Guaranteed Rate or Rate.com has the absolute worst customer service. They are not people oriented and treat you as though you are not human. My mother-in-law passed away, unexpectedly, in December of 2025. We contacted Guaranteed Rate/Rate.com requesting a 2 month mortgage payment deferral due to having to pay funeral costs, and the fact that the monthly income was cut in half, due to her death. The agent on the phone informed us we only had to email them the death certificate. That was a lie! After emailing the death certificate, and not hearing back from them, we contacted them to ensure they received it and were told we had to create a case online through their Assistance portal. Once we did this, they required a slew of other documents (bank statements, pay stubs, etc.) We would upload each document as requested, then have to wait weeks for a confirmation, via a no reply email, that they were requesting additional documents to be uploaded. As there is NO option to chat or communicate with anyone through the assistance portal, we would attempt to call them to get information on the case and their additional requests. Their phone service is even worse than their online portal! We would wait on hold for over an hour before selecting the automated call back option. Sometimes we would receive a call back, several hours later, and sometimes we would not and have to attempt another call the next day. After two months with no ability to communicate with a REAL person, they closed our case without any explanation! DO NOT get a loan from this company for ANY reason. God forbid, should you experience a life-changing event, they will put up hurdle after hurdle, making you believe they are willing to help, when in fact they're just wasting your time. My recommendation is you contact Texans Credit Union instead, where you'll get a person to speak with EVERY TIME you call, who is compassionate and actually willing to work with you. ZERO STARS. DO NOT RECOMMEND!! read more

My experience with guaranteed rate has been PHENOMENAL!!! I've been working with Chase (Loan Officer) and Anthony (Insurance Agent) and they have both made my experience as a first time home buyer absolutely amazing. Both have been alongside me in this journey and have assisted me tremendously by answering any questions I have. I always feel like everything is straightforward and when there are questions, they are sure to clear up any confusion. I would 100% recommend working with Guaranteed Rate for your mortgage needs. read more

I was introduced to Tim Martin and his team by Coldwell Banker Realtor, Denise Biagi. They were amazing- attentive, informative, very knowledgeable about the market and quick to respond. Despite a few hurdles, they were able to close on the mortgage quickly and efficiently. Although I was not a first time home buyer, the market and process had changed and they were instrumental in helping me navigate the loan process. I cannot recommend this team enough to anyone looking to purchase a home in Connecticut. read more

Avoid at all cost, even if that cost is a higher interest rate! Biggest headache of my life. They signed me up for home insurance that I didn't agree to, after I had signed an agreement with another company, leaving large gaps in my coverage. Then once they got it sorted out, they insured the wrong house, in the wrong state! Then once we got it fixed they simply didn't pay them as agreed, saying oh, we will year two, you need to pay year one.. Causing more gaps in coverage. Not to mention that they went back and forth on how they wanted us to pay contractor work before signing, having us go back and get refunds just so they could hold the money in escrow. Rep said we would received a "gift" as she had gone back on her word and caused tremendous headaches, needless to say, this didn't happen. Nothing has gone well with this company. read more

Guaranteed Rate - How does this happen? - Mortgage Brokers Near Me - San Francisco, California

A big thank you to Stephen Barber. He and the good people at Guaranteed Rate got our loan finalized despite a ton of challenges. We really appreciate his guidance and expertise throughout the six month long process. Thanks Stephen! read more

I have mortgage with GR since January 1,2022. After the first mo payment my 2nd payment due February 1,2022, they mailed me a letter saying that they transferred my loan to someone else but no name & contact number. I have been calling all numbers showing every where on document for 3 days trying to find out who is my new lender. Besides, one lady (first name is Amanda, hang up on me after a few minutes. Very frustrated. not to mention that while applying for the loan, 6-7 people from all departments trying to ge the loan approved. I had to call one guy from other brokers that can gibe me an answer quickly( but there pmi cost too much so I have to go with GR. Over all, very frustrating. If there's 0 star I would give 0 star. read more

May Montana is FABULOUS. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a home in San Francisco. She is responsive, quick, on top of things, organized, persistent - everything you would want in a lender. Her team was also very helpful and responsive - Jacob Dubravec and Steve Kim. They were truly a dream team and I'm so glad I had them on my side during the intimidating and frustrating San Francisco home-buying process. May made sure that we sat down together, and she walked me through every step of the process. I am so glad I decided to switch from another lender who took weeks to answer questions over email and was not transparent at all. May, on the other hand, answered questions immediately over text and kept me up-to-date on every step of the process. She was a great advocate and I will come back if I have to refinance or I purchase another home. read more

I had the pleasure of working with Nicholas and Chanelle in getting a loan for my first home purchase and it was absolutely everything I was hoping for! They worked so hard to get me exactly what I needed as I needed an unconventional loan due to my unconventional income. I highly recommend working with Nicholas Ballard as I really felt taken care of and valued. read more

Chris Catania helped us with our mortgage and I have no higher recommendation. We are not first-time homeowners, so we have experience with other lenders and I was blown away by Chris. He and his team epitomize customer service and efficiency. His response times throughout the process were almost shocking. If he didn't answer the phone every time, he got back to me within minutes. He answered every question- even questions he wasn't responsible for answering. And- he talked us through the best mortgage options and got us a fantastic rate!! Out agent commented over and over again that he was an incredible representative. I couldn't agree more. read more

If I could leave no stars I would. They may have good customer service- but since they do not answer their phone or respond to emails in a timely fashion - if at all, I wouldn't know. I have multiple properties and have had loans with at least 15 different mortgage companies. This is by far the worst. If you try to go online for help, you are told your loan does not exist then locked out of their web site and told to call a number that wants you to apply for a new loan and gives no options for tech support. When you try to get a live representative you are told to leave a message. Wish I had know before I took out this loan. The rate may be right but nothing else is. But to be fair, there were signs of this from the get go. I called one person to get a quote and three separate people called me to start the loan process after it was already started. Then a month after we funded they called again b/c they had in their system I was looking for a loan. They front load the sales department then leave you hanging once the loan funds. Would be nice if they put some of those sales people in the customer service department. If they contact me in the next 48 hours and respond to my issue I will be amazed and come back and edit this review. Not holding my breath read more

Jay Sondhi at the San Francisco office was very professional and proactive throughout the entire process of obtaining a home loan. An example was that he provided us with a plethora of loan options and explained everything clearly and concisely. With being first time home buyers, we were VERY inquisitive. There was not a moment where he was frustrated, lost patience or seemed annoyed. He provided us with answers to our questions in a timely manner and Jay is very knowledgeable and available at all hours throughout the 7 day week - We are lucky to have found him. A big bonus was we closed escrow very fast at 21 days, taking in consideration that our loan was over the duration of Christmas and New Year Holidays too! All of my friends who went through this process with a different lender was amazed at the turn-around time, even my realtor was surprised by the 21 day closing time! Bottom line: Would recommend Jay to my family and friends! read more

Poor customer service! Took our money and lied the whole time in our first home purchase. DO NOT USE!!!

I'm leaving this as a placeholder for now because I have so much to write abuot 7x7 group, guarantee mortgage, whatever name they want to change to, but I want people in the meantime to have a fair warning to KEEP AWAY FROM THEM. I want to emphasize that nothing I write about below is an exageration or not factual. This is 100% true, please keep searching if you're even considering working with these guys. I'm not surprised I'm not the only one writing a negative review about 7x7 Group. Notes for later: Write about: - Mickey had me send him around 10 different files/documents for the mortgage approval and he decided to delete them because I sent them in separate emails - the time that Mickey hung up on me (I think he forgot that day that he works in financial services and I was the client) - Mickey went on vacation and didn't tell anyone, 1 week before closing - Mickey didn't send in the purchase agreement to the bank which we had provided to him 45 days earlier therefore holding up the mortgage approval and delaying the closing date by 2 weeks - Ken was no help either, basically the same unprofessional attitude that Mickey offered. - Mickey threatened to call of the deal 1 week before closing because he couldn't handle the stress of his job read more

If you are planning on buying a house, you need to buy one with Pete Elting and Tom Barnes at Guarantee Mortgage. "Dream Team" is an understatement... We were referred to Guarantee Mortgage back in November when we started the process of buying our first home in San Francisco. My husband and I both work full-time jobs with demanding hours, so Pete Elting graciously met us on a Saturday morning and spent almost 3 hours going over the ins and outs of buying a home. He was incredibly patient, thorough, and kind explaining the basics which I would imagine most brokers would find annoying. His transparency about the entire process really put us at ease. We were pre-approved that day and the house-hunting began. Once we got the process going, we were introduced to Tom Barnes who was our account manager. We instantly felt comfortable with Tom, like we had known him for years. He answered a ton of questions for us along the way and never made us feel like we were bothering him. He, too, had incredible patience. Once we started putting offers in, Pete and Tom were available pretty much 24-hours a day to write pre-approval letters for us. They responded promptly and were very honest with us about everything, we really appreciated that about them. The entire home-buying process can be really stressful, but having a team that was honest, open, and responsive was absolutely critical. I don't think my emails ever went more than an hour or two without a response from Pete or Tom. I can't say enough great things about this team. I also have to mention Shawn Leonard who helped with escrow, and he pretty much rounded out the perfect mortgage team. I would never buy a house from anyone else. THANK YOU Pete, Tom, and Shawn for helping us buy our first home! read more

We were referred to Tom Barnes and Pete Elting through friends that recently used them to buy their first home. Since we too were new to the whole process, we followed their lead and met with Tom and Pete. Our work schedules made it hard to meet mid-day they stuck around after work for us and we met them at their office in San Francisco. First, I love that they have a parking lot that we were able to use. Small thing, but it made it incredibly convenient! We were there for I think over two hours. We came with all the financial paperwork suggested, and they literally explained every detail of the process to us. It took all the guessing out of the process. We were able to ask any questions we had and it was very comfortable. We left feeling like we were in more than capable hands. Once we found the first house we thought was the one, we contacted Tom and Pete and they immediately were able to send us pre-approval letters. They made themselves available at all times. When a couple houses we bid on didn't work out they were encouraging. Finally we got one and they were there every step of the paper-heavy way! I can only describe them as: responsive, detail oriented, professional and thorough. Overall we had a great experience using this team and would highly recommend them to anyone needing financing. Thanks Pete and Tom! read more

We worked with Susan Jessee at Guarantee Mortgage. She was amazing, and the whole staff was great in supporting her and us. I was recommending to Susan and now understand why. This was my first time buying a home and my fiance and I couldn't have been happier with the loan end of things. Definitely recommend working with a broker over going strait to a bank. Susan and the whole GM team really know their stuff and can help get you a great loan. read more

Beware of this mortgage company Guaranteed Rate. They totally screwed us. They are now costing us thousands and thousands of dollars and jeopardizing our ability to stay in our newly purchased home. They assured us they would recast our loan after the condo took a month longer to sell when our buyer opted out last minute. They gave us a inflated mortgage but in numerous conversations promised we could recast it to the original mortgage we could afford. We were even given a letter with wire info to pay our condo sales to after we closed on escrow. But after they took over 200,000$ from us - they called to inform us they would no longer do as promised to recast the loan. We can not afford this mortgage and are watching our money disappear into their hands each month. Beware! Do not use! read more

CJ Kerls is the man. He was able to help me and my realtor put together a reasonable FHA loan with some pretty wacky requirements for out of pocket on my end. The thing I liked most about Guarantee Mortgage is how technically adept they were. Over the course of about two months there were probably 100MB in attachments sent between us, but never once did I have to take time off of work to do something silly like go into their office to sign yet another redundant, unnecessary form. If you're looking for a mortgage broker that is on your side and really knows his stuff, look no further than CJ Kerls and Guarantee Mortgage. read more

Call up Guarantee Mortgage or go to their website and find Tim Higbee. HE IS AWESOME! He was referred to me by my realtor (Todd Wiley - a great realtor if you're looking for one!) and my experience with Tim was phenomenal. This was my first time buying a home, and Tim walked me through every step of the financing process and got me a great mortgage rate with the down payment that I could afford. At one point in the deal the bank was dragging its feet and the seller wanted to pull out. Tim stayed on top of the lender, was great at keeping me calm and explaining my options, letting the seller know what was happening, and he worked VERY hard to make sure the deal went through. From the moment I contacted him, Tim was professional, helpful, courteous, and clearly cared more about making sure I got the deal that best suited me than worrying about closing the sale. I could not have asked for a better mortgage guy and highly, highly recommend him to you. I promise you that when my next mortgage-related need comes up, I will definitely be calling Tim again! read more

CJ Kerls is a fantastic mortgage broker. He anticipates problems before they occur so he can solve them. He is knowledgeable about every new regulation and keeps up with the constantly changing lending environment we've been "enjoying" the last couple of years. It's all about getting the job done in the time required and CJ gets it done every time! read more

I had the pleasure to work with June David recently on a refinance and could not have been more pleased with my experience. June is everything you would want in a loan broker. She is efficient, honest and great at thinking outside the box if the deal is not straightforward. She is also very well connected and when I told her what I was interested in doing, she was able to get back to me within 48 hours with proposals from two banks. That is amazing in this market. Throughout the whole process she kept me abreast of what was going on so I never felt like I need to follow up or chase her. June does her due diligence up front to make the process as seamless as possible. If you are in the market, I highly recommend June David for all your loan needs. read more

We have nothing but great things to say about our mortgage broker, Mark Wiener. Mark is gem and very responsive! He listens and truly enjoys walking us through the entire process with much patience and thoughtful consideration for our borrowing situation. We feel in control and knowledgeable with Mark, but most of all we trust him. My partner and I are first time home buyers so we have lots of questions. I think anyone fortunate enough to work with Mark will feel the same way. He makes this process rather enjoyable which is not easy to do, especially in this economy! Here's his info: Cell: 415.235.9005, Direct: 415.694.5521, Email: markw@gmwest.com read more

This review is for CJ, Chelsea, Lucy, and Steve. What an awesome and amazing team I got to work with! Being a first time homebuyer, I had a lot of questions and concerns at each step of the way. I am needy... to say the least, and on top it all, I expect A LOT. I was skeptical about being able to close in 17 days, as our contingency. The team was able to get everything to close within a record breaking 14 days! I had worked with Citibank at an earlier offer and while they had slightly lower rates, they were not attentive, not responsive, and I highly doubt they would have been able to stick with our strict contingency. I liked not being stressed out about the other party doing their job in my best interest. I would work with the above individuals again and hopefully I will in the future. read more

If I could have a dozen more stars for Cecelia Tyeskey, it wouldn't be enough. My wife and I just had the pleasure of working with her through a very challenging mortgage loan. From the start, before we had even met, Cecelia spent 30 minutes on the phone with me asking all the right questions and giving me all the right directions. Throughout the process, Cecelia's honesty, warm professionalism and vast amount of experience continously showed. So very prompt with phone calls and emails, keeping us abreast of all the things we needed to know, even late evenings, it was evident how invested in our well-being and satisfaction she was. In my loan process, there were many snafu's but with every curve Cecelia was able to adjust and give me all my options. In the end (which was all that mattered), she got us the most competitive mortgage rate and now we have our dream home. We are so very, very thankful we had the pleasure of working with Cecelia and without a doubt, you will too. Thank you Cecelia!! read more

I had the pleasure of working with Natasha Lovas. She was incredibly attentive from my very first inquiry. She was helpful and very informative through the process. I was purchasing a TIC, so the bank made it a very long, drawn-out process, but Natasha kept me updates at all times. She was also a great help to an out-of-stater about TICs!! She coordinated very well with my real estate agent, Carlos Cabarcos at Vanguard Properties, and her associate, Shawn Leonard, was equally attentive. I wouldn't go anywhere else for assistance with a mortgage. read more

I was hoping to set an appointment with one of the brokers here. My case was picked up by CJ, but he was unavailable to meet with me. At this point he probably should have passed my case on to another broker in the office, but instead he said that he had family coming and asked if we could we meet up in a few weeks. This was a few months ago and no word from CJ or Guarantee. I guess Yelp is feeding them enough clients. read more

Cecelia Tyeskey at Guarantee Mortgage is an amazing real estate broker. I used her when I purchased my house and I have at least 25 clients who have also used her to buy their homes and/or refinance. Besides providing excellent customer service, she is also very honest and always has her clients' best interests at heart. I have seen her go way above and beyond the call of duty to help her clients. She is also very good at educating first time buyers about the financing process and explaining their options. I just can't say enough positive things about her in this review to do her justice. Her website with contact information is posted at cmtloans.com and her email is cecelia@tyeskey.com. read more

CJ Kerls is a mortgage master! I was referred to him by my killer real estate team of Peter Goss and Robert Dana (Zephyr). CJ rapidly and creatively overcame various hurdles in my loan process, helping me to buy a new home in Marin before selling my condo in the city. He worked out bridge financing for me by arranging a 2nd mortgage on the new home, which can be paid off without penalty as soon as we sell our condo. CJ kept me up to date with the status of my loan at all times, fielded all of my annoying questions, and was always friendly and pleasant to deal with. Highly recommend! read more

My boyfriend and I worked with CJ Kerls recently to purchase our first home. Our agent referred us to him by saying "if you're going to do this type of loan, I wouldn't feel comfortable working with anyone else." Boy, was she right! Besides the baseline fact that CJ was able to offer us great rates, he was really exceptional to work with. Before we even started, CJ took an afternoon to sit down with us and walk us through the loan process. He explained every -- and I mean every! -- little cost, line item, expense and potential pitfall. He explained every assumption he was making, gave us a TON of options, and helped steer us in the right direction when we didn't know what we were doing. Once we made an offer, CJ was right there pushing the whole thing along. Our transaction was incredibly complicated, and CJ kept everything sorted out and kept us in the loop throughout the whole process. He and his team pushed the right people when pushing was needed, saw pitfalls and helped us avoid them, and when problems did arise, he was right there with a solution. I can't recommend CJ highly enough. read more

If you are looking for a home loan or a refinance than LOOK NO FURTHER! Stephen Barber at Guaranteed Rate is the best in the business. He is extremely knowledgeable about the mortgage business and know every way to secure a loan. Stop looking and contact Stephen! read more

Phillip Cannon and Robert Imazumi went above and beyond to make sure we were pre-approved on a VERY short timeline (only a couple of days), then were able to secure our loan in time for a 21 day escrow. The whole time, they did a great job of keeping us informed and helping us understand the process. They rock! Phillip also helped us get our mortgage for our last house and I cannot emphasize enough how professional and hard-working he is. read more

We have worked with Pete Elting of Guarantee Mortgage for over five years; during which he has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to honesty and integrity. We consider Pete a trusted business advisor who took the time to understand our personal and professional goals and aligned our mortgage strategy as such. Pete led us through the initial purchase of our home 5 years ago. In addition to securing an outstanding rate, he was able to provide long term guidance as we planned to refinance down the road. We maintained a close relationship with Pete over this 5 year period, constantly assessing the "puts" and "takes" during these tumultuous times. When the time was right, Pete was able to lock a truly outstanding rate at the end of 2008 and secured a mortgage product that will offer our family the financial stability we seek in this chaotic market. Pete is a consummate professional and we would highly recommend his services. read more

In this incredibly competitive Bay Area real estate market, we feel very fortunate to have worked with Eric Wassmann at Guaranteed Rate Mortgage. Eric was always available to answer questions --his response rate was minutes! He is professional and extremely easy to work with. We felt Eric always had our best interests at heart. Eric was able to lock us into an excellent rate, and we are loving our new home. We highly recommend Eric Wassmann and the Guaranteed Rate team! read more

I was referred to Tim Higbee by friends who had worked with him to finance their initial home purchase in 2008 and several refinancings since then. As a first time home buyer, I was thrilled to have Tim really take the time to discuss the overall process and explore some potential solutions to specific questions in my case. In this tough fast-moving market, Tim never missed the mark in sending pre-approval letters on a timely basis as part of the offer process. My broker in Marin, who had not previously worked with Tim, was impressed by his responsiveness. Tim was very professional throughout the process and a real pleasure to work with. Thanks so much, Tim! read more

Stephen Barber--managing partner at Guarantee Mortgage. In the worst credit market in history, Stephen was instrumental in procuring a loan with a great rate. What more do you want? How about constant personal service, insuring that everything was fully documented, and preparing us for the silliness of banking in the world today. Stephen even took time from his vacation to insure that we got what we needed when we needed it. Finally, Stephen had our best interests at heart...steering us away from products that would have earned him more money because they were not right for us. Stop reading this and call him already! read more

Avoid at all costs. I was looking for a lender who could help me out of a sticky escrow situation. May Montana was quick to respond when I emailed her team and she provided some helpful information. She got upset and refused to help me further when I wouldn't tell her what interest rates her competitors had offered me. I was only willing to say other rates I had been quoted were MUCH lower as I didn't think the actual rates were relevant to our conversation of whether or not her company could provide financing in this situation. She passive-aggressively said that she had referrals she could give me but not if I didn't want to continue the conversation. I had to hold back laughter at her transparently manipulative tactics. After our phone call I emailed her and her team thanking them for their time and letting them know I wouldn't be using their services. She responded with bizarro emails about me not being willing to accept help when offered, that I declined to hear about their other programs, and they would need my income, DTI, assets, and other financial information to make a determination. If she had requested that information I would have been more than willing to provide it as it is relevant to a loan application. The only thing I wasn't willing to say was rates other banks had offered, and she shut down the conversation on that point. Shop around. There are MUCH better loan companies and interest rates out there. read more

Kami Zolfaghari was awesome to work with. He got me an extremely competitive rate and jumped through countless lender hoops to get the deal done. Very appreciative of his follow-through and integrity. read more

Can't say enough good things about Guarantee Mortgage and CJ Kerls in particular. He was responsive through the whole process, walked me through the logistics of buying a house, and helped me figure out what would be in my price range. In particular, his summary sheets breaking down the purchase price, down payment, closing costs, tax writeoff amount and net monthly payments were really useful in the planning process. At the end of the day he got me in the best possible mortgage. I'll definitely use CJ again. read more

Mark Wiener was an exceptional agent. I worked with him on a mortgage and a couple refinances. He was smarth, and thoughtful the whole way. He even came out with one of his co-workers to help me with some specifics at my house (basically handyman work was done by them for free... wow) You will not go wrong with this guy, and you will definitely save money when you are done working with him. read more

I have used Pete and now Tom for a purchase and then refi in San Francisco, and now a purchase in SoCal. They are proactive and hypercompetent. In one of my loan application processes, I called Pete to ask about some wording that I didn't understand. It seemed like there was the potential for some phrasing to be interpreted in a way that would cost me much more than I had anticipated. A lot of the paperwork was relatively new--a result of the mortgage market's tightening post-fiscal crisis. Pete, at the end of a long day, was struggling to wrap his mind around the phrase I was relaying over the phone. After several minutes of conversation, he ultimately admitted that he couldn't give me an informed explanation of what the wording meant, but he gave me his word that the ultimate cost of the loan (the fees and such) would be very close to the amount he had originally estimated. He, of course, was right. It was a very confidence-inspiring experience; I have had no desire to try anyone else, even after locating to LA county. read more