Cornerstone First Financial is a fantastic company, and Chris Swope is an excellent loan officer. My husband and I had the pleasure of refinancing our mortgage with Cornerstone First Financial, and our loan officer was Chris Swope. Chris was a blessing to us. I have never dealt with anyone as pleasant, courteous, professional, honest, and communicative as Chris. I first contacted Chris on October 7th and explained that we were looking to refinance our current mortgage. I explained that we were working with another company that seemed to be giving us the run-around. It had been over two months, and that other company had not assigned our loan application to an underwriter, and that company never locked in the interest rate. Chris understood what we were going through and what we wanted and assured me that we would be closing within three weeks. By October 9th, Chris had our rate locked in and provided us with a detailed timeline of the process of when each step would occur. On October 28th, we were closing on our loan. He is a man of his word, full of integrity, and he takes great pride in making sure his clients are taken care of. He stayed in constant communication with us. Not once did I ever feel as though he dropped the ball. Dealing with Chris made the refinance process quick, easy, and painless. I would highly recommend Chris Swope and Cornerstone First Financial to anyone who is looking for a mortgage broker and lender. I am so impressed with Chris that I have given his name to my friend, a realtor. I told her that she needs to connect with Chris because he would treat her clients extremely well. Chris, thank you for being an amazing person and loan officer. We will be recommending you to all of our family and friends, especially our son and daughter in law when they begin looking for their first home within the next year. God bless. read more

Easy to work with. Fantastic rate. Highly recommend. Johanna from Cornerstone First Financial was wonderful to work with. We first heard about Cornerstone because they advertise on our favorite podcast, The Mike O'Meara Show. The show is DC-based and Cornerstone is HQ'd in DC, as well, so I didn't think much about it since we are in CA. But, since I like to patronize the companies who advertise on the show I thought I'd ask around and learned that not only are they licensed to do work in CA (as well as several other states throughout the country), they offered great service and fantastic rates to many people in California. Johanna was amazing and guided us through the entire process, including making sense of all our documentation and providing us options. Because of Johanna's expertise we were able to use a VA loan to refinance to a fantastic rate. Their business practices are modern - utilizing digital signatures and disclosers to easily get through all the extra steps that VA requires. They contracted with a local notary to come to our home for final signatures who was efficient and friendly and made the final million signatures easy while giving us ample time to review. This was the 2nd time we have refinanced and it was by far the most simple, most streamlined, and most pain-free. I highly recommend Johanna and all at Cornerstone. 5 stars! read more

Cornerstone First Financial, NMLS ID #183265 Mortgage lender Observatory Circle Place details Frank M. a minute ago I heard about Cornerstone First Financial on the radio. I was shopping for a VA refinance of my home mortgage and found them to be the most responsive and the most helpful as I started the process when Mark Livingstone put me in touch with Johanna Witten, one of his loan officers. From the start I worked with Johanna and she was great! She guided me through the complexities explaining everything in a knowledgeable and professional manner, along with a pleasant personality and good sense of humor, to keep me at ease in navigating all the steps in the process. It was like dealing with a friend whom I had known for years. She and Emily, her assistant, gave me guidance with all the necessary forms throughout the process, both by telephone and e-mail, making it easy and understandable during the on-line steps. Once my loan was approved, Johanna guided me through the settlement process patiently answering my endless questions. Thank you, Johanna, for your fantastic support and to everyone at Cornerstone First Financial. If you need a home mortgage or refinance, I wholeheartedly encourage you to call Cornerstone First Financial and ask for Johanna Witten. You will be in the best of hands. Like Share Add a photo read more

During what was an extremely stressful time for my wife and I , Joanna Witten of Cornerstone First Financial guided us through the process of purchasing my mother's estate after her passing. Due to the Covid19 crisis the entire process was handled over the internet. We had a few telephone conversations during the transaction and never did I feel that I was less than a friend. We never met physically, have no knowledge of what they look like, but the conduct of both ladies clearly express beauty and kindness. The closing was completed at my home by another agent at a day and time of my choosing. Unfortunately, I was not always as kind as I would normally choose to be. Joanna handled the situation with professional empathy which helped me understand that I was in good hands. In summary, should I be in need of similar services in the future, I will gladly reach out to Cornerstone First Financial again. Barely two weeks after closing, I have already advised a friend who is looking to purchase a home. https://www.cornerstonefirst.com/ "Personal Attention from application to closing" YEP! "Positive throughout the entire process" YEP! read more

the officers at cornerstone were exceptional!!!! from my first call they took care of me.....i had tried a mortage agent online recommended by a realtor and found the system lacking!!!....i mean who doesn't have a fax machine??!!!.......people without an office, thts who....smile........remembered cornerstone from long ago and called......hajeer hemmati (greatest guy ever)....loan officer, got all my information and immediately put things in motion...he even called a few times to remind me of how much money he had qualified me for and to not sleep on the great interest rate....having not purchased a home in decades i was a little hesitant to make a move, but he assured me and they basically held my hand the whole way!!!!.....i purchased the greatest condo with ease!....the seller saw who i was working with and how much was guaranteed by cornerstone and immediately accepted my offer....they even worked out a way for me to have very reduced closing costs!!!......great guys, great women, great company.....call cornerstone !!! you will be happy you did!!! i am!!!!......michael t. t. read more

Doug Rice and his team of outstanding professionals at Cornerstone First Financial were a true pleasure to work with.  Doug quickly analyzed my current situation and gave me excellent refi/cash out advice. We were able to lock in to a very low rate with no points, and once the loan went through, lowered our current payment by $300 while taking out substantial cash we used to pay down ugly credit card debt we had accrued.  Considering this was also a VA loan refi, it went very fast, since VA has specific requirements and it is often difficult to refi with cash out through VA.  I know many banks and lending institutions will tell you cannot do it, but that is their loss, just go to Doug and he will take care of you like he did us.  The overall experience was a blessing and I can only provide positive feedback for this Team!  Thanks all! read more

I recently closed on a house in Maryland and used Cornerstone First Financial. My loan officer was Hajeer. From day 1, Hajeer has been very informative, professional, responsive, and pleasant. We have been working together since September. In this very hot and stressful housing market in the DMV area, I was always able to count on Hajeer to answer my questions and send me any documents I need timely. He made my process of buying a home for the first very pleasant and seamless honestly. I would definitely work with Hajeer and Cornerstone First Financial again and recommend this lender to my colleagues and friends. I also want to mention that Jenny Yu was also very instrumental in getting me to the closing table. She was diligent and very pleasant. It was a great pleasure to work with Jenny as well! Thank you Cornerstone! read more

If I told you that praying over a mortgage would become a life changing experience, would you believe me? Well, that's how it was. This has been an amazing experience! I had been praying for this for years (listening to Rush) and then the Holy Spirit said "call now" and I got Doug Rice. Doug was the perfect man for the job! There is nothing better than when believers come together. The process from start to finish could not have been smoother. When there were challenges, Doug & I would pray over it and Lord answered. The entire Cornerstone First team supporting this was amazing, knowledgeable, professional and worked with a sense of urgency. I highly recommend Cornerstone First for all your mortgage needs. May God be Praised! read more

Tammie Griffiths is the best! It was because of her courteous, pleasant, and professional demeanor that we decided to do a refinance. She really cared about our needs and kept us in the loop on rate drops and other matters. She made sure we locked in at a very excellent rate. There was no pressure at all. Tammie took the time to answer all our questions. More importantly, she listened, and thats a BIG deal to us. She was incredible and knowledgeable, always being patient and kind in dealing with any matters of concern we had. Tammie really looked out for us. She is blessed, and we were very blessed to have her working on our behalf. We are very happy with the results. The Watsons read more

Doug Rice was my loan officer. Since this was my first time going through the process, he assured me on day 1 that he would do everything he possibly could to get me in a home. With his 20+ years of experience as a realtor before switching to the loan side, he gave me advice from a realtor's perspective as well and it kept my mind and heart as ease throughout the strenuous process. No matter the time, day or night, he always either answered, or replied with a callback. Doug is the type of loan officer I would definitely refer to anyone because as we say in the military, Doug "Makes things happen." read more

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Mark Livingstone and his wonderful team. They were very professional, honest, very knowledgeable and made me feel I was their most favorite customer. Specifically, Cornerstone First Financial LLC is the best in the area. I recently refinanced my home through them. They worked very hard to earn my business and getting me the best deal possible. As someone having dealt with many mortgage companies in prior years, I was very happy with the results Mark Livingstone brought me. I highly recommend him; you will be happy with his services. Shirley read more

Doug Rice is a awesome guy who will go beyond limits to help you get the job done. I and my wife Pearl are 500% over pleased with his service to help us see the light when dark clouds were upon us. Getting refi done was a 100% plus I tell you this because I have dealt with alot of businesses in my lifetime and Doug has proved to us that there are really good christian business people such as he who will truly do whats right from the start to finish. So we say you can trust him to help you. Thank GOD for a guy like Doug Rice. The Chapman's read more

I have done 2 refi's with Doug from Cornerstone First and I would highly refer them to anyone looking to refi or for a new purchase. Doug is great to work with, very professional and prompt. Doug was able to get me the best rates that were available without having to shop around and not being mislead like so many other mortgage companies do. I also appreciated Doug's honesty in all of our dealings, everything he promised he was able to make happen. If or when we need another mortgage, I will only go to Doug and Cornerstone first. read more

My wife and I were looking to refinance our house, but we knew that the clock was ticking in terms of favorable rates. I made an online inquiry with Cornerstone late on a Wednesday night, and the following morning I received a call from Loan Officer Doug Rice. Doug walked us through the process, and with the kind help his support staff, Emily and Jenny, we closed with an excellent rate (and a considerable savings) less than three weeks later. We couldn't be happier, and we wholeheartedly recommend Doug and the folks at Cornerstone! read more

We put this off because it's always a hassle going through the home loan process. We had an easy and excellent experience with Chris Swope and Cornerstone First Financial! Our questions were answered promptly and very understandable. This was a ReFi that didn't require an inspection so it was easy for us. Because of CV19 we hoped for a virtual closing but that didn't happen and we ended up doing it out side at our home. Don't think for a minute that it will only take 30 minutes, ours took just over an hour. Thanks. read more

Johanna Witten at Cornerstone was just great to work with on our refinance. She walked us every step of the way and kept us informed on a daily basis. I cant believe how fast she took us from first contact to final closing date. She is knowledgeable of the business , knows the lenders she is dealing with and has great ( making people feel comfortable) skills. Her closing disclosure statement was exactly what she said it would be. We are saving thousands $$. A real pleasure to work with. George O , Sterling VA read more

I had an excellent experience throughout my refinance process with Doug Rice and Cornerstone First. Doug listened to my intent and reasoning and laid out several options. He explained the process upfront and also what to expect. He was very responsive to all my questions and concerns throughout the entire process. Everything was handled quickly and correctly and I was very happy with the end result. I would recommend them to a friend and would contact them first if I needed any future loan services. read more

We gave Cornerstone a call in late May 2020 after hearing their ad on WMAL. I had started looking to refinance in March but was getting put off by the lender I usually work with. Chris Swope gave me a call back immediately and got to work. No problems and no hassles. Their rates were the lowest I could find for a 30 year loan. They worked with me through edocs/esignatures. And they were able to arrange closing around my schedule. 2.5 - 3 weeks from start to finish. Highly recommend. read more

Doug Rice provided *Absolutely* fantastic service - and the overall customer experience sets the standard. He and his team were incredibly responsive to our questions and gave us the best refinance we could possibly ask for. Mortgages are a big deal and can be stressful - so you want someone you can trust to help guide you through the process and serve as a advocate in this important financial transaction. With Doug, you get someone you can trust - and who is an expert in this field. read more