Back in 2008, we purchased our (first) home utilizing Countrywide for financing (as my wife had a family member that was a broker). However, the mortgage broker provided no warning that we were really choosing a risky path (ARM at 6.125%, Lender Paid Mortgage Insurance, and really not enough down, we should have waited). Jump forward 4 years to the present, only one year away from our first ARM interest adjustment. Interest rates are really good now, but that doesn't stop the worrying, and I worry a lot. Having recently become aware of the HARP program ( http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/programs/lower-rates/Pages/harp.aspx, making Homes Affordable Refiance Program), I verified that we met all of the listed eligibility requirements. Next, I spoke with my current home loan servicer, Bank of America. After spending 15 minutes to finally speak to one of their mortgage folks, he immediately said that due to the loan using lender paid mortgage insurance and a lesser used MI provided, two things: 1) they would not be able to work with me on the refinance, and 2) I would not be able to refiance anywhere (realllllllllyy....). Not willing to simply give up, I googled a bunch, read a ton, and kept on. I tried 2 other well known online lending institutions. One of which was quicken loans, but their online guy said again, can't help you, and he suggested I google (sigh). I forget the other one I tried, same response. Finally, after reading through a forum post of people in my situation, I found several recommendations for a man named Justin Sheftell (courtesy Morgage), and then found this url: http://www.zillow.com/profile/Courtesy-Mortgage/ Feeling pretty beaten down and frustrated, I contacted Justin through that page, not thinking that it would lead to anything. Justin responded very promptly, and we were on the phone soon thereafter. I explained the situation, that we seemed to qualify, but that my current loan servicer was not willing to cooperate. He explained that he dealt with folks in my situation frequently, and that he was confident based on what I was telling him that he'd be able to get us refinanced. Lets review: Loan to Value (LTV): 111% (Underwater, 335k value after appraisal, and 372k loan) Mortgage Insurance: Lender Paid, and not paid up front, paind monthly, more complicated We had been current since the inception of the countrywide loan, one of those folks that kept true to financial obligations, but just couldnt' refinance due to being underwater). Now, the good news - Justin and Courtesy Mortgage -Put together an upfront good Faith Estimate that was nearly spot on from the get go -filtered out all of the lenders that wouldn't be able to help us, and focussed on one that would -Put a rate lock in place for 45 days. -From Rate Lock to Close in 28 days (fantastic!) -Answered all of my questions along the way (first refiance) in a professional and timely manner (and there were a lot of them!) -Provided online document signing as much as possible. -Never once gave me an attitude even though it was my first refinace (I wanted upates all the time) So, the result: Old: 5-year ARM (30 year loan) at 6.125%, lender paid mortgage Insurance, $2855 new: 30-year FRM (30 year loan) at 3.875%, buyer paid mortgage Insurance, $2394 Monthly Savings: $461/month Impact: ....life changing, so greatful. Justin/Courtesy Mortgage, you have changed our lives, ...thank you from the bottom of our heart -Ben and Anna Hirsch read more

*****COURTESY MORTGAGE********PROCEED WITH CAUTION******** Mrs. Laura Wever, Loan Officer, Courtesy Mortgage Company, et al, behavior reflected unethical, unwanted, misguided, outrageously dishonest, fraudulent, inappropriate, without merit, vague, ambiguous, immoral, overall discriminatory mortgage practices. I have filed a complaint against Mrs. Laura Wever, Loan Officer, Courtesy Mortgage Company, et al, for serious violations but no limited to: RESPA - HUD, The Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) which protects consumers by prohibiting unfair and discriminatory practices up to an including but not limited to: Discrimination (HUD, FHA, ECOA) Disparate Impact violation Predatory Lending Unfair and Deceptive Practices Other - Discrimination based on a person social/economic/educational standing in society. I have over 150 pages which substantiates the complaint. Some examples include: 1. All of the required loan paperwork was never addressed. The loan paperwork via on-line docu-sign was sent in the eleventh hour, and when questioned on any of the material the consumer was quickly dismissed and was not allowed to bring up the subject again. 2. The consumers loan was 100% completely underwritten and approved. Mrs. Laura Wever, Loan Officer, Courtesy Mortgage Company, et al sent the consumer without any clarification or notice a NOTICE of LOAN DECLINE due to LACK OF COOPERATION. 3. After the consumer fired Courtesy Mortgage Company in-house Buyer Agent, Mrs. Laura Wever, Loan Officer, Courtesy Mortgage Company, et al, overall interactions became hostile, and reflected an unwillingness to work with the consumers new Buyer Agent, or offer the services which were offered to the In-house Buyer Agent. 4. Mrs. Laura Wever, Loan Officer, Courtesy Mortgage Company, et al, contacted the consumers Buyer's Agent and told consumers Buyer's Agent the consumer had threatened to file a complaint against Mrs. Laura Wever, Loan Officer, Courtesy Mortgage Company, et al. As a result, the consumers Buyer's Agent immediately ended it's relationship with the consumer, leaving the consumer with no Buyer Agent with pending property offers ACTIVE. The consumer never threatened Mrs. Laura Wever, Loan Officer, Courtesy Mortgage Company, et al. The consumer simply notified Mrs. Laura Wever, Loan Officer, Courtesy Mortgage Company, et al, of the consumers intent in filing a COMPLAINT as required by the agencies who respond to Real Estate Complaints. Proceed with caution when dealing with Courtesy Mortgage. read more

I am one of those people who you might hear about on radio or TV ads. I pay my bills on time, don't carry credit card debt but own a house that is extremely "upside down" in this market. With my first and second mortgage in the 6%- 7% range and after reading about the HARP program, I thought I would be a good candidate to try and refinance my home. First I went to Bank of America (big mistake) who offered no help whatsoever. Then I approached Wells Fargo (where I've been a customer for 30 years). Wells Fargo assured me that they could "absolutely" help me, just pay for an appraisal, complete a jillion forms and life would be good. Except after paying for the appraisal and submitting all the necessary documents, I was denied a refinance and not even a phone call to explain why. While I was reviewing many of the articles about the HARP program, I had read an article about Courtesy Mortgage and specifically one of their employees, Justin Sheftell who had helped several clients successfully through the HARP process. After all the major disappointments with the major lenders, I thought it was certainly worth a phone call, so I contacted Justin. From that moment on, I cannot say anything but positive remarks about the professionalism, consistent updates and communication (and encouragement) that Justin provided to me. In a remarkably short time, Justin was able to successfully assist me in completing the HARP application process and obtaining a significantly lower interest rate for my first mortgage! Thank you Justin and your entire team for the professional and positive interactions, your kindness (whoever thought you could say that about a mortgage company?) and your great support. Please feel free to use me as a reference any time! read more

I recently started a VA streamline refinance with my current mortgage company, Ditech, and after the first few encounters, I just didn't feel like my needs were being met. As a busy woman working full time +, I felt like I wanted to make it easy on myself and stick to what I had already committed to rather than looking around and starting the process all over again. But, during a quick google search for a question I had for my Ditech representative (which he couldn't answer), the company, Courtesy Mortgage, popped up with 5 star reviews. Curious, I called to see if they were any different. I was paired up with Laura and to be honest, it would be an understatement to say that she great! She was beyond that and much more. She answered every question I had. She was available to me any time I needed her. She got the refinance done super fast. And, the one thing I really wanted was someone to give me true, honest advice. I needed someone who knew what they were doing and could answer any question I had. Sometimes you deal with big transactions, such as these, and feel like the person that's helping you is just trying to make the money and doesnt completely answer the questions being asked. Either they dont know the answer or they dont care. With her, I completely felt like I could trust her and her advice. That's huge to me. So, although I'm still a very busy person with all I have to do, I had to take the time out to write my first review on Yelp to thank Laura for being EXCELLENT! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, so much. What an asset to this mortgage company. read more

Justin did it! He made the impossible, possible! We've been turned down twice from two different HARP 2.0 applications. We've been consistently told that our case would never go through because our LTV was at around 157 %. It was really frustrating knowing we qualify for it. We are the type of people who are reserved and very cautious. We try to avoid big and important transactions over the phone or via email because we feel more secure dealing with a live person. It was a shot in the dark, I started to Google for "no limit LTV harp refinance" and Justin's page from Zillow came up with all the impressive reviews regarding how an expert this guy is on HARP refinancing. . . . Let me tell you this, they are all true! I signed up on Zilllow and left him a brief message. He called me the morning after. He listened, gathered the necessary info and that same day gave me an overview on how things would look like after refinancing. He then explained how our case would be different and how he wanted to proceed with it. Justin told us to wait and be patient, and that we did. After all the hard work, we are very pleased that our HARP 2.0 refinance with Courtesy Mortgage / Justin Sheftell finally closed. We have reduced our APR, reduced our monthly payment , and reduced term of our loan. Our family will forever be grateful to Justin. Highly recommended! read more

Cannot say enough positive things about Laura Wever! She walked us through buying new construction, using a VA loan, which was a crazy process. Here's why you should use Laura: * She'll educate you. Navigating the mortgage industry is like learning to speak another language. She patiently explains all your options and defines all the terminology so you can make informed choices. * She's super fast! She stays on top of every step and keeps you updated constantly.We never ONCE said, "I wonder when we'll hear from our broker?" She's always, always proactive, and we closed quickly because she was so attentive. * She's honest. Some brokers will skirt around the edges of what's allowable, or push you into something you really can't manage. Laura keeps everything completely aboveboard and always tells you the straight truth about your loan options. * She advocates for you. When you're going through the home loan process, you have to deal with a bunch of other people, like the builder, the title company, the escrow company, etc. Laura deftly manages all those moving parts and makes sure you, the buyer, are being treated fairly. I so appreciated how Laura always made us feel like her priority, and walked us through this whole process with so much patience. We've been recommending her to anyone we know who is looking to buy a home. read more

I have over the years (numerous) had the opportunity to work with several different Mortgage agents. I have traveled and purchased homes in varying locations requiring the assistance of a Mortgage Broker. With this being said I must say that I have been fortunate enough to work with Laura Weaver on three separate occasions. I have chosen to personally seek out Laura based on her excellence in her profession. I cannot express my gratitude and pleasure that I have incurred while doing business with Laura in a simple message here on Yelp. If it is in your interest to be treated in a professional, non-aggressive, polite and caring manner, look no further. Laura is a top-notch professional who will go the distance to assist you. I have always been kept abreast of where I was and what to expect, leaving no doubt as to what was happening throughout the mortgage process. If in my future I will ever again need a mortgage or a loan, I will search Laura Weaver out regardless of whom her employer is at that time. It is difficult to find an individual whom you can feel comfortable with let alone trust. I have in the past and will continue in the future to recommend Laura Weaver to others. Brian Joseph Sacramento California. read more

If you have any lending needs, you won't be disappointed working with Justin Sheftell! He processed two loans for us - he worked on our refinance for our existing loan with BofA and on our loan for purchasing a new home. We had a lot of questions and concerns, and found Justin to be knowledgeable, helpful, and very patient with us. We ran into a problem because of a recording error on BofA's part, but Justin worked tirelessly to escalate and resolve the issue with BofA as quickly as possible. Both of our loans went smoothly, and we are very happy with the results. Justin truly excels at customer service. His communication, responsiveness, and follow through is probably the best I've seen across any industry. We aren't located near Justin, but we never had to make a single trip. Completing the required paperwork was convenient and simple. We were very satisfied with every aspect of the process, and recommend Justin to everyone we know. Thanks again, Justin! read more

I responded to a letter (one of many sent regarding my Pace/Hero loan). I picked Laura, cause I prefer to deal with women who seem better equipped to understand my needs, goals and motivations. I wasn't looking to reduce my interest rate solely with my Hero loan (8.4+), but rather remove it from property tax bill which would be capped at $10K. When I explained this she went into action with some different ways I could handle it, as well as some suggestions that made sense in the long run. She encouraged me to consult with my financial planner and with his concurrence arrived at the perfect solution for my nearing retirement situation. While the interest rate was higher than I would have liked, it still made sense to wrap it all up as we did. And it was all pretty painless, very speedy (which needed to be done) and thoroughly. Always there to answer a question and kept things moving along. A happy customer of Courtesy Mortgage. read more

Working with Laura Wever and Courtesy Mortgage was such a stress-free, easy, and great experience. Laura made sure the entire process was smooth, straight-forward, and timely, and she clearly explained everything along the way so I rarely had questions about where we were at and what was happening. I appreciate that Laura was so easy to reach via email, text, and phone and was always so quick to respond--night or day, 7 days a week. And she was so accommodating with my hectic travel schedule and made it possible for me to sign papers even when I was out of town so that we could close on time. It was such a breeze! On top of her professionalism, knowledge, and responsiveness, she was also such a pleasant and friendly broker to work with as well. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. I whole-heartedly recommend her! read more

Justin has been my broker for several years and he has helped me to refinance my home loans a few times on two properties. He's always been able to close the loan quickly and makes the process easy and painless. He is very knowledgeable and knows exactly what he needed from me to get the loan approved even with a complicated loan that I had a few year ago. He always gives accurate information and very upfront about what can and can not be done. Very honest and there were never any surprises on the costs. Very responsive to every email that I sent. I get response from him within an hour if not minutes. I have had very bad experiences with other lenders so I am speaking from my experience that Justin delivers exceptional services. Best person you can trust and rely on to take care of your loan. I highly recommend Justin. read more

Justin is exemplary in this field. Very professional, knowledgeable, supportive and prompt. He will immediately respond to any question. I would never have thought that he can execute so thoroughly, efficiently and precise. All you need to do is to follow his guidance, advise and he will deliver the product at your doorstep earlier than what you have expected. My wife and I are very impressed with his professionalism and attitude. We have never met in person but with the services that he had provided, its beyond words. No wonder he had great reviews, and I won't mind giving him more that 5 stars. Thank you Justin for everything. For all of you out there who are still looking around to purchase or refinance, give Justin a call. You will be amazed how knowledgeable he is in this field. read more

After speaking with others about my refinance possibilities, it increasingly looked impossible to get a Harp 2 refinance. This was especially discouraging because I had searched for and contacted over a dozen other companies who seemed to have no interest in my high LTV and LPMI mortgage. I was about to give up when I came accross Justin on Zillow and saw all of his impressive reviews. So I decided to give him a call and was immediately impressed by his experience in this area. Justin was able get our Harp 2 refinance approved and closed, overcoming obstacles where others just gave up. He maintained his positive attitude and customer emphasis throughout the process, which makes it very easy for me to recommend him and Courtesy Mortgage. Thank you Justin. read more

Travis is the best loan officer out there. He was persistent but in a professional and tactful way. He went over our loan and got to close the loan in 18 days. That is what I called more than a "speedy gonzalez" kind of dedication. He will give you the facts and he does not give you the runaround as with my previous experience with big Banks. He will totally help and work with you regardless of what type of credit you have. Let him do the worrying for you. Send it to him and you will have one less and major thing to worry about. He also became a good friend that you can turn to for advice. I totally appreciate all the help you gave us. And I wish you all the best on your future endeavors. We would definitely recommend Courtesy Mortagage!! read more

I recently did a refi with Laura Wever at Courtesy Mortgage, actually the loan closed yesterday. What a nice surprise it was to deal with someone who is competent. Her great knowledge and understanding of "what's next". This was by far the easiest refi I have done. Laura is so Professional and very helpful. She was recommended to me by my nephew, months ago, but i did not want to deal with a refi (all the paperwork and the hassle), Finally i called and Laura was WONDERFUL, i would recommend her to all of my friends. Now i know why my nephew was so happy with her. I just want to say 'THANK YOU' Laura, you are the best!!! Kim M read more

Working with B of A for a HARP refi was a nightmare. The process seemed to drag on and on. The continued request to re-submit needed documents was driving me crazy. I did a quick internet search to see if I was alone in my suffering. Luckily, I found a post by Justin that explained other options. 24 days later, B of A was paid off and with a lower interest rate than the bank had offered, my mortgage payment was lowered by $600! Justin is extremely knowledgeable and was professional throughout the entire process. I would highly encourage anyone considering a HARP 2.0 refi to get in touch with Justin. read more

After one failed attempt to re-finance, I finally came across Justin Sheftell at Courtesy Mortgage Co. I needed to lower my interest rate. I read several reviews; and in addition to that I was quite sure Justin could help me by the knowledge he exhibited in conversations with other mortgage professionals. Justin is quite efficient, expedient, attentive, and just overall what you need and expect from a professional. I am ever so GRATEFUL and THANKFUL to Justin for all of his assistance to me. He made the whole process painless! read more

I can't say enough good things about Laura Wever. She was AVAILABLE whenever I called and answered EVERY question I had along the way. As anyone knows it can be stressful going through the loan process but Laura made it so it was pain free. She really looked out for our best interests and got us the best rates and loan for us. There were no surprises what Laura said would happen did - she closed for us very quickly. If I ever need help again with a mortgage Laura will be the only one I will use!!! Thank you Laura!!! read more

We have enjoyed working with Travis he was very attentive and made sure we understood everything about our loan. It was a very educational experience as we learned a lot about the loan process, credit system, and housing market. He answered any and all questions and ensured that we understood the process and conditions of our loan and home. He made himself available throughout our buying process. Travis exceeded our expectations and ultimately helped us buy our first home. Thank you Travis. Donna and Heriberto Sanchez read more