LAT: States Follow Long Trail of Complaints Against Lender (Ameriquest)

[DeepModem Mom]

States Follow Long Trail of Complaints Against Lender
By E. Scott Reckard and Josh Friedman, Times Staff Writers


Ameriquest Mortgage Co. said Monday that authorities in 25 states had raised questions about its lending practices, including the accuracy of its appraisals and how loan terms are described in spoken statements to borrowers.

The Orange County-based company also said it had agreed to pay up to $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleges it defrauded thousands of borrowers in four states, including California.

Ameriquest, the nation's largest mortgage lender to people with spotty credit or modest incomes, said it had "valid responses" to the concerns raised by attorneys general and other regulators in the 25 states and was in discussions with them.

Still, the disclosure underscored the widespread interest in the company, which has been the target of consumer complaints and suits alleging a pattern of fraud, falsification of documents and bait-and-switch sales tactics.

Last month, The Times reported that former Ameriquest loan agents around the country had complained that pressure to write loans caused some employees to forge documents and push appraisers to inflate home values so that hard-pressed borrowers could qualify for mortgages....


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ameriquest15mar15,0,5806364.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Warpy]

1. We've been unable to get predatory lending legislation in NM

which means these bastards are charging up to 300% per year on things like car title loans and paycheck advance loans.

The Secretary of State has gone on the air with PSAs about these slime balls. She's a smart cookie, and has pointed out how many of them have opened up right outside the gates of the state's military bases.

I have a feeling we may get legislation to rein them in soon.

[Pithy Cherub]

2. Predators!

[BronxBoy]

3. Thanks for Posting this

I just got through dealing with these creeps. We are seeking to move out of our interest only mortgage into a fixed rate product. Ameriquest is one of the companies we spoke with. I specifically explained to them that we had eliminated most of our credit card debt and only had our car payments and some other smaller debt to handle and that we could comfortably handle it with our current income. So what do they do?

They send us a deal moving us into a 2 year fixed ARM at more than twice the interest rate we are currently paying. Their adjustment cap was a point higher than the one in our current mortgage. They ordered an appraisal that came in at over 40 grand more than what we paid for the house 9 months ago and they offered to pay off all of our bills except for one car loan. And, get this, they were only going to charge us $15K for this great deal. The rep we were dealing with kept stressing that they were "paying off our bills" and "that we would be relieved to be out from under our debt load" I told the rep no thanks. We aren't being crushed by our debt load and that we were making this move so that we would be financially protected when Bush finishes trashing the economy (They had a real hard time grasping this concept.)

2 days later, this person's manager calls me back and said we were sent the wrong numbers and that he had numbers that made more sense. I spoke with him and he proposed an ARM that recalculated monthly with a beginning rate at more than twice what we were paying. The adjustment cap was still one point higher (except now we would be exposed to rate fluctuations every month instead of every six months). Why did he think the numbers made more sense? Because he cut the origination fees from 15K to 7K. Unbelievable.

While we are lucky enough to be in a position where we can try to pro-actively prepare for what's going to happen in this country economically, I can see how these companies would absolutely rape someone who really needed some money for any reason. The major red flag for me was they were able to magically come up with an appraisal that magically fit what THEY wanted to do for us. Another was the fact that at every turn they sought to increase the size of the note, even though we didn't want or need for them to do it.

I can see clearly how a lot of people will get screwed royally by the new bankruptcy bill by companies like this.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Thanks for your real-life story highlighting this issue, BB...

an example of exactly what is going on.

[BronxBoy]

8. You're welcome

Actually they weren't the only company to pull this crap, only the most insulting. Most companies backed off when I started asking questions about their deals and when I specifically stated that our primary objective for doing this was not to pay bills but to move into a safer product.

It just seems that the mo of these companies is that people are contacting them because they need relief from a mountain of bills and that they are going to write as big a note as possible and collect their requisite fees and rates. I'm sure that often people contact them with that sort of problem. After reading a lot on DU regarding the bankruptcy bills as well as other financial subjects (the devaluing dollar, America's decline as an economic power, etc.), it's really, really hard not to buy into so-called conspiracy theories about the intentions of Banks, Credit Card Companies etc.

Every institution I've talked to about moving into a fixed rate product has always tried to move me into another adjustable rate product first. Has anyone else experienced the same? Once they get the point that I want a fixed rate product, all of a sudden they come up with a bunch of credit issues they have to contend with. Our credit is good not great. I'd be interested in hearing from others trying to do the same and what their experience has been.

Edited for Spelling

[gorviston]

5. Guess who the Gropenator's #2 contributor is?

http://www.arnoldwatch.org/special_interests/index.html

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Thanks, gorviston -- and welcome to DU!

[spikesmom]

7. Ameriquest Helped Fund Fascist George's Inaugeration(or our incineration)

They buy republicans like some people buy groceries!!!