Tom Lavallee and his team are fantastic. They handled every bump and hiccup in the buying process in stride. When we struggled to get our bids accepted by sellers, Guaranteed Rate was able to pre-underwrite our mortgage putting us on level footing with cash buyers. Our rate was competitive. Our origination fee was fair. Everything was done on time without stress or confusion. read more

Loved the portal to upload documents securely-very user friendly. Felt I got a great rate, and Susan my LO gave me different lock in options to choose from which was nice to see as rates were drastically changing each day in March/April 2022. As a first time home buyer, I was overwhelmed with the lengthy disclosures-they were hard to make sense of, but after some back and forth, my questions were all answered. Susan and her team did a great job considering all my questions and emails. I would recommend GR to friends, family, and my clients. (I'm a financial advisor). read more

This is a warning for anyone thinking of using Guaranteed Rate for their next home purchase. Our experience with Guaranteed Rate Affinity and Scott B. Rosenberg (Loan Officer - NMLS# 15986471) was horrendous. Dealing with our loan officer was like dealing with a used car salesman and he was quite unscrupulous. He was not a trustworthy lender. We were misguided and provided with misinformation multiple times throughout the loan process. First there is the interest rate. Our loan officer initially provided a great rate for our pre-approval. Then once we found a home, that rate went up but as expected since interest rates slightly increased. He made it very clear to us that if rates went back down we could always renegotiate the rate around closing. Then as the closing date started to come closer and interest rates dipped considerably, I requested that we renegotiate. Scott's team was VERY slow to respond and he was constantly "working" on it. He then got back to us at the 11th hour only to tell us that he was not changing the rate and at this point we were too close to the closing to do anything about it. He purposely dragged his feet until it was too late. I have an 800+ credit score and I was receiving quotes from other lenders half a point less than what Scott was offering. This will end up costing me thousands throughout the life of my loan. Then there is the discrepancy with closing costs. Two days to closing we were provided with the Closing Disclosure. Although we weren't happy with our rate there was nothing we could do at this point. I just wanted this nightmare to end but it unfortunately continued. The night before the closing we were provided with the final closing costs to only find that we needed to pay several thousands more than what was initially disclosed on the CD. This included large discrepancies with the Title Fees, County Taxes (forgot to include), prepaid interests and initial escrow. All which were available to Scott and his team when he sent the CD two days prior. Scott did apologize and mentioned that he did a poor job reviewing the CD and didn't notice the discrepancies. If this was the only hiccup, maybe I could understand but it wasn't. I have to say I am extremely upset with the poor communication from Guaranteed Rate, Scott and his team throughout the process. I will never be using him or Guaranteed Rate again in the future and others should think twice before engaging with them. read more

We had a great experience working with Hani Ali and his team. They are professional, responsive and took the time to answer all of our questions. As a first-time home buyer, we thought that the process would be scary, but Guaranteed Rate did a great job and made the process very smooth. Thank you read more

Brenda and Robin were amazing to work with! I wholeheartedly recommend them if you are looking to refinance or if you need a loan for a new purchase. They made the process so easy! read more

I was really impressed with the communication and customer service from Brian Manning and the Guaranteed Rate team. He was in constant contact with us throughout the entire process, even during the many months it took us to finally be under contract. He also has really interesting "state of the market" weekly videos that I found helpful. He's patient and helpful and kind. I will use them again. read more

We worked with Matt Keane at Guaranteed Rate to secure a mortgage on our home in Maplewood, New Jersey. Matt was fast, knowledgeable, and well regarded by the brokers and attorneys we worked with for closing. Also, he took calls with us at all hours of the day and night, which my husband and I greatly appreciated! I would highly recommend Matt Keane and his team for anyone looking to purchase in the New Jersey market. Thank you, Matt! read more

First, if you had told me I would refi my mortgage with a mortgage company vs a solid bank, I would have said, not in a million years. So it happens that a very close friend was bragging about a rate she got from Guaranteed Rate Mortgage (could there be a more general and scary name for a company?) I did the math on the rate my friend got and was very interested. Then I went to my bank's website: nope their rate was considerably higher. I checked with my friend about closing costs and they were less than the last time I did a refi. Just to confirm all this, I called Guaranteed Rate's person, Jennifer Beeston, who actually had a physical office about five miles from my house in Santa Rosa, though they are literally all over the whole country. She was extremely bright, funny, on-the-ball, (beautiful from her on-line photo. I know, I know this doesn't matter) and took every question I had with ease and put up with my New York skepticism about dealing with a mortgage company. I won't bore the hell out of you with the financial details except to say that I asked them to do a lot of things my bank would have said 'no way' to. Also important is the maximum efficiency of the company in general. I read their core values online and wait--they actually practice them! They set me up with the best appraiser imaginable, this in contrast to the idiot the big bank sent last time who lived 55 miles away and didn't know jack about my neighborhood. I was pleased with the huge amount of money I saved in the refi--they truly DO have the lowest rate of them all. I still can't believe it. Every single person working with Jennifer Beeston was professional and clear. My closing costs were minimal in contrast to the big bank's fees for everything. Jennifer was in contact with me even when she was on a plane to New York. My refi went through smooth as silk. If you want to save money and at the same time be treated like they actually care about you, go forward with Guaranteed Rate with no worries. Five Star service all the way. read more

I applied for a VA loan through Guaranteed Rate. I eventually received the loan but the staff was horrendous. I have excellent credit but my closing was delayed due to their inefficient staff. Additionally, I made my first payment over two weeks early. The second payment was remitted two weeks later putting me a full month ahead of the due date. Today, I got a letter from them that I'm late and now owe two payments. I have been unable to resolve this issue and no one will call me to discuss it. This is a warning to all, seek another mortgage company. You've been warned. read more

Working with them for our mortgage was an A+++ experience. From start to finish to even after. After the deal was closed I had some questions and Ryan Mecum was always helpful. My issue with the company is the insurance department. The broker did get me a good deal for Condo Insurance that others couldn't come even close. But good lord, trying to get a hold of him was impossible. Looking through my sent emails (And from memory from my unreturned voice mails left) I tried and tried multiple times to find Term Life insurance too and the guy just couldn't be bothered to deal with it I guess. I waited a couple years and tried once more to get Term Life. Eventually got passed to someone else, an entire week went by and this person finally got back to me, I informed I had already moved on and signed elsewhere. I got an excuse back stating they both were busy. I get it, too busy to even drop an email acknowledging the request and to hang tight, must be pretty damned busy. I get it, I'm just one a normal person that isn't bringing a ton of business. A couple months ago a different insurance rep emails me stating they expect my Condo Insurance to go up and she is working on finding me something better and to wait for something in the mail. A few weeks later I get a letter stating she is working on finding something better. I email her confirming I got the letter. Nothing back. A month later I reply again asking for a status update; it has been my understanding she is actively working on finding something for me. No response. I.. just... can't... seem... to.. get.. a.. response... ever... from the insurance people at GR. read more

I can't say enough good stuff about Guaranteed Rate. Their team helped us buy our dream home at the best possible price. They're professional, responsive, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. I recommend them for all housing finance needs. read more

The team and Guaranteed rate helped me Secure my loan for a new home in Wyoming Ohio. They helped me every step of the way from the very beginning through to the final step when my loan was approved. Everyone was so easy to work with, and very responsive to me when I had questions. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them again and without doubt I will. read more

Elizabeth Montes, loan processor, never returned my calls or emails after she told me to sign a document to fix a clerical error on their part due a audit. It has been 4 months now and I still haven't heard from her. I am lost right now. I also learned that Owning was recently acquired (by rate.com or absolutelyzero.com; Idk their emails keep on changing) so that could be it, but it hasn't been the same experience since I first re-fied with them last August. My original loan processor and mortgage loan originator, Cindy Dang and Hai Nguyen, tried to get ahold of Elizabeth but they couldn't even help me reach her either... I wish to be treated better than just a transaction. read more

We recently bought an investment property in Chicago. Alex and the team from Guaranteed Rate were referred to us by our agent. He was very professional and made the process very simple and smooth. We were able to get the loan approved and closed on time. I would recommend them to anyone! read more

Oof. Had great experiences with them before. Loan officer was great. However this past year they did some switcheroo with the internal systems and their assistance in dealing with this was nil. Loan was transferred from one department to another and they were no help in obtaining documents from one to the other. Spent over an hour being transferred from one department to another to only be told "we no longer hold your loan so I cant send you those documents". read more

My loan was paid off in early October, 2020 and the deed of trust has still not been released. I called a week ago and they said it would take 5-10 days to release. Here I am a week later and now they are telling me that I need to supply the recorded deed of trust from the county to them. This is the same deed of trust THEY recorded with the county when the loan originated. Now I have to send it BACK to them?? I am trying to close on another loan and after a week of phone calls and they have done nothing! Whenever I ask for a supervisor that can help me escalate this, they say they will transfer me and then I get disconnected. They did give me the direct email to the release department, but told me now, that it can take up to 30 days to release. I need this released by the day after tomorrow in order to close on my new loan. They, by law have 90 days to release the deed, which they did not do! And now I am getting the run-around and could delay my new loan for up to over a month! I would appreciate them doing their job, as dictated by law! read more

My wife and I have used Guaranteed Rate for several home purchases and refinancing. The challenge, over the past 15 years, the execution and customer service have been in decline. During our most recent refi, it took four months (and many hours of phone calls) to transfer my escrow balance to my new lender. All the while, it was sitting at Guaranteed Rate. I recommend weighing other options as you consider Guaranteed Rate. read more

We really enjoyed our broker but Guaranteed Rate's underwriting team was surprisingly inept. Not to go into too much detail but we had to contend with missing appraisers, misdrawn closing docs, assistants deleting key asset statements in their system, final approvals being sent in writing only to be verbally rescinded days later due to an error on their end. They were more than happy to miss their own deadlines, often with no warning.. To give you a sense of how many times they missed their own deadlines -- we had to reschedule signing the closing docs EIGHT times! We ultimately were able to make it work on terms that were attractive. However, the 11th hour ineptitude added up to about 3-4 weeks in delays and almost cost us the deal. If we hadn't played it safe by paying for an extra month of rent we would also be homeless based on when they told us we would close versus when we actually closed. Last thing - I don't think these issues are unique to us. The confusion is structurally built into their process. There were too many people involved as loans get handed off from one department to another. We had about 6 people emailing with us about the loan. It was just a mess. read more

Like everyone else in the last 3 months I started my loan with Owning in January and Owning was bought out by Guaranteed Rate. My loan was put on hold for a month and now Guaranteed rate has asked for an outrageous set of documentation on a refinance where the equity is twice what we are asking for the remaining loan amount. Our credit is good, our income is great, we have all the correct policies yet they are refusing to close our loan with a locked rate of 2.75%. We have been nothing but aggravated and led to believe our loan was closing almost every day for the last 3 weeks. Please do not work with this company. I would give zero stars if I could. read more

I actually started applying a refinance loan for my condo with owning.com back on 1/20/21. They gave me 2.375% rate plus closing cost. But a week or 2 later Guaranteed Rate acquired owning.com, then things has not been smoothed since. They put my application on hold for a month during their acquisition. Sometimes I don't even hear from them for a week. I finally signed the initial disclousure docs a couple weeks ago but now suddenly a different loan officer, Patrik, from Guaranteed Rate told me yesterday I need to purchase my personal homeowners insurance, the homeowners insurance covered by my HOA isn't sufficient to get a loan. They knew what my current homeowner insurance coverages are since day one, why is this suddently became a deal breaker? I suspect they are trying to sell me homeowner insurance because I was able to refianace once before without having to purchase additional personal homeowner Insurance. I feel like Guaranteed Rate keeps dragging me along because they think they will lose money with my locked 2.375% rate now that the interest rate has gone up, so they take their time to "work on" my loan so they can loan me less money, or make it difficult for my application to go through so I will back out my loan application, and it worked. I am done with them. Don't let Guaranteed Rate wasting your time like they did to mine. read more

Worked with JD, chad and Tracy this time around, very very unhappy with the way things went. We wanted to refinance our house and they strung us along, dragging their feet throughout the process. They are not knowledgeable about the process at all. If Avenue A was not possible, we wanted them to suggest different avenues that could be possible- ie) pay down principal, use spouses income , etc. but they did not do any of that. We will NEVER be using them after this experience. We moved to a different lender and refinance was done without any hiccups, when we asked them to transfer our appraisal to the new lender, they were unable to provide all the documents required to do the same, so we had to order a new appraisal. NEVER AGAIN! Save your money and time and do not use them. read more

Joel and his team were absolutely fantastic to work with. Especially with the market being the way it is, Joel and co made us feel welcome and very taken care of. They were transparent and did were amazingly efficient in obtaining our load. 10/10! Would highly recommend to any future purchasers. read more

Probably the worst mortgage company out there for a million reasons, but instead of me writing a novel, here are some quick bullet points. -203k loan took 7 months to close -Their HUD consultant botched the line items even though I gave them the line items in detail. There is like 8 people in the chain to communicate with to get anything done. by the time it gets to the top it is completely inaccurate. -constructions draws (5) take 2 months on average to process but they give you 6 months to complete the project. -I froze my mortgage during the pandemic which they approved, then they put my mortgage in loss mitigation. While they are processing my paperwork (8 months and counting) at the same time a different department sends me weekly foreclosure notices. These people do not give updates or communicate at all unless you call them repeatedly and pry info from them. These are just a few of the issues, you've been warned. read more

This was the fourth time ive used gauranteed rate, and i still wouldnt use anyone else. They make sure the job gets done right, and the first time. 5 stars read more

Absolute worst customer service and follow through! On top of that they said our loan would be done by Wednesday so we closed on our prior home then they switched it to several days later! We were homeless, had to pay the moving company twice, last minute storage fees and had to stick with them this far into the process. Which cost over an additional $10k. They also tried to commit fraud and hide insurance claims on the new property instead of putting into an escrow account. FYI, their resolutions team said they saw no foul play. Please do not use this company! read more

My real estate agent recommended I first apply for a pre-approval through guaranteed rate online, because it was quick to get a pre-approval through this process (even if I didn't use them in the end). I ended up getting assigned a lending agent that was okay. A little while later, I ended up going to a Redfin home buying seminar and there was a lender from Guaranteed Rate there, Erik Johansson. He was really knowledgable and was able to answer all of the mortgage questions I had as a first time home buyer. I ended up switching over to him as my agent and I definitely don't regret it. His rates were competitive and he was very helpful through every step of the process. read more

Very responsive and communicative throughout the home buying process. My LO (Kelly) checked in periodically even prior to going under contract to remind me that I could text or call at anytime to get an estimate and followed through once my offer was accepted. Also, the turnaround time for my preapproval was within the same day. Completed the application on a Friday around noon and received a call from my LO with details about the preapproval letter in the late afternoon. read more

We used guaranteed rate while searching for a house in the Seattle market while out of state. Sarah and her team were very communicative, knowledgeable and available whenever we needed a question answered. I absolutely recommend Guaranteed Rate to anyone looking for a loan no matter your circumstances this is a team of creative individuals who want to help get the best possible loan for you! read more

Absolutely the worst financial transaction I've ever been involved in. My wife and I applied for a re-finance with Guaranteed Rate on 08/02/20. We got everything they requested uploaded within one day of their request. We received our appraisal on 08/07/20. Title was cleared and ready to close on 08/10/20 per their own title company. On Oct 15th, the last day of the rate lock, we get a new loan processor who appears to be the most incompetent person they could find. We've been scheduled to close three times since then and all of them were canceled by Guaranteed Rate for one reason or another. So here we are on 12/17/20 at 6pm, scheduled to close on Saturday the 19th at 9am, and the loan processor emails us to tell us we can't close (again) because our appraisal is too old. ALMOST 5 MONTHS AND THEY STILL DON'T HAVE EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO CLOSE!! RUN, DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!! read more

I have been working with Aaron Wise and his team and I am really glad I did. The team was always on top of everything and really made sure everything was handled fast and efficiently. Everyone was always friendly and supportive. It was my first home buy and therewith first mortgage and would definetelly recommend the company and Aaron and his team specifically. read more

Brian Jessen from Guaranteed Rate has helped us twice, once with a mortgage and once with a refinance. He and his support staff, Caryn in particular were responsive and straightforward. A bonus is that he coordinates a fun free family event about once a year such for all his current and former clients. We would recommend him to others for both new mortgages and refinances. read more

Friendly people and great service the entire time. Helped me to secure great rates on my new home loan and we closed just over 3 weeks ago. They still check in with me to see if I need anything else. I highly recommend giving them a call if you are in the market for a new home. read more

Chelsea helped us with refinancing a home, then again with purchasing a new home in two different states. Those were two very different market environments and each time she thoroughly explained our options and we were comfortable and confident in the rates she secured for us. Beyond just the rates, she is incredibly timely, very well versed in VA loan idiosyncrasies, and strategic in her approach. We will be using Chelsea and Guaranteed Rate for all of our future loan/ refinancing needs. read more

Just worked with Guaranteed Rate and I can't say enough. They were organized, helpful, insightful, and fast! Our escrow opened on June 11th and will close tomorrow, July 5th. Our direct lender, Robert Schwartz in Santa Clarita, CA, is the absolute best. So kind and helpful plus informative and knowledgeable. He really knows his stuff and is truly a one of a kind. I can't use enough adjectives to describe how great it was to work with him. Highly recommend! , read more

This place sucks. I started a refi in February and I'm still waiting today. Yes today August 12. The only reason I haven't canceled is because I paid the appraisal fee already. I did send back paperwork and have a repair on my driveway that I got fixed the next day. But six months? It only takes about two months to do a refi. I do not endorse this so called business. read more

ZERO STARS! Where to begin. When they want your business they will be in constant contact, but once they have you good luck trying to get a call, email, anything back. Worst part! When I tried to refinance, I was told I could close at either 3.875 with 1900 in fees or 4.25 with no fees. I went with 3.875 and they kept sending me emails for me to send them my info in order to close. I did my part, and I was told I would close within a few days. The DAY BEFORE my closing, when I heard nothing, I reached out and they told me it'd been cancelled. When i asked why, they told me nothing except that my paper work wasn't done. So I waited. THEN, about a month later when another closing was about to happen, they gave me a new set of docs: 4% and I would have to bring close to 10K. I kept looking for answers and NO ONE would respond to me. DAYS later when Rob Wilson finally responded he explained that part of the fees were for two tax cycles and the mortgage for one month, but then practically went on to blame me for not being able to get the 3.875. I did nothing except follow their directions! So I still have to pay 1800 to close when at 4.25 there'd be no fees! Does this make sense to anyone because I don't get it! read more

[original review] Extremely disappointed and wish we had not wasted our time--our deal could easily fall through because of Guaranteed Rate. We made a new, generous offer to the seller based on a rate and closing fees that had been quoted to us; was told by the mortgage broker we needed a contract to lock. We confirmed this rate and fees on two subsequent days, including within hours of making the new offer to the seller. The broker reassured us that he could prepare the loan estimate and lock the rate within an hour of receiving the signed contract. We signed early yesterday evening, uploaded all the paperwork quickly, and have been calling and emailing the broker since 9 a.m., when he started working. First it was computer trouble, and for the last several hours he has "needed to check with the investor" to see if the rate is still good! Why didn't he need to do these checks the past few days when we were confirming the rate with him? We're about to switch to another company with higher closing costs but (I expect) more professionalism. I'll name the broker and update this review once the dust has settled. This could cost a lot of money and heartache. [one day later] Increased the star rating from one to three... and then dropping to two because agent has become non-responsive again. Guaranteed Rate responded pretty promptly after I posted the review above and called customer service. We got a rate lock within hours. This seemed to be a problem more with the company than the agent, but of course it's very hard for us to tell. In the time it took to get the estimate and lock, we started working with another bank that initially promised lower fees, only to learn it was a bait and switch. Now we are trying to pay an additional point with Guaranteed Rate on our loan estimate, and our agent will not confirm the price, so we are talking again to another bank. I wish we could just get straight, efficient service. read more

Chris Totani started out helpful and blew a lot of smoke about how our refi would go and, as soon as his inspector found the house was worth less than we thought, he ghosted me. Would not answer calls, messages, texts, or emails. Kept my $400 and disappeared. Originally told me we had other options but just abandoned me and kept my money. Avoid at all costs. read more

I'm one of those guys that never write reviews... however I felt like I had to make an exception after receiving amazing service throughout all parts of the loan process with GuaranteedRate. My Loan Officer, Shimmy Braun, helped to guide us through all points of the process, and communicating back and forth between his team and the necessary parties was lightning speed. I will definitely be working with GR again in the future when we shop future mortgages! read more

Guaranteed rate hands down the worst mortgage experience I have ever had. Dealing with them has been like watching 3 monkeys hump a ball. At least that would be entertaining. I had simple refi, high credit score,no cash out, loan to value sub 30%. Took these clowns 3 months to get refi done. In the end they tried to jam it through on last day of month so ended up overpaying previous lender and cutting check based on old payoff demand. Even needed to get docs notarized twice on same day as they screwed up. Not to mention 4 or 5 people I was asked to send info to. Total disorganized mess. Run don't walk in other direction! read more