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Home Loan Re-finance
updated: Sep 20, 2012, 4:10 PM

Has anyone gone through a re-finance of your home loan recently...any advice or recommendations on who to go to?

Places People Are Talking About:

Austin Lampson	Jennifer Ellison	Kelly Marsh
Teri Gauthier	Terry Munz

What People Are Saying:

COMMENT 322370	2012-09-20 04:14 PM
Kelly Marsh at Broadview.
COMMENT 322372	2012-09-20 04:18 PM
Definitely Kelly Marsh. I got my original mortgage from her last year, and then refinanced it this summer. Great rates, personable, reliable.
COMMENT 322373P	2012-09-20 04:18 PM
Kelly Marsh, Branch Manager of Broadview Mortgage, (805) 563-1100 ext. 106. Have done two re-fi's with her since 2007. Give her a call and talk over your situation. She has an excellent reputation. Last one we did was no fee, no cost, no points, fixed 30 at 4%. Didn't even need to go into the office - notary came to the house to do all the paperwork. Easy! (Obviously I wouldn't bother to write all this if I wasn't a happy camper, and no I'm not in any sort of related business.)
COMMENT 322409P	2012-09-20 05:16 PM
My current loan is with Chase, and I was approached by them to do a refi under the Harp program @ 3.85%. No fees at all. 30yr fixed. But, it seems to be at a standstill right now. It's been over 6wks and I can't seem to even get a status update. I guess they are overwhelmed. I'm hopeful.
COMMENT 322413	2012-09-20 05:21 PM
Jennifer Ellison, Summit Lending, 805-565-5750. Very professional and easy to work with. She made refinancing my home as easy as buying a pair of shoes.
COMMENT 322416	2012-09-20 05:24 PM
I called Summit some time ago regarding a re-fi and they never bothered to call me back.
COMMENT 322421	2012-09-20 05:29 PM
Terry Munz at First Bank
COMMENT 322424	2012-09-20 05:37 PM
Austin Lampson, Medallion Mortgage. 805-288-6163 Incredibly efficient and just a wonderful spirit! Can't recommend her more highly!
CAPTAIN HALEY	2012-09-20 05:47 PM
I have had good treatment from Cindy Eyanson at SB Bank & Trust. Her office in in the branch on the Mesa.
COMMENT 322442	2012-09-20 06:30 PM
409p stick with it and keep calling, I pulled that same loan off last year and it's the real deal & free!. I think mine took 6-8 weeks. good luck
COMMENT 322449	2012-09-20 06:54 PM
Kevin Cravens at Capital Financial. 3.5 30 year, no costs at all.
COMMENT 322464	2012-09-20 07:59 PM
Another vote for Kelly Marsh.
COMMENT 322474	2012-09-20 08:34 PM
NUMBER ONE choice is definitely Cindy Eyanson at SB Bank & Trust!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
COMMENT 322483P	2012-09-20 09:28 PM
It's hard to trust anyone in the financial services community. Would be interested in knowing EdHat readers bad experiences with lenders, but usually negative postings aren't acceptable.
COMMENT 322506P	2012-09-21 07:31 AM
We just did this and used Guy Hamilton at Caliber. Things went smoothly and quickly, but the amount of really personal information they said they needed was in our opinion was an invasion of privacy. Not sure if all agencies require this, but we were told this was necessary after 9/11. And, we had a high credit rate and no debts!
COMMENT 322509	2012-09-21 07:34 AM
Just refinanced....do not recommend Prospect Mortgage...poor communication and the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing.
COMMENT 322512	2012-09-21 07:40 AM
The one and only Jennifer Ellison at Summit Funding! I've done 4 loans with her over the years and she is fantastic!
COMMENT 322513	2012-09-21 07:41 AM
If you're a Veteran, go through USAA (hopefully you are already using USAA, great bank) and get a VA refi. Got a 30-year fixed at 3.75% with minimal charges (Uncle Sam takes care of 90% of the fees for a VA re-fi).
COMMENT 322514P	2012-09-21 07:49 AM
I have to laugh at the people who think they are getting a no cost, no fee loan. Of course the loan processor is getting paid somehow. Probably by charging a higher interest rate than you could get by paying some fees. Over the course of the loan, the higher interest rate could add up to thousands of dollars in hidden costs to the borrower.
COMMENT 322515P	2012-09-21 07:51 AM
Just finished my VA loan refi with the Costco loan processor company, WestStar. Their fees were about $600 and I got a 2.75 15 year fixed done within 45 days.
COMMENT 322521	2012-09-21 08:18 AM
514p you are so wrong,they sell the loan to make their money. Now you are getting laugh at.
COMMENT 322524P	2012-09-21 08:23 AM
521. R i g h t... They are all working for nothing.....
COMMENT 322559	2012-09-21 09:27 AM
@514p- An interest rate wouldn't have hidden fees. You have documents telling you what your interest rate will be over the loan and you get that fair credit sheet telling you exactly how much you will pay in interest over the life of the loan. If you think the costs are hidden then you didn't read over your loan docs.
COMMENT 322566P	2012-09-21 09:40 AM
I second Austin Lampson - very efficient and great communicator: she moved the refi process along quickly and we always knew where things stood.
COMMENT 322596	2012-09-21 10:27 AM
I've used Prospect Mortgage several times and was always pleased with the service. I always dealt with Tim Taylor. He will honestly tell you when it is not a good time to refinance - even when it means that he loses the income from processing your loan.
COMMENT 322633	2012-09-21 11:25 AM
Amerisave 3.5% + $2,000 cashback credit all done online - must have good credit to get low rate
COMMENT 322667P	2012-09-21 11:47 AM
@514P, sometimes it makes sense to pay points, other times it doesn't. If you don't want to pony up the fees, points, etc, and you can still drop your loan rate and monthly payment FOR FREE, why wouldn't you? Yes, you could drop it further by paying points and fees, but maybe you don't want to throw more cash towards that right now.
COMMENT 322701	2012-09-21 12:33 PM
PLEASE - who ever you choose, ask to have the escrow and title locally. Keep locals employed. With the real estate market what it is right now, only the best are left in the title and escrow business. I will not recommend a particular company, but be sure your escrow officer is Certified Escrow Officer with the California Escrow Assn., as that is usually the only gauge of competence. Signed, Escrow Mary
COMMENT 322709	2012-09-21 12:42 PM
Kelly Marsh at Broadview beat the rate and deal we were quoted by both our existing mortgage holder and USAA Bank, which is known for being reasonable. Another lender ends up buying it one month later. Don't understand why they don't just offer that rate in the first place. I'm sure there is a reason.
COMMENT 322720P	2012-09-21 12:54 PM
Teri Gauthier at S B Bank and Trust in Montecito. I've worked with her 5 or 6 times over 15 years and she always makes it as painless as possible.
COMMENT 322731	2012-09-21 01:07 PM
Definitely call Jennifer Ellison at Summit Funding 35 West Micheltorena Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Phone: (805) 565-5750 THE BEST!!!
PETERSB	2012-09-22 12:06 PM
Very happy wth Wells Fargo, just re-fied, would at least use them as comparison lender.
COMMENT 323065	2012-09-22 03:33 PM
Please do a simple calculation of what your current home loan will cost you to the end of the current term (total principal plus interest). Then calculate the total cost to the end of a new loan. May people refinance for a longer term than their current loan. If you go from a loan with 18 years left on it to a new 30 year loan your interest rate has to drop a lot to make up for the added years of payment. Unless you are having trouble paying your current monthly payments or you are going to sell soon you may find you pay more at a lower interest rate than you would under your current loan. Not monthly but in total. Very few people think about this.
PETERSB	2013-01-08 08:39 AM
Amerisave took 3 months (very busy) and are very careful with paperwork, but gave me 'locked' rate (3.25% - probably better now) and came through with re-fi - Amerisave used California notary and title companies. Communicate well: happy with Jim Chepes at 404.424.0630.