A note to Crystal in Trenton, FL: Cancel the loan with Ameriquest!!! It won't cost you a dime to cancel!!! They use high-pressure tactics and bait & switch! Go to an online service, apply, and see what offers you can get. We got 8 offers and eventually used one of them (thru a bropker).
Ameriquest called us (after 8 years of paying our 9.99% loan with them) to initiate a re-finance, promising us some cash out of the equity, plus a new loan at the "same rate" as our current loan. Our credit wasn't great, but it wasn't too bad, either, so we accepted the fact that we would be stuck in another 10% loan (due to our low credit score) until we could get some of those debts paid off, remodel the house, and then re-finance in *2 years* at a lower rate once the credit was cleaned up.
"Serino" handled the paperwork and setup the appraisal appointment, which initially was supposed to cost $300, payable in cash to the appraiser. 2 hours before the appraiser showed up, Serino called and told me that the appraiser would need $450 in order to "expedite" the appraisal report to facillitate closing the loan faster. Rush, rush, rush...
When I got the Good Faith estimate, it bothered me because the loan was initially 13.23%, discounted to 9.99% after paying points up front at closing. He told me not to worry, that it was only the initial estimate, and that "it would change later". This was not what he told me on the phone! (I kept studious notes of all our phone calls!) He told me NUMEROUS TIMES that the rate would be THE SAME as our current loan! Rush, rush, rush...
I drive a truck and am on the road for weeks at a time, so we setup an appointment for the loan document signing in a truckstop in Salt Lake City. As per our agreement, the papers were Fedexed to a Notary there who showed up and handled the signing. Rush, rush, rush...
The Feds require a 3-day "cooling off" period, but Ameriquest gives customers a 7-day period. I am glad this was available, because there was a huge stack of legal documents that I, reluctantly, signed, vowing to read each one when I had time.
Later in the week, when I finally had some time to look over all of my documents, I was horrified at all of the hidden costs that they put in the documents. Ameriquest's "fees" amounted to almost $6,000 (including the "points" we had to pay up front). For comparison purposes, the fees from company we finally closed with only amounted to $3,200 (including 1 point paid at closing).
I cancelled Ameriquest's loan within the 7-day cooling-off period, much to the anger of Serino. Oh well. If he'd been honest up front with me, I wouldn't have cancelled it. One of the factoprs was the fact that he KNEW that we were going to re-finance in 2 years once the credit got cleaned up, yet he put a 3-year prepayment penalty on the loan. Translation: 1 extra year locked in at that ridiculous 10% rate.
My biggest beefs are: 1) the fact that he kept telling me that the loan would be at the SAME RATE as our current loan. He NEVER said this would be after it was discounted over 3 points upfront! And 2) he used A LOT OF PRESSURE and rush, rush, rush to get this through closing. (When I signed their papers, I actually breathed a sigh of relief, thinking "Whew! Glad that is done!"). I was really stressed-out, but relieved that it was overwith.
We settled with New Century Mortgage, and are very happy with this company's servicing of our loan. When I signed with them, I was VERY pleased, and not stressed out like I was when Ameriquest's papers were finally signed.instead of Ameriquest's 25% Loan-to-Value amount requirement, New Century allowed us only 20%, which gave us more cash out of the house.
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