I can not say enough awesomeness about Mark Wakefield and Stratis Financial! We first met Mark in 2012 when he helped us purchase our West Torrance home. At that time, he went above and beyond to close, including coming in to paint the window facings to appease the FHA inspectors! Less than 2 years later, he contacted us to let us know that because of the market, we could refinance so we could drop the PMI insurance, giving us a lower payment. Finally, we reached out to Mark again in 2021 to help us refinance again for a home expansion to accommodate my younger brother moving in with us. We refinanced at the same payment as we had before, and we're able to expand our house from a 3 bed 1 bath 1200 square foot house to a 4 bed 2 bath 1600 square foot house...at a rate we could afford! I definitely recommend Mark Wakefield and Stratis Financial to everyone! read more

For my home loan I worked with Mark Wakefield who was an absolute pleasure. He was incredibly responsive, informative, and always there if I needed anything. At the end of the day I went with a different lender who was able to offer a slightly lower rate, but it came at the cost of customer service and any semblance of guidance or a personal touch. Even after letting him know I went with someone else, he was very kind and congratulated me. I was in a unique situation because 1) I had been through the qualification process already recently, so I had all of my documents ready to go and knew exactly what would happen and what I wanted, 2) I'm at a computer all day long, and 3) my father is a real estate broker. Trust me, if you don't have a great map to follow, you will need a good guide, and Mark's your guy. I've been bombarded with forms over email for days now and I can't imagine how anybody who's any less prepared could survive this. All else being the same, I would've gone with Mark in a heartbeat, but like I said I was in a very unique position. If you don't have AT LEAST #'s 1 and 2 above in common with me, consider him for your lending needs or at least give him a call. You'll be doing yourself a favor. Yelp on. read more

So, I have bought a number of properties in the last 30 years and never have I received such amazing support as I received from Chris Reid and Teri Sulser over the last few months for a commercial building I had closed in September. Chris was instrumental in providing the analysis I needed to evaluate my various real estate options, he provided on-site support for one of the three properties that eventually i acquired, and Chris and Teri both went over the Call of Duty in shepherding this loan through the financial institution for timely close. If it wasn't for their guidance and support I would have paid thousands of dollars more in the purchase of this property and much higher out of pocket cost. Stratis Financial simply provided amazing support and Chris and Teri are a true reflection of a partnership. I am now looking forward to working with them to help maximize my investment. Thank you! read more

Doug Smith came highly recommended to us by our realtor. We got pre-approved back in November so when we found our home, everything moved along really quickly. Doug is very organized, always prompt to reply to texts, calls, and emails. He is such a personable guy, he's the type of person you feel like you've known forever. He even got us a lower rate before we funded!! Doug has years of experience and he knows the business inside & out. He walked us through the paperwork trails and debt payoffs, came to our escrow signing on a weekend, just an all around amazing guy. We couldn't have been happier with his service and we will highly recommend him to all of our friends, family, and clients! read more

I love Doug. After several bad experiences with dodgy lenders, I finally asked the woman at the escrow office, where I was closing escrow, who she would use. I knew that she must deal with all of the lenders in the area and would know who is the best. She recommended Doug at Stratis. I have used him several times since then and have never been disappointed. He is honest and I don't believe that he would ever put anyone in a bad loan. And it sure does seem like there are a lot of people in bad loans these days. Who gets an ARM when fixed rates have been so low for so long? Stupid! read more

I am a Real Estate Agent in Torrance. Mark Wakefield has been my preferred mortgage broker for almost a decade. He has helped dozens of my clients purchase and also refinance. Mark has excellent follow through and is easy to get a hold of. He gets things done fast and offers excellent loans at very good pricing. He is my top pick for my clients. read more

Working with Doug and the rest of his team at Stratis Financial at the Torrance location was a great experience. He is a nice guy, honest, extremely responsive, and will give you the facts straight. I am an engineer who likes to scrutinize the numbers and found that the way Doug presented them to me was clear and always made sense. I found his good faith estimates to be very accurate and there were no surprises in the end. I definitely did my due diligence and shopped around almost obsessively with several other brokers and lenders, both local banks and online. Depending on the exact loan type, the rates Doug was able to get were always competitive and in the end actually ended up being the lowest I was quoted for my particular loan type. I also experienced that some of the bigger online companies will quote you one thing in the good faith estimate, but then if you say you are thinking about going forward with it, they will change at the last minute. Many of the companies that are not local also lack knowledge of the specifics of the local tax rates, escrow fees, and customary buyer/seller cost splits to give you an accurate big picture estimate of total closing costs. I did not have that experience with Doug and I always felt that I was being given the straight truth. He has great relationships with many of the local realtors and during the process I had several of them tell me that Doug is the best in the area at what he does. By the end of the process, I believed them. Where Doug really shined, though, was in handling some complications with my particular townhouse I was trying to purchase. As it turned out, due to some minor conflicts between new lender guidelines and the HOA's budget, we had to unexpectedly jump through a bunch of hoops to secure the loan and the escrow period stretched out a lot longer than the original contract. The source of the issue was out of Doug's direct control, but he was able to work every angle possible to keep the deal alive and worked with the HOA board to correct the problem so we could close the deal as soon as possible. He also did everything he could to keep my interest rate locked in as low as he could in the interim and was successful. I seriously doubt many other brokers would have been willing to put in that much effort or would have had the expertise to be as effective. I felt lucky to have Doug on my side during the unusually complicated situation and I highly recommend Stratis Financial. read more

I first met Mark in 2003 buying a home in Lakewood, then in 2009 when I really needed a talented financial office MARK was above and beyond. If you want the right mind this is the right person... Sincerely~ Steve C. read more

Three years ago, I was a first time home buyer and I knew absolutely nothing about buying a home. Mark Wakefield was so patient in explaining the whole process to me. During escrow, he was so responsive and efficient in generating the documents that it made escrow feel easy. One of the things I really respect about Mark is that he doesn't treat you like just another customer. He really treated you as a friend, so much so that he remembers to call you on your birthday and wedding anniversary (he's not annoying about it either). I promise you that he won't call you every month soliciting your business. Mark has my highest recommendation and I could guarantee you that you would love working with Mark as much as I did. I'm always going to be reaching out to Mark with my future business! Thanks Mark!!! read more

This is a long overdue recommendation for Stratis Financial, specifically Mark Wakefield. When we were purchasing our home, Mark was seriously on top of everything. He had us gather documents he knew he would need for our loan and to get through escrow in advance, so that whatever documents the bank requested were on hand. This ensured that there was absolutely no delays and we were able to efficiently get through escrow without any issues. Mark is so patient, and truly takes time to explain everything so that you know the process. Also, we had a newborn at the time and Mark went out of his way to drop off documents AND pick up that needed signing so that I would not have to drive to him with a little baby. If this isn't exceptional, above and beyond service, then I don't know what is! Every year we get a happy birthday phone call from Mark as well as a greeting card. It has been 4 years and he never forgets us. He's wonderful and I can't recommend him and Stratis any more highly! read more

I have refinanced with Geno Schwartz two times. He has gotten me excellent rates. He even contacted me when rates went down and knew it was time to take advantage of the lower rates. He has been in the industry for over 20 years and brings a great deal of experience to the table. I really trust Geno. He has integrity and is always very professional. Thanks Geno for taking care of us! read more

We were recommended to Athena Paquette from Stratis by a friend. She is very attentive and, as a first time buyers, I have to say the process was streamlined & not stressful. Athena took time to meet with us first, to go over our financial goals and advise on improving credit worthiness. She is a personal mortgage broker, financial advocate and also worked as underwriter for long time. She knows the business very well! We had a very long escrow, full of surprises, but loan process was not one that i had to worry about. Do yourself a favor & schedule FREE 90 min meeting with her. You will be grateful you did. read more

I am a first-time home buyer and started this whole process scared and uneducated and unsure if I could manage it financially. Doug Smith at Stratis Financial was so wonderfully patient with me and my husband. He is incredibly knowledgable and kind. He walked us through what to expect, gave us the best rates around, and took the time to explain what the various costs and timelines meant. He treated us with the utmost respect and always gave us the best advice and guidance. I have recommended him to experienced friends, who were new to the area, and they were also impressed by him. He is a great lender and just a good person. read more