While perhaps not a household name, there’s a good chance you’ll stumble upon AmeriSave if actively shopping your home loan.
They have quite a presence online and are a top-rated lender with LendingTree, despite a lack of physical branches and national advertising campaigns.
By the way, you should actively shop your mortgage if you want to save money – there are legitimate studies that prove you can save real money by doing so.
Anyway, let’s get some background on AmeriSave Mortgage Corp., which is a direct-to-consumer mortgage lender with about 20 years of experience in home loan lending.
Who Is AmeriSave Mortgage Corp.?
- An Atlanta, GA-based direct mortgage lender
- Been around since 2002
- Originated over $55 billion in home loans on over 230,000 properties
- Claim to have pioneered digital loan origination process
AmeriSave Mortgage Corp. is a direct lender based in Atlanta, Georgia that has been around since early 2002.
They refer to themselves as a fintech company responsible for “pioneering the first truly digital mortgage experience,” a claim Rocket Mortgage might disagree with.
Regardless, they are a mortgage lender that lives online, which hopefully means they can pass the savings of brick and mortar expenses on to you.
Over the past decade, AmeriSave has “invested heavily in its proprietary technology” to create a “highly automated” loan process, similar to other fintech lenders like Better Mortgage and Figure.
The company says many of its customers choose to go the “self-serve” route for all or most of their transaction thanks to the intuitive loan origination platform in place.
AmeriSave is licensed in 49 states and the District of Columbia, with New York the only state they don’t lend in.
Since inception, they have funded over $55 billion in home loans on over 230,000 properties nationwide.
In January 2019, they acquired the origination business of The Money Source (TMS), which had been a growing force online as well.
AmeriSave took on some TMS employees and their Plano, Texas and Chandler, Arizona offices via the acquisition, with expected volume of $1.5 billion for 2019.
They also have a wholesale lending arm that works directly with mortgage brokers, so it’s possible your loan could come from AmeriSave if you use a broker.
What Does AmeriSave Mortgage Offer?
- Home purchase or refinance loans
- Conventional (Fannie/Freddie) and jumbo loans
- Government loans including FHA, USDA, and VA
- Fixed-rate loans: 30-year, 15-year, 25-year, 20-year, and 10-year fixed
- ARMs: 5/1, 7/1, and 10/1 varieties
AmeriSave has all the typical loan options you’d expect from a national direct lender, including home purchase, rate and term, and cash out refinances.
They appear to be mostly a refinance shop, with purchase loans probably representing a smaller piece of the pie.
Notably missing are HELOCs and other types of second mortgages.
In terms of loan type, they offer both conforming and jumbo loans, along with government loans such as FHA, USDA, and VA loans.
You can get a fixed-rate mortgage in 30- or 15-year terms, along with less common loan terms of 10, 20, and 25 years.
With regard to their adjustable-rate mortgages, they offer the 5/1, 7/1, and 10/1, which are the most popular available.
They have caps of 2/2/5, meaning the most they can adjust initially is 2%, then 2% periodically, and up to 5% during the life of the loan.
AmeriSave Rate Match Guarantee
Like some other mortgage lenders, AmeriSave offers a Rate Match Guarantee if you find a better deal elsewhere.
Here’s how it works. Once your mortgage rate is locked with AmeriSave, you are given three calendar days to shop around with other lenders to find a better deal.
If you’re able to locate a better deal for the same loan terms in which you locked, they will either match it or give you $500 if you go with the other lender.
The guarantee applies to both purchase loans and refinances, but excludes jumbo loans and ARMs.
It’s a tricky situation though because you aren’t given much time to shop, and they seem to charge a $500 non-refundable application fee.
So if anything, you’d maybe get that fee back if you found a more competitive lender to work with.
$500 Application Fee Seems to Be a Sticking Point
At last glance, AmeriSave had an A- Rating with the Better Business Bureau, but it doesn’t take into account customer reviews.
The reason they have that rating is due to four unresolved complaints filed against the company.
In terms of customer reviews, they have 2/5 stars on the BBB website. Most seem to stem from their non-refundable deposit taken at loan application.
The $500 non-refundable application fee is charged to cover loan processing and other “miscellaneous costs” incurred by the company.
Assuming you close your loan with AmeriSave, they will refund the fee at closing and it will be reflected on the Closing Disclosure (CD).
However, if you cancel your loan application or get denied, AmeriSave will retain the $500 deposit to cover those aforementioned costs.
It’s not uncommon for lenders to charge these fees, either for rate locks or appraisals, but not all lenders impose them.
Other complaints are related to the home appraisal fee they charge, which varies in cost by loan.
It appears that those who complained on the BBB about either the $500 deposit or the appraisal fee received a refund in many cases.
AmeriSave Mortgage Rates
Unfortunately, they do not openly advertise their mortgage rates on their website.
In order to view rates, you have to complete a short questionnaire that is akin to a mortgage lead form.
However, they do list a sample rate along with loan assumptions, and on the day of this review, it was a 30-year fixed loan at 2.75%, which is pretty darn low.
Digging into the fine print, it was based on a hypothetical loan with a $343,595 loan amount set at 58% LTV with a 747 credit score.
Oh, and it was for a purchase on an owner-occupied, single family home with discount points being paid.
Still, it sounds pretty competitive relative to what else is out there. But your rate will vary based on your own unique loan parameters.
AmeriSave Pros and Cons
The Good
- Offer what appear to be competitive mortgage rates
- Can apply online in minutes and close quickly
- Digital process – can link financial accounts via AccountChek by FormFree
- May retain and service your loan (as opposed to selling it to a third party)
- Could be a good choice for those with straightforward loan scenarios (good credit, lower LTVs, W-2 employment)
The Potential Bad
- $500 non-refundable application fee
- Difficult to shop around if you’ve already paid them
- Don’t offer second mortgages or HELOCs
- Numerous customer complaints on BBB website
