Scott Gilbert, Melissa and Selisha are miracle workers! There is one word to describe this company…read more- integrity. The day before I was to close on our home with another lender, Freedom Mortgage, we were not able to close on the loan due to a title discrepancy. The movers were there and everything was boxed! It was a nightmare. I called Scott the following day and his underwriters researched the title and it deemed it clean with no issues at all. With Scott's lead, and with his vast knowledge and experience I was able to close on the loan two weeks later! Melissa and Selisha are wonderful to work with as well - speedy, warm, intelligent and kind. I highly recommend this company!

I can't say enough great things about Lighthouse Financial, and especially Scott and Mel, who have…read morehelped us sail through multiple transactions over the years. I was originally referred to Scott by my real estate broker while looking at investment properties in Salem and Keizer. I used US Bank in the past, but most of the big banks have a "mortgage guy" who seems to be asleep at the wheel. But when you work with someone like Scott, who can shop multiple lenders and give you brilliant strategic advice on how to structure deals for the best outcomes, you avoid the assembly line (and inevitable delays) of the larger institutions. What a night and day difference. He is very sharp and moves like lightning. My goals are very different from the regular home buyer, and so I rely heavily on consultative experts who can problem solve their way around obstacles. They know how to work a bigger plan and make sure we are hitting all of our metrics. If I fall short on something, Mel brings the urgency needed to get the deal done. I can't tell you how appreciated that is. That level of focused project management is worth every penny. They really work hard to see around corners for you, and to package things efficiently for underwriting to keep surprises minimal. They are truly masters of what they do. I highly recommend them to any and all REIs who want pros to handle their financing side. This market is too competitive and moves too quickly to have anything less than a top notch financing partner.

I am pleased to recommend Phillip H. Gerstner, CPA, of Lighthouse Financial Enterprises, Inc. as…read moreyour mortgage broker. Phil took our project on a year in advance and helped us worked through some challenges that we could not have figured out on our own. He is patient, intelligent, and presents information in a logical and orderly fashion. You will trust him right away as I did. One thing I really enjoyed is, Phil has a "can do" attitude, and seeks to get things done, i.e., he doesn't let things linger on his desk, and you don't have to push him, or follow up incessantly. When you are in the middle of buying a home and already wading through so much paperwork, this is exactly the kind of broker you want to have. We did interview other brokers from the "Best Of Salem" list in addition to Phil, and my wife and I were both shocked at how dismissive and cold some of them were - they talked down to us like we were nobody. I don't know about you, but people like that don't deserve our time and money. Phil Gerstner is a kind person who will advocate for you, and give you good advice. It was an absolute blessing to find him, and we could not have put this deal together without him. If I saw Phil Gerstner on the street even today even after the fact, I would be delighted to stop and have a word with him.

The only reason I gave a rating of "five" is because there isn't an option to give SIX!…read more My wife and I have had a lot of experience over the last 23 years buying and selling properties. We had been watching property in a very specific part of town for nearly two years. As our country's financial outlook began to turn gloomy, we decided we'd better pull the trigger quickly before rates went to the moon. A friend we trust recommended Phil Gerstner at Lighthouse Home Loans. We reached out to Phil and the rest is history. Understand, we've bought and sold more than a dozen properties in a couple of decades and we have NEVER had such an OUTSTANDING experience as we did with Phil and his team. We thought for certain we'd waited too long and would pay the price through high rates. Phil shopped our loan HARD and found us several options to choose from that made sense and were manageable for us. Phil took the time to teach us about the process, broke each option down into steps that helped us understand potential outcomes BEFORE we made a decision. We have NEVER had a broker take the time and spend the energy doing this before and we have come to VALUE Phil's thoughtful input. I CANNOT RECOMMEND PHIL AND LIGHTHOUSE LOANS STRONGLY ENOUGH. You will be doing yourself, your family, and your future a huge disservice if you don't at least have a conversation with him, talk about your plans, dreams, and options. Thanks Phil and Lighthouse! We LOVE our new home.

I could not recommend Claire and her team enough. We had a poor experience with another company…read morebefore we worked with Claire and she turned our homebuying process around. They were quick, efficient, knowledgeable and had timely responses to emails and calls. Their online document submitting system was smooth and effortless. Over my family had a pleasurable experience buying our first home. Thank you Mortgage First!

I did a re-fi with cash out and even though Todd said it would take a month or more, it was done in…read morejust three weeks. Although he was a bit stiff, and did not laugh at all my jokes, he was prompt, courteous, and forthright. I don't understand much of the home buying or financing part of life, so it's wonderful to work with those that are patient and will explain the nitty gritty. I highly recommend this place--Todd, in particular.

When we first decided to buy a home, we went with the "in-house" guy. Scott came recommended by a…read morefriend and he looked over what we had going and told us that he could save us lots of money - and he did. More than saving us money, Scott was there to answer every question and explain things over and over with patience and understanding (we were needy first time buyers). He replied to every call, text, and email very quickly. He even drove up from Salem to meet my wife at night after we got off of work to go over paperwork and have our face to face meetings. I'm so glad we had him buy our sides on our first purchase. I will use him for future purchases and I recommend you do the same. I guarantee you will not be disappointed with this guy.

From the owner: Purchase Loan, Refinancing, Mortgage Planningread more

Selisha is great to work with. She took the time to review with me all my loan options and down…read morepayment comparisons, yes she even made me a awesome spreadsheet. I have bought a few homes in my day and no one has ever taken the time to do that. There were bumps in the closing process but not on Selisha's end. She was a true advocate for me and I would without hesitation recommend her for your next home loan.

Selisha was great to work with and very helpful during the process of looking for our new home!…read moreSelisha was always available and easy to get ahold of! Thanks so much Selisha! We are very excited to move into our new home!

I was originally referred to Tyler Westby at Landmark Professional Mortgage Company (in 2003) by a…read morefriend who is a real estate investor. I was told they would work hard to obtain the best mortgage financing, at the lowest rates. I have obtained 4 mortgages through LPMC since then. I appreciated the courteous attention to my needs each time. During my most recent mortgage I ran into a complicated HUD issue due to an unintentional error on my part during the title process. It would have been easy for LPMC to leave me on my own since their job was done. Instead, they stood with me through this ordeal (over 3 months) and, mostly attributable their efforts, the matter was completely resolved. LPMC has earned my business and my highest possible customer rating for their awesome service.

I was referred to Karen at Landmark by our realtor. What a blessing in this chaotic crazy time…read more The mortgage process in itself, is not an easy process. Yet, Karen made it the simplest mortgage process I have experienced. This is the 4th and hopefully, final home purchase for my family. Karen made herself available anytime I had a question. She is professional and knowledgeable. She negotiated a great rate for us. I knew through the entire process that she was there for us. Seriously, if you need a Mortgage talk with Karen. I am pretty sure you won't be disappointed!!

Lending Partnership With Dealer Led to Unresolved Vehicle Fraud…read more I financed a used 2016 Land Rover LR4 through MAPS Credit Union in January 2025. Unfortunately, my experience has been deeply negative--not due to MAPS directly, but due to their lending partnership with Bridge City Auto Sales and the lack of resolution after multiple requests for help. Here is what happened: * The dealer sold me a vehicle with undisclosed defects: coolant warnings, a completely dead auxiliary battery, and an oil leak confirmed by a certified mechanic. * I reported these issues immediately--via texts, videos, and email. I spent weeks trying to work through it before MAPS even got involved. * Once I informed MAPS, their legal team promised to hold off on credit reporting while investigating. But despite that, the dealer's owner later threatened to repossess the car--something I alerted MAPS to. * I provided proof of a $4,000 down payment that the dealer tried to deny. * To date, despite my cooperation and documentation, there has been no resolution, no loan restructuring, and no protection from threats. MAPS Credit Union has had every opportunity to mediate this or reassess their dealer relationship. I regret that this has led to formal complaints and may lead to legal action. Consumers deserve better accountability in indirect auto lending. All of this is verifiable and documented.

Worst place to have to deal with. Awful customer service. Their website is flawed. If possible,…read moretake your business elsewhere. I regret using them.

I recently purchased a home through the USDA program and Mat Stewart of Rock River Financial…read morehandled the loan. As a first time buyer, I was completely clueless about how the process worked and Mat was always more than patient in answering my questions and concerns, as well as in helping me to correct the numerous mistakes I made along the way. When the listing agent and seller made several serious mistakes of their own, Mat was indispensable in getting the process back on track, spending a great deal more time and effort than is the norm to do so. He never gave up on helping me, and there were many points at which I wouldn't have blamed him if he had, since what should have been a pretty straight forward process turned into a long and arduous ordeal. He even had to secure a new underwriter because the loan became so complicated for various reasons, none of which were his fault. He truly went above and beyond the call of duty to help me move into my dream home, and I highly doubt most loan agents would have stuck by me through all of the mishaps and stressors that cropped up along the way. I can't possibly recommend or thank him enough for all of his help, sacrifice and patience in this endeavor and I feel that I would have given up at several points had it not been for him. If you are in need of a loan agent, you absolutely can't go wrong with Mat Stewart!

I recently worked with Rock River Financial to buy my first house. Mat and his team were very…read moreknowledgeable, professional, and friendly. I had a lot of questions and they were more than willing to answer every one of them, and responded quickly, too. They were efficient and kept me up to date throughout the process. I found them to be easy to work with and felt like they genuinely cared about getting me the best mortgage - I wasn't just another numbered applicant. I was really impressed with their expertise, honesty, and promptness and definitely recommend them!

Unfriendly and rude. Would trust a used car salesman over this guy…read more Signed, "Real Person"

We've been doing the home shows in the Portland - Salem area for 10 years and what I saw has bugged…read moreme for awhile. This guy is the worst excuse for a booth neighbor I've ever seen and is rude and obnoxious. So, as a potential customer, how well do you expect to be treated when he fails as a human being? There are tons of mortgage firms out there that are thorough and courteous, why use this one? He really went out of his way to make life miserable for his neighbors while we watched from nearby. The show staff even had to be involved as he cussed out the poor guy next to him for no apparent reason.