Let me just start by saying that I have never had a more positive experience in purchasing or refinancing a home than I recently had with Jim Ward. Jim's responsiveness, interest rates, and fees blew everyone else out of the water! My refinance was just finalized and funded on September 24, 2014.
The first time I purchased a home, I paid approximately $7K in broker fees. Needless to say, I learned from that mistake and swore it would never happen again. The second time I dealt with a broker, I obtained almost a dozen quotes and ultimately decided to go with the lowest one. Unfortunately, after four weeks of being jerked around and lied to, I dropped the broker and went directly through the lender the broker originally planned to use. Although I got a decent rate without paying any broker or significant direct lender fees, it was almost six weeks of complete and utter chaos and stress. It is important to note that this method usually never works, as lenders under normal circumstances will not provide the same low rates directly to borrows that they provide to brokers because they depend on brokers to do all of their leg work (i.e., initiating the loan process, obtaining credit/loan applications, verifying collecting documents and stipulations required by the lender, verifying employment and income, working with title companies to finalize loan documents, answering questions via phone and email at all hours of the night, etc.).
The third and most recent time I dealt with a broker was when I decided to refinance my existing 15 year mortgage with Jim Ward. Before deciding that Jim was the best broker to deal with I spent over two weeks obtaining quotes from over 15 different direct lenders and brokers (the latter of which were primarily the top reviewed and lowest rates/fees advertised on Zillow). I researched all of them online utilizing sites including but not limited to the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Zillow, California Bureau of Real Estate, and any other websites that came up on any number of methodical Google searches I conducted using the name of the broker and the word "review."
In performing my due diligence, which drove my wife absolutely crazy due to it taking weeks and being primarily conducted on nights during the workweek, I noticed that Jim Ward's business, Isle Pacifica Mortgage, had a period where it was inactive in the past, which I found troubling because all of my other research had led me to believe that Jim was the broker for me. I say the latter because he quoted me a 2.875% interest rate on a fixed 15 year mortgage while only charging me $2,250 for that rate and then crediting me back $1,179.04 for a net lending fee of $1,070.96. The next lowest quote I received wanted $3,888.00 for that same rate. Even at 3% they still wanted $2K. Surely, you can imagine what was running through my head at the time; I was thinking Jim Ward's quote is too good to be true, and that there was no way the next best quote out of more than a dozen could be that much higher than Jim's. It just didn't make sense!
Well, I called Jim and told him what my research had yielded, and asked him to explain to me how he was able to offer such an unbelievably great deal. His answer made it easy for me to start the application process and obtain a rate lock that very same day. Jim said that he was in business back before the housing bust, and that everyone was doing stated income loans at the time. He refused to do them because he said that if the loans went bad he would be on the hook for them, so he made the decision to close his business and go to work for a couple of larger well known mortgage lenders as a wholesaler. After the housing bust and all of the subsequent regulations, he decided he could again open his business and not only be competitive in the mortgage broker world but actually make a decent living by charging a smaller fee than most brokers and offering better rates.
I cannot say enough good things about Jim Ward and his professionalism, integrity, transparency, honesty, and superb customer service and communication. He was one of the few brokers to provide me a quote in writing in the format of a GFE with a full-blown fee worksheet, while some of the others were sending me hand-typed emails with red and blue font in the body of the email to outline their quotes. Some wanted me to obtain an appraisal at my cost before obtaining a rate lock, and others refused to provide me with a GFE quote, much less a comprehensive fee worksheet, until I agreed to complete a full blown application and have my credit run. Keep in mind, again, these were not fly by night brokers but some of the highest rated on Zillow. Jim Ward is outstanding, just give him a call and you will see. Nobody else can touch his fees, rates, or customer service! Although rates are higher now than they were when I obtained my rate lock on August 25, 2014, there is no doubt in my mind that Jim is the best!!! read more
