David Kravets at Guaranteed Rate

Smooth.... Explained all options. He took great care of us.

On the refinancing side, they said they weren't charging points (nothing about points on the truth in lending statement), and when we received our end of year tax statement, we discovered they charged us points. We have had numerous issues on the loan servicing side: they changed my loan number without telling me or sending me coupons, then dinged me for being late (they returned my checks because they had the incorrect loan number); they doubled my escrow payment because they didn't pay my 1st installment taxes until the 2nd were due, so they must have thought the payment was for one installment; after telling me they hadn't charged me the penalty for paying my taxes late, they did charge me. It takes 10-15 days for my checks to clear with them, whereas for anyone else in the Chicago area, it takes 3-5 days. While perfectly pleasant and willing to work out problems (this is the only reason they get a D vs an F), I have had to call them no fewer than 20 times since refinancing with them in January of 2013. This was my third refinancing of a 17-year loan, and the first time I've ever had any issues with a loan servicer. I recommend not using them as a broker because they just might end up with your loan.

Michael McNerney was our loan officer and they dont come any better. Delivered on 100% of what he promised. Worked us through a couple of speed bumps and definitly stayed in touch with all the people processing the paperwork to make sure it was a smooth closing. Back office folks also get a A+. First class operation - could not be happier

I had a great refi experience with Guaranteed Rate. A fair appraisal, good rates, super fast closing. I went from starting the process to closing in about 35 days. Beat that Chase Bank! Avoid Chase - absolutely terrible internal and external communication. Sloppy appraisal and difficult escalation.

I had a very positive experience working with Chad and Aimee. I had nearly selected a different lender, but he wasn't able to assist me in securing participation in a city program I was interested in. Guaranteed Rate was a lender that could assist me in applying for the program, so I ended up working with them instead and was not disappointed. Aimee started the conversation with me, but Chad did most of the leg work for me when Aimee had her baby. Chad was extremely patient with me, which was very much needed as this was my first home purchase and I was adding to the paperwork by participating in this city program. But, in the end, everything went smoothly and I have now been living in my home for almost a year. Very very pleased with the attention and respect I was given by Chad and Aimee. I will definitely consider working with them again when I'm ready to buy my next property.

We worked with Sam Sharpe, who helped us out with a previous refi. Sam got us the loan we wanted at a rate that made economic sense. His team was courteous and professional. . The closer came to our house, which was very convenient for us. This is our second very positive experience with Sam Sharpe and Guaranteed rate.

This is my third time using them. I'll never use them again. The first two times were fine, but just had a bad experience. I'll never use them again.

Horrible. The person I was working with asked me to pay him additional money in cash to him personally so that I could get a better rate. At which point I stopped working with them and go a much better loan and went with a reputable company.

My recent purchase in Michigan was VERY CHALLENGING. Steve and his team made it work despite the quirks of FHA and the total apathy of Fannie Mae. Steve Siwinski and his team are in the Buffalo Grove office. Buffalo Grove office- (847) 419-0010. I highly recommend him and his team for any mortgage need.

We had a nightmarish home closing, but that was due to the sale of our condo, not the purchase of our house. In fact, Joe Burke at Guaranteed Rate was an absolute miracle through the process. Due to closing delays on account of our buyer, we were forced to push the closing date of our house back for two full weeks. In this time, our rate ended up expiring. That would have been a disaster for a lot of people, but Joe Burke managed to lock us in at a new, lower rate AND get it done in a matter of days -- all that with the looming time crunch of the tax credit closing expiration date. We ended up saving nearly $100 with our new rate -- a very nice silver lining thanks in large part to Guaranteed Rate.

They are excellent. They are efficient. They take care of things in just a few weeks. They are just good. I've tried a couple of other places that are horrific. They refinance and don't charge you any fees.

Aweful. Consider yourself warned if you are trying to refinance a JUMBO loan as underwriting is NOT done in house. Rate was great, was approved by both lender and guaranteed rate, and house appraised out. Submitted all application paperwork in September 2009. Apparently since it's a jumbo loan, underwriting took forever and guaranteed rate was unable to close by the time the rate lock expired in mid NOVEMBER. Was then told I had to wait 30 days to lock again and all I'd need would be to submit updated bank statements/paystubs as the appraisal would still be good (good for 120 days). After 30 day grace period, was then told we'd need a new appraisal even though the existing appraisal was only 90 days old. If I had known I'd need a new appraisal when my rate lock expired, I would have pursued the refinance option with another broker as 30 year jumbo rates were at an all time low in late Nov/early December. Now I have wasted 4 months and still not refinanced my home. With home prices still not on the upswing and the way homes now get appraised (ie lenders don't get to chose their lenders), who knows if the house will appraise out again as now the recent sales comps from the summer might not be used by the appraiser. If it doesn't, I will have missed my refinance window because of guaranteed rate as I still have not refinanced my mortgage. I will most likely try another broker due to poor communication, incorrect and vague information from guaranteed rate along the way, and lack of confidence that guaranteed rate can actually close my refinance. It almost seems like they didn't want the business based on the pain I've gone through.

Perfect. Wouldn't change a thing and have the lowest rate available...

They drove us crazy with their stupidness.

At the start, documentation was submitted, appraisal arranged quickly etc. Then we waited...with no updates or communication. Then we were informed that the loan had been approved but we had extended beyond the 30 day lock so we were expected to 'share' the penalty imposed by the bank with Guaranteed Rate.. we tried to reduce our 'penalty' because we had not delayed in anything and eventually we were told pay up or apply again for a new refinance at higher rates. At the closing the notary was 'sick' and the mortgage person had an emergency, so we sat (with no explanation) for 1/2 hour, at which point a nice woman from the title company raced over to conduct the closing. Noone was at the table to explain any of the figures, the amount we had agreed to pay for the delay was inaccurately stated on the forms, my name was incorrect, etc. We signed the documents, but were so unsettled by the process, we seriously considered cancelling. My husband was able to reach the mortgage person(JD Cortese)by phone and was reassured enough, but although I think we were due a refund for the 'delay' in processing the loan, we're not holding our breath.

They were a little spacey on some issues, but they came out with the paperwork to our office. Personal service was nice, and the rate was great.

After a rosy picture that we could get a FHA 203K loan and refinancing, they were unprepared for our meeting. They failied to tell us to bring the needed document and did not research our situation as to whether they could actually secure a 203K loan or refinance our building.

I have used Shimmy several times for both home purchases and refinances. He is very easy to work with and goes the extra mile. We barely need to fill in any paperwork, since he has our information on file and apparently is able to auto fill the forms, which saves us a ton of time on the paperwork our end. I feel very confident that he gets me the best rates out there with the lowest fees (sometimes no fees at all). They are also very reliable as a company. We have had feedback from the title companies that they always enjoy working with Guaranteed Rate because the money is always there when it is supposed to be and that's not always the case. I can tell you from experience on the sell side. I would HIGHLY recommend using Shimmy for all of your mortgage needs.

They were very efficient and arranged the refinancing with no problem. Dave was very professional and knowledgeable.

My loan officer tried to be a little too slick of a salesman for me through the process, and tried to cover up mistakes or oversights rather than own up to them. My loan came down to wire even though we could have done things to fix the problem much earlier in the process.

The company approved us by email after taking all of our information and then did not return calls for a few days. After 2-3 days of no response, the company emailed an apology stating the approval of our application was sent out by mistake by its computer. They never talked with us by phone after the email approval and we emailed them stating our disappointment of wondering how a business could operate that way. They never returned an answer by email or telephone in regard to our disappointment. This makes us believe that they mislead customers by generating automatic approval letters.

We have gone through a very difficult sale of our old property and our mortgage agent, Marcy O'Brien has definitely gone the extra mile to help us. She has even contacted the mortgage company of the buyer of our old house on our behalf to help expedite the sale. She is extremely helpful and conscientious and has made this confusing process much easier. She is approachable and always there when we need her. The price I am giving is a flat fee for a 0-point loan and all services are included.

This is the third time we have worked with John Johnson at Guaranteed Rate and every experience has been a positive one. John and his team are thorough so there are no surprises at closing.

Jim was very professional and accommodating. His fees were reasonable and there was no pressure.

Closing was delayed b/c the company that issued our loan didn't have the paperwork ready on time. Tom Fishwick and David Bossov at Guaranteed Rate handled the situation very poorly. We had to pay per diem interest to the sellers. David told us he'd handle it. However, he didn't show up for the closing to pay the per diem interest. The communication from David and Tom was very poor throughout the whole process. David was more worried about his bottom line than the inconvenience he'd caused us. He promised to send a check for $700 for the out of pocket costs of the delay. The check was sent a month later and was only for $600. Even though the closing was only delayed by 2 days, it caused the work we wanted to have done on the property to be delayed by several weeks as our contractors would not wait around for 2 days and took on another job. Our experience w/Guaranteed Rate was very negative due to poor communication from Tom and David.