AmeriHome
Mortgage
Mortgage Foreclosure Defense with AmeriHome Mortgage
Are you behind on your mortgage payments and facing foreclosure from AmeriHome Mortgage?
Being under the threat of foreclosure can be confusing and frustrating.
Have any of the following happened to you:
1. AmeriHome Mortgage has filed a foreclosure complaint against you
2. AmeriHome Mortgage has refused to offer you a loan modification or denied you for home retention loss mitigation options
3. AmeriHome Mortgage has initiated letters from lawyers and/or a foreclosure complaint while you were being reviewed for loss mitigation options
4. AmeriHome Mortgage has threatened to initiate foreclosure proceedings if you do not bring the loan current
5. AmeriHome Mortgage has refused to accept mortgage payments or offer you a repayment plan or reinstatement of your loan
Dealing with AmeriHome Mortgage on your own can be confusing and difficult. We can help to demystify the process and make sure that your rights are protected throughout the process.
About AmeriHome Mortgage
AmeriHome Mortgage is a privately held, multi-channel, mortgage investor, direct-to-consumer lender, and servicer, licensed in 48 states. Established in 2013, AmeriHome has grown exceptionally, purchasing and originating 12,000 loans per month.
AmeriHome Mortgage is the nation’s third largest correspondent mortgage acquirer and one of the largest mortgage companies, ranked 14th by Insider Mortgage Finance, serving over 400,000 homeowners.
Freedom Mortgage is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, CA, was founded in 2013 and has over 500 employees.
Jim Furash is the CEO and Garret Galati is the CFO.
Biographies of C-Suite Executives
Jim Furash
Jim Furash is CEO and Founder of AmeriHome, a Western Alliance Bank company. Prior to the company’s acquisition by Western Alliance in 2021, Mr. Furash was instrumental in building AmeriHome by raising millions in committed capital and growing operations to create a leading national business-to-business mortgage acquirer and servicer.
Before becoming CEO of AmeriHome, Mr. Furash was President and CEO of Countrywide Bank until 2007, which contributed to his extensive experience as a commercial and mortgage banking executive with deep financial, operational and regulatory expertise.
CFPB Complaint Activity
In 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fielded 181 complaints about AmeriHome Mortgage loans. The most common complaints involved trouble during the payment process and struggling to pay mortgage.
Applying for Loss Mitigation with Freedom Mortgage
AmeriHome Mortgage’s Loss Mitigation Page is here – Loss Mitigation Assistance
- Freedom Mortgage has a Loss Mitigation Portal to upload documents
- Freedom Mortgage uses LoanServ Account Connect to provide a self-service borrower portal for accessing loan information and uploading loss mitigation documents.
The following documentation may be required during the process:
- IRS Form 4506-T
- Borrower(s) Financial Report
- Hardship Letter
- Brief explanation of reason for the hardship (such as: illness or job loss) – signed and dated
- Income Documentation:
- Hourly/Salaried Employees – all full and part-time jobs
- Most recent pay stubs for the past (30) days including year-to-date income
- Checking and savings account statements for the past (2) months – include all pages
- Most recent Tax Returns that are complete with all schedules and attachments (W-2’s and/or 1099’s)
- Self-Employed:
- A current year profit and loss statement – signed and dated
- Checking and savings account statements for the past (2) months, both personal and business – include all pages
- Most recent business tax returns that are complete with all schedules and attachments (W-2’s and/or 1099’s)
- Other Household Income (if applicable) – In addition to the above:
- Non-borrower contribution – notarized letter of contribution amount along with proof of their income. Please see above the Income Documentation section to supply this proof of income.
- For household members who have other income (such as: Social Security/pension, rental leases, disability, death benefits/annuity, unemployment or food stamp income), please provide a copy of the benefit statement(s), which includes the amount, frequency and duration of this benefit.
- Alimony, separate maintenance and/or child support payments (note: this income need not be revealed if you do not wish to have this source of income considered). If you choose to have it considered, please provide a copy of the divorce/separation or any other agreement that states the amount, frequency and duration of these payments.
- Hourly/Salaried Employees – all full and part-time jobs
- If you wish to sell the property, you will also need to provide:
- Copy of the Listing Agreement
- Copy of the Sales Contract (if available)
- Copy of the Estimated Settlement Statement (if available)
- Signed Third Party Authorization Form
Social Channels
Recent Acquisitions and Divestitures
- In Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL) acquires Aris Mortgage Holding Company, LLC,the parent company of AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLCn for an estimated purchase price of $1 billion in cash.
Mortgage Servicer Abuses, Fines & Penalties
· Freedom Mortgage Reaches $2.7 Million Settlement Over Unnecessary Home Visit Allegations. The class action claimed that the Lender scheduled and charged for unnecessary home inspections, wherein the lead class plaintiffs experienced 4 such inspection visits during a short timeframe while the homeowners were in active conduct with the Servicer about their loan. Affected homeowners complained of the intrusion into their privacy and the $15 fee, while Freedom Mortgage claimed that it was simply doing proper due diligence and scheduled the inspections for its “peace of mind.” There were 74,196 class members involved in the lawsuit.
· CFPB: Freedom Mortgage fined $1.75M for intentionally reporting inaccurate HMDA data. Between 2014 and 2017, Freedom Mortgage provided “inaccurate race, ethnicity, and sex information” in regulatory disclosures. Freedom Mortgage’s proprietary computer system called Lakewood would “hard stop” if this information was missing, so loan officers would enter non-Hispanic/White by default. About 125 of 430 loan applications sampled had this error, where the demographic information was not captured.
· South Jersey mortgage bank pays $113M to settle False Claims Act violations. The article details several claims including that Freedom Mortgage, between Jan. 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2011, certified mortgage loans for FHA (Federal Housing Administration) insurance that did not meet U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development underwriting requirements and were therefore not eligible for FHA mortgage insurance. The article details the result in a $113 Million settlement.
Major Legal Cases
This is a case under New York law. In New York, an action to foreclose a mortgage is governed by a six-year statute of limitations. CPLR 213(4). See also Fed. Nat. Mort. Assoc. v. Schmitt, 172 A.D.3d 1324, 1325 (2nd Dep’t 2019); Deutsche Bank Nat. Trust Co. v. Blank, 189 A.D.3d 1678, 1679 (2nd Dep’t 2020). Most mortgages, however, provide that a mortgagee may accelerate the entire debt in the event of default. Thus, “the terms of the mortgage may contain an acceleration clause that gives the lender the option to demand due the entire balance of principal and interest upon the occurrence of certain events delineated in the mortgage.” Bank of New York Mellon v. Dieudonne, 171 A.D.3d 34, 37 (2nd Dep’t 2019). Once the mortgagee’s election to accelerate is properly made, “the borrower’s right and obligation to make monthly installments ceased and all sums became immediately due and payable.” Fed. Nat. Mort. Assoc. v. Mebane, 208 A.D.2d 892, 894 (2nd Dep’t 1994). Thus, the statue of limitations begins to run once a lender elects to accelerate the subject loan.
Here, the homeowner claimed that Freedom Mortgage accelerated the mortgage and declared default in 2008 and then initiated foreclosure, but the homeowner worked out a deal with the bank in 2013. The foreclosure was then re-initiated after a fresh default, more than six-years after the initial 2008 election, but Freedom Mortgage claimed that the stipulation of settlement in 2013 “de-accelerated” the debt and started the statute of limitations anew. The Court held that “we are persuaded that, when a bank effectuated an acceleration via the commencement of a foreclosure action, a voluntary discontinuance of that action—i.e., the withdrawal of the complaint—constitutes a revocation of that acceleration.”
Harrell v. Freedom Mortgage Corp., No. 19-1379 (4th Cir. 2020).
Under the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. (“RESPA”) the “servicer” is required to make tax payments on the subject property under 12 U.S.C. § 2605(g). The Court found that the relevant “servicer” is the entity “responsible for servicing” the mortgage when the tax payment is due. § 2605(i)(2). In this case, that made Freedom Mortgage responsible for making tax payments, not the ultimate investor.
In Harrell v. Freedom Mortgage Corp. the case arose because Freedom Mortgage made late tax payments on the borrower’s mortgage account, resulting in an income-tax bill of $895 in late fees. The CFPB filed an amicus brief arguing that it is important that the party the consumer is in contact with and who handles the mortgagor’s payments to the bank is responsible and accountable for any payments, missed payments, or fees handled by them.
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