Recommendations for a mortgage company?

[lynnfitz]

Hi-Not sure 100% if we are going to sell, but trying to get things organized a little if we do. Anyone recommend a mortgage company or bank for mortgages? We live in NY (Orange County). I did "google" it, and just when you think a bank or company has some good reviews, then you read some horrifying stories! I really don't know of anyone locally who has used one they could recommend, just wondering if anyone of the boards have had good experience with some of the banks or mortgage companies. I know I could stop in some of our local banks (we have Bank of America and a Chase nearby), but it's always nice to hear some good reviews first!
Thank you!

 

[DisneyMandC]

We just bought our house a year ago in VA. Our home is a little non-traditional (17 acres, log cabin) and we went with Embrace Home Loans. Fantastic to deal with, very easy process and didn't give us a bunch of run around finding comps. Our mortgage note has been transferred to BB&T since then, but Embrace was great to deal with as far as the personal experience and getting everything together. I think they are based out of the northeast so perhaps you can find someone in your area that's an agent.

We are Bank of America customers for everyday banking and I was told by numerous people, including our realtor and a CPA, to NOT use them. Apparently they are notorious for saying everything's fine, everything's fine, and then right before closing coming up with a problem. I did use them for our pre-approval letter for putting an offer on the house, but nothing else.

Good luck!

 

[lynnfitz]

Thank you so much! I will check them out-there are just so many out there, great to have some sort of starting point, thanks again!!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

New York Community Bank is who we have our loan with. Great people. The loan was signed at our dinning room table. Very easy.

 

[lynnfitz]

Thank you! Does anyone know if putting 40% cash down on a home, helps with the rate? Do they consider how much you're putting down on the house when they look into rates for you? Our credit score isn't as high as I'd like-just under 700.

 

[smiths02]

We loved going through our credit union...way better experience than friends who went through large banks.

Quicken Loans was great to re-fi with and continue to be great to work with...don't know if they are in your area. They get very good reviews.

 

[DisneyMandC]

For us, personally, I don't think it made a difference. We both have credit in the upper 700s, but we were only able to put 5% down. When we received the initial rate it was 4.75%. By the time we actually signed, it had dropped to 4.25% so he gave us that instead. They knew from the beginning we could only put 5% down yet our rate still went down, so I don't think it made much of a difference.

 

[kymom99]

I think having 20% down helps with the rate. Believe it or not my mortgage broker told me not carrying an escrow gets you a slightly higher rate. Crazy but I went without an escrow anyway as I don't like my payments to fluctuate. My mortgage is thru Wells Fargo

 

[lynnfitz]

ok,thanks everyone! I was wondering about Quicken loans how they were-

 

[mcorbo]

I used quicken for a refinance 2 times, they were great, everything handled over the phone except the signing which they sent a notary to our home for. their website and app are very good at keeping you informed with deadline dates and expected closing dates. Anyone I talked to on the phone was pleasant and very helpful. They would be my first choice every time.

 

[Bree]

Are you or your spouse military or former military? Our current mortgage is through USAA. They have been fantastic to deal with.

 

[bjscheel]

Do you have a small, locally owned bank or credit union around? In my experience working on real estate closings at work, they are SO much easier to work with than say, Bank of America or Wells Fargo.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

For our refinance we're doing (trying to get rid of the dreaded PMI) I used the Zillow Mortgage APP. I inputted all of our info and they gave me quotes from several companies without having to use our personal information and get flooded with phone calls and emails. The one we chose has been great thus far. We've had a couple hiccups on our end due to change in pay structure but they have been patient and professional throughout.

 

[lynnfitz]

thanks everyone! I knew I came to the right place! It's been over 20 years since we bought our current home-the one we are interested in, is being sold by the owner. Our house isn't listed yet, but they are selling very quickly in our development.

 

[PlutoPony]

Are you planning to use a realtor to buy? If so I'd ask them who they've had good luck with. Have a realtor friend and there are a couple mortgage companies that they HATE to work with..... they come back late in the process to deny loans, consistently don't close on time, etc. And these are financial institutions that have good reps for banking so you think they'd be good in mortgages. Nope, pia to deal with. So might be worth talking to people who work with these guys on a regular basis and see lots of different loan situations.

 

[tvguy]

I think having 20% down helps with the rate. Believe it or not my mortgage broker told me not carrying an escrow gets you a slightly higher rate. Crazy but I went without an escrow anyway as I don't like my payments to fluctuate. My mortgage is thru Wells Fargo

I think the total amount of the mortgage is a bigger factor.
Our real estate broker referred us to a mortgage broker. They deal with multiple lenders and was able to match our needs to the best mortgages for us. He fixed us up with a mortgage that not only had the lowest rate, but only required 5% down. When we refinanced 5 years later, with the same bank, the loan officer actually argued that there is no way we got a mortgage with only 5% down....until he pulled our loan documents. It turned out to be a great mortgage for us. But the Bank lost a lot of money on that special mortgage program because a lot of people defaulted, and the 5% down payment wasn't enough to cover the banks costs of foreclosing.

 

[magic458]

I recommend Wells Fargo (local office). They are in all 50 states and have the most programs.

Odd to think that some banks really don't put much effort in the mortgages. Most hate FDA programs (not Wells).

 

[lynnfitz]

thank you all for all the great advice! I think we would use a broker, just because they have the access to different lenders. We actually haven't listed our home yet, but they are selling quickly in our development. We're going to look at the inside of the home this weekend, to see if we want to go ahead and try for it-the only thing is that I'm not thrilled about is that it's for sale by owner, so I'm doing some research on that too-giving a deposit and they hold it in escrow etc. we would definitely get a real estate lawyer involved with this. I'm thinking the next step is, if we like the home -list ours and talk to a mortgage broker right away. Any other advice, much appreciated! thanks again!!

 

[PlutoPony]

OP you might want to check to see if the sellers are willing to consider a contingency contract (unless of course you don't have to sell your house before buying this one). I understand FSBO's and contingency contracts can run into issues because owners don't adequately address the contingency in the contract. YMMV of course

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We just bought a home in Georgia. My husband had already moved here and me and my daughter were in California until the school year was over. We are Well's Fargo customers for banking and decided to use them. We had a personal banker/mortgage person helping us. I couldn't believe that this guy (in Georgia) was calling me in California at late hours (for him). Even working and helping us on Sundays because we were on a tight dead line. He really went above and beyond. Now that I am here in Georgia and bank, the man who helped us with buying our home set us up with someone at our local bank. Every time I walk in and she sees me, she makes sure she says hello and asks if there is anything she can do for me. She told me if her door is open and no one there, feel free to walk in. I will also add that Well's Fargo on the California end was very helpful too. With documents, faxing, etc. I don't know if you have a Well's Fargo in your area but I would recommend them, at least due to my recent experiences.