As a Realtor in the west suburbs of Chicago, I routinely refer my buyer clients to John Noldan in the Naperville, IL office. I connected with John a few years ago via a mutual client, and have been working with him ever since. I appreciate the fact that he is prompt, courteous and very professional with my clients and quite often has the best rates and closing costs compared to other lenders. Unlike many other lenders out there, John's pre-approvals are valid, and can be trusted. Many buyers receive preapprovals from lenders who don't do any research up front. They have contracts on homes that fall apart the day before a closing because the lender failed to read a credit report, or wasn't up front with the buyer about credit issues... The list goes on. For challenging buyers, John will be up front and honest if he feels the buyer can't qualify. For those not in the business, this is PRICELESS. From a personal perspective, I just closed on my own personal refinance with GR this past Saturday.... yes, Saturday. The closer came to my home on a Saturday afternoon and we were done in 15 min. My husband and I are both self-employed, so documentation has always been an issue. We have been homeowners for 18 years, and have purchased and refinanced several times. The last time we refinanced, we swore we'd never do it again, as we were asked for everything except our first-born child in order to do it. This refi with GR was as quick and painless as a refi could ever be. We were provided a list of required documents, turned them in as instructed, and closed shortly thereafter. I highly recommend John Noldan. His team (especially Linda and Shiiru) were wonderful. I look forward to working with them in the future and know that my buyer clients are well taken care of when financing with John. read more

I was a first time home buyer and very naïve to the home buying process. Billy Burns from Guaranteed Rate was fantastic! He met me during my lunch hour to go over each and every page of the loan documents and explained to me what and why I was signing. He made me feel very comfortable during the process, which was reassuring (I had dealt with a broker before him who made me feel very uncomfortable and got upset with me for asking for the best deal possible). Billy was able to give me the best deal (and I had compared him with 2 other brokers) along with low closing costs. He was upfront about all of my costs. The majority of the calls I had in to him, he answered. If he didn't answer, he called me back within 15 minutes or emailed me to let me know when he would be able to talk. His team was also very friendly. Their process of obtaining my personal information was quick and easy. I have heard horror stories where the bank or lender is asking for a new document everyday. I did not run across that. I supplied Billy and his team with everything on his checklist and wasn't bothered after that. There were a few issues before closing (that were out of my control - seller's side). Billy and his team were determined to have me close on time.. and somehow they did it! I honestly felt like I was a priority to them - which I don't think that is the case with the big box banks and any other lenders. I was also told by realtors and attorneys that enjoy closing with Guaranteed Rate. I would definitely recommend Billy Burns to anyone who is in the market for a mortgage. He will be my only phone call when I am in the market again. read more

I wish there was a 10 star rating with Yelp !! It is really hard to describe the amazing experience I had working with Billy Burns from Guaranteed Rate in a recent purchase of home. My initial conversation started with him when I was rate shopping for the mortgage. I researched numerous lenders, ran a lot of numbers myself and compared every single cost of the transaction; his numbers came out to be the best available in the market at that point. Also not only was he available to answer all my questions even after office hours (and I had lot of them), he made us close within 3 weeks. When we applied for the loan, he had promised he will be able to hit the closing date which was 3 weeks from then. Initially it was hard for me to believe that, but as days went past I was blown away with the speed at which he and his team delivered results and crossed all major milestones. Just before closing there was a delay from the sellers side on submitting some documents; he was even able to absorb that delay and still close on the original date. I infact had questions for him after the closing and he answered them as well. This is customer service at its best !!!! Cheapest, Fastest, & Customer Friendly - He is the only guy who can make these 3 words come together. Highly recommended to all !! read more

As a first time homebuyer there were a lot of questions and uncertainties I had about the process. I wanted to make sure I had a team of folks that were the absolute best to work with and would be available to answer any questions or concerns I had. Billy Burns is hands down one of the best! He was awesome to work with and knows what he is talking about. He understands the worries that his customers go through and is all about managing expectations and creating transparency around the process. Billy would always be available to chat if I had questions and even went above and beyond what I expected. I, like many others, had heard my share of horror stories from friends and their past experiences with buying a home and so had prepared myself for it to be a long, tedious, and agonizing experience. This was not the case at all working with Billy. He truly puts his clients needs ahead of his own and is willing to go the extra mile. No matter how little or how small my requests were, he was willing to help - even when I wanted to spend over an hour walking through the actual loan document, page by page, and get my questions answered. For anyone thinking of buying a home, Billy is your guy! He is rock solid, with a great work ethic and an incredible willingness to help customers out. read more

I had not purchased a home for twenty-five years, so I was very uncertain about purchasing a home in today's climate. I had heard horror stories about how hard it was to get a mortgage loan. John Noldan and his staff were fantastic! They found a mortgage with a very good rate, found an excellent attorney, found a reputable insurance company for the homeowner's insurance, and walked me step-by-step through the whole process. It was painless from start to finish. Now I wish I had done this earlier! If you are looking for a mortgage broker that will provide you with exceptional personal service, manage the whole process for you, and get you in your house quickly Guaranteed Rate is the only way to go. I would recommend them to anyone. read more

We used Billy Burns as our mortgage broker for the purchase of our first house -- his customer service really is extraordinary. He was always available, walked us through each step to get to what was, very admittedly, a super complicated closing process. Most importantly to me, and what really stands out, is when there was an issue following closing, I contacted him and he took care of it immediately. There are a lot of mortgage brokers out there, and it is really important to have someone who knows the business, knows what he is doing, and can walk you through it all -- that is Billy in a nutshell. I definitely recommend him, particularly for first-time homebuyers. Happy house hunting! read more

As a first time homebuyer, Billy Burns was awesome! He was very helpful with explaining everything that I needed to know and made me feel comfortable with everything during the process. I talked with a couple other people who didn't want to help with some of the process, but Billy was able to go out of his way to help me out. I was never in the dark about any costs and he was always available to talk. The other members of his team were also very helpful with anything else that I needed. Contact between everyone was very quick and they were all very helpful. I would definitely recommend Billy Burns and his staff to anyone looking for a mortgage! read more

My wife and I are first time home buyers and we worked recently with Billy Burns and his team at Guaranteed Rate on our mortgage. While the overall mortgage application process is a pain (at no fault to GR), GR made the experience a positive one. Billy was very supportive throughout the process and was very responsive to any questions or concerns that we had. Billy also did a great job in getting our closing costs down as much as possible. He even sent us a pair of movie tickets to help relieve some of the stress of home-buying :) All-in-all, if you are looking at a mortgage broker, I would highly recommend working with Billy Burns and GR! read more

I am a first time home buyer that was referred to Billy Burns from a friend that had recently worked with him and Guaranteed Rate. Billy was extremely helpful and proactive throughout the entire mortgage process. I felt extremely comfortable due to Billy's ability to explain everything in terms that I would understand as a first time buyer. I never had any trouble getting a hold of him regardless of the time. Additionally, Billy was able to provide me a clear to close while working on an extremely tight timeline. I would definitely recommend Billy and Guaranteed rate for anyone looking for a loan. read more

Have used Phalen Mortgage Group (a.k.a. Guaranteed Rate) 4 times in 7 years - all experiences were excellent. Operations were consistently flawless - phone calls and e-mails were returned promptly, every detail was correct, etc. The rate and fees were highly competitive - I couldn't find any advertised that were lower. Plus from prior experience I knew that the Phalen Mortgage Group will deliver dependably. The entire process was on-time and successful on the first attempt. Phalen is clearly head-and-shoulders above its peers. I highly recommend Phalen. read more

I was trying to refinance my townhouse in Naperville for over 2 years. The story was always the same, "oh, Yes, we can refi you, zero at closing ect" then the last minute, it would be you need to bring $5000 to closing. A friend recommended me to billy burns of guaranteed rate. Professional and honest from day one. The best part he refinanced my townhouse with zero down. I am now saving over $375 on my new mortgage payment. It all seemed to good to be true, but it was true! I highly reccomend Guarateed Rate jim read more

After waiting six months on a short sale, the lending bank suddenly decided to accept our offer but gave us a four-week deadline to secure financing. Billy Burns and his team got our loan secured at a great rate and a good price. After problems turned up with the previous owner not wanting to allow access to the property for the appraiser, Billy completed the final approval the morning of the closing at the absolute last minute. Their hard work really paid off for us. I'd recommend them to anyone. read more

A friend of mine from Edwards Jones highly recommended Billy Burns and in the beginning it sounded to good to be true but after talking to Billy I came to the conclusion that he was really there to help us with the refinancing of our home loan. Billy is excellent at answering all your questions and concerns and will work with you through the whole process to make you sure you are 100% satisfied. We did our closing on 3/29/2013 and the signing of the documents was another smooth process. read more

I am a broker in the downtown area and have given every client the option of Billy Burns with Guaranteed Rate, and will continue to do so, for the simple fact that his customer service out shines any mortgage broker I have dealt with in the city. He educates each client and walks them through the loan process as if they were his own friends or family. If you're wondering which mortgage broker to use, do yourself a favor and ask for Billy, he's earned my business for life. read more

We just purchased our first home and are extremely happy that we decided to follow a recommendation to use Billy Burns at Guaranteed Rate! He explained everything (literally page by page) to us and made us feel very comfortable throughout this stressful process. He is extremely prompt at responding to phone calls and emails. We would highly recommend using Billy Burns and Guaranteed Rate! read more

We recently closed on a Va Loan with Guaranteed Rate. I don't normally write reviews but Danny Delgado and his staff were amazing. They made the process quick and worry free. Their electronic paperwork transfer service was ridiculously easy to use. Danny and his staff were awesome every step of the way. Thank you!!! I would highly recommend Danny and his staff at Guaranteed Rate. read more