Two months ago we started our search for a mortgage. As was mentioned in an earlier post, one of the first places I turned to was the same bank that I have done all of my banking with for the past ~15 years. They are a large, nationwide bank, and have managed to keep their name out of the headlines since the whole world started to fall apart. As far as I can tell, they would be a strong lender. Yet trying to get ANY feed back past our initial sit down was next to impossible. Two to three days would lapse before I’d get a response to a message left or e-mail sent. Add to that the fact that every time I called I went straight into voice mail, I really left that situation thinking to myself that when I do find a mortgage, I’m saying goodbye to these guys and moving all of my banking to wherever.
Oddly enough though, the same thing happened at every lender I went to. Regardless of size and public presence, no one answered their phones and everyone needed to be hounded to get back to me.
At first I blamed it on my situation. I’m self-employed. I’m putting my wife through University. Our household is single income. Despite the fact that I am keeping my head above the water, I acknowledge that some may view me as a risk.
In talking to others though, this seems to be the industry norm.
With customer service like this, it’s a wonder how these lenders were able to get themselves into the situation they are in presently. I like being able to refer business around. I do business with someone, they do a knockout job, and when I find someone needed the same kind of help in the future, I’m happy to pass a recommendation on. I’m sorry to say at this point, I have no desire to recommend the lenders I’ve spoken with nor the Realtors I’ve been dealing with.
