James was incredibly helpful through every step of the purchase of my final home. Thankfully, we found the ideal property quickly and via reference from my friend & realtor Lori Austin, I was introduced to James. With documentation and processes having changed over time, I had questions. James took the time to walk me through different options inclusive of (3) selections for financing, review of all costs associated, and more! He is a responsive, considerate, and respectful professional who brings both trust and integrity to the largest investment of our lives. Thank you James! read more

James and Maya have done a great job getting my mortgage financing They were ready to fund the loan weeks before closing date Thank you James and Maya ! read more

Stay away! I first tried to use them to get pre-qualified on a property that I was interested in late last year. I never heard back from them. I emailed my contact there and he said that he would make it happen but never did. I should add that I have a fico score of around 800 last time I checked. My second experience with them was trying to help my daughter refi her condo. It's been going on for months and they are still asking for paper work and documents. I would like to start over again with someone else but we have so much time and paperwork invested in this refi that it's hard to start all over again with someone else. My credit is great and my income is mid six figures and all we are trying to do is refi a $400k condo in Oregon! I have bought multiple properties over the last 40 years and have never experienced anything like Fairway has put me through, without satisfaction. Unbelievable! read more

When I initially saw all of these 5 start reviews, I was skeptical that the reviews must be inflated. Trust me when I say that working with Fairway was a 5-star experience. After an emotionally abusive experience with a credit union and interviewing a mortgage broker that reminded me of a used car sales man, we found Fairway Mortgage. I am so happy I decided to take a chance on these reviews. James is extremely efficient. He provided us our initial pre-approval in one day. Once we found a home, James and Maya were ready to get us closed in 2.5 weeks. Our realtor and escrow agent both confirmed that James and his team provided one of the easiest closing processes in which they have participated. As first time home buyers, we could not have asked for a better experience. Bonus Fact: I wrote this review from the comfort of our new home! read more

My daughter (also a client) referred me to FIM and I'm glad she did! Thank you James for your phenomenal professionalism in making my home buying experience what it should be! You and Maya are amazing. I am beyond blessed and relieved that I am now a new homeowner thanks to you. I can't thank you enough! read more

Mr. James is more than outstanding! By far way better than going to any large bank. He and his assistant Maya are an amazing team who kept me informed through the whole process! I will continue to use him in the future! read more

James is your guy for mortgages. He exceeded our expectations during refinance quote and execution process. During Xmas season James was right there answering my questions, sending video chats, and providing quotes with multiple scenarios. There is value in having a local agent versus nations websites. Initially the sites like better or rocket looked like better deals but after the undisclosed fees, James' quote was very competitive. He was with us through the whole process and we got to choose the title company in the neighborhood. Thank you James for the 5 star service. read more

Matt Hemberger, Jessica Byrne, and Kendra McDaniel were absolutely great to work with.

Not all lenders are created equally. Loans (and clients) are like fingerprints. Distinct with unique challenges. Fairway Mortgage was not our first choice. The journey began with another lender who offered great lip service, but when it came time to perform, epic fail. James Ward at Fairway Mortgage is a business acumen. Exemplary customer service with clear explanations and routine follow-ups (by telephone and email). I didn't think the loan would go through due to our one-income household (I am a homeschooling dad). Wrong! James was confident and relentless - using his experience and lender expertise to get the job done. Impressive results at warp speed. My wife and I found the home of our dreams in an established Houston neighborhood with mature trees. We have an affordable monthly mortgage with a super low interest rate - thanks to James! Mission Accomplished! Happy Wife, Happy Life. read more

Worked with James Ward and his team on my second home buying experience. Could not have asked for a better lending experience. Even as I left for a 10 day vacation before my closing date, James and Maya worked tirelessly at all hours to ensure a smooth transaction. I appreciated the honest advice and their attention to detail. Thank you! read more

My fiance and I met James back in April when we first started shopping around for homes. We found James and Fairway Independent Mortgage through Yelp. While we did shop around for other mortgage brokers, they simply did not compare to James Ward. From day one, James was patient with all our questions, and always gave us the confidence that he would deliver on his word. On top of that, James made the process so smooth for all parties, even our realtor complimented him! We are so glad to have trusted James with this big decision in our life. He truly is a tier above the rest and it shows through his work. We could not have asked for a more knowledgeable, responsive, and hard working person to be on our side. Thank you again James! read more

I have had the privilege to work with James on many transactions since 2012. He is always so professional. I know my clients are always in fantastic hands when I refer them to James. As a Realtor, we depend on mortgage loan officers to provide exceptional service and meet deadlines. As a team, he and I know how each other work and know there will not be any unnecessary stress. We often hear our clients say they are so grateful they did not experience the stress their friends or family have prepared them for. Buying a home is an exciting time and James is the go to loan officer in Houston. Top notch service. I personally cannot rave about him enough. read more

The experience w/ Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp - was phenomenal. As a first time home buyer - Jim was able to guide our way through the bulky process of getting our new home! He recommended some of the best relators in town - & was great explaining facets of home buying that were new to my wife & me. Overall, anyone who doesn't consult Jim before agreeing into a mortgage - needs to. It may save you thousands of $. Enough great things cannot be said about him, his staff, & the recommendation he provided us. He took time out - even after hours, to have discussions & was able to set up meetings around my busy work schedule. Thanks Jim & Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp! Fantastic Work! read more

Being in the tricky position of non-US residents with no US credit history, I thought we would have trouble finding a broker to help us, this was fortunately not the case. My first call was to Fairway because of the positive Yelp ratings. Jim spent significant time explaining the options and giving me a really clear understanding of how the US system operates. I came away from the conversation knowing that our hopes to own our own home here can soon be a reality. Jim contacted lenders whilst I was on the phone so we had concrete and current information to work with, I was also very impressed with his understanding of the Houston real estate market. I look forward to working with Jim and would highly recommend his company to others. read more

Chad, Robinson I want to thank you personally for your expertise in helping me improve my financial future. This ends a 10 year nightmare with Wells Fargo. I will personally recommend you to everyone I know looking for a change in lenders. Your professionalism was top notch. May God's grace and peace be with you and your family always. read more

After one mortgage company lied to us and failed us. James and his team got us closed in less than 2 weeks! Everything was great and they answered all our questions promptly. I will be using them again! Thank you! read more

We were first time buyers and from my first contact with James, he was completely professional and superb at communication. Maya was also wonderful to work with and she was on top of every detail. Buying a house is stressful no matter what and there were moments beyond a lender's control where things got shaky during our purchasing process. James took all my frustrations in stride and remained supportive and professional. I would absolutely use Fairway again and will recommend them to family and friends. read more

The most unprofessional business in the world sadly but true. Sorry but if you the type of person wanting some basic information in regarding the process of buying a home and if they are not willing to disclose that with you up front then you shouldn't be doing nor sending business to this ungrateful bastards. In addition this loan officer that works there didn't even care to offer his name and was really quick to ask me personal question about my money I make, bout how much I'm gonna put down,credit,etc and I ask him can I ask you what I need to ask you first before you spend time asking me question so I can make my decision if I feel comfortable doing business with you and he told me and he hung up on me. Smh so you decided if that's whom you want to represent you and remember they work for you not the other way around read more

James is a nice guy, but I can't say my experience was the best. I must of caught him in the middle of moving offices, but that's no excuse for the amount of money he was being paid. His assistant is new and doesn't fully understand certain paperwork, yet, sends forms for signing which immediately concerned me. I visited James's office two times and 2 of 2 he was having computer issues. I felt there was some disorganization which is a big red flag when dealing with numbers. I closed using this company due to time constraints, but i would not give this independent company a strong recommendation. The fact read more

All of my expectations were exceeded. Jim was always available to discuss the loan process and answer any questions I had regarding rates, costs, closing, et cetera. They underwrite in-house which makes things much more streamlined. As promised, we closed on time - actually three days early - and the money was wired to the title company the day before. He showed up at closing and the funds were immediately released upon signing of all the documents; this easily shaved an hour off the closing time. I'll recommend Jim to everyone and will absolutely be using him again in the future. read more

We just closed on our new home and thanks to Fairway, the mortgage process was a breeze. James and Maya were always available whenever we had questions. We are first time home buyers so we didn't really know much about the process but they were there to walk us through every step. read more

After having gotten my previous two mortgages with a big bank, I decided it was time to get a personal approach and that's when we got lucky enough to come across James and Maya. Both James and Maya are the embodiment of professionalism and kindness. James took the time to explain all of our options and come up with the right solution for us. Once that was decided, Maya took over and made the remaining process as smooth as possible. They kept in constant contact and the few times I had questions, they were prompt in answering. I was so impressed with them that I keep their card on my desk for whenever one of my clients are looking for financing. read more

Stopped by a couple of weeks ago and spoke w/ Jim about possibly being a house owner for the first time. He was very informative and glad to take me in even though he generally does appointment only. I like the fact that everything is kept "in-house" so you don't have to worry about having to deal with different companies but only Jim and Fairway. If you're looking to get some knowledge on first-time buying, I suggest stopping by and talking to Jim. Although I would suggest calling in and setting up an appointment first :P read more

James & Maya, 6 Stars, if I could leave a 6th star. I wanted to let you know that everything went well with the close on Friday and wanted to let you know how much we appreciate all you have done. There was a stark difference with this closing experience compared to our other closing years back in NC. I know there was a lot of work that you did that we don't see on our end. Your diligence, promptness, and professionalism (and patience with all the questions we had) made this very important and stressful time in our life, much less stressful than anticipated. You have our gratitude, Thank you, read more

Today, we went to visit Jim at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. I was skeptical initially to meet with him because I hadn't ever shopped around for a mortgage. I was comfortable going with my bank to finance our first home; however, out of curiosity we did what 'google' said and looked around. After spending 1.5 hours with Jim, I felt empowered by the information he shared with us. His professionalism and patience immediately removed my skepticism. Meeting Jim helped ease the first step - according to my google searches, most difficult step in the home buying process. #rockstarStatus read more

Being a first time homebuyer Toi Parnell, my loan officer at Fairway, has made this process flow so smoothly. Her knowledge of VA loans and what was required of me to close was amazing. Toi made sure I closed on my home in less than 3 weeks.She has gone above and beyond of what her position consist of. I really truly can't thank you enough. I will definitely be spreading the word to everyone who is looking for a home to reach out to Toi. read more

I highly recommend contacting James Ward. As a first time home buyer, I was lost on where to start or know the process throughout the home buying process. James Ward was very patient, thoughtful, and very knowledgable and informed/guided me throughout every lending options. With all the advice, I was able to make smart good choices! read more

James and his staff made the process of purchasing our first home seamless and hassle-free. He always took time to personally answer our questions by phone or by email. He was quick, efficient, and always kept us in the loop on where we were in the application process. read more

I went in to see Jim today (he accommodated me at the last minute even though he had an upcoming appointment and travel plans the next day). He spent over an hour giving me very detailed information to help me make decisions about next steps regarding home sale and subsequent purchase. I left his office with more information than I expected. His professionalism, knowledge, and welcoming demeanor will definitely have me returning to him for my home financing needs. read more

What can I say...James was our first, but boy was he a good one! He got us awesome rates for our 1st home, provided excellent tips from his experience that saved us even more money and the fees were standard. I even consulted a broker friend who told me the rate he got us was lower than most would have been able to find. Very diligent and patient in explaining the fees especially for newbies like us. Would definitely recommend him and Fairway to others out there looking for a good down to earth experience. read more

I found James (Jim) Ward Fairway Mortgage on Yelp after dealing with 2 other lenders that left me frustrated and disappointed. James has a calm demeanor that made me feel comfortable immediately. This being my first home purchase, he took his time to explain each step of the lending process to me. He was my best advocate throughout the process and was able to work with my busy schedule and me not being around to meet face to face due to my job constraints. He was always available to talk even on weekends and is very responsive to emails He takes his job seriously and I can tell he wants the best for his clients. He had the best cost when I compared to other lenders and he has a guarantee on his costs. I closed today! Thanks to Jim and my team :) A++ would definitely recommend Jim Ward at Fairway! read more

James was incredible at advising throughout the whole process of home buying and loan approval. Extremely prompt responses and personalized service. Would recommend all my friends and family to Fairway. read more

Jim was very helpful and provided me with more information than the other guys combined. His rates were competitive and the fees were one of the lowest I've seen. What also really liked about Jim was he didn't seem overly pushy about closing on a sale. some companies try to make it seem like the world is ending and that you need to lock in a rate right now... read more

James and Maya, Short version: Although I did not have the opportunity to work with you guys on this mortgage, that's something I personally regret deeply. The personal attention I got over the past couple of days was absolutely refreshing, nothing like my experience with my current lender (a big bank, what's new). With about one day's worth of James' help (doing research, reaching out to underwriters, etc.), three phone calls and several emails in the span of about 24 hours, we came to the conclusion that we're so far into the process now and already committed too much (both financially and time-wise) to the current lender that it doesn't make sense to make the switch now especially because it's still supposedly going "fine", but if this close doesn't go through I'm definitely calling Fairway first for the next house that we consider. Full version: Like many on here, I made the mistake of going with the financial institution I regularly bank with for my mortgage application. Everything started out great - the mortgage specialist was super eager to gather my information and issued me a pre-approval letter on the day of, and called me back the day our offer was accepted to proceed with locking the rate and get started on the actual application. At this point, my spouse and I were still picking and choosing between the 2 banks we were customers of, and so in retrospect I can see why this particular bank was super aggressive at getting things done to snatch our business from the other bank. Once it was clear that we chose to work with them, however, the communication started thinning and it got to a point where I was not hearing any updates from the mortgage specialist any more unless I pick up the phone and called him myself to ask for updates. Mind you, there were always updates when I called - it wasn't as if I was just being left out because there's nothing to loop me into. Also, our situation is fairly unique (one of us is not a citizen but we both need to be on the loan; the work visa of such person has not come in yet and is expected within a few weeks, but that might or might not be quick enough to meet our target close date; etc.) Naturally, therefore, we were anxious to hear from the bank early on about whether they are running into any problems with the documentation we provided and if there's anything else we need to do, more people we need to get in touch with, etc. to make sure everything goes smoothly. Another aspect of this whole experience that rubbed me the wrong way was the mortgage specialist at this point not only responds to my calls and emails extremely belatedly but also repeatedly fails to read or keep track of the information I have provided. At one point, after being asked for the same piece of information the third time in a row and being told to not provide any information not asked for when I was trying to explain all the complications behind the work visa issue, I got depressed with the whole thing and went to look at Yelp. Which is how I found James and Maya. I was still pretty emotional when I made my first phone call to Maya at about 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon. I'm pretty sure my explanation was very convoluted trying to explain everything that's going on and that I'm calling just because I'm very anxious with the seeming lack of progress with my bank and frankly the careless attitude of the mortgage specialist and just want to know if anything else is available to me as an option this late in the game. Maya was great at listening, though, and offered to pass on my information to the underwriting department immediately for advice and so on. James followed up with me the next morning to clarify a few items in the email I had sent the previous afternoon and to ask a few follow-up questions, after which he immediately followed up with the underwriters. Responses from underwriting department and more follow-up emails were within a couple of hours afterwards (definitely thumbs up to in-house underwriting!), and we spoke on the phone again at about 4pm on Thursday afternoon to discuss these responses and my options - which I do have, but James pointed out certain complications in the option of going with Fairway at this stage in the game and having the big bank possibly refusing to release the appraisal information (which I already paid for), and so on. I appreciate the fact that he was in no way trying to "sell" Fairway's services to me; rather, he laid everything out on the table fair and square and earnestly left it to me to make an informed decision. As stated above, we eventually decided to stick it out with the current lender and hope for the best, but getting this second opinion from Fairway was still tremendously helpful and again, the speed at which I was being responded to was a giant, giant difference from my regular experience. read more

Apologies for this long story but I hope everyone can learn from my mistakes. At the start of the closing process for my home I engaged with one of the big banks (rhymes with "Mace") to whom I had my existing accounts for my mortgage application. It made sense to me to have my mortgage accounts consolidated with my other banking accounts. I had a meeting with the mortgage officer and received pre-approvals pretty quickly and once we were in closing got the mortgage application underway. This would be the start of the nightmare. I continually sought from and received assurances from the officer that we would meet each of the contract deadlines. I was told there was no risks in my application and everything should go through. I also received a call from the loan processor who is in a different department saying all is well. However on the last day of my financing grace period which was a Sunday, my mortgage officer sends me an email saying there is one detail that is holding up the final approval. It related to a minor condition on the home. And told me they needed to extend the financing period on the closing contract. RIDICULOUS. I asked why I hadn't been informed of this before, he said it's in special review and out of his hands. I asked for a timeline to when we could get this resolved and was told 1 week the review should be completed and a decision should be made. I asked for daily updates and received nothing from the officer. I had to chase him to understand where things were at. 1 week later and still no decision. I was repeatedly told it was out of the officer's hands and it's the special review team's fault for taking so long. Suffice to say the whole blame game left me in a dire situation. How long does it take to review a simple condition? I had 2 weeks left to close and was starting to stress. I called the officer and he decided not to be in office that day. I called officer's manager and surprise surprise only got through to his voicemail. I could not even reach the mortgage processor even though I left numerous messages to call me back urgently. I then made the decision to cancel my mortgage application and wrote a very frustrated email to cancel due to the lack of information and communication both between their departments and with me. After I sent that email, I finally received an email from officer's manager saying they couldn't approve the mortgage. Less than 2 weeks to closing, I immediately jumped on Yelp and looked for highly rated mortgage company and Fairway came up on top. I read the reviews and was comforted to know many folks loved Fairway. I contacted them immediately to see what options I had with my limited time. I first talked to Maya who walked me through the preliminaries, then was contacted by James to go through everything in detail. They told me upfront they were confident to meet the closing date (actually a few days before) but everything needed to be in order on my side e.g. documentation etc. and they would put their entire team to work on my application. What can I say? After the initial phone call right up until the approval and closing, everything was absolutely smooth. Communications from James and his team were absolutely fantastic. Even though I was stressed, they were always calm and understanding and walked me through everything step by step. They followed up when they said they would and even sent me reminders when I wasn't prompt on my side. Everything was modern and done through their easy to use web portal with electronic signatures. James even turned up to my closing appointment to make sure everything was completed smoothly. Talk about absolute top tier customer service. I cannot speak highly enough of the Fairway team. Please don't be a dumb sheep like me and put yourself through the pain of dealing with the big banks. Go with Fairway and you will get the best service available. The kicker is that a few days before closing, the processor from the big bank called me to ask if everything was going well. I've closed all my accounts with the big bank. read more

We chose Jim Ward at Fairway because of the great customer reviews. We were out of state buyers of new construction. This made the process a bit tricky but Jim is totally knowledgable of every facet of Houston's housing market. Our construction had many delays and Jim went over to the site numerous times to check on progress and take pictures to send us. Just weeks before closing, he was able to find us a better package that had been unavailable when we started out. He worked very hard to make this as easy as possible and he is a pleasure to deal with. If you are looking for financing in Houston, call him. You will be happy you did. read more

James and Maya were amazing. This was our first house and we had a complicated mortgage (15% down and a jumbo) and they got it done. Dealing with underwriters, appraisers and everyone else involved in the process is not easy and I would recommend having the best team on your side. James and Maya are this team. Always straight forward, no surprise fees, great advice and excellent execution. Our realtor even said he never dealt with a mortgage team that was so quick and responsive. Thanks guys for helping us buy our first house, we will always be thankful! read more

Great experience, as easy and convenient as something like this could be. Very professional, helpful. James seems always available for questions and he is very knowledgeable. Highly recommend and will use in the future, if need comes up. read more

Very knowledgeable and resourceful on answering mortgage related questions. Have not used yet, but would recommend their services.

First off, I hardly ever write reviews. Something/someone has to either really amaze (or appall) me to do so. With that said. I had to write one about Jim Ward at Fairway Mortgage. Jim is a star!!! My husband and I just successfully closed on our first home two days ago (woohoo!) in large thanks to Jim Ward and his team. When we started shopping around for loans earlier this year, we didn't know the first thing about financing a house, and we were nervous about the process and generally wary of having to deal with lenders. I called up Jim after reading all the positive reviews on Yelp, and from the first phone call, I felt immediately at ease about the home loan application process. I liked him because he was professional with me, thorough in his questions/explanations, and I didn't feel pressure in any way to work with him. I walked away from our first phone conversation feeling so empowered, because Jim took the time to really teach me about what to expect from the loan application process and how market rates/variables can change. What sets Jim apart from the rest (I had worked with one other mortgage lender before him) is that it feels like he truly cares about you and how it all turns out for you. I really felt like he was looking out for my best interest; he offered invaluable advice about financial planning and how to navigate the competitive housing market in Houston right now. He was always patient with me, consistent in his follow-through, and you can count on him to be respectful of any time-sensitive needs that you may have. I want to share one story that pretty much sums up Jim and his character/work ethic - I needed to get in touch with him about our home loan on a Friday, but due to a family emergency, he had to leave the office that day and wouldn't be back until the following Tuesday. I expected that my concern would be handed off to someone else on his team until he could return next week (which I totally understood given the circumstances). However, he didn't do that; he called me the next day (on a Saturday!) and spent half an hour with me on the phone addressing my questions/concerns. When I was still a little unsure about the market rates and what might happen to them the next week, he then shared his computer screen with me, so that I could easily follow along on my laptop with what he was saying. Again, I felt really empowered because Jim took the time to educate me, so I could make my own informed decisions as a borrower. Lastly, at closing, I realized just how good Jim was at his job - my realtor and the title company representative, both of whom have been in the business for more than 20 years, raved about Jim multiple times! They told me that it was rare to work with a lender who met the required deadlines early, and how it was such a treat to work with him because he always reachable/ responsive to any of their emails/phone calls. That's another thing about Jim - when you call his office, he answers every single time. I have never had to leave him a voicemail, and I've called him a lot. This is the guy you want in your corner when it comes time to take out a loan - he will totally take care of you. I could not more highly recommend him and his company, and I feel really fortunate to have found Jim as I know will be able to count on him for any other future loan needs. read more