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    thisisone's Avatar
    thisisone Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Jan 24, 2008, 05:09 AM
    Lend America
    Is Lend America a legitimate mortgage company? They sound too good to be true.
    bluesnut2's Avatar
    bluesnut2 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #2

    Feb 19, 2008, 03:14 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by thisisone
    Is Lend America a legitimate mortgage company? They sound too good to be true.
    Is Lend America a legitimate mortgage company, can they do what they say on their TV advertisements?
    satch's Avatar
    satch Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    Mar 21, 2008, 07:37 AM
    Is Lend America a legitimate company?
    aviator4's Avatar
    aviator4 Posts: 9, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    Jul 14, 2008, 08:08 AM
    Yes - Lend American is the East Coasts Largest FHA Direct-to-consumer Mortgage Lender. But they service loans and can work with people in all of the lower 48 states (Alaska now, too, I think) - and I would encourage you to call them.

    I am NOT affiliated with them, I am just a happy customer of theirs. I can tell you that I thought they were too good to be true as well. My FICO was in the low 500's and I thought that the days of getting a mortgage were off in the distance for me.

    My Loan Officer was Gary Branis (ext. 2184, if you want to talk to him, which I recommend) - he was very patient with me, looked over my credit reports and used a tool they have on hand to run my credit through various scenarios to determine what I needed to do to get my score up. He worked with me into the evening hours on a number of occasions, even returning a phone call at 11:00pm one night! He was even willing to coach me on how to go about doing certain things and told me where to expect my score to end up!

    For Example: one of the items on my report was a single 30 day late on a well established credit card that was otherwise in good standing. I called the company and asked for the one late to be removed and was told HECK NO "this is impossible", by the indian customer service guy. Gary then told me to call the customer service number and ask to speak to someone in North America. I did and asked again - POOF "Sure sir, we can do that for you" said the nice, intelligable, canadian lady I got. Just like that, the late was gone.

    After a few rounds like this, Gary Re-scored my credit - and I scored EXACTLY where his scenario software said it would. I went from a 500 to a 675! He then secured a 3% down, FHA Backed 30 year fixed mortgage at 6.5% with an option to streamline in a few years (dropping the rate further without additional closing costs)

    I can tell you that I am now a proud (and first time) home owner who had been spun off by 6 other lenders who didn't want to help. Gary and Lend America took the time and invensted their own money in the process to get me into my home. I am sitting in MY OWN home-office typing this right now!

    Give them a try, call Gary and tell him "Victor in Oklahoma" sent you - you won't be sorry. If LEND AMERICA can't get you a mortgage, NO ONE can!

    Call HIM at 1-800-707-5626 x 2184 or E-mail him at [email protected]
    housemouse's Avatar
    housemouse Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #5

    Nov 11, 2008, 08:59 AM
    I'm sorry but the previous answer must have been answered by someone affiliated with that company. Who else could have written it in such good detail. I am a realtor who warned my client of internet lenders. They choose to stay with LendAmerica until they received their pre-dated good faith estimate a month after we had requested one and all the terms, price, interest rate, fees were extremely inflated. They were told they met the deadline for a no-money-down assistance program and days later told them they could not get it, there interest rate went up, fees were astronomical, the loan officer was rude and vague. The lender knew these buyers only had so much money to work with and the amount they had to bring in to close doubled. They even had the purchase price and loan amount inflated. For a $65K house where seller was giving back $3K for costs, they had loan amount of $69K and buyer's bringing in $4K to close. Technically seller was getting $63 for house but total expenses totaled $74K. Not a good thing! They changed to a local lender who said that Lend America would have been making about 5 times the amount that she would be making on the loan. Buyer beware!
    housemouse's Avatar
    housemouse Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #6

    Nov 11, 2008, 09:02 AM
    Maybe the question was answered by a happy customer but I would only advise people in a credit challenged situation to use them.
    aviator4's Avatar
    aviator4 Posts: 9, Reputation: 1
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    #7

    Nov 11, 2008, 10:01 AM
    It saddens me to see a real-estate "professional" trash a lending company, especially given the real-estate climate in our country right now. This person asks "who else could have written in such detail?" - well - I COULD!! I'm a CLIENT, NOT A LENDER, NOT A REAL-ESTATE PRO, NOT IN THE BUSINESS. You shouldn't lose faith in your fellow mankind so easily... folks, what I have written is the truth - and nothing BUT the truth.

    First, off - I am NOT employed or affiliated with Lend Amercian in any way beyond simply being a customer. I can honeslty say that I don't know every Loan Officer at the company - I only know Gary, which is why I mention him by name. I am sure that at a company this size there are going to be some real idiots that are only after a quick buck. This is one of the reasons I DIDN'T simply say "Call Lend America" - I mentioned MY officer by name.

    Now, with that being said, I know there are going to people out there that now have that seed of doubt planted by "housemouse" - so I offer you this. In this post are photos of my home - the one I could NOT have purchased WITHOUT Lend America. Take a look at the dates on the pictures - they are accurate. You will see some of them before my closing date of 6/19/2008 and a couple AFTER that date.

    If you need more proof, call Gary. He has been cleared to give you all my information and talk about the specifics of my Loan and what it took to get it.

    I can also tell you that since my initial post on July 14th, Gary has received a number of calls in direct resposne to my post. He has been able to help a number of clients get into homes when they thought all hope was lost. He can't help everyone and he'll be the first to admit that, but if there is a way, he'll find it.

    Don't let the post of a single Real-Estate "pro" who is being beaten down in their own market keep you from at least TRYING to get a home... in a sea of people shaking their heads no, Lend America said yes and now I own this: (make sure and read my captions! )


    This is our new house, right after the put the sod in. They are still working on a retaining wall in the front.


    My wife was SOOO excited to see this in the front yard when we pulled up!!! The dream was becominga reality. (Yes, thats OUR last name!!!)


    CLOSING DAY!!! Our first picture in front of OUR NEW HOME!!!



    After a few months and some landscaping, our yard looked like this. We LOVE IT!


    And our kitchen usually looks like this. LOL - we have 4 kids, so go figure..
    Still don't believe me? You can E-mail me at - I'd be happy to give you any details I can about my experience with Lend America.

    Don't let housemouse get you down... A LITTLE D-CON can clear that up!
    jackhoffmanesq's Avatar
    jackhoffmanesq Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #8

    Nov 16, 2008, 09:05 PM
    I am an Attorney in Melville Ny were they are based in and let me tell you to stay completely away from them. The son owns company from Father who is in Jail for Mortgage fraud and the Banking Dept is closing them down in about a month due to the same practices. Continental Mortgage has already been taking there leads from there ads on TV and they are currently on there Ginnie Mae License as they are taking them over with the help of bank regulators.

    As far as the Shortt family beware you get what you pay for. I am sure your payments will increase with excuses of telling you your taxes went up, etc...

    Thank You

    J Hoffman ESQ
    aviator4's Avatar
    aviator4 Posts: 9, Reputation: 1
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    #9

    Nov 17, 2008, 07:30 AM

    Well, I've tried and tried to find any information on a lawsuit about someone going to jail over mortgage fraud linked to Lend America or it's Parent Company and haven't been able to find anything. I would be very interested in ready about their shutting down too, considering all the new programs they are putting out like the HOPE for family program, not to mention the new building that they just built or the new employees they just brought onboard…. Hmm…. Doesn't sound like they're about the be shut down, does it? Here, read about all that on Reuters.com (Forward-Thinking Positions Lend America As The Best Prepared FHA Approved Lender... | Reuters)
    Here's what Mortgagemag.com has to say about them. This was in an article about direct lenders that are continuing to offer mortgage options during the housing crunch. (Lend America Continues to Offer Consumers Relevant Mortgage Solutions During Current Mortgage Market Disruption)
    Lend America, a National Mortgage Banking Organization and one of New York`s largest privately owned direct lenders, has proudly served the residential mortgage marketplace for over 20 years. The company is one of the most successful direct lenders in the United States and is the region`s largest and most well known FHA direct lenders. Lend America offers a wide range of home purchase and refinance programs to meet their clients` individual requirements. Lend America`s new 40,000 square foot headquarters employs approximately 300 employees and is located at 201 Old Country Road, Melville, New York, 11747. For more information on Lend America, please visit Nationwide, direct lender, Lend America offers mortgages, loans, with little to no money down, quick loan process.
    And here's one about how they are helping a major financial institution re-finance $1 billion of its' non-performance real-estate portfolio. In lay-mans' terms, this means they are helping refinance all types of loans into their new HOPE program for home-owners.
    Lend America facilitating HOPE refinancings | Real Estate and Technology News for Agents, Brokers and Investors | Inman News
    And to the comment about “you get what you pay for” and my payments increasing – this so-called attorney is inferring that a yearly increase in payments is somehow a “scam” – anyone that has a fixed payment mortgage will see a slight increase in their payment yearly because of property taxes… DUH! In all reality, Lend America doesn't service many of their own loans (in fact, at the time I got mine, they were not servicing ANY of them) – my loan was picked up by GMAC – I think we all know who they are… I never sent a single payment to Lend America, and GMAC wouldn't approve me outright. Funny how the system works.

    If you're going to trash the company, Mr. attorney, be prepared to back it up. Can you provide a link to this so-called Mortgage Fraud case?
    Al Dole's Avatar
    Al Dole Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #10

    Nov 23, 2008, 12:37 PM
    The lawyer is correct. This company has been profiled in the recent Business Week article
    FHA-Backed Loans: The New Subprime
    dagniewski's Avatar
    dagniewski Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #11

    Nov 25, 2008, 11:54 AM

    Can you give me a mortgage with 650
    Credit score?
    user365us's Avatar
    user365us Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #12

    Dec 23, 2008, 12:42 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Al Dole View Post
    The lawyer is correct. This company has been profiled in the recent Business Week article
    FHA-Backed Loans: The New Subprime

    Still, no one can answer or tell why we should avoid this company. Sure, it is in the news, but as a customer, why stay away from them? High fee? High interest rate? :confused:
    Jakidd445's Avatar
    Jakidd445 Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
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    #13

    Dec 29, 2008, 08:39 PM
    As for what the others are saying about Lend America, I don't really care at this point. My wife and I are currently refinancing our home through Lend America, and we have never had such outstanding service and we've refinanced our home over 4 times. Our Lend America loan officer, Kevin Dayton, has been EXCELLENT. He's no quitter and has put his all into making our loan happen. He has called when he said he would, and he's never left us in the dark during any stage of the process. Call and ask for him at 1-800-707-LOAN, you won't regret it!

    OUR STORY

    We're currently in a ARM with EMC Mortgage (a subsidiary of Bear Sterns, recently bought by Chase). Well, our rates and payments continued to move up, up and up with each resetting of the ARM. We didn't know what to do. With two kids and a exploding mortgage payment, the future was looking bleak. In fact, around a 6 months ago, after our first reset, we were actually looking at foreclosure, because we had fallen behind on our mortgage payments and swimming in debt. It was bad, and EMC did a modification to help us get back on track, but the payments continued to climb. HOWEVER through prayer, faith and discipline, our circumstances improved. The good Lord takes care of His servants.

    In June, I received a promotion in my career, and we were able to pay off some small debts, but our mortgage was still a "beast," eating up our monthly income. So we had to do something. My wife works at a local bank in loan processing and underwriting, so she knows the finance world well. So our first instinct was to go to her boss, seeking help. She has been a super employee, dedicated, honest and hardworking. Well, to make a long story short, her own employer would not refinance us out of our current ARM. So we felt defeated and thought that there was no use to try. We resolved that we would just have to budget every penny and hope that no emergencies occurred.

    But my faith told me to press on. So, around three weeks ago, I began to surf the net researching top-rated refinance companies, Lend America made it to the top of my list. Having been turned down by our local bank, I told my wife to call Lend America to see if they could help, so she reluctantly did. Well, that's when we met Kevin Dayton of Lend America, and that's when God removed more doubt from our human minds. Now, in no way am I saying that Lend America boosted my faith in God, but our dealings with them have proved to us once again that God controls everything and we are only borrowing His world, His stuff, while we're here on earth.

    Well, after her conversation with Kevin, he took our information over the phone and we were quickly pre-approved. The rates and terms offered by Lend America were far better than those my wife would've ended up with from her own employer. Within a few days, Kevin was ordering our appraisal and sending everything for final approval. Needless to say, the Holidays have slowed down the process a little, but we are due to close our loan either this week or the beginning of next. He locked us in at 5.5% with a 30 year fixed in one FHA-backed loan. This may not sound like a deal to some people today, but with our current rates being around 11% and 9.5% (1st & 2nd Mortgages), this was a phenomenal opportunity for us.

    I can't say enough about the professionalism, the determination, and the promptness of Kevin Dayton and the Lend America staff so far. I would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone needing help with their current ARM or high-cost mortgage. As for the warnings placed on this site about Lend America, I find them hard to belief. But, I know that God will lead me through anything. So, if this mortgage turns out to be too good to be true, God will simply open another door, so I don't pay much mind to "doomsayers." ;)
    NewJerseyJF's Avatar
    NewJerseyJF Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #14

    Dec 31, 2008, 06:27 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by jackhoffmanesq View Post
    I am an Attorney in Melville Ny were they are based in and let me tell you to stay completely away from them. The son owns company from Father who is in Jail for Mortgage fraud and the Banking Dept is closing them down in about a month due to the same practices. Continental Mortgage has already been taking there leads from there ads on TV and they are currently on there Ginnie Mae License as they are taking them over with the help of bank regulators.

    As far as the Shortt family beware you get what you pay for. I am sure your payments will increase with excuses of telling you your taxes went up, etc...

    Thank You

    J Hoffman ESQ
    What kind of lawyer does not know the proper use of the word there?
    The son owns company from Father... what kind of English is that??

    There ads on TV and they are currently on there Ginnie Mae License as they are taking them over with the help of bank regulators... What are you saying??


    I beg to differ on the lawyer claim?
    Jakidd445's Avatar
    Jakidd445 Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
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    #15

    Jan 16, 2009, 05:27 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by Jakidd445 View Post
    As for what the others are saying about Lend America, I don't really care at this point. My wife and I are currently refinancing our home through Lend America, and we have never had such outstanding service and we've refinanced our home over 4 times. Our Lend America loan officer, Ryan Dayton, has been EXCELLENT. He's no quitter and has put his all into making our loan happen. He has called when he said he would, and he's never left us in the dark during any stage of the process. Call and ask for him at 1-800-707-LOAN, you won't regret it!

    OUR STORY

    We're currently in a ARM with EMC Mortgage (a subsidiary of Bear Sterns, recently bought by Chase). Well, our rates and payments continued to move up, up and up with each resetting of the ARM. We didn't know what to do. With two kids and a exploding mortgage payment, the future was looking bleak. In fact, around a 6 months ago, after our first reset, we were actually looking at foreclosure, because we had fallen behind on our mortgage payments and swimming in debt. It was bad, and EMC did a modification to help us get back on track, but the payments continued to climb. HOWEVER through prayer, faith and discipline, our circumstances improved. The good Lord takes care of His servants.

    In June, I received a promotion in my career, and we were able to pay off some small debts, but our mortgage was still a "beast," eating up our monthly income. So we had to do something. My wife works at a local bank in loan processing and underwriting, so she knows the finance world well. So our first instinct was to go to her boss, seeking help. She has been a super employee, dedicated, honest and hardworking. Well, to make a long story short, her own employer would not refinance us out of our current ARM. So we felt defeated and thought that there was no use to try. We resolved that we would just have to budget every penny and hope that no emergencies occurred.

    But my faith told me to press on. So, around three weeks ago, I began to surf the net researching top-rated refinance companies, Lend America made it to the top of my list. Having been turned down by our local bank, I told my wife to call Lend America to see if they could help, so she reluctantly did. Well, that's when we met Ryan Dayton of Lend America, and that's when God removed more doubt from our human minds. Now, in no way am I saying that Lend America boosted my faith in God, but our dealings with them have proved to us once again that God controls everything and we are only borrowing His world, His stuff, while we're here on earth.

    Well, after her conversation with Kevin, he took our information over the phone and we were quickly pre-approved. The rates and terms offered by Lend America were far better than those my wife would've ended up with from her own employer. Within a few days, Kevin was ordering our appraisal and sending everything for final approval. Needless to say, the Holidays have slowed down the process a little, but we are due to close our loan either this week or the beginning of next. He locked us in at 5.5% with a 30 year fixed in one FHA-backed loan. This may not sound like a deal to some people today, but with our current rates being around 11% and 9.5% (1st & 2nd Mortgages), this was a phenomenal opportunity for us.

    I can't say enough about the professionalism, the determination, and the promptness of Ryan Dayton and the Lend America staff so far. I would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone needing help with their current ARM or high-cost mortgage. As for the warnings placed on this site about Lend America, I find them hard to belief. But, I know that God will lead me through anything. So, if this mortgage turns out to be too good to be true, God will simply open another door, so I don't pay much mind to "doomsayers." ;)
    I meant RYAN DAYTON in the above post... Oops!
    HannahBarber's Avatar
    HannahBarber Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #16

    Jan 17, 2009, 10:26 AM
    We are currently doing a refinance with Lend America. Everything went very well through the application and closing process. However, when we signed all th documents at closing, they just stopped working on our loan. They never funded the loan and still to this date have not paid off our original mortgage. We are in a real mess now, because our original mortgage is past due and I sent in my mortgage payment to Lend america, so I do not have the funds to pay two mortgages at once. I don't know what to do. The funding department personel will not return any of my voice mails, and even when I have them paged, they will not take any calls. I don't know what to do at this point. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

    I have never had a problem before now getting a bank to fund the loan once it has been closed.
    Jakidd445's Avatar
    Jakidd445 Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
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    #17

    Jan 17, 2009, 05:55 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by HannahBarber View Post
    We are currently doing a refinance with Lend America. Everything went very well through the application and closing process. However, when we signed all th documents at closing, they just stopped working on our loan. They never funded the loan and still to this date have not paid off our original mortgage. we are in a real mess now, because our original mortgage is past due and I sent in my mortgage payment to Lend america, so I do not have the funds to pay two mortgages at once. I don't know what to do. The funding department personel will not return any of my voice mails, and even when I have them paged, they will not take any calls. I don't know what to do at this point. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

    I have never had a problem before now getting a bank to fund the loan once it has been closed.
    How long has this been ago? Was it a FHA-Backed Loan? Was this a Refinance? What was your interest rate? Who worked on your loan at LendAmerica? Have you contacted a lawyer and HUD about this? Did anything change with your income or means of living? I've never heard of such a thing as you've explained in this post. If you closed, then you should have a loan number assigned to you in your final documents... Can't you call about your loan number and get information?
    HannahBarber's Avatar
    HannahBarber Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #18

    Jan 17, 2009, 07:15 PM
    We just closed on Dec 31st and the funding was supposed to be Jan 6th, 2009. Nothing has changed at all in our income or our situation. I am going to try to talk to a lawyer on Tuesday if I can find one. This is such a weird situation. I have never dealt with this before. Ted (the guy who processed our application) said that I need to talk to Dawn (the lady who cuts the checks). However, Dawn does not take any phone calls, and she does not return any voicemail messages. I have also tried to leave messages for her boss (Jennifer) with no results either.

    This is an FHA loan, so I guess I can try to contact them somehow.
    pacific nw's Avatar
    pacific nw Posts: 117, Reputation: 11
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    #19

    Jan 18, 2009, 08:27 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by jackhoffmanesq View Post
    I am an Attorney in Melville Ny were they are based in and let me tell you to stay completely away from them. The son owns company from Father who is in Jail for Mortgage fraud and the Banking Dept is closing them down in about a month due to the same practices. Continental Mortgage has already been taking there leads from there ads on TV and they are currently on there Ginnie Mae License as they are taking them over with the help of bank regulators.

    As far as the Shortt family beware you get what you pay for. I am sure your payments will increase with excuses of telling you your taxes went up, etc...

    Thank You

    J Hoffman ESQ
    Hmmmm, Mr. Hoffman, you are using "there" when it requires a possessive "their" that anyone who has gotten through law school and taken the bar should know. It would be rather unusual for an attorney to be that specific concerning a case without referencing the case number. I suspect The Shortt family, (I have no idea who they are) might have a case of libel if they so chose to follow up. Please stick to facts "Mr. Hoffman, esq."

    Can you provide us with your bar number? Just curious.
    jahrichie's Avatar
    jahrichie Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
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    #20

    Jan 18, 2009, 08:55 PM
    Look at the advertisement that runs on the major networks. It's a mock network flash-news announcement. This is in sense a bank, masquerading as a Network news announcement, instead of what they actually are doing, running a commercial.

    They are 100 Percent not a legitimate company. Who are you people? Why would you even ask these questions?


    If you're dumb enough to do business with them after seeing that, or reading what these people have to say, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you in Brooklyn... for a good price.

    Although I hope the attorney is a legitimate source of knowledge, his post is riddled with errors... and I'm pretty sure lawyers in New York know how to read and write.

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