Recommendations for a mortgage company?

[smiths02]

FWIW, we had a friend go through BofA while we went through our credit union. BofA didn't complete the stuff in time to make it to closing for that friend.

Our mortgage on what is now our rental house was sold to SunTrust. They are the sorriest bunch of fraudsters. We have an adjustable rate mortgage that was set to adjust at 10 years. They messed up the calculation of the interest in THEIR favor. We called, went in person, argued with people about the definition of "thereafter" and finally had to put in a complaint with the Feds. After that, the interest rate magically went to what it was supposed to be. Anyhow, we had no choice with SunTrust since they bought our mortgage (as usually happens), but I would NEVER do business with them again.

Quicken Loans, though, has not resold our mortgage. (I don't work for them, I just found it interesting because our first mortgage was sold to SunTrust and our second house mortgage was sold after the credit union processed it, but QL has not sold our re-fi and it's been a few years)

 

[kymom99]

If you have guardian savings near you, stay away. Stay far away. My niece has been trying to get an FHA loan processed with then since March. Yes that's right, 6 months. If she wasn't buying from family it would be even more of a disaster.

 

[magic458]

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!!

Don't fret on a for sale by owner...just get a real estate agent. You can have an agent on your side even though the decided to carry out the biggest monetary transaction of their life without advice (all to save a few pennies).

I don't like brokers. Sure they can "see" many other loan companies but they are few and far between for a reason....they are not the best deals.....someone has to pay them.

 

[AlohaNow]

I would recommend Wells Fargo. We had our first mortgage with them and did a streamline refinance on that one twice. Went with them again for our second house and are about to do a streamline refi once again, to get a lower rate AND dump the PMI! They have been wonderful to work with and have never sold our mortgage to another company. The real estate agent that we worked with on buying this house asked who we planned to use for a mortgage. When we said Wells Fargo she just went on and on about how terrible they were and tried to get us to use her mortgage guy. Ummmmm, this is our very large purchase and I have to deal with the mortgage company for (potentially) the next 30 years, not you hon! They are great and you can do everything over the phone/internet. The biggest thing for me, aside from the rate, is the fact that they do not sell their mortgage interests to other companies. I have heard horror stories about that and I say no thank you!

 

[NinaBella]

In 13 years our mortgage has been sold a few times. I am not a BoA fan at all. Our current mortgage company is PennyMac. We did a refi a few years ago with PennyMac and had a horrible experience. They slow rolled everything and there were several unnecessary delays and poor communication throughout the entire process. I am looking to refi in the future for the sole purpose of being rid of them just because of the horrible experience. We have no issues with them before or since the refi since I pay my mortgage on autopay every month and do not need to communicate directly with them. The one processor and corporate representative handling my complaint was just that horrible that I was to rid them from receiving my money.

 

[Green Tea]

Pentagon Federal Credit Union seems to have the best rates. Penfed.org You have to join but can via a one time donation to a military charity if you are not affiliated with the military.

 

[lynnfitz]

Thank you everyone! Realtor is coming over tonight to take a look at our home, and I'm calling a local real estate attorney today. We'll see what happens...let the stress begin!

 

[morgan98]

We purchased a home within the past 18 months (also in Georgia) and decided to try Wells Fargo as that is the lender our builder had a relationship with. We were skeptical as often feedback with the large banks is not good. I must tell you that our lender went above and beyond and made the whole process completely painless. The turnaround time and service were exceptional. They were also very good with finding a product that worked in our particular situation. I agree with giving Wells Fargo a try.

 

[lynnfitz]

ok, we ended up going with quicken loans. We received the pre approval letter last night. Haven't spoken to the loan officer yet, but sent everything over this morning to her-thanks for all the great advice!

 

[scrapquitler]

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!

I think that whatever bank you choose, you will hear horror stories. That's just how it is. I'd suggest checking out a local credit union for the most consumer friendly option. We have done mortgages with Wells Fargo and Citi Mortgage, and refi's with Citi and People's United Bank. We never had any problems with any of them, except that our recent refi with People's took 14 weeks, which was way too long as far as I was concerned (stellar credit, refi for less than 50% LTV ratio on the property which had no mortgage on it -- no reason it should have taken that long. they said it was because of my husband being self employed, despite 20 years of steady verifiable income from his business).

 

[momtosam]

We just re-fied with Quicken Loans. At closing an independent notary commented that Quicken is who she would recommend from her experience.

 

[HM]

I would check with whoever you look at to see if they sell off their mortgages or keep them. Many companies sell them within days/months of closing.

 

[smadath]

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

Could I ask when you got your mortgage with USAA? When we started talking about buying, they were the first place I looked at. But, their onsite reviews were awful! Many complaints about them not being ready for closing, and people actually losing their homes because of missed deadlines. (this was a few years ago)

If your mortgage was recent, maybe they've improved. I'd love to revisit them since they're great for everything else!

 

[CluelessDisFan]

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

Quicken Loans is awesome! Really efficient and the best at what they do. Yes, putting more money down will lower your rate to some extent, essentially you'll buy the lower rate.