complex topic, and underwriters must be certain that transactions are vetted in HUD’s best interest. While we recognize your liquidity is excellent, judicious underwriting requires full investigation of previous bankruptcies and real estate owned. Verification of income, assets, job history, etc. often begets additional underwriting conditions. Also, as a direct endorsement lender offering government insured loans, we must abide by all regulations pertaining to Appraiser Independence Requirements. To comply with these statutes, your appraisal was ordered though an independent third-party appraisal management company, and any fees expended were received by third parties. Please note that our own entity neither charges nor receives any lender fees. Our company does not generate any revenue unless a loan actually closes.

Nevertheless, we are crestfallen that you were less than 100% satisfied in dealing with our company. Unfortunately, not every application results in approved financing and every contingency cannot be anticipated in advance. As an Equal Housing Lender, we strive to provide financing to all qualified candidates on all eligible properties. Over the past fifteen years, we have helped tens of thousands of families achieve homeownership, and work tirelessly to handle all transactions in a professional manner. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

My complaint is not that the loan was not approved. It is in the manner by which I finally figured out that I was not going to be approved. Two and a half month of asking for different documents each week, no response what so ever until I make the inquiry by telephone, no replies to my email questions, and then finally at the end, no email or phone call NOR a formal letter stating that my loan request was denied. Just left me hanging to wonder. Some "manager" who last contacted me ([redacted] or [redacted]), stated he will do what he can do get the loan processed. Two weeks go by and meanwhile, I emailed him twice for answers. NO RESPONSE.

Communication is key. If I was explained why it couldn't be done, I would have accepted the fact. They kept asking for additional documents when it seems like the only hang up was in the bank statements that I provided them with months ago. At the end of 3 months, it seems like THAT was the reason for not going through the underwriting but why not just let me know that from the beginning? And, at the end, why not a closure of some sort? Why no response to my request for an answer? Why no written communication?

Regards,

Review: [redacted] (Builder) referred [redacted] (Borrower) to American Financial Resources (Bank) to get loan to buy a New Pocono Home. Prior to that [redacted] had a meeting with American Financial Resources and they gave/promised great turn-around times for closings on new homes.

The borrower had excellent credit and therefore paperwork was sent to American Financial Resources for a loan in Approx June 2013. The home was completed in September and all parties were hoping for a closing in September 2013 according to sales presentation earlier in the year. The bank had about 2-3 months to get all documents together so we could all close in September, just when the home was completed.

I don't know what happened exactly in July August and September. October came around and still no closing. The bank asked for some paperwork from seller and buyer numerous times. Bank kept asking again and again for more docs with about 2 weeks lapse in between each time. Finally in beginning November I sent emails to numerous people and attempted to call processor and whoever was involved with causing this closing to be past due now about 45 days. Sometimes they replied and said they just need ONE more document from buyer. Borrower quickly got the needed document. A few days pasted and I reached out to bank again and threaten to report the issue to Revdex.com. They requested another document. Finally today they called and said the borrower doesn't have enough funds in account, and borrower will need about $20,000 more in account for closing. Therefore basically loan kinda denied. Bank acknowledged that they put him through the wrong program.

So about 6 month into the process they finally give up on the file..? And by the way credit and dti for borrower is excellent. Bank just happened to run borrower through the wrong program and therefore borrower doesn't have enough funds for closing. Very bad service, making closing 2 months past due...Desired Settlement: It costs [redacted] about $100 per day with interest, utilities and maintenance on this property due to delayed closing. Closing has already been delayed 60 days and will take another 20 days to get closed with another bank. Plus the advertising costs, the risk of losing the customer because of frustration.

[redacted] is only looking for 60 days times $100, is a total of $6000 desired settlement reimbursement from American Financial Resources.

Business

Response:

American Financial Resources Inc. is a licensed lender in the State of Pennsylvania. We take applications directly from potential borrowers or through licensed brokers. We have no contractual written or verbal agreements with [redacted], a non-licensed entity. We are prohibited by law from discussing any status or reasons for either approving or denying any application with a non-licensed entity concerning a private individual's application with us. If you have claims you need to seek them from the person or persons you may or may not have a contractual relationship with.

Consumer

Response:

Review: 9802190

I am rejecting this response because:

Even though there is no contract between American Financial and [redacted], there is still (Was) a business relationship. Even though nothing was signed, American Finanical gave meetings and presentations at [redacted]. If they could give presentations at [redacted], why aren't they allowed to discuss anything now?? And also I tried to contact ([redacted]) person to person but I get no responses. NONE...And everything now proves the prior meetings and presentations as false representations, and bad business practices along with poor customer service, and not disclosing denials right away holding everybody in limbo for lenthy periods of time is bad customer service... Customer service and causing unreasonable delays is what I'm complaining about. Such parties as American Financial need to abide by certain laws too. Such as switch and bate and a few other laws have been broken. A false representation of a bank's ability is considered illegal. The representation given to [redacted] was closings within 30-45 days from application. It took over twice this about of time for AFR to discover they can't work on the file anymore and chose the wrong program for him.. ? That's very bad customer service, if not illegal.

Also the contract between [redacted] and Mr [redacted] stated that $100 dollars per day will be charged for delays. Clearly the borrower did not cause any delays. American Financial accepted to work on this file/contract and AFR is the party that caused the delay and therefore is the oarty responsible for $100 per day fee.

This $6000 settlement fee may be mailed or delivered to [redacted] office, otherwise this complaint will always be considered unresolved.

Regards,

Review: I wanted to refinance my home. This company verbally offered an ARM w/ no origination fee. When the GFI arrived the fee was now $376. I got the run around about "talking to the manager" , etc. In the end, I was stuck with the fee. Not $0 but still ok. I filed all the paperwork. Paid $450 for an appraisal. Signed the loan commitment papers. The company was very slow in responding. Then the lockin date passed and I get an email with a new GFI with a fee of $826. This looks like a bait and switch using a delays to "adjust" the fees. This is, of course, after I paid the $450 appraisal fee. I should have known better after the initial bait and switch on the supposed $0 fee. I hope others will be better informed.Desired Settlement: Honor the $0 fee. Or at the very least, the $376.

Review: Me and my husband were tring to get approved for an FHA loan, we were denied a couple mnths back , but was told if we could get a co-signer then you guys could definately help, so we got a co-signer called back talked to a representative and was in process of starting over the applacation, the person told me that we might not even need a co-signer , that the last person that was no longer ther may have mishandled the case , so getting our hopes up once a gain the idea of not having a co -signer would be much more comfortable. So the representative was going thru my husbands credit report and saw that ther was a fine for oakland county jail, oweing 2,000 dollars plus, then he proceeded to ask me if my husband has done prison time , which I thought was unprofessional, and went on to say that an x-felon would never be approved for an fha loan , and then said he would ask his manager who he was friends with , if it was even worth it to continue the process, knowing that he had felons on his record. The representive went on to say that he would call me back with an answer that following day , which he did not nor the next or after, I did not get a responce back to I f we were going thru the applacation process with a co-signer or not , I feel like the representive left us in the dark , and did not even give us a chance.Desired Settlement: I would of liked to at least try to go thru the applacation process, see if with a co-signer if we would of got approved , or at least had a call back stating i'm sorry mam , we will not be able to go any futher because of the felonies on your husband report, instead of sitting here feeling that ther was still hope to get a mortgage by him stating that he would call that day and let us know , not have me sit here and feel singled out for being honest , when a question was asked that in my thoughts was unprofessional , the way he interpreted his response back to me.

Business

Response:

American Financial Resources, Inc. (“AFR”) is in receipt of your consumer complaint pertaining to a purchase transaction. As evidenced by our strong customer satisfaction ratings, we take all consumer inquires very seriously. AFR is a direct endorsement Federal Housing Administration lender and is legally bound by their underwriting Seller’s Guide. Our company accepts tens of thousands of applications on an annual basis, and our experienced staff reviews each and every file

submission. All individual applicants, irrespective of whether they may have been incarcerated, receive a full credit analysis. The lender is concerned with financial risk analysis and the credit profile of each potential borrower. An underwriter is not concerned with any personal background on the individual, but would always consider outstanding debts (whether they would be judicial liens, municipal or tax liens, automobile liabilities, etc.) Applications involve complex underwriting and detailed analysis of income and asset documentation, collateral review, appraisal standards, etc. Before any file receives an official denial letter, it receives a second review by another seasoned underwriter. If you have not received already, an operations staff member will resend a status report on your file. Our sales personnel undergo extensive training in Privacy, Fair Lending, and business ethics each year. Over the past sixteen years, we have helped tens of thousands of families achieve homeownership, and work tirelessly to handle all transactions in a transparent and professional manner. As an Equal Housing Lender, we strive to provide financing to all qualified candidates on all eligible properties. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

We found eLEND through Zillow. They had the lowest rate, the lowest fees, and were well rated. I was a little nervous at the thought of refinancing with an online company where I’d never see anyone but the third-party appraiser and the notary at closing, so after we requested a GFE we also got a GFE from our credit union to see if it would be close.
eLEND was superior in every way. The rate was better. They had no origination fee. The required costs (appraisal fee, title services, escrow deposit, recording charges, etc) were lower across the board. Our total settlement charges with eLEND were half of what they would have been at our credit union.
Further widening the divide, the GFE from our credit union had several errors on it, listing the P&I as lower than it actually was (though the correct amount was listed in the amortization schedule). The error made it look like a very slightly better deal than eLEND, which it was not.
[redacted], the eLEND agent we were teamed up, was awesome. Whenever I had a question he would respond via email, generally within half an hour, even late at night. He must live with his phone on him at all times. Throughout the process he was unfailingly professional, knowledgeable, responsive, and patient with my many questions.
It did take us just over 30 days to close, but we kept our locked rate and ultimately couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. I would heartily recommend eLEND, both for their low rates and low fees, but also (surprisingly) because working with [redacted] felt just as secure and personal as meeting with someone face-to-face. Probably even more so, since he was so consistently helpful and attentive from start to finish. Thank you [redacted] and thank you eLEND!