Embrace Home Loans review: They take your money and won't call you back 91

I called Embrace Home Loans in May 2011 after seeing they had a gold star through my state housing program. I was pre-approved and then started looking for a house. I put an offer on a house and then set up my appointment with the housing counselor through my state, which is required to qualify for their program. I had everything I needed except my credit report. I call my "loan officer" on several occasions to get my credit report from him. I never received all call back. The housing counselor even called and left him a message that I need the credit report to complete all necessary requirements for the state program and left her office phone number. She never heard from him either. I finally went to another mortgage company and had no problems after that. But it's now almost 4 months later and I never heard another word from him. It makes me very uncomfortable to know that this company took all my personal information for a pre approval and I never heard from them again. It's best to avoid this company at all costs. The only good thing I can say is that at least I didn't give them any money, if I had I'm sure I would have never seen that again.

I called Embrace tonight after receiving their flyer - spoke with customer service representative, Nate, who was initially very courteous - even immediately giving me his phone number and extension in case we were disconnected. He admitted he worked on a base plus commission basis - the more refinances he booked, the more he got paid - and I appreciated that admission. I asked him to explain the process to me - as he was doing this, I was launching Google to run a search on the company name. Once he mentioned the "first step" $395 appraisal fee, I told him I would take the time to research the company a bit and get back to him rather than proceeding now. As I was telling him this, I launched this site and saw the first comment, which was obviously very negative. He mentioned I would find nothing but rave reviews for his company, one of the largest lenders, etc etc. I finally read him the comment I was reading, which basically says the company took the appraisal fee and then would no longer return calls. In recognition that any company could get a negative review, I told him my intent was to contact the Better Business Bureau. He told me to go to their website immediately while he held so that I could learn that Embrace had an A+ rating. I actually wanted to talk to someone at BBB, and told him this but he was very insistent that I needed to check their website now. I again said I preferred to look into the situation a little more before proceeding with the process. At that point, his demeanor really changed - he told me if I called back, I should not ask for him because he did not like my attitude. When I started to respond, he then hung up on me. After that experience, and after reading through all the comments here, I am glad I went with my instincts and did not provide a credit card number or other personal information.

The positive comments posted here are from Embrace Employees (who is your employer Mr. Chip Leakas?), intended to offset the more honest negative comments. I, like the many others who have questions concerning this Companies Tactics, are not SourGrapesslayer comments, (I doubt Sour Grape Slayer could slay anything without his attorney present). The grammar and spelling in these legitimate complaints means absolutely nothing. What is important is the fact that they all share similar complaints. Well, I'm not one to admit being taken advantage of, however, I would like to share my experience with those of you who, for one reason or the other, have found yourself in a difficult financial situation, yet your desire is to live up to the financial obligations you have promised to pay in a timely manner.
My experience started with a brochure that came in the mail from Embrace. I read the testimonies from supposedly Real Embrace Customers, "Me and my family were going under and Embrace rescued us" type testimonials, I put my guard down for a moment. Let me be honest with you, if you can obtain a loan from Embrace, you can most certainly obtain a loan from a local Financial Institution, that will deal and work with you face-to-face in an honest fashion.
My first call was to a Mr. Kloss, whom after I gave him my SSN ran a quick Credit Check on me. He indicated that I would qualify for a Home Refinance with Embrace! He remained in contact with me until I agreed to pay the $395 Appraisal Fee. I gave him my C/C information and an Appraiser came out and Appraised my home. The Appraiser would not render a business card though. The Appraisal came in much lower that one I had performed by a local appraisal company six months earlier but it was $20, 000 more than Embrace required. Never did hear back from Mr. Kloss accept, occasionally, once a month, he sent me an email instructing me to pay a bill on a certain date. After five months, Mr Kloss vanished.
What makes me feel more foolish, a new Embrace Loan Officer (Mr Nathan Nary) contacted me a month ago and informed me that he could make the loan work. I was Approved again! I fell for it. Once again I was asked to put up another $495, Like a fool I did and this time the Appraisal Came in even Higher. I was approved again! Well, that was three weeks ago. Now I am being asked to produce an explanation for being late a few times on a second mortgage. Another $495 in some one else's pocket. Take my honest advice. Do not deal with these Con Artist, for any reason.

Just finished a loan process with Embrace; I would never, under any circumstance recommend them. They don' t have a clue as to what they are doing. At first everything was OK; then at the 11th hour they had all these BS conditions. All of which could have been avoided if they functioned like a professional company. You would be better off borrowing money from a load shark in New York. I'm their customer and I'm sitting at the closing table and having to apologize to the Title Company, homeowners insurance company, Seller and real estate agents for the screw ups of my mortgage company. Communication during the process with Loan officer did not exist, several unanswered emails and phone calls.

We refinanced our home with embrace at a very low fixed rate and 1 month after we did they sold our loan to Bank of America and that is nightmare. stay away from embrace and Bank of America.

We refinanced our home with Embrace for a much cheaper interest rate. One month lather they sold our loan to Bank of America and that became a nightmare. Stay away from embrace and Bank of America.

The real important thing to remember, is that it doesn't matter what your loan officer or originator tells you, it's about what is typed in black and white in your loan disclosures, and that is that once you appraisal fee is paid, and the service is carried out, hence the apraisal, that fee paid out of pocket is non-refundabale, no matter what the outcome is.
LO's at Embrace have a tendency to yes people up, down and sideways, and then when you find out your home didn't appraise for what was expected, they never call you back, and you're out $395.00.

I've seen alot of comments, questioning the actuall inception of the name Embrace Home Loans, and how long they boast they've been around. That's becasue they didn't exist, under that name, before the latter part of 2009. Prior to that, they we're know as Advanced Financial Services, so anyone looking to research this company further, will find a whole slew of complaints, with the same basis dated back to 1983, and that is the LO the customer was dealing with, either lied or misled them into believing that everything would be fine or was guaranteed, throughout the loan process. Except, they found out the hard way, and after dishing out $395.00 for an appraisal to be done on their home, that the appraiasal fee was non-refundable, no matter what the outcome of that appraisal was. Once they found out their home value, didn't come back at where it was needed to qualify, the loan officer wouldn't call them back. Then they would try and call the loan officers manager, and the manager wouldn't call them back. Boy, that's what I call top-notch customer service.

In response to RUKIDDINGME, it is difficult to imagine the conversation you claim to have had with our loan officer, but there are several points in your comments that need to be addressed. First of all, there are laws both state and federal, that require a lender like Embrace to maintain its accounts such that Escrow Funds are always available to pay the borrower’s taxes and insurance, but none that discuss the Investment of those funds on the borrower’s behalf. Not only is the term “High Interest Money Market” a contradiction in terms, no loan officer at Embrace would suggest that we as a Lender were going to “invest” your Escrow funds into some risky venture. Not only is it unreasonable, regulations prevent it. Further, your experience as a Mortgage Loan Originator should tell you that regulations governing how and in what vehicles anyone’s money may be invested have nothing to do with the Mortgage Lending Business. TILA (Truth In Lending Act) and HMDA (Home Mortgage Disclosure Act) do not speak to the terms of Escrow Accounts. And while RESPA does set out rules for Escrow Accounts, it does not consider the “investment” of Escrow Monies, which are largely governed by State rules. In Rhode Island, regulations require that the lender or servicer pay interest to the borrower on any amounts held in an Escrow account at a rate stipulated by the State. Other states might require the type of account in which such funds must be maintained. We can only imagine that there must have been some misunderstanding in the conversation between you and our representative. It is likely that if you had asked about the investment of Escrow Funds, he would not have had an answer as it is not something a loan officer would normally discuss, but could have received one in minutes from our Servicing Department. And even if he were going to try and wing it, he certainly would not have attempted to put you at ease by telling that we would invest your money in junk bonds.

If you're a homeowner, you'll eventually get one of Embrace's mailers. They typically buy lists from the credit bureau's of consumers with credit scores within a given range, say for example, from a 650 to a 750, or 620 to a 720, and whose credit reports show they have a current mortgage. Just FYI, to anyone whose interested in knowing how they do it.
As far as paying for an appraisal, no matter what, on the phone, their loan officers will yes you up and down, and give you evry guarantee they can, until they're blue in the face, so that you'll sign your Good Faith Estimate, and give them your credit card number for the appraisal fee. Anyone whose had a mortgage or have been involved in the mortgage industry in one form or another, knows right well, that the value of your home won't be know for sure until they recieve that appraisal report. By that time, you either have the value needed or you won't, and if you don't, you'll never hear from them again, no matter how many voicemails you leave, or even if you do call the Better Business Bureau. That's because you probably already signed the disclosure that indicates the non-refundability of the appraisal fee, once that service is carried out, and no matter what the outcome of the appraisal is.
So, in the end, the point of this story is, it doesn't matter what they tell you on the phone or even face to face, it's about what they put in writing, and what you sign, so make sure you read every page of your disclosure package, line for line, word for word, before you give them your credit card number. Embrace Home Loans is not well known for their forth-rightness, and that might explain one of the reasons why they changed their name from Advanced Financial Services back in 2009

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=118888
Look for chip leake... He trolls the complaint boards for the past several years

BTW Chip leakas has been trolling since they were AFS

Yes, I have seen his name several times, responding to every negative comment posted with regards to Embrace Home Loans. I assume he is somewhat of a watchdog, barking and trying to disregard every complaint for a company that not only, cares not for it's customers. They just want you sign on the bottom line, no matter what the final outcome is, whether you save money or not, or even if you end up in foeclosure, it doesn't matter to them.

1 Chipleak has already said he USED to work for them. He did not deny it. Everyone other positive review here is someone who has received a loan from them and all of you complainers are just mad because you did NOT receive a loan by them. I have read complaints on every board and also positive comments. The complaints all come back to one issue, you paid an appraisal fee and your appraisal did not come back to what you thought it would be, DUH. Embrace and any mortgage lender you would have gone through, including banks, does NOT COLLECT THE MONEY FOR APPRAISAL FEES. They make NO profit from it and it ALL goes to the appraiser. What don't you understand? If you DO NOT get the loan then embrace DOES NOT make ANY money. As for their name change READ http://www.comperemedia.com/blog/2010/02/a-look-rebranding-embrace-home-loans/
also http://www.dsnews.com/articles/advanced-financial-services-announces-new-corporate-identity-2009-12-21
They changed their name because the company has not been available in all markets, and its prior name was easily confused with many other financial services companies. In order to combat these obstacles, the company decided to make a change with a name that defines not only what Embrace Home Loans does, but also what it cares about. This is all slander and that is why BBB has not shut them down. Yea there is a lot of the same type of complaint on BBB website but maybe you should look further into it and see that ALL the complaints have been resolved! And the ones that were not resolved are because Embrace did their part to try to resolve it but the CONSUMER never got back to them. Therefore either the consumer did not care anymore or realized they were in the wrong. You people seriously need to do ALL of your research before making any type of business transaction. And get everything in writing so if you feel like you have been wronged you can PROVE IT. Cause at this point, with all these complaints, I am highly surprised no one has done anything about it and issues supposedly have not been resolved.

And by the way, you really think that Embrace lenders are gonna waste their time day in and day out for over a month to make a measly 395$? REALLY?!?

And who the heck are you? If you don't like the complaints you're reading, then DON't READ THEM.
You are right about one thing, the most common complaint from any customers who have dealt with Embrace Home Loans, is the fact that they paid for an appraisal, and then were not approved for a loan with them. The point that I have made to any consumer with a little common sense, and the ability to read, is that they need to ready their DISCLOSURES, page for page, before they pay for an appraisal. There is a mandatory disclosure that has to go out to every customer, who applies for a home mortgage either for a home purchase or a refinance, that stipulates that one the appraisal fere is paid and the appraisal service is carried out, despite the final outcome of mortgage application that fee is NONREFUNDABLE. My other complaint, is that Embrace's loan officers are the least trained, the least knowledgleable, and the least professional of any mortgage originators around. They wouldn't know how to properly answer customers questions, without giving lies, misrepresentations, and false promises, like telling people their escrow monies will be invested into some kind of high-yield money market account, which you can thank Ian Aubourg for that little trick, or when a customer asks about a TRUTH IN LENDING discolsure, their told "don't pay attention to that, it doesn't really mean anything". REALLY, then if it doesn't mean anything, then why is it sent to me in my disclosures package, and why do I have to sign it? Another little trick, that you can thank Mr Walter Korzinowski for, and who also ironically resigned from Embrace Home Loans right at the time, when the mortgage crash hit and all of the disclosure laws became much more stringent, is that he used to send out Good Faith Estimates to his cusomers which showed no origination fee, and then right at the time the loan was ready to close, all of a sudden an origination fee would mysteriously appear on the final settlement sheet, which usually was about $5, 000 to $6, 000, so the customer thought they'd be getting about $30, 000, for example, but instead their cash-out amount became more like $24, 000. Did he actually think that all of his customers failed basic math? Seemed rather strange to me, that for a company, who claims to be so forthright and honest in their lending tactics, had a guy like that working for them for almost 5 years. I wonder how many of those Good Faith Estimates, and HUD settlement sheets really differed from each other by a large dollar margin?
You must work for Embrace, you sound like one of them. Hiding behind disclosures, that you might not care if the customer doesn't read, but you just want them to sign on the dotted line all of the time, without asking questions, and hiding behind the BBB, whose not there on a daily basis, to hear some of the utter cow maneur that they dish out to customers on the phone day in and day out.

Embrace Home Loans should be put out of business . I regret not coming to this web site since we like so many are now out of $395.00! We received their mail offer and wanted to take advantage of the low interest rate. My husband and I have been thru many financial hardships these past few years ( do to loss of employment) and lost our home of 32 years with a foreclosure ALMOST three years ago. Our appraisel came in okay, though I still have not received a copy and was told our credit score was "on the grid" and we should be closing/settlement within weeks. Now just when we thought we would be closing they call and are telling us it can not happen until the three year anniverary of the foreclosure date, which is six months from now. We were forth coming with all this info on our first discussion with their loan officer and if this is their rule we should have been informed at that time and would not have put out our very hard earned money for nothing! Please know I will be warning and complaining to anyone who will listen to stay away from this company.

I totally agree, AGW in NJ, in fact when a credit report is pulled, which once you give your social security number, that is all the authorization that company needs to review your credit report, than at that point, the foreclosure would've come up on that report, so that loan offcier should've known and let you know of the possibilty of not being able to get approved. Again, the loan officers' at Embrace are the worst in the home loan industry, with the poorest training, the least amount of product knowledge, and overall the without a care about tha hardships you have been through, and just need for you to sign on the dotted line and take your money for the appraisal. You see, once they have your money, they have you in their grasp, only to find out that you were probably no going to be apprvoed from the beginning anyway.

I was going to call Embrace and actually did and hung up before they ansewered cause it just didnt smell rite. Thank you to everyone who took the time to post your concerns, i believe you did me a great service again THANK YOU.
Good luck with your claims.

i just added this site to my favs for some reason. im going to monitor it. seems a steady stream of complaints. i just have one ques. how are they still in busines and boast an A+ rating BBB?. (I LIED 2 QUESTIONS)

Actually, I am so glad that someone asked that question. I think that very same question tends to run through peoples minds, but never seems to get answered. It's very simple, the way they are able to circumvent any legal action or even penalties is that they just want their customers to simply "SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE", which is something most consumers do anyway, becasue consumers want to feel that the person they are speaking with on the phone is going to be their best friend, and would never do them any wrong-doing, and they also don't want to have to read all of the disclosures, or even understand them anyway. Now what I mean by "SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE" simply means that when you apply for a mortgage refinance or new home purchase loan, they want you to sign your initial dislcosures, without any questions, despite the fact that they will charge you an origination fee, that could equal about 1.0% to 2.0% of the loan amount, to just write the loan for you. One of those disclosures is a GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE, and once you sign that, they can charge you for a property appraisal, and once that is paid, and that appraisal is done, that $395.00 fee, is now non-refundable, despite the overall outcome of the loan, meaning it doesn't matter if you are approved or not, that feeis non-refundable, once it's paid. Another thing they do, as I've mentioned before, is they will give you all kinds of promises, until you find out you were never approved, becasue of the property value or maybe even your income wasn't enough. You see, once you sign everything, they have themselves covered.
So, boys and girls, the point of this lesson is, 'SHOP AROUND", go to a regular bank, you'll pay alot less, and if they are local you can actually sit down with someone face- to- face, so if something doesn't seem quite right, you can make sure you are able to ask those questions, before you pay money out of your pocket.

I closed on a loan with Embrace in August 2012, We added on to our house with our local bank and then wanted to payoff debt with our sweet equity, I had some problems but they prequalified me before taking the money for appraisel. It did not worke exactly how I would have like. I got a good rated I had already done a contruction appraisel with logal bank. The Embrace Appraisel came back $13K more and we did not have the storage building done and it did not count as it did on the construction appraisel? We are in Oklahoma and the market did not go done as other areas did. We are in the sticks as well 6 acres. Sorry you all are having a hard time. Out took a lot longer than it should but it was an FHA loan any process is slowed down when Government is involved. :(

I'd like to say I'm sorry for all the problems all you are going through with Embrace ( Embrace someone else's money). But THANK YOU ALL so very much for stopping me from making a really drastic financial mistake. I almost called them for a loan! I LOVE these comment posts :)

Hi SueBeeee, That's no problem. In this day and age, consumers need to be ever more careful, and dealing with companies like Embrace Home Loans, is like opening your kitchen window and throwing every dollar out the into the wind. Embrace Home loans, despite their boastful ad's about caring for their customer's, only care when they make a commission off of your mortgage.

Thanks for the comments, I as well received a flyer and will not be calling embrace. Ain't no such thing as a free lunch!

Obtaining a mortgage is not just a cut and dry process but involves a plethora of documentation and the ability to prove you can pay the loan. Whether you use a local bank, credit union or a mortgage broker they are ALL out to make money off you. If you are not intelligent enough to read the fine print of what you are asked to sign then hire a lawyer. My guess is many people out there received solicitations because they have potentially serious unsecured debt and Embrace, like other mortgage brokers are trying to obtain your business while being able to offer services such as FHA backed cash out loans. However you must meet all the qualifications of the loan, many of which are set forth by type of product you are trying to get NOT Embrace. Then you have to meet the stringent qualifications of the underwriting process. Those complaining of closing set backs are complaining about something that happens ALL THE TIME, regardless of the institution. Additionally, of course they are trying to make money. Guess what? We live in a capitalistic society and that is what a business does. Simply stated if you don't meet the qualifications that are pretty much spelled out BY LAW then you won't get the loan. How is that Embrace's fault? Anyone that has purchased a home already knows that most institutions require an appraisal. Some types of loans don't require them but you can bet ANY institution that is going to offer an 85% LTV cash out loan to pay your bills (pretty confident this is the offer EVERYONE gets) is going to require an appraisal. That is just a common sense business approach to determining risk. If your home does not meet the market value that you are shooting for to get the loan then why would Embrace even want to do the loan? Are they ran by a personal friend or family member? No.

I can understand how disappointing is is to be told no especially if you find yourself in a dire financial situation. However nobody owes you anything especially when the documents you sign are pretty transparent. Sure you may not understand them and in that case hire an attorney. Many people have home attorneys who review their documents and go to close. Outside of a few isolated cases where Embrace may have dropped the ball from a clerical standpoint, many people sound like a bunch of spoiled brats because they didn't get the loan and the typical American sense of entitlement is coming through loud and clear.

Whoever this schmuck is, jtimme3, you really have alot to learn about integrity. It's not the customers responsibily to go out and hire some lawyer at $150.00 per hour, to answer some questions that should be answered by the LOAN OFFICERS at Embrace Home Loans, with accuracy, intelligence and honesty. It's the responsibility of the people at Embrace Home Loans, to guide their customers in the right direction and answer their questions with the utmost honesty, especially when the customer doesn't understand what they are reading. When you recieve any type of agreement to sign, would you feel safe and secure if the people who issued you that agreement to sign, told you you should go out and ask a lawyer to answer the questions that they should be able to answer? I THINK NOT
Gee, I wonder what Embrace office you work out of? You sound just like one of them. Who cares what the customer thinks, as long as they sign on the bottom line...RIGHT?

Are you kidding me? You sound like a typical american who couldn't take responsibility for their own matters and when it goes south you blame everyone around you. News flash genius, you are just as responsible as the banks are for what YOU sign. I realize the financial institutions don't make things as transparent as they should but there is something called a "truth in lending" form as well as a "good faith estimate" form that CLEARLY states the parameters of the loan. It's quite simple really. If you don't like something you see there, DON'T sign. I have ZERO stake in this argument except that I am tired of people blaming everyone around them for things they should take responsibility for. Are the banks innocent? Heck, no but you shouldn't be using things such as overtime and non guaranteed income to quality yourself for a loan. So to think that just because YOU don't understand something and don't do your due diligence to garner that understanding that is is ALL the banks fault, your logic is just as flawed as the banks who found out the hard way. Additionally most of these posts are complaints regarding the PROCESS of securing a loan, many of which, couldn't probably quality for a 2000 dollar unsecured loan, let alone a mortgage cash out HFA refinance in these tight economic times. So everyone stands in the corner and stomps their feet and acts like a 5 year old when they didn't get their way.

By the way I definitely don't work for Embrace (health care provider actually). However I have the financial ability as well as the mental capacity to understand what I am signing as well as where to go if I need further clarification instead of trying to blame the world for my own personal financial woes. So keep stomping your feet and being bitter when you actually have to put some effort into something. Again, how American of you. People wonder why the rest of the world hates us. I'm sure it's the public school systems fault too right?

Definitely not an embrace employee but judging by how many times you followed people around this thread like a lost puppy dog it appears you probably didn't get approved for a loan from Embrace as you, like the vast majority of others, spent well beyond your means and you are now bitter. If you do business for any major purchase you are going to sign a plethora of paperwork. Home buying isn't all that difficult. I know because in 34 years, i have owned 2. Reading a GFE (good faith estimate) and TIL (truth in lending) form isn't rocket science and BY LAW everything is pretty cut and dry...well that is IF you understand what a check mark in a box means. Everything from your monthly payment to interest rate to pre-pay penalty amount is right there in black and white. Now what isn't certain, especially in these times are whether or not you will qualify for such a loan. Qualification is based on meeting things called criteria. Now stay with me genius. Once these criteria are satisfied for each institution then you get the loan. It really is that easy.

However, like the typical entitlement American attitude, everyone moans and complains when things don't go their way. Sorry but home ownership is never guaranteed especially when you are asking to BORROW someone else's money. They don't own you a damn thing! However there is something called personal responsibility. Then again that is a very hard concept for most entitled americans. If you miss a payment, it isn't YOUR fault but someone else's. You go to your doctor and don't bring your insurance card or understand how your plan works, it's the person at the desk's fault. Most people could have their questions answered and don't listen long enough to be able to understand plain english about the thing they were even asking about. I guess that is the public school system's fault too right?

Bottom line is that if you sign documents and you don't fully understand them and STILL sign them, it's YOUR fault. I don't think there has even been a banker who has held a gun to a prospective borrower's head and forced them to sign a document. If somehow you were forced to sign a document (never has happened) or you happened to notice a discrepancy on a form (why would you sign that then...oh wait most people don't read what they are signing OR ask questions) then you should again exercise personal responsibility and don't sign the paperwork. In my 2 home purchases and 8 car purchases I have NEVER not known the terms of what I was signing for. It's not rocket science. Boxes and checkmarks but did you actually take the time to read what was beside them? Meh, probably not but that is "X" fault, right?

What an idiot. Who cares how many homes or cars you've owned. I'm not even going to waste my time with you, considering I've been in the banking industry for almost 20 yrs, and i don't care what you do for a living, it is still and always will be the responsibility of the BANKER, to answer any and ALL questions, the customer may have with the utmost honesty, and knowledge. No kidding, it should be the consumers responsbility to ask questions and not sign anything they don't understand, but that does not negate the fact that there are still going to be questions that need to be answered without any BS.

We too received an offer in the mail. Took us a while to evaluate it, but we got a great deal with Embrace. Joe V. out of the Rhode Island office walked us through the whole thing from start to finish. Right in the middle, our previous lender sold our mortgage to Ocwen, now there is a company you DO NOT want to deal with, nobody there speaks a lick of English. We did not exist with them for 2 weeks, we were not in their system, we simply were not on this planet for 2 weeks, and Joe straightened it all out. Joe always got back to us the same day with any questions. As consumers, you need to learn how to read, and he always gave us the time to peruse everything, no pressure. As far as appraisers, this is standard practice, of course a lender wants to appraise your home, they'd be stupid not to. That money goes to the appraiser, and they are usually local people and not employed by the lender, but do it independently for many lenders. Everyone comes in low on appraisals, everyone. Consumers have put us in this predicament by signing those dotted lines on sub prime loans. READ people, READ and stop being greedy children buying million dollar homes you cannot afford. You are the ones who put us in this mess. We must be our own advocates and fight for our rights. We too came in under appraised, but these days that is pretty much normal. No property these days is worth what you think it is. Even on the west coast with zillion dollar homes, they are not getting at sale what they want. Don't take it personally. If you don't have equity, of course you are not going to get the loan you need, just makes sense. Would you loan anyone tens of thousands without equity/guarantee of repayment? Of course not. Paying off all your debt is just a typical thing, the lender wants to ensure that their money is secure, and there's nothing wrong with being almost debt free for a while, just having the mortgage and that's it. Feels really good actually. You'd be surprised how much you really do not need those credit cards. "Sweet equity" shot? No, no, look at it the other way, did you really, really need those luxury home improvements you had planned. Build that equity back up in no time flat. We were fortunate to have a lot of equity and are doing necessary and essential repairs, our appliances are over 20 years old, and energy efficiency is our goal for next winter. Bet our electric bills will be cut in half, so we will realize savings very quickly. We were able to purchase firewood which we rely on heavily and pay off local people who were patient to work with us and wait for their money. Finally getting the oil burner serviced and the septic pumped, five years overdue. These are the things you want to focus on, will give you peace of mind and you will sleep much better at night. Why pay off debt to create more debt, don't blame that on politicians or any one else, it's your own fault. READ those documents, ask questions and keep asking until you get answers that you understand. That is what the professionals are there for. If someone is rude or impatient, ask for a supervisor, send emails to superiors, make yourself heard. It's up to us to fix this mess we are all in together, and just wanting a loan to acquire more "stuff" is just plain stupid. Embrace, and especially Joe V. saved us at a critical time, we did not do a loan just to get more stuff, we desperately need these things to survive, and these things will give us peace of mind for many years to come. We did speak with our bank, but they make things way more complicated than Embrace did, bank almost wanted our first born to secure the loan, and we had plenty of equity. Joe made this an almost pleasant experience (never totally pleasant to have to borrow) and he actually has an invitation to dinner if he ever gets up in our neck of the woods (Maine). Would recommend them to anyone, and always, if your personality clashes with your lending officer, ask for someone else. It's your right to do so, and it does happen sometimes. Be patient and speak up when needed. And give Joe V. a call, you will not be disappointed with his efforts.

Well considering you made it a personal agenda to follow most of the embrace threads on this forum, your agenda seems pretty loud and clear. Were you fired by Embrace? Again if you can't understand what a checkmark in a box means, then you don't deserve to own a home, PERIOD.

Not even close jtimme3, I have better things to do with my time, than to make Embrace Home Loans my personal agenda. Embrace Home Loans couldn't afford my integrity, or my salary for that matter. The bank I work for, and yes I said "BANK", has been in business for almost 100 years, I myself have been here for almost 16 years. You couldn't get me to work for Embrace Homes Loans, if my life depended on it. People have a right to express their opinions, becasue that is called, "FREEDOM OF SPEECH". I read about that somewhere, on something called the "US CONSTITUTION". Yes, that must be it. You don't like my opinions, call 1-800-UPY-OURS, I really don't care. The bottom line is, and I'll say it again, people have a right to ask questions if they don't fully understand what it is that they are reading, or about to sign, and whether you agree with it or not, they should be given the respect, as consumers, not to be given BS roundabout answers. I have to say, you do sound like one of those loan officer wanna-be's from Embrace, whose favorite saying is probably "Just sign here, no problem". It's that "Just sign here, no problem" that led up to the mortgage crash of 2008, which my company survived of course, and also survived another national financial crisis called "THE GREAT DEPRESSION". That becasue, we're not afraid to answer questions, when they are asked, and give honest, clear, consice answers for that matter. We're going to be here for quite some time, becasue of that
Sorry, I never really asked what you do. Maybe a janitor, or a used-car salesman?
Think of it this way, my friend, I'm sure you don't fully understand everything you're about to sign, and I'm sure you have had questions. It doesn't feel too good, when you can't get the right answers, does it?

I just had the most amazing experience with Embrace Home Loans, and I still can't believe it, I closed earlier this week (Aug 2013). It did not close quickly, I had applied end of May or so. I was pursuing a HARP refi on a non-owner occupied 2-family, which I bought near the peak of the market, and even though I have been paying the mortgage on time for 10 years, no one else would help me with the refi. I have a tremendously difficult situation, since I am self-employed, and I honestly thought Embrace was pulling my leg. My current lender, Wells-Fargo, had turned me down for a refi 3 times, and I had finally found a Wells-Fargo loan officer, that would help me. I refinanced a different property through Wells-Fargo, but the interest rate was very high, because the loan had lender-paid PMI through Triad, and Wells-Fargo claimed that they could not convert it to a borrower-paid MI. Well, I didn't want lender-paid MI, I was near 20% equity finally, but Wells-Fargo insisted there was no other way. And no other lender would help me, I was told that it was a HARP requirement, that ONLY the current lender, could refi. Embrace proved all of these so-called experts wrong, and I could not be more excited, since the Embrace refi was my last alternative to foreclosure. Thank you Embrace Home Loans! I am still amazed, and although it did take a LONG time to go through the underwriting process, I would highly highly recommend them!

It's amazing to see someone specifically taking the time out of their day to actually compliment Embrace Home Loans, on a website that is geared towrds complaints. Usually when someone is able to close, I mean FINALLY close their loan with Embrace, that person is run through the ringer so hard, that by the time they get to the final closing and settlement, they are just happy to get it over with, and happy to not be dealing with Embrace Home Loans any longer. It's also seems strange that someone would refer to a specific loan program that Embrace is offering. So, that would mean that Happy Dancer is someone that works at Embrace and was asked to put a BS accolade on this website, to try and help offset the complaints that are posted. Now considering the number of complaints certainly outnumbers the number of compliments, by a margin of about 200 to 1, then I would say that this form of marketing is another failed attempt on the part of Embrace Home Loans, to re-establish their name in the mortgage industry. Keep it up Embrace, your doing great. And yes, I said re-establish, because condsidering at the height of the mortgage crash in 2009, they changed their name from Advanced Financial Services to Embrace Home Loans, right at the height of the mortgage crash.

LOL, I was just so excited, Embrace closed this impossible deal with me. I am sorry I didn't know that I wasn't allowed to post positive experiences on this site. I really am self-employed, no I certainly don't work for any lender, Embrace Home Loans included. I didn't believe it myself, until the deed actually recorded, because so many lending "experts", told me that my loan would be impossible, but somehow Embrace found a way to make it work. I wouldn't describe the process as easy, it did take much longer than I was hoping, like months, but it did work out for me. I had a really specific situation, where so many lenders claimed that I could not convert this lender-paid MI, but Embrace told me all along they could do it, and then they actually did it. All I can say is, they worked out AMAZINGLY well for me. I attributed their LONG approval process, to their possibly being overwhelmed with people applying for mortgages. Could be incompetence, I couldn't say, all I know is that it worked out for my mortgage, and I couldn't be happier!

Oh don't get me wrong HappyDancer, I don't try to tell people what they can and can't do, so I may have mistook you for one of Embrace's underhanded marketing people, pretending to be a happy customer, trying to post BS accolades on this website, they've done that before. I'm happy you're happy. Take note though, the fact they we're able to help, is a situation that carries the same odd's as any one person winning the Powerball. I love your last sentence though "Could be incompetence, I couldn't say, all I know is that it worked out for my mortgage, and I couldn't be happier". Embrace is known for their incompetence, they're just very skilled in covering it up. It's like the old saying, you can put a silk hat on a pig, it's still just a pig.

How about that, Embrace Home Loans layed off 25 of their LO's this week. Instead of trying to come up with new and more innovative ways to generate more business, they just dump off the mass of people they most recently hired this year, right when the rates went up, and times got tough. What a joke
That is just my point, depsite their BS mission statement, they'll just dump you like the trash, when the going gets tough, .That sounds kind of familiar, like what they do with their customers, like have them commit by paying for an appraisal up front, giving them all ikinds of BS promises, then when things go wrong, they can never get in touch with their LO or even the LO 's manager again.

Thanks for the heads up will not do business with them

That's no problem, and I should've been more precise. The 25 that were layed off, were just from their office in Middletown, RI. The grand total of their layoff was actually 85, which also inlcudes their little, pitiful branch offices on the east coast