Absolutely the worst company I have ever dealt with. From the beginning, the communication was misleading, unprofessional, and felt intentionally deceptive. Every step of the process came with hidden issues, unexpected fees, changing information, and constant runarounds. It honestly felt like they cared more about squeezing every dollar possible out of customers than actually helping people. The level of transparency was terrible. Promises were made and then suddenly changed at the last minute, creating unnecessary stress and confusion. Trying to get clear answers was nearly impossible because nobody seemed willing to take accountability. The entire experience felt dishonest and predatory. I would strongly recommend anyone considering working with this lender to read the fine print carefully and explore other options before signing anything. This was one of the most frustrating and disappointing business experiences I've ever had. read more

My experience with this company was beyond disappointing it was one of the most frustrating professional interactions I've ever had. What they advertise about integrity, transparency, and "family culture" could not be further from what I experienced. Communication was inconsistent, expectations were misrepresented, and accountability was almost nonexistent once issues started surfacing. Cory Tona is presented as the visionary leader and driving force behind the organization, which makes the operational failures even more concerning. Leadership sets the tone for how a company operates and based on my experience, the tone here is disorganization, deflection, and lack of responsibility. On top of that, I became uncomfortable with what I felt were blurred professional boundaries. I noticed Cory viewing and engaging with my personal social media in a way that felt inappropriate given the business context. It added another layer of discomfort to an already negative experience and came across as unprofessional. I felt misled throughout the process, and attempts to get clarity or resolution were met with delays, vague responses, or complete avoidance. That alone speaks volumes about how clients are actually treated once you're already engaged. After doing additional research, I realized I'm far from the only one who's had a negative experience. The pattern of complaints from others mirrors my own which makes it hard to view this as an isolated situation. If you're considering doing business here, I would strongly urge you to proceed with extreme caution and thoroughly explore other options first. Based on my experience, I would not recommend this company to anyone. 1) BBB status + rating * BBB states "TheLender is NOT a BBB Accredited Business" and shows a BBB rating of F, listing reasons including failure to respond to complaints. 2) Pennsylvania regulator consent order + fine (licensed issue) * The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities entered a Consent Agreement and Order (July 2022) stating it believed Hometown Equity Mortgage, LLC operated in violation of Pennsylvania's Mortgage Licensing Act by engaging in mortgage servicing activity while not licensed as a Mortgage Servicer, and the company agreed to pay a $4,200 fine. 3) HUD Mortgagee Review Board settlement (FHA admin action) * The Federal Register lists Hometown Equity Mortgage LLC (Lake Forest, CA) as entering a settlement agreement that included a $5,000 civil money penalty, noting the settlement did not constitute an admission of liability or fault. 4) Litigation exists (public dockets) * A federal case titled Lender LLC v. Hometown Equity Mortgage LLC (d/b/a TheLender) appears in public docket listings (filed 2022). * Another federal case Edry v. Hometown Equity Mortgage, LLC (d/b/a THELENDER) appears in public court documents (Nevada). read more

TheLender - Mortgage Lenders Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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This has been the most frustrating process in all my 25+ years in the mortgage industry. The system/platform is archaic. The Operations are from the 1990s. The staff is either under qualified and there is zero accountability for the lack of communication and work flow. I will NEVER submit another loan and will recommend my loan officers stay clear of the Lender if they actually want to close their loan. I would give negative stars if I could. Now to see if the CEO or VP are interested in assisting me in the most frustrating transaction ever. TBD read more

Delayed our escrow by 2 weeks. Very bad communication. My realtor reached out multiple times through text and call, but they do not answer. If they do, it's toward the end of the day and everything gets pushed back to the next day... read more

I will be leaving a similar review on every site I possibly can, shout it from the hilltops, refer every friend and family member I can, and forever be grateful for theLender! If you don't like reading, just skip to the last paragraph. theLender is NOT the best at answering "panicking" non- essential e-mails from rookie mortgage seekers, at least not with me. Wait, how can you start a 5 star review with a negative? Because I don't want potential clients to be turned off if that shows up in other reviews. The scenario: wife and I fell in love with a new "being built" home in Riverside County. Didn't really have much money in the bank, and a modest-at-best credit score... but I knew it would be a long escrow (house was just foundation when we went under contract) and had $$$ coming in over the next couple months.... So we signed... Had MANY lenders that I was working with. Online lenders, the builder's lender, basically everyone other than big banks who traditionally like 20% down and 800 credit scores. The "promises" that were made by these lenders initially during the pre-approval (yes, I was smart enough to do that first) began to change slightly every couple of weeks -- more money down, rate increases. As luck would have it, my identity was stolen during the escrow process. Poop show. Well to try and save our dream house and not lose our earnest money, I was looking at tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket (more than initially quoted), and a 7 1/4 interest rate that would basically break me, and max me out every month. As my love's dream home was slipping away, the builder's agent (love her!) suggested I call "Deb" at theLender. We're talking 31 days before closing... Like a freakin super hero out of nowhere, Deb and her team came in to save the day! They found me more incentives than the builder's lender did, and undercut the interest rate of every lender I ever spoke with by over a point and a half. They not only saved our home, but gave me a comfortable payment that I can handle. I can't thank or recommend them enough! So as far as the emails, when something needed to get done, they were on it!! Because they're so awesome, they were just too busy making our dream come true to entertain my daily panic! My team: Deb Stark Cheryl Amaral Denienne Leed read more

TheLender - Mortgage Lenders Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Hi turnover. Pays very low. More than 50% of loans don't fund and you get stuck there working and hoping to make money. In the end you only make minimum wage for months. They hire people that have no experience in mortgage which makes it hard for everyone. People resigns after 2days to few months. Revolving door. Only a very few make it. Doesn't make any sense to work here read more

TheLender has completely failed my company, my clients, and my trust. After repeated instances of blatant mismanagement, I've made the decision to sever all ties and pull the four active loans we had with this lender. The damage done by this team is inexcusable. They have repeatedly misled my staff, falsely claimed loans were locked when they were not, and lied about files being clear-to-close when they were nowhere near ready. In some cases, disclosures were sent late or not at all causing irreparable delays and confusion for my borrowers. Rudy Castillo manager here does not take ownership for his AE or AM nor stands by his word lying to myself and my staff regarding the status of files. You would hope that a mortgage broker with 15 years experience along with solid borrowers being submitted worth millions of dollars in loans would be worth something but it appears that they do not care about service or relationships. The level of disorganization, lack of communication, and zero accountability from their operations staff is staggering. This lender's negligence has not only cost me client relationships, but has put long-standing realtor partnerships at serious risk. I've had to personally escalate issues all the way to the CEO Cory who doesn't answer calls or return them only to get late emails back then complete silence speaks volumes... This is not just about bad service. It's about a lender who undermines the reputation and integrity of every mortgage professional who puts their trust in them. I will never send another deal to theLender again and I strongly urge other professionals to proceed with extreme caution. read more

I started working with Hometown Equity Mortgage, LLC dba theLender (25531 Commercentre Dr #250, Lake Forest, CA 92630) about 8 months ago, hoping to access equity from my home because I needed to--not because I wanted to. What followed was months of repeated document requests, shifting requirements, and poor communication that ultimately left me worse off than when I started. I submitted everything they asked for multiple times, but they kept rejecting documents without clear explanations and refused to accept IRS transcripts. They insisted on receiving physical payoff letters through regular mail, which can take up to 14 business days. I had to obtain these three times, spending hours on hold with the IRS each time, only for them to say the documents had "expired." After finally submitting the third payoff letter, I was told my file had been open too long and was being closed, meaning I'd have to start over from the beginning. They also cost me $300 for a CPA letter--which I had to get twice because they decided (months later) that the first one wasn't acceptable. Because of all their delays and back-and-forth, my credit has now dropped below the minimum needed to qualify for a HELOC loan. Now, my only remaining option is bankruptcy. I dealt with Sarah Davis and Kenneth Groen, and I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone. They not only wasted my time and money--they took a difficult financial situation and made it worse. I strongly caution anyone considering this company. read more

This might be one of the worst Lenders I've ever worked with as a broker. They continuously make false promises and set expectations that they can't meet. (I forward these expectations to my clients and then look awful when. It doesn't happen). My account executive Peter Le has given me misleading information and has lagged on getting things done on their end. Underwriting, processing and funding departments do NOT talk to each other. Making it my responsibility to ensure they are all doing their jobs in a timely manor. The executive manager is Rudy Castillo. He has failed me several times and also uses very rude and demeaning language when addressing my issues and complaints. Cuts off conversations short and wants to get off the phone instead of taking responsibility for his companies actions. We missed close of escrow by 13 day and they have no remorse. If you're a broker, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. read more

This mortgage broker named "The Lender" is obnoxious. They use an auto dialer and call multiple times a day asking if I have any referrals for them. Repeatedly I tried blocking their call, but they call from a different number to get around the Verizon filters. I asked many times for them to stop calling. One loan officer laughed and said that she would just keep calling. Who would ever want to work with a company like this? read more

I have been a mortgage broker for over 20 years. The AE's are very aggressive to get you to give them business. I have a lot of good lenders out there that I use. I gave theLender one chance to see how they would do. Trust me when I am telling other professionals DO NOT USE THEM. They are the worst company I have ever dealt with. I have uploaded the same documents three or four times, and they still didn't get it right. Underwriter goes on vacation for a week, and my loan sits there until she got back. Then when she got back, she took off again because she was sick. It's like they don't want to do the loans. You can't speak to anyone with any common sense. They do not care about giving good service or maybe they are just incompetent and they just don't know what they are doing. I finally got past QC on Monday and here comes Thursday and still no docs. I have called Cory, one of the owners who doesn't give a crap either since he doesn't return your calls. I predict this company won't be in business in the next couple of years. They can't compete with the other lenders that are efficient, experienced and want our business. As one of the other reviews stated, they have failed my clients, my company, the realtors, sellers. And it didn't have to be this way. read more

My account executive Tiffany Friedman has done a fantastic job with regards to getting back to me promptly and has provided outstanding assistance with scenarios and pricing. As an account executive she's don't done a fantastic job! read more

My Account Executive Carmine Poliandro is great. I love working with him. He is knowledgeable and courteous and gets an A+ for customer service. He returns calls and emails promptly and works to help resolve any issues that may arise. read more