Recovering Attorney Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 I got a quote from Ameriquest the other day. Some of the costs seemed rather steep, like an appraisal fee for $700. I know full blown appraisals in my area cost half that. Any guidance on negotiating some of these fees, the rate, and other things you need to know about these guys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricha2u Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 i dont think its ameriquest i think its your loan officer adding in unnecessary costs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Before you do business with Ameriquest you may want to search around the internet for the complaints and horror stories. I have no personal experience with Ameriquest but there are enough complaints that I decided to avoid them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
americanfunding Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 You are correct in your assumption of the cost of the appraisal. The standard rate for a SFR in Wisconsin is 200-300. Duplexes generally go for around 400-500.I am also inclined to believe that you are working through a broker that wants to send your loan through Ameriquest. In my professional opinion though, I would tend to shy away from Ameriquest. I have sent 6 loans through them as a mortgage broker and something was messed up on all of them immediately before the closing. I'm sure it was my rep, but I still have a bad taste of the way they do business. They decline some of the people that I have sent to them to find out later that their lending division found a way to get it done.I do know that Ameriquest has decent rates on the sub-prime market.Hope this helps.Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
americanfunding Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Is this a new home purchase or is it a refinance?There are a few places around that will do 100% financing at 580, but mostly 600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recovering Attorney Posted October 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Thanks for your comments. I went to Ameriquest direct, though it is a local office. Could it be an agent that I got shunted to? I sold my old house and paid cash for this one. I want a 50% LTV to pay off some credit cards and make some improvements. Unfortunately, my median FICO is 555. Divorce costs made me late on a few. I haven't been impressed with the people I talked to at Ameriquest. I tend to think these long-distance lenders are problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liverichly Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 The name Ameriquest is synonymous with predatory lender. I know several people who have worked for them as loan officers and they refused to stay long. Their offices are run as sweat-shop operations where the main goal is to charge the customer as much as legally possible and go down from there. One of the "perks" of having a friend in the mortgage industry is the satisfaction of knowing you are never getting screwed by the loan officer; at Ameriquest they were strongly discouraged to refinance any family or friends. They strayed away from many purchase transactions because the typical sub-prime borrower can't afford to bring in an additional $10,000 in lender closing costs on top of their down payment. Their service is top notch, but you will pay dearly for it.As far as their wholesale channel I've never been too impressed, like a previous poster said they typically don't completely underwrite the loan until after documents are signed, so things go wrong at the worst times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recovering Attorney Posted October 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Well, the two people I've talked to from the local office sound one step removed from weekends at the Sunglass Hut, so I am not confident I can get any substantive questions answered. They are very, very vague. I thought I would take them up on their happy commercial message, but may have to pass them by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstsource Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 I would still suggest that you go to a loan broker, there are programs and lenders that can get you what you need/want, even with 580 scores. I am VERY happy that you did not accept their attitude, as there are so many people that are glad to work with you and answer your questions.On the appraisal fee. Legally, they can not charge any more in 3rd party fees than they are charged. So, if the appraisal is 350, you only have to pay 350. I guess make sure that the appraiser charges a reasonable amount for the area. Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amortgageman Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 When they own the appraisal company and the title company, they disclose this, but are still allowed to charge the $700.00 fee. Ahhh, and that is only the beginning.Hey, here's a thought, try to get them to let you use a lesser cost outside appraisal firm........maybe one that will give you true value for the property, instead of what they can use to make your loan fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capepuffin Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 Ameriquest is trouble. I know I have a mortgage with them. They can no longer refi in many states due to their prepayment penalties that they include in their contracts. They are like talking to used car salesman they will make everything sound great but when you are at the table ready to sign, be prepared for surprises!!Amortgageman is right about them hiring one of their own appraisers to set the appraisal of your house to what they want to get your loan to go through.They only charged me $300 for an appraisal then when I wanted to refinance they only charged $150. BUT they sneal those prepayment penalties in! Luckily mine was up this month so I am free of paying them a penalty fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amortgageman Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 Cape,Funny you should bring this topic up again. I was looking at MSFraud site the other day, and saw a post where someone posted their appraisal tactics on EBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5545310944 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capepuffin Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 That is too funny!! On eBay!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted January 6, 2005 Report Share Posted January 6, 2005 They've removed it! Damn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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