Unaware of our real estate options, our Better Homes and Garden Realtor, Fernel Andong, referred my wife and I to the expertise of loan consultant, Jed Thibodeau. On our first meeting, we had the opportunity to go over the entire loan pre-qualification process. Jed was well-prepared and patient with our questions as uneasy first-time home-buyers. We didn't feel rushed or pressured to do anything. Rather, the more we learned about our options in being pre-quailfied for a home loan, the more excited we were about our dreams of home ownership. I grew up believing that I could only buy a house if I had a minimum 20% down payment towards a home purchase. In today's Bay Area market that could mean $60,000 down payment on a $300,000 property. So unrealistic it seemed for me and my wife. Anyway, Jed explained to us the buying power of First-TIme Homebuyer Assistance (aka FHA), a government-based program that would allow us to only put 3.5% down plus closing costs provided we qualified. It was a breath of fresh air knowing we'd be able to realize our hopes of buying a home at that point... Our loan consultant didn't give us any b.s. and clarified many points, like available interest rates and required documents, along the journey. He didn't run our credit score twice. He kept us apprised with realistic expectations on closing costs upfront to avoid surprises. What impressed us the most was his fast turnaround time in responding to our bid requests on various properties. We were able to make solid offers within a day. No phone tag games was a super plus! If you're looking for loan options, Jed is the solid professional to consult with. He'll personalized your needs and lay out the frame work to meet those needs. At the same time, it's a collaborative effort. You should bring your drive and supporting documents (i.e. 2 months pay stubs, 2 yrs worth of income tax returns, bank statements, etc) to meet the needs for your loan application. Above all, share your concerns so it can be addressed. Btw, it's a free consultation. All the best! read more

Our realtor recommended Arton Chau to us, and at first we were not interested because we had already been pre-qualified through another lender. Unfortunately, when it came time to perform, the other lender fell short. After trying to get hold of our guy for three hours, we told our realtor to go ahead and call Arton. He called me right away, at a quarter to six in the evening as his wife drove him home from having Lasik eye surgery. He had our pre-approval ready that evening (the other lender took over a week to pre-qualify us and didn't get back to us until after 3pm the Monday following our Friday offer). We didn't get the house, but that's to be expected in this tough market. When it came time to make an offer on another home, we were so impressed with Arton we decided to stick with him and he did not disappoint. Again, he took care of the pre-approval right away, and we were able to close 26 days after our offer was accepted. We also appreciated that he didn't try to talk us out of getting a 15 year mortgage (instead of a 30 year mortgage) and that he didn't run a check on our credit scores until right before securing the loan (the other lender ran two checks each on both my husband's and my credit reports which adversely affected our scores- though thankfully not enough to cost us, but just barely on mine). I considered giving only four stars, but only because when researching lenders on Yelp I thought most of the five star reviews looked phony and suspicious. I thought a four star review might appear more legit. But honestly, we were so impressed with Arton, and I can't recommend him highly enough. **I should probably add (to avoid giving anyone false expectations) that we had full documentation which we faxed to him before we were pre-approved, including paycheck stubs, w-2s going back a few years, tax returns and bank statements. We also had a 20% down payment and enough liquid assets to cover half the purchase price of the home. read more

Lilyette was recommend to me by broker. After a deal fell through because the appraisal came in too low we moved on to a second deal. I was buying a forclosure and had to complete the loan within 45 days or pay a steep daily fine (somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 a day). Towards the end of the period Lilyette realized she would not make any money on the deal because the first loan was not closed properly and the bank was penalizing her for this. She then tacked on a $1000 to the deal knowing I could not back out as I would pay more restarting the process else where. She penalized me for her mistake. Use her at your own risk. In the future I will never use her again and would recommend to anyone stay away from her. read more

I haven't done a yelp in a long time, but I was so impressed with Kitty Lee and her team that I had to write something about my experience. This was about the 3rd time that I have tried to refinance and was getting fustrated that it would never happen. The great thing about Kitty is that she always took the time to pencil out the rates and payments for me and she would tell me honestly if I should move forward and now was finally the time. She never made any commission from me and each time treated me with respect and never pushed me to do anything that would not work in my favor. I was referred to Kitty by someone and I never really knew why it would be better to go to a broker then just a big bank. After my 30 + day experience I now know why having a broker on your side is a good idea. Kitty not only got me a great rate, but she also advised me on how to get my credit score higher, and answered my what seemed like a 100 questions that I had. My loan just closed today and I was able to get out of a horrible interest only 10 year loan that was due to end next year. Thank you again Kitty and if you ever are looking to do a refi or even have questions on one she should be the first person you call. read more

We have been working with Kitty Lee for a few years and each time she was extremely helpful. Most recently she helped us refinance our home and purchased a new rental apartment. Kitty worked carefully with us to make sure we got the best rates and our finances were in good status. She worked over and beyond with the listing agent and escrow officer to make sure we had all the necessary documents to pre-qualify and close the loan. She is very professional, knowledgable and informative. You can't get any better than that! We highly recommend Kitty if you are looking for a loan agent! read more

This accolade goes to Jed Thibodeau of Bankers Preferred in Burlingame CA. I was referred to Jed by a friend after I told her the problem I had with a previous mortgage broker. I had gone through a short sale and bankruptcy and needed to wait some time to be able to buy a home again. When the right moment finally came.. after years of waiting patiently, as the rules require, I finally made my move. But it proved to be a costly one. I first went to a broker that was given by the FHA website. I met him several times, gave all the paperwork that he asked for and waited...and waited.. and waited for several months. I finally came to my senses, dumped him and referred to Jed. Jed first looked at my situation and reassured me that a loan can still be had. We crunched the figures and finally came up with a number I can work with. Finally a concrete amount that I can work with so I don't wish on something I can't get or settle for something small when I could have gone bigger. I gave him all the paperwork needed and went to work. And boy, did he have to go to work for my loan. You see, my situation is a bit tricky.. having a short sale, bankruptcy, and a few other things not worthy of Yelp. But Jed worked through it all and kept me informed on all the intricacies of my loan. I saw how meticulous he was in getting all the right information down (he is a master of Google Docs!) and how patient he was in making sure I understood every bit of the process. All the way to the signing at closing, he was there to make sure I did not feel that I was doing this all by myself. To be honest, I did not expect this kind of treatment from a loan officer. You see, I only bought a $250K townhouse. At a time when homes are selling for top dollar, and definitely more than what I paid for, we tend to cast all loan officers in the same mold. We, or rather I, believe that more attention is given to those with more money, more clout. I had neither. The treatment and attention I got from Jed was like I had bought a Million Dollar home. He treated me with so much attention, so much out-of-the-way attention, that I felt like a High Roller. At a time when I felt so dejected and such a failure for having gone through what I went through, it was great to have met Jed. Thank you Jed for helping me achieve my dream of being a home owner again and most of all, Thank You for all the hard work you had put into making it happen. I will not forget the tireless efforts that you made because I will always see it every time I turn the key to my home. read more

I must say that I am extremely pleased with everyone at Mortgage Master. They worked extremely hard to not only meet my needs, but to also exceed them. I was referred to Mortgage Master and I'll definitely be referring others. Arton was the first person that helped me with the initial process of purchasing my home, and then Sharon, the loan analyst, took over for the rest of the process. Arton and Sharon were constantly communicating with each other and to others to ensure that everyone was up to speed with my purchasing details, etc. The process moved extremely quickly and smoothly so needless to say, I couldn't hope for a better home purchasing experience. read more

I went to Bankers Preferred via a recomendation. Originally I was just looking at property and not intending to buy. Lilyette Uriarte helped me determine fees and what my family qualifies for. She didnt ask for anything in return and simply gave us her time. She showed us everything and all our options. She knew her stuff. By chance the perfect foreclosure fell on our laps so I gave her my business. Lilyette is easy to work with and she works late for her clients. She is just a wonderful person to work with. Her initial estimate was accurate and fair, her GFE accurate. She got the best loan for us. I have bought and sold several places in my life so I am no spring chicken to how things work in real estate. I was impressed by her. I would recommend her to anyone and I dont recommend people or places lightly. read more

Before I write the review I want to say many Thanks to Sally Yip. I appreciate for all of the helping. She is a very professional, passionate and experience loan agent I have ever seen as through out my house hunting. She really put efforts on helping me through out all of the loan process. Before i met with Sally I wan really in doubt, I don't really know about Loan/Mortgage. She is very patience, she explains detail in loan process to me and keep me updated at all time. Finally, I got my house with fast closing. Without her help, I don't really know if I can get the house efficiently done. Thanks again for your works. read more

We all know how expensive living in the Bay area and everyone is trying save some money here and there just so we can have a comfortable home. When it comes to new home loan or refinance, you want to found the right person that you can trust and of course the best interest rate that you can get. I am thankful that I found Bankers Preferred and met Kitty Lee in 2009 from word of mouth. She is professional and has extended knowledge in the financial industry. Kitty was able to provide pre-approval letter at no time during my house hurting and handled my new home purchase loan perfectly, plus locked a good rate. In the recent years of mortgage rate decline, Kitty is keeping me posted on the market trend and I successfully refinanced my mortgage not ONCE, not TWICE but THREE times (the interest rate was keep dropping). I also worked with Kitty's assistant Amy Huang, she is professional and hard working, keep tracked all the documents in between me and the lender, always provide fast responses on my needs. I am very happy with my experience, recommended Kitty to all my homeowner friends and everyone thumbs up. Keep up the good work "Hello" Kitty !! read more

Lilyette Uriarte of Bankers Preferred is perhaps the most honest and efficient real estate loan broker. Every step of the way during our loan process Lilyette explained what to expect, answered my million and one questions, effectively and efficiently processed all paperwork, and was able to close my loan with clearly explained and fair terms. Even though we were riding the rates for quite some time, she kept our file active and advised us with good faith. I recommend working with Lilyette and will continue to refer her to others. read more

We have worked with Kitty Lee at Bankers Preferred multiple times to refinance our home. She is absolutely amazing and goes out of her way to make sure we are getting the right loan, the process goes smoothly, all the details are correct, things close on time, etc. She was extremely prompt in answering questions and getting back to us and explained things so that it was really easy for us to understand all the various options that we had. For such a complicated process, especially with all the new rules, she really simplifies things. It is a pleasure to work with her. read more

Kitty Lee helped me the get a fixed rate loan with an amazing low rate in November 2010. She and her team were so professional throughout the process. Despite the multiple unexpected demands from the lender due to tight lending standards, she responded quickly and resolved all the issues. Her experience in the industry really helped. She was available whenever I need advice. Her customer service exceeded expectations. I have worked with her a few times and she is the one that I can count on to get the job done. read more

As first time home buyers in Los Angeles, my husband and I spent time shopping around for the best mortgage rates from several lenders. We decided to go with a large mortgage bank as our preferred lender based on the rates they promised. However, once our offer was accepted, our loan consultant was unable to fulfill her promises. We decided to find a new lender with the concern that it was quite late in the game (our house was about one week in escrow), but the rate was so critical to us, especially with a 30 year commitment, so we thought it would be worth trying. Luckily my friend who is a real estate agent that I trust referred Arton Chau at Bankers Preferred to us. Arton is honest and direct, and provided us with the best rates at the time. Arton and his colleague, Sally Yip, formed a highly efficient team and worked closely with us during the entire escrow process (both were accessible nights or weekends to get the job done if needed). Arton was also very resourceful and became our go to person when we had questions re. the loan and the closing process. Arton was always positive, no matter how difficult or frustrating the situation was. Working with Arton and Sally made us feel super secure and the end result is we closed the deal ahead of time. We are very grateful to Arton and Sally and will definitely refer them to anybody who is shopping for the best loan in this stressful market. read more