Just closed after a very easy, clear, and smooth process facilitated by Jay. The rate and closing costs he was able to provide were significantly better than another broker I was working with. The actual closing costs (and rate) came in under his estimate. He guided me through the process and let me know ahead of time of documents and verifications I would need during underwriting. He was always easy to reach via phone and email with very prompt responses. The whole deal was absolutely painless and there were exactly zero surprises. Just perfect. I highly recommend Jay and First Capital Group. read more

We worked with Jay to get our first home and had such an amazing experience! Our situation was a bit complicated, and we had even been told by another broker that we wouldn't be able to get a mortgage, but Jay was able to handle everything with ease and flexibility. Further, he was great with answering our questions as first-time home buyers, and giving us ideas of what financing would look like with different properties. We would definitely recommend him and plan to work with him again in the future! read more

Working with Marisa Pecorella was truly the best part of our home buying experience. She was incredibly involved and always available whether by phone or text, she made sure we never felt out of the loop. Throughout escrow, she stayed on top of every detail and even got our rate dropped multiple times when market rates went down during escrow! She constantly communicated with our title company, real estate agent, and everyone else involved -- honestly, she did more work than anyone in the transaction! We always felt like we were her top priority, and her professionalism and follow-through made the whole process smooth and stress-free. Highly recommend Marisa to anyone looking for a lender who truly goes above and beyond. She made home buying a reality for us when we didnt even know if it was in reach. read more

We were looking to buy our first home and decided to work with Jay from First Capital Group. Jay was very communicative and quick to respond to all our questions. He was consistently available whenever we reached out. There was no hidden fees or any pressure from Jay. Instead Jay went through our financials in detail and got us the best deal! Closing was hassle free and super quick. We highly recommend Jay to anyone and everyone. Thank you Jay for your  assistance and service! read more

Simon Cheng just handled another mortgage transaction for us Simon was tenacious in getting our best terms, fully explaining the terms/conditions, and working this complicated transaction We have known and used Simon for many years and at least five financings Highly recommended read more

Jay was great to work with for buying our first home. We talked to 5 or so other people/banks, but Jay was consistently communicative, explained the process well, didn't have any hidden fees, and helped us get a lower rate in the final days of closing. I would highly recommend working with First Capital Group - let them do the work of finding the best loan option. read more

We worked with Jay Sofnas over the last few years as we looked to purchase a home for the first time and finally did so. Jay was consistently available, responsive and patient with us. He was supportive in describing every step of the process and helping us along the way. He locked in as good as a rate as we could have expected. Thank you Jay. read more

Jay and Marisa are consummate professionals, and their expertise shows every step of the way. Highly recommend using them. Jay was very patient as I dealt with the long process to even get an offer accepted in this market. Marisa was my point person during my transaction, and I would absolutely recommend her to anyone. The deal ended up being fairly complex, with some added surprises thrown in by the non-local seller's agent and escrow company. Marisa was completely ahead of them, educated me on what to expect, got things ironed out when needed, and was the best all around combo of finance pro & therapist. She is super sharp and very organized, with excellent judgment and an ability to Get Stuff Done. I was very glad to get my transaction closed, but will miss our interactions! I would not hesitate to use FCG again and have also told family/friends about them. Thanks Marisa and Jay! read more

I would highly recommend using First Capital Group and fully expect to work with them again. We recently bought our first home in the East Bay, and Jay assisted us with the mortgage. Jay is a miracle worker. Every step of the process was straightforward, well-explained, and proceeded smoothly. We are very happy with our mortgage, with Jay saving us ~$2k off of closing costs and ~$600/month on our monthly payment relative to other quotes we received for the same mortgage type and length of term. The closing process was a breeze. Do yourself a favor and work with this team. read more

Highly recommend! We recently bought a home in the East Bay and we were referred to Jay from a friend. He was so great to work with! He clearly and thoroughly explained our options and things to consider. His communication was efficient and clear. Ultimately, we got a great deal on a mortgage, and the process was very smooth. We would definitely work with him again! Thanks Jay! read more

Well, when I said on my previous review, we will use Jay's service again 2 years later, guess what...it was really 2 1/2 years later. And again, he delivered a great refinancing option, consolidating at the lowest interest rate available, and allowing us to extract a needed HELOC for remodeling work. All of that while our home appraisal went through the roof. Timing was important but Jay's talent in extracting as much value as possible in that moment for us was critical. Hopefully now, we will talk again in...3 years? TBD :) read more

We were referred to Mathew Carson from a friend who had worked with him and spoke very highly of his services. He was always reachable by text/phone/email, evenings, weekends, you name it, he was always there to answer our questions. He laid out the expectations ahead of time so we knew exactly what to expect and made what seemed like a daunting task become rather mundane. We will without question use his services again. Thank you to you and your team! read more

Marisa made my refinance a smooth process... even during a global pandemic. I cannot recommend First Capital Group more. Recommended by a trusted professional, I was lucky to get such a down to earth professional that was so knowledgeable and on my side. read more

Without question the most efficient and customer friendly home refinance I can recall. Jay is not only an expert at what he does, but he is great to work with. He kept me informed at every step, answered questions promptly, and kept things moving to a very timely and successful close. Although underwriting requirements are out of his control, he did his absolute best to minimize what I needed to do. He got a rate for me better then I expected. Along he way the way he explained the process and all my options. Most importantly, I did not feel that I was part of an assembly line, but had an expert squarely in my corner representing me and concerned about my outcome. Cannot recommend him highly enough. read more

This review is for Mathew Carson. He is a great loan agent, professional, responsive and knowledgeable. Unfortunately he couldn't complete my home loan due to my own personal situation but he tried. Just based on my experience with Mathew, I will recommend him to family and friends for all their mortgage needs. read more

Mathew was a pleasure to work with and made the experience of buying as a novice first timer much more seamless. He is super responsive, knowledgeable, and professional. Had a great experience! read more

I was very pleased with the service and expertise provided by Jay Sofnas at First Capital Group. As a first-time home-buyer, I was nervous and didn't even know all the right questions to ask. Jay was incredibly patient, responsive, and thorough in walking us through the process. I would definitely recommend him to anyone looking for a home loan! read more

We've been working with Jay Sofnas for over 3 years from our initial home purchase and refinancing a couple times through the years. Jay has always been a great pleasure to work with! He's extremely thorough and always available for any questions we have. He's made everything seamless from our end and is always looking out for my family's best interest. I can't recommend him and his team enough! I would highly recommend you reaching out to him and his team for any mortgage or refinancing needs and will definitely refer my friends and family to him and his team. Thanks again Jay and FCG! read more

Working with Matthew Carson is always a pleasure. He always pick up his phone and has endless patience when it comes down to explaining the in's and out's of the mortgage industry. We just close on a house in the country and even though it was a long painful escrow, Matthew locked us at a great rate. He did an excellent job and delivered the highest level of service. I would recommend him without hesitation to both friends and clients, and I already did. read more

As a first-time home-buyer, I was nervous about this whole process. My brother, who is very financially savvy, recommended Jay Sofnas to me and I could not have been more pleased with the result. The transaction ended up being complicated, but Jay made things easy for me. And the rate I got was great. Can't recommend Jay Sofnas highly enough. read more

I've worked with Jay Sofnas twice now on refinancing in the past year. He is professional, patient and makes the process very easy. When I initially thought about refinancing, I spoke with a few different mortgage brokers. I found many were extremely pushy and were not looking out for my best interests. Jay was referred to me by a friend I trust years ago and I am glad that I was able to finally work with him. You are in good hands with Jay! read more

I worked with Matthew Carson to do a refi on my home in Petaluma and have to say, he was right on top of everything from start to signing. Along the way he had good advice on rates and was able to help me save on my new mortgage with no real cost to me. I saved $100 per month with no cost, why not? And once we closed on the loan, he also pointed me to the right bank to renew my second. if you are looking for a mortgage broker to work with, i'd highly recommend Matthew. read more

This review is for Mathew Carson. Mathew got us a re-finance on our home loan when rates dipped to 3.5% (yahoo!). That was good, but relatively easy. He then got us a new loan to purchase a home without selling our primary home - we had to move fast for my wife's new job, and we had offered a 21-day close of escrow as a 'sweetener'. That was a hard loan, because I am self-employed and speed was paramount. Mathew did an amazing job keeping it all on track and we actually moved in 22 days later to the new house. That was very hard - thus he truly deserved a 5-star rating for this one! read more

Working with Jay Sofnas on the purchase of our home was the best decision we made! Jay was a pleasure to work with, highly responsive and always willing to spend the extra time to explain things in a way that everyone could understand. In the end, we are confident we got a great loan and we're able to swiftly and smoothly close on the purchase of our home. Highly recommended for anyone currently looking for real estate and trying to get approved! read more

Jay Sofnas (partner at FCG) has done 4 of my home loans and 2 of my refinances. I'm sure he plays poker with the underwriters BECAUSE... I went to Wells (MY friggin bank) and HSBC. Neither of those banks would play nicely with me. Jay, pulled a loan out of a smaller source with FANTASTIC terms and fast closing. Personally, I think Jay is a god. Banks say "we'll save you brokers fees yadda yadda", but those banks were a costly waste of my time. I've recommended Jay to 5 friends, and 3 have used his services and like me, rave about it. There's something magical about Jay. (415) 407-7743 jay@fcgmortgage.com read more

Great rate and great service! My loan originator, Mathew Carson, was very responsive and provided me with a wealth of options to tailor this loan to my needs. He was always available to answer questions and apparently works long hours to make sure your loan is processed. Not only were his fees and rates significantly lower than all of the other quotes I received, they did a good job to keep the closing costs down. All items I paid came out to be lower than what was quoted on my Good Faith Estimate. No surprises here! Thanks a lot Mathew. As a result of this loan, I was able to pay off my home 13 years earlier than my original loan, with very little increase in my monthly payment. I'm a truly satisfied customer. He can be reached at 415-440-5626, or at mcarson@fcgmortgage.com read more

I worked with Mathew when I recently purchased a new home to get a new home mortgage and came away impressed. When you work with a mortgage broker, you want to know that you're getting the best deal you can and you want it all taken cared of with no complications or surprises. This is exactly how my experience went. I highly recommend him. read more

Excellent service! I was referred to Mathew Carson for my SF condo refi after my original broker left the business and I was lucky to find Mathew. Mine was not an easy case as I was looking for a very specific type of loan - interest only - in this difficult market and had a number of other factors to work around. Mathew lent great knowledge, advice and support in the process, was patient with me throughout, and remained diligent to eventually help me qualify for an excellent interest only loan at a great rate! I am very happy with the product and service I received at First Capital and could not recommend Mathew enough. read more

As they say below, he is fantastic. Jay has done several loans for me and just finished helping my daughter purchase her first home. Everything works. He and his staff are on top of all the issues and things happen accurately and on time. His rates have always been rock bottom and you can depend on the quotes. You'll be very glad you called him up. read more

I found Jay Sofnas through Yelp and the excellent reviews were spot-on. Jay is such a professional and takes the time to explain and clarify any questions or concerns you may have. He promptly responds to email inquiries even if it's after hours. I got a great rate on my refi and the service was excellent. I will definitely go back to Jay for any future mortgage needs. Thank you Jay and First Capital Group! read more

Jay Sofnas was great to work with. He and his office were definitely on top of every last detail - and there were many on my complicated new home purchase! - making it as easy as possible for me to navigate my first home purchase and experience with a lender. In addition, he kept me up to date on the status of the different steps and took a few minutes to explain exactly what was happening as the deal progressed. He definitely helped make my first home purchase that much less stressful. Thanks, Jay! read more

Mathew Carson refinanced our house twice. He was incredibly patient, detail -oriented and kept us informed during the entire process. Mathew's professionalism, and his commitment to customer satisfaction is unparalleled. He comes highly recommended. read more

We have worked and refinanced with Marisa Pecorella twice. Marisa handled our very tricky refinance extremely professionally. She is a wealth of information and knows her stuff inside and out. Besides being extremely diligent, she was extremely patient and answered each of our questions promptly and in detail. Marisa handled each step of our refinances professionally and made a very daunting task extremely efficient and easy. We are so happy with her work, we have referred other clients to her and each one has been just as satisfied. You won't regret working with her. read more

This review is for Mathew Carson. Mathew was instrumental in helping my wife and I purchase our first home. We used a non-traditional real estate agent and also had a difficult seller, so the process was somewhat laborious, but he was always available to explain what was happening and what needed to happen. His advise kept us one step ahead the entire way. In addition to that he structured our loan in a manner which was necessary for our situation and it worked out perfectly. Not only that, he locked us in at such a great rate that it drew comments from more than one person throughout the escrow process. His work is literally remarkable. I will recommend Mathew to friends, family, and strangers passing on the street and/or internet. read more

This is a review for Jay Sofnas who is by far my favorite person of all the people we worked with in the complicated process of acquiring our first home. My husband and I were to inherit a house, but a reverse mortgage had been taken out on the house and there were many estate and will-related matters that had to be handled legally and in the proper order and timing for us to be able to pay off the reverse mortgage and take ownership of the house. We were completely new to the process and fairly overwhelmed and Jay took us through every step of the way with grace and patience. Jay listened and took the time to understand our needs and guide us to the right choices by educating us along the way. Jay was recommended to us by a trusted friend who has worked with him professionally and Jay didn't disappoint. We look forward to working with him in the future should we wish to refinance. Jay was prompt to respond, resourceful, thorough, courteous and communicative. I highly recommend Jay. read more

I just finished a refinance on our home with Jay Sofnas. Honestly, I was dreading the process as we had attempted it previously with Union Bank (who had our loan at the time) and the whole experience was awful. They sent us an appraiser from Vallejo who knew nothing about our neighborhood in the city. So naturally, it didn't appraise after a lot of time and effort. But Jay made everything simple and was even able to get us an extension on the rate lock when my husband needed last minute surgery. The appraiser who showed up was from our neighborhood and really knew what was going on with the market, which helped so much. We got a great loan at a crazy low rate without having to fork out all of our savings. I'll definitely be using Jay again in the future. And if you really want to refinance, you should too! read more

Mathew Carson is THE BEST!! Professional, on-time, available whenever you need him, and over-delivers!! I have never had such a good experience refinancing before I came into contact with Mathew. I have recommended him to many friends and family, and everyone agrees that he is the best. read more

Mathew Carson helped me set up the financing for purchasing my first condo. I was completely new to the process, and before I even started looking, he met with me, walked me through the process and helped me determine my price range. Mathew was there until the end, and he turned a somewhat intimidating process into a fairly easy one. I should also note that Mathew was also great in following up with me to let me know that interest rates had gone down further such that I might consider refinancing. Ultimately, I did end up refinancing, and again, Mathew made the whole process very simple and smooth. He has my recommendation. read more

I'm a first-time home buyer who worked with Jay Sofnas for a new home in Sacramento. Jay was as great as I could envision. Very easy to work with, always responsive, very knowledgeable, and he did a great job explaining and summarizing different options and the math behind them. On top of the great service, no one could beat the rates he and his group offered. My sister worked with Jay a handful of years ago and recommended him highly, and I do the same here. If I move again anywhere in or around the Bay Area, I'll definitely be calling Jay. read more

I worked with Marisa Pecorella who was outstanding. From the first conversation she was able to answer all my questions in a clear precise way that educated me quite a bit about the process. I had conversations with a number of loan officers however Marisa stood out noticeably as an advocate I felt would do what was in my best interests. At the end of the process the loan was a good deal in terms of very good closing costs, quickness of the process, and reassurances along the way. Marisa over-achieved on my expectations, and I believe is an extraordinarily skilled loan officer I've already recommended to people in my network. Thank you Marisa for your great work! read more