Posted by gabbync on 4/2/05 8:12am
Msg #29248

Ameriquest

Has anyone heard a news report that Ameriquest offices have closed due to fraudulent practices? I think my husband is playing a late April Fools.

Reply by Traci/MD on 4/2/05 8:16am
Msg #29249

This would not surprise me! I have stoped doing Ameriquest loans. They are always a pain in>>>>>>.

Reply by Shane_IN on 4/2/05 8:25am
Msg #29250

Ameriquest has closed a few offices because of fraudulent practices, strong arming appraisers and others.
The Majority of Ameriquests office stil remain open, despite Attorney General's in 25 states looking into their business practices.

They just settled a lawsuit with state of CT, to the tune of 50 million, for not having the correct info on the 1003. There is another class action currently in the San Francisco area, and the state of Pennsylvania is trying to get them kicked out....

the LA Times, has written numerous articles about them lately....which you can read at LA Times.com.

However, they still pay over twice what a signing service would, and they do 3.2 billion dollars worth of business a month or more.... so, they aren't going anywhere.

Reply by Sean/TX on 4/2/05 5:22pm
Msg #29284

No April Fools Joke



I use to work for a Finance Company that Ameriquest took over. Their practices in Subprime loans is less than ethical. They pad appraisals, add to borrower's bank accounts (which don't exsist), and the Loan Officers are trying to squeeze in that loan which no one will make at month end.

The executives of companies like Ameriquest put huge amounts of pressure on Loan Officers, Branch Managers etc... Ameriquest sets up deals with collection firms to locate deals for them in borrower's who own homes. If a collector notices on a credit report that a borrower owns a home, he quietly passes on the borrower's name and number to Ameriquest and Ameriquest then calls the home owner and says "I have a deal for you".... this operation became SOOO big that they opened up a call center in AZ just for this purpose.

Ameriquest is also known to attend collection seminars/conventions...... speak with Bankruptcy attorney's to refer business to them..... the borrower is/was not usually A paper.... so you know that the Loan Officer had to do everything in his/her power to make them loan work!!!!

Reply by MsRobbo_PA on 4/2/05 6:53pm
Msg #29290

Re: No April Fools Joke

Ameriquest is a pain in the _ _ _. One of the first signings that I did as a signing agent was for them and I never got paid. I also had to do the signing twice because there was a problem with the interest rate. Should have gotten $200 and got zippo!

There was an article in a Philadelphia newspaper about two weeks ago stating all of their problems in this area. To be honest with you they DO take advantage of many borrowers!

Reply by Laura_NH on 4/2/05 7:57pm
Msg #29307

Re: No April Fools Joke

I am relatively new in the notary signing business. I have done one Ameriquest loan. In conjunction with working with Notary on the Run with this loan it has been by far the worst signing i have had. Notary on the Run called me at 5pm for a 6pm appt; and we had to postpone it to the next day after they called me up until 10pm to decide what to do; and then the Ameriquest loan was over 120pages; of which the borrowers had never seen, and they spent over an hour on the phone with the lender walking them through the signing and answering questions. Between the two, Ameriquest and Notary on the Run; I will not do another one of their signings. Even if they do pay 'decent'. Not double. What should have taken an hour to an hour and a half; took over 3 hours. Certainly wasnt worth my time. And then Notary on the Run was a "peach" to work with too; they actually told the borrower that I was in a car accident and that was why i couldnt do the signing the night before. That was not an issue; it was a document issue as to why the signing didnt happen; so I wont work with them again either. If they are going to lie to the borrowers; and yet we are 'representatives' of them, i do not want to be associated with that kind of ethics.

Reply by Margaret/Florida on 4/2/05 8:55pm
Msg #29313

Re: No April Fools Joke

Yes Ameriquest Loan Signings can be a pain. But the ones I have done are through Vital Signings. They pay full fee for loans that do not close. I just got a check for one I did 2 weeks ago. They always call last minute and most times docs do not come until the time of the appointment. The one I did that did not close, I was called at 5:00pm for a 7:00pm signing. Docs did not come until 7:00pm, had to call borrowers to change time to 8:00pm. Only had to drive 5 miles. Borrowers were real nice, but it was a variable, not a fixed loan and the borrower did not want that. I have done 5 closings for Ameriquest and only 1 has closed. All the others there was something wrong with the loan docs

Reply by Anonymous on 5/3/05 5:18pm
Msg #35621

Re: No April Fools Joke

That's no surprise about Notary On The Run. They are the most unethical, devious, and unhonest company I've ever had the displeasure of working for. They will lie to anyone about anything to get what they want out of people. You are wise to stear clear of any job offerings you may receive from this company.

Reply by Dorothy/MI on 4/2/05 8:08pm
Msg #29309

I have done tons of Ameriquest Loans and the borrowers either love them or hate them. Most of the people I have signed have large credit card debt that they are paying off and because of that no one else will even talk to them. I feel it is not my place to determine whether these people should have a shot at getting back on their feet. Last night I did a loan for another company where they were paying off Ameriquest. The borrowers stated that they had gotten into trouble about 3 years ago and Ameriquest came to their rescue. Since then, the tide has changed and they now qualified for a 5-1/5% fixed rate, 15 year note. So it can be done if people want to use them wisely. Everyone must make their own decisions and I can't believe that the dumbest borrower doesn't see the ads for 5 - 6% fixed rates and realize that they don't qualify and that the only one (or one of a few) companies that will loan to them is Ameriquest. Or should they continue to pay 2 - 3 times the interest rate on the credit cards? I pray that those of you bashing Ameriquest and other sub prime lenders are never in the situation where this is your only option.

One other sub prime lender that I work for (which has rates even worse than Ameriquest) gains customer loyalty by treating this sub prime borrowers with the utmost respect and courtesy. And many of these people are not used to that in dealing with creditors. They are not (for the most part) scum, just people that unwise decisions or circumstances have led them to where they are.

Reply by BrendaTx on 4/2/05 9:22pm
Msg #29315

Insightful and interesting post, Dorothy. n/m

Reply by Donna Sac CA on 4/2/05 10:25pm
Msg #29318

I was told by an aquaintance who works with title companies that Ameriquest has repeatedly had law suits against them and that they do business under several different names because of that.

Reply by Shane_IN on 4/4/05 10:43pm
Msg #29658

Any and all lenders the size of Ameriquest are going to be under the microscope...they are all going to be sued time and time again, and not all of their customers are going to be happy...

If you search for RIP Off Reports, you'll find something on pretty much every company in the US. But Ameriquest does 3.2 Billion (Yes, Billion) dollars of business each MONTH (yes month)..... and that was as of November of last year, when I last looked. (I'm a former Loan Officer for them).

Yes, they have problems with fraud...but thats the LO's doing it, not the company.
Yes, They are being investigated in 25 states for charging too high fees... People signed it, and they qualify alot of people that couldn't go elsewhere.
Yes, They have settled a few class action lawsuits, most notably ACORN which is why they have a 7 day RTC, and the most recent 50 million settlement to the state of CT.

I'll close loans for them all day long, and I do.