If you have found Char, you know you are very lucky! I couldn't…read morebe more grateful for all the help she has given me over the years. Refinancing, is not always the easiest thing to do but with Char it has been great. She is so patient and caring, helpful and experienced. I'd give her 10 stars if I could. So grateful for all her efforts and time. Donna D

I have used Char personally and have recommended her to my clients. She is incredible and has never…read morelet me down and has always gotten the loan closed. She is honest, communicates effectively and always find you the best deal and if she can't will let you know! I highly recommend her!

My wife and I recently moved to Santa Cruz and started looking for a new home. We were referred to…read moreTom Powers & Joe Hutson by our realtor and have had an overwhelmingly positive experience. Having been through the mortgage process several times, Tom & Joe provided us with the best experience we've had yet. They are knowledgable, friendly, professional and accessible - During our process, they kept a close eye on the market trends to be able to get us the best deal/rate. They moved things along quickly and efficiently. They pitch themselves as working as a team and being interchangeable which is the absolute truth. At any point we could call either of them to get the answers we were looking for. We honestly couldn't have asked for a better pair to work with. Tom and Joe are outstanding.

Joe at Seabright Mortgage helped my husband and I with the financing of our vacation home. He…read morecouldn't have been more professional, friendly or nicer to work with. This is our third mortgage and I didn't know this part of the process could be so pleasurable. I'd recommend Joe or Tom to anyone. They are the team you want to work with! Alicia & William Mintun Aptos

From start to finish, Gina and everyone at GRO were fantastic! We needed a house that would be big…read moreenough to accommodate a family but stay strictly within our budget. With her patient guidance, Gina helped us navigate the housing market in Santa Cruz, and after a few *fun* offer adventures, we landed a fantastic house for our growing family. Even after the closing date, she and her team have been extremely helpful, connecting us to local contractors and providing guidance to us as new home owners. Thank you Gina!

I just finished buying a home with the awesome Gina Odom. From the very beginning she asked…read morepertinent questions to make sure she understood my needs. She was thorough and thoughtful throughout the entire process. She made great recommendations yet it was always driven to meet my needs. If you want a knowledgeable and seasoned professional...... Gina is that and more. She and her team were kind and generous every time we spoke or met. I highly recommend you give her a call.

I worked with Nick Llewellyn at Authentic Real Estate over first six months to buy and then sell a…read morehome. I wasn't sure I wanted to sell our house, or if we would use an agent to sell if we did, so we decided to try it out on the buy side first. Within weeks of contacting Nick, we had been to see a couple houses that were not yet listed, through his extensive contacts. Getting to see properties before they even came on the market during a very hot time for sellers was a huge advantage. We ended up seeing a beautiful house that the family who was moving weren't thinking of listing for a few months. Nick visited them on our behalf, came out with a GREAT price, and handled the terms which included several months of rent-back to the family. We got into the house for 10-20% less than the market value had it listed. We couldn't be happier. During the inspections, escrow, and rent back, Nick handled all the parties' communication and documents flawlessly. We are now in our home and couldn't be happier. For the sale: Nick helped set a price and we timed the listing for a very hot time. Within 5 days we had 3 competing bids. Unfortunately, our escrow fell through after a bad inspection came in (if I'd followed Nick's advice, we would have done the inspection first). But despite having to put it back on the market after escrow, we got another full price offer within the week, and sold the house. Nick made himself available at all hours to meet and sign documents, and was extremely flexible with our family's schedule for inspections, viewings, and open houses. Great experience, would recommend to anyone.

Greg is great to work with--super professional, easy to communicate with, and really knows the…read morerental market. He put in a ton of effort to help me find the right tenant and always made sure I was in the loop. You can tell he cares about doing things the right way. I'd definitely recommend him to any landlord looking for reliable property management.

Stephen went above and beyond during mine and my boyfriend's first home purchase. He was super…read morecommunicative and even connected directly with my agent to ensure everything went smoothly. We recently had the opportunity to refinance and without hesitation, Stephen reached out directly to us as soon as he noticed rates were coming down. We did not need to chase him for it nor constantly inquire about it--he just felt like it was the right time and reached out! I'm very grateful for Stephen and his team and will definitely be referring him to our friends and family.

Based on his numerous good reviews, I messaged Stephen early last August about the possibility of…read moregetting a United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) 15-year fixed home loan at 1.99%. This was a new program announced by press release, which I read about in a Yahoo! Finance article, through a link on Google News. Having worked previously in real estate and finance, I knew what the key points were to our situation, so I included those in the message to Stephen, asking whether he would be able to do the loan. Stephen responded abruptly by saying that he would have to talk with me by phone, to discuss "details." After I called him, he proceeded to try to browbeat me into accepting a different program at a higher interest rate. His approach was to use old-fashioned psychological pressure tactics, along the lines of: "Are you so naïve that you think you could actually get such a loan? That rate is just a teaser that you would never actually get." He was crude, demeaning and even insulting. I informed him, politely, that I had a background in real estate and finance, so I was not naïve about these things, offering him one last chance to do business with us, if he was so inclined. But he insisted that the loan would not be possible for us, so I thanked him and said goodbye. Shortly thereafter, I found a straightforward loan broker who in fact did the loan for us, on exactly the terms I had in mind: 1.99% 15-year fixed, with a reasonable fee. We closed in less than three weeks and none of the things that Stephen said were obstacles turned out to be an issue. I am pleased to report that my wife and I are now enjoying substantially lower monthly payments. BOTTOM LINE: If you want someone with an "old-school" approach to sales--involving psychological games, pressure tactics and absence of transparency (resulting in your not getting the best deal that you could)--Stephen Wong may be a good fit for you. Anyone interested in connecting with the straightforward broker we ultimately used is welcome to send me a private message, as I'm not allowed to include that information in my review.

Disclaimer: I do not like giving 1 star reviews, but in this case, it is more than sour grapes, it…read morewas simply an awful experience. We just purchased our 9th home, and the experience with RPM was by far the most disappointing of all the loans we have received. We are very familiar with the loan process having been through it many times before, including as recent as 2012. To make a long story short, we wanted a 7/1ARM product, to which RPM agreed, sent the GFE, and marched forward.On the 17th day, the day contingincies needed to be lifted, RPM informed me, out of the blue, that they needed another 5 days to get the loan, which jeopardized our buying the house. (The house had backup offers). In the end we had to quickly switch products...to a 30 y fixed, the loan we absolutely did not want, at a full point higher, resulting in an additional $300 month payment. Unfortunately, I now am shopping for a new loan, with a new lender, only one month into my loan with RPM. My guess is the loan advisors all have different experience levels and ours was not familiar with the 7/1 product and miscalculated the timings. I will note the branch manager, Jennifer Walker, is attempting to resolve the issue but to date has not. I will update this review if a remedy is found. This loan was incredibly mishandled and we were caught in the middle, causing our family much stress in our move and relocation. I would not recommend RPM to any of my colleagues.

Jennifer Walker is my #1 referred lender. When I call with a client who needs to know if they…read morequalify for a loan she calls them as soon as possible. What I like about Jennifer for my clients is she goes over their total financial package. She wants to know not only will if the client can afford the home loan but can they afford to be a home owner. If they need help with improving their credit, if they need budgeting tips she is there as an overall financial resource. She is patient and kind and always very positive. She also has worked with my clients for years as they save, or pay down debt and improve credit. She is one of a kind and my first call!

Brian and his team guided me through a complicated process with great diligence and expertise. They…read moreprovided expert communication and really great advice. I recommend them without hesitation.

Brian made it happen after Chase didn't. He expertly navigated the VA loan process with a smart,…read moreproactive and even creative approach and sealed the deal at a great rate too. Thanks, Brian.

I cannot recommend Dottie Jakobsen highly enough as a mortgage broker. Dottie helped me secure…read moreloans on the two occasions that I have bought homes in the Santa Cruz area. I purchased my most recent home with her help in 2016. Dottie is unwaveringly professional, promptly returns calls, graciously answers any and all questions and concerns, and is incredibly smart and skillful at navigating the loan process. In Dottie I had someone to lean on and trust, as I made my way though big financial decisions and transactions. How many people can say that they have had a highly positive and smooth home loan experience, not just once but twice? Dottie Jakobsen is absolutely the best.

Just go see Dottie! She CAN help you! She is truly the best at answering questions, calming…read morestressed out buyers, like myself, breaking down the mysterious and explaining the ins and outs of the loan process. She really does make it easy and FUN. Go see Dottie!