Gold Star Mortgage Financial Group

Trying to buy a house in Michigan while selling our home 3000 miles away at the same time while driving cross country was quite a challenge. Steve Marrs (Ann Arbor Branch Manager) made it all possible every step of the way, Even while stopping along the way to fax over signed documents, Steve kept us involved every step of the way with daily updates and made the stressful process easier by accommodating us throughout the entire 6 month process and made our home purchase possible especially considering the strict lending rules. Steve recommended the best lending options to consider, we could not have been happier even through all the constant obstacles, Steve was there for us and even till this day. Two years later, he is still there for advice. We highly recommend Gold Star to everyone, they truly set the Gold standard in the lending industry.

I dealt with Goldstar Financial Group online and over the phone and they did everything really well. I got really good results out of it. They sent me a little gift at the end of this month. My contact with them was mainly over the phone and he sent me the forms and all and he was very prompt. I really didn't have to pay anything out of my pocket, everything was done through the loan and they gave me very good rates for the loan. The thing that I disliked was that everything was online and nothing was local, so I couldn't really meet any one face to face and it is hard for me to actually work like that because you want to see a face. What I liked about it was that the agent was really fast and if I had a question, he explained it and if it didn't make sense, he would re-explain it. The agent that I dealt with was Brett Kerch and he was really good about everything, if there was something that needed signed or if there was something that needed me, he would email it to me right away and it was pretty smooth for the most part. He told me how it works and explained how it happens, there were no suprises. The only suprise that came to me was that we were supposed to close a certain week and then it was pushed back because there were some flaws in it, but that also worked out to my favor.

I wanted to refinance my home and get some additional cash out for home improvements. Goldstar's appraiser turned in a report that highlighted water in the basement, which has always been there. It is groundwater that seeps in when it rains, and it is handled by perimeter troughs and a sump pump. The system was installed 20 years ago. It isn't perfect, but it works. The underwriter at Flagstar rejected the loan because the collateral--the house--wasn't sound. I had basement contractors come out. One very nice man from Affordable Dry Basements wrote a letter stating the basement had no structural damage. This was not enough for the underwriter who, according to Goldstar, wanted certification that there would never be water in the basement again. My beef with Goldstar is that they were not willing to make any effort to reason with the underwriter, to work with the appraiser, or to find any way around or through an absurd snafu. I did not like the whole tone of the interactions with these people. They gave off a self-satisfied and lazy quality to their interactions as I interpreted it. I got no sense that they considered it their role to advocate for the customer.

I am hesitant to write down any rates or pricing here, but I can say that this company did an excellent job of landing me the best mortgage I could get. They were professional, very courteous and we closed without having any undue problems. I highly recommend them and will use them again if and when I might have to.