I had quite a few hoops to jump through to buy my first home but Benjie Vista at Total Home Lending helped me each step of the way. Even when I had a huge furnace problem that almost made me lose my new house, Benjie and my Realtor worked together to get me to the closing. I am so thankfully for everything they did for me! read more

Wonderful mortgage company. They were very fast and efficient. I was able to close on my home in under a months time. It was a very easy process and i would absolutely recommend working with them. read more

We have tried to use these people to finance our "dream home" and they drug their feet. They lied to us and said that we could get approved through one of their programs without a problem. Then when it finally went into underwriting we were denied instantly. They knew we wouldn't get approved before that because my husband makes WAY too much money, and that program didn't finance houses with pools. All this was known from the beginning by the loan officer. I would NOT recommend to anyone for anything EVER! Was completely NOT worth all the stress and money it cost us! We lost over $2000.00 on top of our home because of the inspections and crap that they said were required that WE had to pay for on top of closing costs! (This is outside the actual home inspection that we got for our own personal knowledge.) This just scratches the surface of what else it has cost us, including a monumental mountain of stress! NEVER EVER EVER will I use them, for anything. Don't ever expect a straight answer from the loan officer either! He won't ever give you one. He'll totally avoid the questions you ask just so he doesn't have to answer anything straight on. (They don't like email either, they like to call so it's never documented and they can lie and backtrack and pawn it off on somebody else or say they never said that!) Also, whatever they tell you to do to get a lower interest rate, DON'T! We would have gotten stuck with an interest rate that they quoted before we did anything to "improve" the score just a few points! Not worth spending the extra money for a few points because YES it will COST you there too! Written by a totally unhappy, extremely mad, upset, ex-client! (And, for good reason too!) read more

I had a terrific experience getting my mortgage through Total Home Lending/Mortgage 1 Inc. My loan officer provided exceptional service. He had a strong knowledge of the mortgage programs that were available to me, and he always provided quick responses through phone calls and e-mails. He and all of his team members that I interacted with were very easy to work with. They were always personable and accessible, and made sure to provide timely and accurate information throughout the entire process. After having such a positive experience with my current mortgage, I wouldn't consider using any other lender. I would HIGHLY recommend them to both family and personal friends. read more

Nate L. Would not recommend Total Home Lending. Went all the way to underwriting then came back and said do not have enough income. Still had to pay appraisal fee that was 400 which is bull. I have since talked to a couple other morgage companies and were told I should of never been pre-approved. Do not expect to get a straight answer from them let alone them call you back in a timely matter. Even my real estate agent has never seen such poor service. They do not even deserve a 1 star read more

Total Home Lending is the first place you should visit when looking to get a mortgage or refinancing your home! My husband and I had a unique situation when purchasing our home -- we bought it, took out a construction loan to completely remodel it, and then planned to refinance the home to pay the loan. The team at Total Home Lending made the somewhat unique process extremely easy. They are professionals through and through! I highly recommend the Total Home Lending team. read more

After taking a new position that allowed me to move back to Michigan (near family) I was in the market for a new home as well as the accompanying mortgage. As I do with any significant investment I did a great degree of due diligence before I engaged any lender. I started with the traditional financial institutions and credit unions to soon realize that their customer service and overall responsiveness was not what I was looking for, nor what I needed considering I was still living in Chicago, trying to transact the purchase and secure a mortgage in Michigan despite not being physically here to do so. It was at this point a good friend of mine recommended Total Home Lending. The difference was dramatic as their immediate attentiveness and communication helped make this very stressful process stress free. From the beginning the team was extremely thorough and professional. I felt as if I was their only client. It had been over 10 years since my last mortgage shopping experience which I will say the process was so thorough, I felt as if I was applying for a position for the secret service and yet this detailed approach from the onset made the process all the way through closing very predictable. What many people don't understand is that the mortgage broker (their experience) makes all the difference in how easy or difficult this process can be. There is no "short-cutting" the process nor the documentation requirements if you don't provide what is required it's not going to be smooth. If you do provide what is required the process will be straightforward. The mortgage industry has undergone some dramatic changes that have increased the requirements for all lenders to operate with the utmost integrity. I am happy to say that Dave Cardenas and his entire Total Home Lending Team made this entire experience stress free by providing me with a detailed list of document requirements, modeled a multitude of financing scenarios and options, as well as served as an adviser when it came to the optimal path to secure the necessary down payment while avoiding PMI. He achieved this while protecting my securities that I was able to keep in the market without having to liquidate and pay capital gains. David Cardenas was on top of everything, constantly keeping me aligned with what was needed (keeping me on track) so that he had what he needed to close on time and without issue. I would recommend both Dave and his entire team at Total Home Lending! Sincerely, Matt Ciantar VP of Sales BRINK's US read more

I went through Total Home Lending for my first home purchase. The loan officer was excellent. I was nervous at first because I was not entirely sure what I needed or how to get approved but the loan officer was most helpful. He explained everything in detail to me and when I was not sure, he explained it further until I understood. There was never a time that I was confused or lost because he guided me back to what I needed to do and what was required of me. I was trying for the FHA government assisted program and he got me a better deal with a different government assisted program. He explained the pros and cons for each program and I am very happy with the deal I received. He identified my concerns and stayed completely within my budget/ range that I requested to stay in. I started the process in May 2014 and closed on my purchase 30 days later. It was so fast and seamless that I was stress-free when working with him and his staff. I also had worked with his underwriter directly on sending documents back & forth. It was quick and easy with the help of email and direct faxes. In the beginning meetings, we met face to face. It was nice to see they develop personal relationships with their clients. They called a few times, but most of our interactions during the process were via email. I would DEFINITELY recommend this staff and company to others in the future, and will use him in my next purchase. I did not have any issues with the staff. They were all quick, easy to work with, and extremely friendly. read more

I have known Benjie for about 12 years however this is my first mortgage through him. I was a loan officer from 1995 through 2008 so my expectations were pretty high. Benjie exceeded all my expectations and I was very surprised at the constant contact he and his team had with me. They use a portals system to collect all the documentation I need to supply them and it was incredibly easy to use. Every time I texted him her responded in minutes. He and Becky kept me up to date where things were in the process and I was never left wondering. Benjie quoted me a rate and costs in the beginning of the process. With my experience I knew how to read the closing costs and rates to see if there was any extra fees and there never was. I did shop rates when I was close to closing and I received a good .375% lower than any I had seen. Benjie showed up to my closing and told me he was covering the cost of the mortgage survey ($275) which I expected to pay. Solid team, great communication and extremely competitive rates and fees. I can't recommend him highly enough. Thanks Benjie for a great job.I recently received a new home loan from Benjie Vista from Total home Lending. read more

Before I began my search for a home, I had to make sure I could qualify for a mortgage. I knew that I had credit challenges and I made every effort to try and pull my scores up enough to at least be considered for an FHA loan. I read that I could qualify if my credit score was at least 600. My income is fairly decent but I knew that score would make the difference. I had two main reasons for looking for a home; one - I was tired of renting and two - my student loans were coming due soon. In my mind, I figured for the money I was paying in rent (close to $1100 a month), I could own a home and still have some left for the student loan payment and my budget would be just about the same every month. I contacted a realtor that I knew very well and she referred me to a broker. She (the broker) stated that her company had programs available that may help me get qualified. When I contacted her and explained what I was trying to do, she pulled a credit report that I agreed to. Unfortunately for me, she stated she couldn't help me and that my score was too low to even be considered for a mortgage. Not once did she say to me that she had any programs that would help me nor did she offer her assistance to me whatsoever. She blew me off like my needs were not important and she didn't have time. Needless to say, this left me frustrated but I didn't give up. I knew someone was out there that could help me. I went to "Google" and started searching for lenders who helped people with low credit scores. That's how I found Total Home Lending. I looked up the website and started reading. I checked the interest rates; I used the calculator and then I did an online inquiry and a loan officer called me. I explained to him what I was looking for. I told him I didn't have the best credit but I had fairly decent income. I had a daughter in college and my scores were low due to numerous student loans and some collection accounts that I could prove were paid, but were still on the report. My loans were not in default and I had filed bankruptcy almost 10 years prior. He initially sent me a letter via email asking for specific items to qualify. I returned these items immediately. We talked on the phone several times a day and emailed each other as well. He was patient and answered all of my many questions. This process began late October 2013 and I closed on my home in January 2014. The timing was perfect because my lease was up February 2014. When he pulled my credit report, my score was 615. FHA minimum guidelines were 640, with a minimum loan amount of $70,000 or higher at a 5% down payment. He explained what I needed to do to get those numbers up in 30 days by applying for another credit card (I had one already), use it and pay the balance down to $10 on both. This was just to get the pre-approval. This loan officer walked me through this process - literally hand-held me. He asked that I write letters to the credit bureaus that were still showing balances or incorrect information on my credit report, and I responded immediately. My income was $77,000 per year and I knew I didn't qualify for any low-income or specialty programs, so my credit score was the only thing I had going for me. This gentleman was confident if we put all of the effort into increasing the score and explaining any glowing discrepancies, the underwriters would oblige accordingly. I had receipts, bank and credit card statements; gift letters from my parents. I had a portion of the down payment in my TSP account and I provided proof of that as well. It was clearly explained to me that if I received any monies unaccounted for, this would jeopardize all of the work we put into this process. I did not have anything like that coming to me so I was not concerned about that part. At some point, I was getting frustrated because some of the things they (FHA) wanted seemed very petty. My loan officer assured me that FHA was very strict about their guidelines and unwavering. I followed his instructions to the letter and I am very pleased with the outcome. As tedious as this may appear, it was to my benefit to get all of the proper documents in order as required. I wanted a home. I could see the substantial savings in my living expenses if I had a home. The staff at Total Home Lending, along with my realtor was phenomenal in helping me achieve this goal. I highly recommend my loan officer to anyone interested in buying a home. read more

I used this company to purchase my first home. They also set me up with a wonderful realtor named Lesley. Once I found a pleasant place to call my own, they made me feel like I was their only client. My loan officer Benjie was available to help me every step of the way. They made the process so easy to understand. I will always recommend them to anyone buying or refinancing their home. read more