My family and I just worked with Bart to secure a mortgage for a house for my family and it was a great experience! Bart is a very knowledgeable adviser who takes time to answer all your questions and go through all options with you and recommends the best option for your particular financial situation. He is very responsive and available to his clients and he was so attentive I felt he I was his only client. For such an important step in someone's life, I would recommend Bart to anyone who wants an expert on their side and a great personal experience! read more

I have known Bart Welles for 12 years and I can not speak highly enough of this man. He is an extremely knowledgeable and experienced mortgage broker, a true professional. Bart helped me purchase my first house in 1999, providing me with the initial financing and during the next 4 years, to take advantage of declining interest rates, he helped me refinance 4 times, without any expense, just savings, to me. Over the past few years, during the economic downturn, I turned to Bart on several occasions for real-estate and mortgage advice. As typical with Bart, he was available, and he took a significant amount of time to understand and listen to my complex financing related issues and in the end, provided me with sage and wise advice. In both cases, these discussions did not result in business for Bart, quite the contrary, which is why I called Bart, because I knew he would provide me with honest, not self-serving, answers to my questions. If you are looking for a mortgage broker who is extremely experienced, ethical, and available, who will take the time to understand your particular financing related needs, provide you with accurate, competitive and trustworthy information and will walk you through the complexities of qualifying and closing a loan, Bart Welles is your man. Thank you, Bart. read more

Bart Welles and Guarantee Mortgage just finished a refi for me and my wife. He has been fantastic to work with. Since we bought at the peak in 2006, our house in North Berkeley was below 20% equity until recently. Bart was very flexible and creative in juggling multiple lenders, appraisers and strategies. Since it was my first refi, I had lots of questions about how everything works. He never got frustrated, and he always explained each step carefully. Now my wife and I are saving roughly $240,000 in interest over the next 24 years with a new first mortgage and line-of-credit second. Bart Welles actually came as a referral to me from another friend who has refinanced twice with him. He has nothing but great things to say about Bart and his professionalism. It's too bad Connor left a bad review when he couldn't get a cheaper owner-occupied mortgage on a duplex, but Bart doesn't deserve the negative review. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY RECOMMEND BART WELLES FOR YOUR MORTGAGE. Click on "Filtered Reviews" below to see another dozen extremely happy customers. read more

Really this is a 5 star review, but yelp seems to keep filtering out all 5 stars. We have used bart to buy 3 homes, and one refi. He is top notch! Always on top of the process and providing us with options with clear explanations of pros/cons to help us make an informed decision. Even when the banks throw bumps in our way Bart is there to make sure everything is taken care of to close on time. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Thanks Bart for all your help over the past 8 years read more

In a nutshell, Bart is excellent, exactly who you want to use, and I recommend him without hesitation. The "one star" review I see on here is NOT AT ALL reflective of my experience working with Bart over the last two years. Bart is professional, patient and thorough. He answers calls and e-mails promptly. He provides real and informative answers to questions. He pays careful attention to detail and does not cut corners. I had worked with other mortgage brokers prior to working with Bart, had terrible experiences with them, and held out little hope that I would ever find someone I could trust or would even want to call. I finally did. Bart worked with us patiently for two years while we searched for the property we wanted to buy. He turned on a dime if we ever needed a preapproval letter. When the time came that we actually found the home we wanted, he locked us into a great rate and helped us navigate a stressful transaction (the property didn't appraise and a second appraisal was necessary, which meant extra work to get the transaction to close, although it finally did). When the time comes that I need a mortgage broker again, I will call Bart. read more

Hands down, Bart Welles at Guarantee Mortgage made the entire lifecycle of my first home buying experience more tangible and less daunting than I could have imagined. Bart is extremely generous with his time and thorough, spot-on explanations and advice. It took me over 2 years to get serious about buying a home and Bart prequalified me three times. At every juncture Bart was proactive, efficient, never applied pressure to move more quickly or spend more money than I was comfortable with. The multiple times I put in offers, he had a tailored loan approval letter to my realtor in just moments. When the last offer stuck, and the funding process began, Bart guided me through each step and was great about setting expectations on timeline, actions, possible options. The final phase of funding went flawlessly - he got me a great rate, advocated on my behalf with the title company, and executed on every detail of the funding quickly and transparently. I have utmost trust in Bart and recommend him with as many stars as Yelp allows. His integrity, market expertise, efficiency, professionalism, impeccable follow-through, patience and attitude are exactly the constellation of attributes that will make me go back to him in the future given the chance, and recommend him without hesitation. read more

My fiance and I worked with Bart to secure a loan for our first home. Bart was extremely helpful in the process. He walked us through the loan process step-by-step always taking the time to make himself available and educate us on the process. He was able to secure us a very competitive loan which included a credit we could apply to home closing costs and save an extra $3k. We enjoyed working with Bart and recommend his services to others. read more

I have been casually looking for a home for several years and happened to come across the trifecta--right place, right neighborhood, right price. Knowing that I had to make a move quickly, I went to Bart Welles at my real estate agent's suggestion. Let me begin by stating that in the end, I did get the house, and I am very happy with it. But Bart Welles, tripped, fumbled, mucked-up, mislead and otherwise made getting the loan unbearable. I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING BART WELLES! Here are just a few examples of Bart's bungling: --I bought a duplex in SF, and am renting the second unit--Bart misrepresented the type of loan i needed to the bank and led me to believe I had locked the terms of my loan. Two weeks later, he comes back and says the loan will be a commercial loan, and I can keep the rate, but need to pay an extra 3/4 of a point ($6,000 at closing). Of course, in those two weeks, rates moved against me and I couldn't use a different broker and bank without paying more. Shyster! --He wanted me and my business partner to write letters to the bank with misrepresentations of our intentions for the property. This would create huge liability for us down the road if anyone at the IRS saw the file. So basically, Bart asked us to lie to the bank--this is after the Dow dropped by 50% due to dubious tactics such as this. Classy! --After paying the extra points, and asking us to misrepresent ourselves, he had the loan docs prepared with the incorrect names--he's excuse was that "The name is too long to fit in the doc, so I had them do it this way instead." Seriously? If a guy will lie for you, he'll lie to you. I suggest you look elsewhere for a mortgage broker. read more

Bart was originally referred to me by our real estate agent. I've since used Bart twice for my mortgage refi - the first time in June 2010 and the second time in January 2012. Both times, Bart was extremely professional, helpful and honest about the process, as well as the outcome of the refi. In both cases, he got us the best possible rates (with zero closing costs, no less) and helped us navigate thr. the application process (which was fairly tortuous this last time around). I would highly recommend Bart to anyone looking to buy a house or refi (and have already done so to several of my friends). read more

In today's market, refinancing your home can be challenging especially if you are self employed. Because Bart came highly recommended from our financial advisor, we felt we could be completely honest with him about our particular situation right from the beginning. Honestly I did not want to be "put through the ringer" as we had in our last attempt to refinance, so I wanted to know if he thought he had a source that would be interested in our loan right from the start. Bart never told me "just what I wanted to hear". He was honest, encouraging and worked very hard at presenting our package to his various lenders. Never once did I have to remind him of our particular details. He made you feel like you were his only client. I must say that the process went as smoothly as I could have expected. He helped us decide which type of loan best fit our needs and I can honestly say that I definitely sleep better at night now that this is done. Now is the time to refinance and I highly recommend Bart as the person who can help you do it! read more

I was first introduced to Bart more than 8 years ago. He was recommended by 3 good friends who still use his services. During the first few conversations I had with Bart I was impressed with his knowledge of the industry and his keen insight on market trends and pricing. The first transaction with Bart was painless and most importantly, stress free. Bart has helped me with 3 different transactions over the course of the last eight years. In between all those transactions, I've spoken to him numerous times to pick his brain, gain insight on market trends, ask for advice, and analyze different financial scenarios. We've seen ups and downs in real estate and bank lending in the past decade, and now during the bust, Bart is still navigating his clients to success, amongst all the hurdles the banks and government now impose. The most recent transaction was probably the most impressive of the three. He refinanced a property and I saved over $380 per month. The banks are more strict now, demand more documentation, and Bart was able to guide me through the entire process hassle free. I always shop around when I enter a new transaction. Bart has been able to beat all the bank rates and best of all, we've built trust amongst each other. To survive in this business you need to be intelligent, honest, and trustworthy. Bart shares all those characteristics and I'm happy to recommend Bart. read more

My husband and I received Bart Welles' name on the recommendation of good friends who had had a great experience with him in their refinance. We too were very pleased. Bart gave us some great advice when we were vacillating between a 15- and 30-year mortgage, and then he got us an excellent rate. The process was smooth, speedy, and he stayed in great communication with us throughout. I would happily recommend Bart to help procure your next mortgage. read more

I have secured a number of refinancing through Bart Welles, which have all turned out to be advantageous, and service was flawless. It is is difficult to see how the other posted review could have been justified. I am currently working on another refinance, and clearly the environment for loans has become much more difficult for borrowers post-financial crisis, and perhaps that explains the negative review also posted here. Whatever? I found the service of Bart Welles - Guarantee Mortgage to be excellent in all respects. read more

I just completed three refi's with Bart Welles. As always, the process was flawless. In the current tough financial environment, lenders ask for a lot of documentation, and Bart smoothed out all the bumps, got us excellent rates, and kept everything moving along. I've used Bart's services as a mortgage broker for nearly 5 years, and he has always handled everything with a high degree of professionalism. He's smart about the market, honest, and very upfront about the best options and what it will take to qualify for a loan. I recommend Bart highly. read more

My review was improperly filtered and even though I contacted Yelp and offered to prove to them that I had just completed a closing with Bart and my review was legitimate (I have been on Yelp for years and even though I don't do tons of reviews, this was the first review to ever be filtered). Yelp responded that they can't adjust the filtering system, which of course isn't true. In any case, you may notice that all the good reviews are filtered and that leaves me with serious doubts about Yelp's system. read more

Bart is a consumate professional and a pleasure to work with. Bart helped us purchase our home 14 years ago and has worked with us on several refinances since. Our most recent refinance was a challenge since both my wife and I are self-employed. Bart was patient, persistent and diligent in working through the process. I highly recommend Bart for your mortgage needs. read more

We have worked with Bart multiple times over the past 17 years, purchasing and refinancing properties and would highly recommend him to anyone who needs a mortgage broker. He is extremely easy to work with: very professional, very thorough and always pleasant and helpful. He listens carefully to what is needed and is very clear about what information or documentation he needs back. With other brokers, we have gone around and around with providing documents and having rates change from one day to the next. Bart explains in writing exactly what is needed and minimizes the back and forth. He is very knowledgeable about loans and all the options available; he gives you great confidence that you are getting the best deal possible. He is very efficient and locks in rates quickly so that you don't miss the boat when rates rise. All in all, working with Bart is a great experience and we highly recommend him! read more