While the act of buying a home can itself be incredibly stressful, it can also be made that much…read moremore stressful by a second-rate mortgage company. Indeed, a great lender can impact your entire homebuying experience, for better or worse.
For the first time around, I had the unpleasant experience of working with a lender from Bank of America who was painstakingly slow on good days, and downright rude to me on others, and who then missed my closing date and forced a rate extension on me. Never again, I vowed.
On the other hand, Cary Cox at Flagstone Financial was one of the most professional and most courteous business professionals, with whom I have ever had the privilege to work. When I was narrowing down my list of potential lenders, I had two important criteria:
1. Someone who doesn't nickel and dime me at each step of the process; and
2. Someone who responds to e-mail promptly and works with a sense of urgency.
And Cary delivered. He offered both the most competitive rate and the lowest closing costs that I could find, and managed to close my loan in only 17 days, well within time to fund the loan and move in. Moreover, his loan processor, Jaqui, immediately responded to any question that I had, and -- most importantly -- immediately processed any document that I sent to her.
** People, I cannot stress how important this is. If your loan processor does not immediately process your financial documents as soon as you send them, then you are in for a long, painful, and frustrating mortgage application process. On the other hand, it is of course your responsibility to provide those financial documents as soon as you are asked for them.
Finally, whereas I practically had to beg my previous lender to work with my title company, Cary owned the entire process, considering all of us -- the buyer, the seller, the title company and the lender -- as a cohesive team that worked together to ensure success -- my success.
So, if you're shopping around for a high-quality mortgage lender who does high-quality work, and if you're also a fan of low closing costs and very competitive mortgage rates, then it's time to skip the big banks and shop locally. Flagstone Financial can offer you a better deal, and save you both money and effort in the process.
