Recommended Lender for 1st Time Home Loan (Seattle: real estate, rental)

[dadave]

Hi I am looking to buy in Seattle. I don't think it makes sense anymore to rent so i'm looking to buy a home for the first time (Townhome). I wanted to see if yall had any recommendations who to look into to get a good rate with good service. I've heard some places offering credits/grants to first time home buyers; however the homes i was looking at are more "middle" tract income level addresses so I don't qualify for certain grants, but hoping to take advantage of low interest rates and incentives.

[leastprime]

Get some one local.
I just tried for a refi for rental in Seattle, using two of the national referral services- not good.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by leastprime

Get some one local.
I just tried for a refi for rental in Seattle, using two of the national referral services- not good.

We had a very frustrating time trying to get estimates using big and/or online lenders. Blew my mind because we're in probably the best-y-est lending demographic ever (extreme low risk of defaulting) so logic is that lenders would really want our business. Just wanted to shop around and see what we could get, but didn't even do one comparison because the only lender that came through (and he was excellent) was someone I found through our community facebook group. Half the neighborhood got their loans through him and now I can see why.

[Diana Holbrook]

Local groups and recommendations from local friends is a good idea. And get a recommendation from your real estate agent for someone that they know and work with successfully…. We know who is good and responsive and gets things done on time and we know who does not! Talk to a few and go with one who is well-recommended and who you feel you click the best with.

[Sockeye66]

I'm going through my bank, I won't mention any names but it starts with a K and rhymes with "tea"
Not good, bumbling slow and I have a sister on the inside to look out for me.

[homesinseattle]

Hi Dave,

This guy is my main go to in the Seattle area, pretty exceptional service. He has reasonable rates and closes deals contract to close in 15 days (believe it). This is very, very helpful when I am representing buyers in competitive situations, of which most are right now. https://www.zillow.com/lender-profile/umargebril/

I strongly echo the sentiment to use someone local. From their choice of appraisers (this lender has in-house appraisers, for example) to understanding of the speed of this market, it really matters. Here is a great current example why. I locked in a home for some clients just this past Saturday in a very competitive situation, Home was listed $610K, 6 buyers wanted the home and we won for $650K, many more buyers calling when we got our signed deal. I made it just tasty enough (and preinspected) to be successful.

My buyer's lender, out of state, had previously told me they could close in 28 days. When I sent the signed deal to them, they said "we need an extension, the minimum time we need is 45 days". Yeah right, not going to happen. I would go to the other broker, who selected our offer (in part) based on reasonable closing time. Rather than agree to an extension proactively, chances are good that with all the action he would shop around and likely find another buyer to pay more, my guess is $675K plus. So, this morning, my buyer pulled the mortgage (having lost 4 days of processing time) and moved mortgage to the guy I had originally recommended to them, the guy above. He is in the process of "rescuing" the loan.

Hope that helps,
Vince

[usernametaken]

Someone I know loves this guy:

https://www.danchapmanloans.com/

Him being interviewed:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQDVjUsY-mo

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Hi Dave,

This guy is my main go to in the Seattle area, pretty exceptional service. He has reasonable rates and closes deals contract to close in 15 days (believe it). This is very, very helpful when I am representing buyers in competitive situations, of which most are right now. [URL]https://www.zillow.com/lender-profile/umargebril/[/URL]

I strongly echo the sentiment to use someone local. From their choice of appraisers (this lender has in-house appraisers, for example) to understanding of the speed of this market, it really matters. Here is a great current example why. I locked in a home for some clients just this past Saturday in a very competitive situation, Home was listed $610K, 6 buyers wanted the home and we won for $650K, many more buyers calling when we got our signed deal. I made it just tasty enough (and preinspected) to be successful.

My buyer's lender, out of state, had previously told me they could close in 28 days. When I sent the signed deal to them, they said "we need an extension, the minimum time we need is 45 days". Yeah right, not going to happen. I would go to the other broker, who selected our offer (in part) based on reasonable closing time. Rather than agree to an extension proactively, chances are good that with all the action he would shop around and likely find another buyer to pay more, my guess is $675K plus. So, this morning, my buyer pulled the mortgage (having lost 4 days of processing time) and moved mortgage to the guy I had originally recommended to them, the guy above. He is in the process of "rescuing" the loan.

Hope that helps,
Vince

Why did the lender need an extra 17 days? I'm assuming your buyer was well qualified.... I would be livid if that happened and that possibility should have been disclosed before signing an agreement.

[homesinseattle]

Originally Posted by flyingsaucermom

Why did the lender need an extra 17 days? I'm assuming your buyer was well qualified.... I would be livid if that happened and that possibility should have been disclosed before signing an agreement.

Oh yeah, I was, we said goodbye to them very quickly. What irked me the most is that they did it proactively, almost admitting their process is slow. If a lender has been busting their rear, meeting all deadlines then is a few days short at the end of a transaction, absolutely we can find a way to extend.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Oh yeah, I was, we said goodbye to them very quickly. What irked me the most is that they did it proactively, almost admitting their process is slow. If a lender has been busting their rear, meeting all deadlines then is a few days short at the end of a transaction, absolutely we can find a way to extend.

Do you feel like something amiss is going on? We just went through this process a few years ago and at that time it was easy to get responses and followup from potential lenders. Right now it almost feels like they don't care or don't want to actually do business. I was just wondering if it was me or if perhaps there is something going on that's related to the pandemic/poor economy.