Update to my June 2025 review: I originally left a review in June 2025, but Yelp does not allow edits, so I wanted to share a quick update. This refinance was essentially my third time going through the mortgage process with Erick Byrd at CrossCountry Mortgage in Berkeley, and once again, the experience was smooth and well handled. About six months after we moved into our home, Erick proactively reached out to let me know there was an opportunity to refinance. He had been tracking rates and lender credits and flagged a window where we could lower our rate with minimal transaction costs. He walked me through the numbers clearly, and we ended up refinancing at about a half point lower, saving roughly $400 per month. The transaction costs are expected to be recovered within about six months. It is rare to work with someone who continues to look out for your interests long after closing. After three transactions, I can confidently say Erick is transparent, proactive, and genuinely focused on long term outcomes. I still highly recommend Erick and CrossCountry Mortgage to anyone buying or refinancing in the Bay Area. read more

Having the opportunity to work with Erick Byrd was a blessing and made the whole process of buying a home less stressful. We appreciate all the patience and time Erick had for us, with this being our first time buying a home. He was always available for us if we needed to get on a call or video chat with him and also made himself available even after we closed on our new home. All of his knowledge and explaining what documents we need through the process was very reassuring and gave us confidence throughout the whole process. Erick and his whole team at cross country mortgage were extremely supportive. With all their hard work in the end we were able to close on our first home. We thank you and the whole team and we will absolutely recommend Erick Byrd and his team to our friends, family, and anyone in the market to buy a house. Thank you. -- Ricardo, Jessica and family read more

I wasn't looking for a home to buy, but an adorable place came available on my street. Erick was recommended as someone who could move very quickly and be extremely thorough with the expected costs. He got me pre-approved and ready to make an offer in under 72 hours starting from zero preparation! I was shocked to see how much I could afford, and he gave me excellent explanations of every possible fee and expense involved. read more

It was an ideal experience from start to finish. Erick and team were professional, reliable, and flexible with our needs. I appreciated every step in the process and won't hesitate to recommend friends or return when it comes time to refinance our home. read more

It was a pleasure working with Erick Byrd at CrossCountry Mortgage. Erick and his team worked quickly and over the weekends so we could make an offer with a short closing period. Everyone was super responsive and helpful, information and documents that we needed to provide were clearly outlined, and Erick in particular was such a knowledgeable and kind support person for us throughout the process. Thanks so much, team Erick! read more

We highly recommend Erick, and his team at CCM, to anyone looking to buy a home in the Bay Area! My wife and I were looking to purchase a home in the East Bay, and our friend suggested we reach out to Erick to see if it was a good fit. After our connecting with Erick, we chose him because of his depth of lending/real estate knowledge, meticulously organized approach, and incredibly positive demeanor (+ great rates at CCM). The home buying/financing process in the Bay Area can be incredibly complex and intimidating. Erick made the entire experience easy to understand, kept us updated at each step, and was able to answer any questions we had. We can't speak highly enough of Erick, and his team at CCM, and strongly recommend him to anyone purchasing a home in the Bay Area! read more

Had a great experience working with Erick, who went above and beyond to put together my loan in a competitive market. He did my pre-approval on short notice over the weekend to get ready for an offer when I wasn't satisfied with my original lender. Although that offer wasn't accepted, he then put me through pre-underwritting at no charge. Both times he called the listing agent and coordinated short closes to make the offers more attractive. Once accepted, Erick and his team helped me through a quick 16-day close that went off without a hitch. Throughout the process, Erick was highly communicative and patient with my questions. Highly recommend. read more

My friend and I recently co-bought our first house in the Bay Area. Our real estate agent referred us to Erick and we are so happy she did! The first thing Erick did was give us a detailed and thorough overview of the mortgage application process so that we felt confident moving forward with our house-buying decision. He presented us with several very detailed scenarios so we could understand exactly what factors would influence our ultimate monthly payment--the key question for every buyer. When we were finally ready to make an offer, Erick and his team sprung into action to make it happen. We were running up against competing offers and had limited time but Erick & company worked quickly and efficiently to make sure that our offer was attractive to a seller with other options. The team completed the entire process very quickly and competently and we felt confident that we were in good hands. Now we have the house of our dreams, much sooner than we would have ever thought! We highly recommend working with Erick. He and his team do excellent work. read more

Erick is amazing!! I'm a realtor and have worked with many lenders in my 20 year career; and I have to say, Erick is one of the best lenders I've ever worked with. Not only do I trust Erick with my clients, but I experienced first hand what it's like to be one of Erick's clients, after closing on my own home recently. Not only was he knowledgeable, reliable, patient, communicative, and professional, he was also kind, courteous, and such a pleasure to work with. That's why I'm more than happy and confident to recommend him to all my clients for an awesome experience. He truly is one of the best in the business! read more

My husband and I just closed on our first house with the help of Erick and his team and couldn't have been happier with our experience. We highly recommend them! From the beginning, Erick was kind, patient, and responsive to work with, so we felt like we were in good hands. In addition, RPM had extremely competitive rates, which is the reason we decided to go with them in the first place. But in the end, I was really grateful that we went with them for several reasons I hadn't thought of in the beginning. For one, Erick is a local lender, which means that he often knows the listing agent for homes for sale. I completely underestimated the value of these personal relationships between agents and lenders, but I truly believe that this was one of the reasons our offer got accepted in this competitive market. The listing agent really appreciates having a local reputable lender vouch for a potential buyer! Another advantage - RPM Mortgage uses local appraisers, which means that the appraisers understand and appreciate the insanity of the Bay Area market. This removed a lot of our fear around appraisal risks, which can be a problem in these quickly appreciating markets. And finally- the whole closing process was nothing but positive. Erick and his team reached out for the documents we needed and then followed up for a couple more things, and then that was it! I've heard nightmare stories about various banks from other friends purchasing homes, and we had nothing like that at all. In fact, it all seemed a little too easy! Erick et al. quickly and professionally managed to close early for us so we could move into our new home right away. In the end, I would really recommend Erick and RPM. They will help you get into the home of your dreams! read more

I just closed on my first house yesterday in Berkeley, and I could not have imagined doing this process without Erick and his team. For months, he helped give me reliable quotes and preapprovals, answered all my questions, and made himself and staff available by text or by phone. He was always patient, always knowledgeable, and never pushy. When it came time to buy my house, Erick put together the best loan with the simplest terms, and really made the process as simple as possible. I'm so thankful I had his team on my side, and I would gladly work with him again in the Bay. You're in good hands, and even if you don't work with him, he's a wealth of information and resources. read more

Buying a home requires a team that communicates well and who works quickly and effectively, I found that with Erick and his team. Before reaching out to Erick, I had gotten pre-approved with another lender, but she was a mess, I had to call her to follow up with my application. She would schedule a meeting and would end up calling me hours later. I ended up telling her that I did not want to work with her anymore. My sister and her husband ended up referring me to Erick and I am super grateful I ended up working with him. Erick really cares about his clients and he took the time to educate me on my different loan options, and once we got into contract he communicated every detail of the transaction to me. He never heisted to answer my questions. If you are preparing or ready to purchase a home I would definitely reccomend Erick! read more

Erick and the RPM Team were amazing! RPM only asked for documents once, my refi closed smoothly and in record time. Thank you again (RPM also did our purchase financing). Given Covid and some of the bottleneck at other lenders RPM is the solution to getting things done. More than satisfied customer, LaSandra read more

My third refinance with Erick Byrd and the RPM team! I can't say enough good things about Erick and RPM. They've refinanced my loan every time rates dropped significantly. Now I'm down at a wonderfully low 2.9 % and they wrapped my HELOC in as well to eliminate that volatility. Erick is fast, on top of everything, and super friendly and professional. I would HIGHLY recommend him. read more

I can't rave strongly enough about Erick Byrd and his team. They secured a great mortgage in 2017 when we purchased our home and, this year - just prior to the financial covid-19 crash - they helped us refinance the loan at a rate unheard of in this century (2.75% for 30 year fixed)! This refi was just an idea, but they made it possible. They were remarkable to work with, and made it fun! Their communications were clear and constructive, requesting information in a timely matter, managing the assorted documents we provided, and ensuring that things moved along quickly and easily. They provided the right amount of information to ensure that all was totally understood, but not too much. I If you're considering seeking a loan of any sort, I encourage you to reach out to Erick to discuss. He'll lead you to the gold :-) read more

Erick is fantastic! I was using someone else before that gave me an option that wasn't as good as what Erick was able to figure out. He is very resourceful and is always focused on figuring out the best solution for you. He is very efficient and responsive. He was able to guide us through the process very well and get everything done extremely quickly in a very short closing window. I highly recommend using Erick for your mortgage or refinancing. It was a great experience! read more

Fast, friendly, honest, efficient. Erick was able to lock in some very advantageous rates for my family in a very short amount of time. He did everything in his power to expedite my refinancing process, and ultimately saves us a great deal of money. I am very satisfied, and I highly recommend Erick. read more

Erick helped make our home loan process as smooth as possible. He was always available to answer questions and ensured that everything was taken care of all the way from the loan application process to personally convincing the sellers to accept our bid, through the closing process, all the way to funding the loan in a timely manner.. and even after that. This is a superb level of customer commitment and I highly recommend Erick for that. read more

Erick is the BEST! He has the best interest of his clients and makes the impossible, POSSIBLE. We never dreamed we would qualify for a home in the Bay Area, yet alone a multi-family home. However, Erick and his team made it happen. Thank you Erick. Our deepest gratitude to you and your team. Until the next property... read more

I would totally recommend Erick and RPM. Erick was super responsive, answered all my questions, and facilitated a very smooth mortgage process for our new house. Their local appraisers were able to well justify the valuation. When a hiccup arose around the rate, he fought and succeeded to get us a better rate. The rates were as good as anyone else's for our jumbo. read more

Erick and the RPM team were wonderful in helping us secure the mortgage for our first home. He was professional, thoughtful, and responsive. He did a phenomenal job of talking us through all the intricacies of home mortgages in a way a couple first time home buyers could easily understand. We always left our conversations with him feeling confident about the path forward. We ended up needing to switch from a conventional to a jumbo loan on a short timeline. We were worried that we wouldn't be able secure one or that we may end up with a significantly higher interest rate. Erick was able to get it approved without too much headache and with an interest rate that matched the conventional loan. Very impressive! We ultimately closed exactly on time - which was wonderful given the crazy volume of purchases and appraisals going on in the east bay. We're thankful to them for having such a smooth process. We would absolutely recommend working with Erick and the RPM team! read more

I can't rave enough about Erick and his team. They've done miracles for me, my family and friends and I'm forever grateful to find a lender I can trust to have my best interest. read more

Erick recently helped my wife and I secure the loan for our first house. Our loan process began just as the Covid-19 shelter in place was announced, so it was a very stressful and uncertain time. But Erick was able to answer any and all questions we had and was very reassuring. This being our first home, we were not very knowledgeable about the whole process, but he was extremely friendly and patient with us as he explained (again, and again) the steps we'd be going through. I'd highly recommend Erick and his RPM team to anyone looking for a home. read more

My wife and I worked with Erick to arrange the mortgage on our first home purchase. He's an excellent, thorough, no-nonsense advisor who steered us clear of any number of pitfalls, and he and his team guided us through an extremely smooth process to closing. We came in with limited knowledge of the mortgage industry and zero previous preparation, and had to get both our knowledge and our paper trail up to snuff FAST to get our offer in on time in the dizzying Bay Area real-estate market. Erick gave us everything we needed to do that, and we couldn't be more pleased. 100% recommended to anyone else in need of a mortgage broker. read more

I worked with Erick on a loan for a home purchase and had a wonderful experience. Would absolutely recommend him to anyone. For me, these were three reasons that truly made him stand out: 1. Erick always responded very quickly to questions. Answers were thorough and whenever answers were tricky and hard to explain, Erick would call me to make sure that I understood. In terms of customer service, one of the best people I've worked with. 2. Erick was very proactive about identifying problems that may come up in securing a loan and would warn me beforehand so that I had full information when making a decision. For example, I was interested in a triplex. But Erick immediately saw that the triplex was a duplex with non-conforming unit and there'd be problems with appraisal. 3. In my particular situation, there were some obstacles to meeting all loan requirements. But Erick and his team worked with me very closely throughout to satisfy requests from underwriting team. Communication was always prompt and transparent which makes situation much less stressful. read more

Seriously, where are 95 extra stars when you need them?! Nothing compares to the amazing experience we had with Erick and his associates with RPM. Not only is it a convenient location, but Erick himself is a wizard with numbers, friendly, and importantly, efficient. He and his team were available by every media form for all questions, and made us feel safe throughout the entire process of looking into and ultimately purchasing a home. As first-time buyers, we weren't sure what to expect. This team made everything concise, clear, and even easy. Erick came to us, referred by a friend who had used him. It's no wonder that strong word of mouth accompanied RPM. We would gladly refer anyone to Erick (home loans, refinancing, you name it). If you're looking for a wonderful overall experience, expert help, and ease, look no further. read more

Last November 2019, I bought a 1 bedroom condo in the East Bay. As a first time home buyer, the whole process of buying a condo and securing a loan was extremely intimidating to me. I didn't know anything and the learning curve was steep. Enter Erick. As soon as my offer was accepted, I was on a fast-track to meet a 21-day escrow close and Erick began working with me to make sure I understood everything and guided me along the steps toward securing my loan. At every point and turn, Erick was there, with all his sound advice (backed by many years of experience). He always responded to my calls and emails very quickly. He patiently answered my million questions. Erick made me feel so well taken care of -- he really has taken customer service to another level! When you are about to put a chunk of change in to buying property, you want people you can trust and rely on; people who care, who have lots of experience, and who can deliver their service on time. Erick was that and SO MUCH MORE. I have not stopped raving about Erick and his team to my friends and family about my experience with RPM mortgage. If I could, I would give him waaaay more than 5 stars because he is THAT good. read more

My husband and I just purchased our first home and Erick was wonderful to work with! He responded promptly to our messages, explained things well, and was a friendly presence throughout the process. I would highly recommend Erick to anyone looking to buy a home! read more

We have been trying to purchase our first home for the last seven years and have, in that period, worked with Erick on a vast range of home price and loan qualification. Throughout that time, Erick was available to answer questions and give us quick and reliable advise. Seven years of new information, new business and different demands. Seven years of loan applications and document review and analysis. Somehow, throughout these seven years, Erick maintained a perfect sense of professionalism and patience. At times, we lacked even a general idea of our needs or a subject property to discuss and had general questions about qualification answered within a few hours. When we applied for a jumbo loan a few weeks back, our realtor demanded that Erick and RPM fund the loan within 21 days which had us spinning in a frantic pace of document gathering and constant need for communication. At one point, Erick contacted me and advised me that I needed to be more communicative and responsive to his requests. The pace did, indeed, reach a maddening pace and through out, Erick was calm and constant in communication, excellence and patience. When I panicked over the slight reduction of interest rate, Erick was able to steer me straight and return to focus on the task at hand. He seemed willing to take on any role necessary to make this loan happen including being a friend or a therapist while maintaining a sharp focus on the loan itself. As a professional, I am familiar with the difficulty of providing a service to an anxious client. It is, at times, very difficult to remain calm and goal oriented in the face of client fears and neurosis. Not once did Erick seem impatient with my anxiety. He answered every question and our loan was funded on time. Yelp is also asking if the photos on this listing are helpful? Sorry but this was an honest and sincere assessment of your professional services and I don't want to lie now. They are not. read more

Erick was an outstanding communicator, incredibly responsive and very knowledgeable throughout the whole loan process. Unlike others I spoke with, he provided big picture advice on the best loan while considering our overall financial situation. He explained terms and concepts very clearly without using jargon, which was extremely important for me. The process was seamless and efficient and we closed in a very competitive timeframe. I would absolutely go with Erick again in the future. read more

We recently purchased our first home with Erick and I can't recommend him enough! We shopped around a bit for lenders, but ran into all kinds of issues with other companies. Fortunately Erick and his team managed to get us a great rate, were constantly available, and explained everything very clearly throughout the process. We closed on time without a hitch, I would definitely work with Erick again in the future. read more

The team at RPM was nothing short of exceptional. They helped us navigate a complex scenario and were always quick and clear on their responses. read more

We just bought our 1st home and worked with RPM. I have nothing else to compare this to, but based on what I've heard from others, an experience with a large bank can be less than pleasurable. RPM was wonderful. We worked with Erick Byrd and we could not be happier. Erick was a great balance of support and information throughout this whole process- he never missed a beat. I would definitely recommend RPM- and Erick in particular- to anyone looking for a home loan. Great job! read more

Erick was the most helpful broker I spoke with when looking to refinance my mortgage. He was the only person to clearly explain everything I thought to ask, more than that, he was the only person to answer the questions that I should have been asking but didn't know were important. His fees were perfectly reasonable and he was able to offer me an incredible rate. You can't ask for a more conscientious, reasonable, and thoughtful broker with great rates and low fees. No BS or sales tactics, just clear answers and great rates. Thanks for all your help Erick! read more

I'd put 6 stars if I could, Erick is that wonderful. We were referred to Erick by a real estate agent friend to look into a REFI that we had been wanting to do for some time but just hadn't had the time. Erick met with us right away, explained the process and answered all of our questions very clearly. We moved forward with him and locked in an amazing rate compared to our current rate. Erick was very responsive, clear, knowledegable and considerate throughout the entire process, always keeping excellent customer service up front. We felt very comfortable in working with Erick because we knew that we could trust him and that he would be there for us if we had any questions. We liked working with RPM in general because they use local affiliates (Appraisers, title co's, etc) and have close relationships with those affiliates which comes in handy when there is a time crunch to get docs signed, etc. We also loved the streamlined way in which the process unfolds, from E-Document signing over email (for some, but not all docs) and online secure websites to submit personal information. We are excited to send our friends and family to Erick for their future mortgage needs because we know he won't let them down! Kudos to Erick for being such a great ambassador for RPM and the mortgage industry as a whole. The industry could use more Erick Byrds.... read more

Erick was AWESOME and I highly recommend him to anyone! First: yes the rate was very low. Most of that was the record-low national rates. But I also shopped around and Erick came in at a great rate. We had a ton of complicated questions, and at one point I misunderstood a number and was panicked - but Erick was calm and ultra-responsive took tons of time to explain everything in detail. I know he was very busy with "re-fi's" which I think can be a lot more turn-key. But he slowed down to hold our hand. One note for first-time mortgage users: you have to do any rate-comparisons right up front, since once you're down the path with one it can be hard to switch. I think for such a big purchase, it's always a good idea to cost-compare - but do that immediately after you've made the offer. Just fyi. Thank you Erick! I don't think we're buying a house for a long time - but when we do we will definitely be calling you. read more

My brother and I just refinanced our home with Erick and RPM. We went from 5% to 4%, which is going to save us a lot of money over 30 years. We didn't think we could refi since we've only owned less than a year, but Erick did it! I simply can't say enough good things about him and RPM! I work for a large bank, could have done my refinance in-house--but STILL I went with RPM. They are that awesome. Erick is super professional, on top of EVERYTHING as far as dates, times, deliverables. He explains everything exceptionally well. And he is aggressive on behalf of his clients; he will fight to get it done for you. You can't go wrong. RPM did our original loan and our refi, and I highly, highly recommend them. read more

Erick and RPM swooped in and saved the day to help me buy my dream home when a big national lender fell through. The house I fell in love with was everything I was looking for- which included being a unique property that wasn't your traditional rectangular box on flat lot. For a national lender sending out an appraiser they didn't know, this turned out to be a deal breaker, as the underwriters weren't happy with any of the comps the appraiser brought in. This led to an extension with the sellers and starting over with a new lender from square one. Luckily for me, that lender was RPM, and I was working with Erick. I told Erick up front about the issues I ran into with the first lender, and he put together a solid plan to go into try number two with the best chance for success. Being a local lender, the first great thing is that RPM understood that every house in the East Bay is not a cookie cutter. Secondly, Erick reached out to find the right appraiser for the job, someone with 35 years of experience in the Bay Area who was knowledgeable enough to find the right comps for my home to alleviate in advance any fears underwriters may have on loaning on a unique home. Erick was uber professional, and very communicative through the entire process. I was a nervous buyer after being burned by my first lender in the 11th hour. Of course Erick couldn't make any promises until the loan went to the underwriters, but I felt very confident that the package being sent to them was the absolute best that it could possibly be. And in the end, it worked! RPM came through where the national lender couldn't, and I'm now the proud owner of my first Bay Area home. read more

Erick and his team were incredibly hard-working and thoughtful while we worked with them to purchase our first home - even when it took us a few stutter-steps over nearly 2 years to actually start bidding! They were extremely responsive, amazingly patient, and very clear communicators who capably helped us navigate the pre-approval and loan process...while also ensuring we understood everything along the way. Erick absolutely went the extra miles (!) to ensure that the appraisal went smoothly, and that we closed as soon and favorably as possible. I would absolutely recommend him and RPM, and can't speak highly enough of his work for us. read more

We worked with Erick on our purchase of a new home in September 2014. Normally when you work with a broker you're expecting a standard experience, but Erick and his team went above and beyond to make our slightly unorthodox transaction smooth. In addition to assisting in negotiations he was diligent about lowering closing costs, and had super communication. Highly recommended. read more