Phil Gerstner has really earned the title of "Greatest Lender" in working with me and Julie. I generally view mortgage brokers and bank mortgage reps as sharks who are out to take advantage of the home buyer. In our search for homes in San Ramon, California and Salem, Oregon we worked with 5 realtors and several mortgage people at a bank and independent brokerages. Out of the mortgage reps two gave me the feeling that they were interested in working for the clients' benefit; Phil is one of those two. Phil worked with us as we made offers on three houses and then competed head to head with one of the other brokers to provide us the best options on the home we did buy. I feel Phil did not just intend to sell us a product, but that he really worked for our benefit. We have also recently closed on a very satisfactory refinance. Again, Phil counseled us on the timing in the market, worked closely with us at every step and has really seemed to have our interest in mind. I recommend Phil Gerstner as THE broker to work with in the Salem, Oregon area. read more

We are small business owners which made our loan situation very complex. We tried working with two other lending institutions before we heard about Phil. He was a perfect fit. He's a CPA so he understood how our business was set up and how that translated to our personal home loan. Nothing was one-size-fits-all. Phil tailored everything. He listened to what our long term financial goals were, how much we wanted to put down, and some of our concerns with different loan products. He ran spreadsheet after spreadsheet and walked us through the many options available to us and made suggestions on what seemed the best fit. We were always able to get a hold of Phil when we had a question. For such a complicated process, we never felt like we didn't understand what was going on. Phil did such a good job explaining. He went above and beyond to make sure we knew where we were in the process and what to expect next. There were no surprises. We're now in our new house and so pleased with the whole process! read more

We were introduced to Phil through our real estate agent. We were going through a different mortgage broker but ran into a snag. After a short sale the waiting period on purchasing a home using a standard loan is 4 years, however there are exceptions to this rule. Our previous mortgage broker had no way to help us. This is when we were introduced to Phil. He jumped right in there and exhausted his resources to help us get our home. Phil is the type of mortgage broker everyone needs in their corner. He has tons of experience and doesn't quit when things get a little tricky. Phil finds a way to get it done. Through the process Phil was prompt, professional, and communicative. When you are making such an important decision it's great to know you experience professionals in your corner making sure you get the best deal you can, Phil did this for us. read more

Phil was exceptional to work with during the recent purchase of my home. He went above and beyond several times during this process such as meeting with me on a Saturday evening to begin my application so I could obtain a loan pre-approval letter by the next day, being flexible with me about meeting times and locations (and offering a sincere smile and genuine grace when I was late to one of our meetings), and showing up at 8:30 in the morning to sit with me as I signed the closing documents on my new home. Purchasing a home can be a lengthy, confusing, and scary process, but Phil went out of his way to make this the fastest (42 days from offer to closing) and absolute BEST home buying experience of my life. I highly recommend Phil and can say with confidence that he will be my first call when I need another mortgage loan. read more

Phil was an absolute wonderful lender to work with as my husband and I set out to purchase our first home. He was so informative, helpful and you could really tell that he genuinely cared. We could call him after "work hours" if ever there were any questions and he was always available through and through. We really appreciated his thoroughness and efficiency through a process that we knew very little about. It felt good to have him on our team and to help us understand every little thing. His calculations and predictions were also pretty close to perfect. There were no surprises at any point in the process and we really, really appreciated that. I would highly recommend him to anyone needing a lender whether now or in the future. I know this won't be the last time we work him. read more

We started the process of attaining a creative loan for an investment property in January 2020, just before finalizing the loan, covid-19 hit and our bank plus others dropped the loan for fear and that is when Phil Gerstner of Lighthouse Financial stepped in with tenacity, drive and fortitude, we overcame several obstacles due to the shutdown of the banking industry and government offices but Phil persevered and we completed our loan closing in June 2020, it would not of happened if Phil was not as diligent, detailed and driven to help us complete this goal. We are forever grateful and would highly recommend Phil Gerstner for your loan needs. Thanks Again Phil your our superstar, MDS Properties LLC read more

I have worked with Phil for many years, buying rental properties and personal properties and I can say that I've never worked with a better mortgage broker. Phil is a CPA as well as a mortgage broker, and if you're someone who has complicated finances and tons of documentation to submit for a loan, there is no one better to help you sort through it and make recommendations. I have found him to be extremely detail oriented, flexible, responsive and most importantly, highly creative in getting you the best loan possible. Plus he's a super nice guy! read more

Phil is great! He helped my wife and I purchase our first home together. He truly worked for us from day one to closing. My wife and I had no knowledge of the purchase and financing process and had some of the most outrageous and off the wall questions at times and Phil was able to give us answers for all of them even if it was on a Saturday at 7:45pm. He was great to work with and the only person we will use for any future purchases. I would recommend him to anyone! read more

I highly recommend Phil Gerstner and his team at Lighthouse Home Loans, whether you are new at the buying process, or wanting to get into investment properties, or refinancing. My husband and I have done all three types of transactions working with Phil and Lighthouse. I can always trust Phil in finding the best programs for our transactions and guiding us through the process. We'll be calling him the next time we need any kind of real estate financing! read more

word is not enough for me to show how much I appreciate you Phil. buying a manufactured home was not as easy as buying a home built on the land but you made it happen for our famil. We have been in our home for almost 2 months and everyday I thank God for his faithfulness for answers to our prayers, and sent you to help us. May God bless you abundantly Phil, much more than you and your crew have bless us! read more

I've worked with Phil many times. In every situation he has given service that exceeded expectation. The competence and thoroughness of Phil and his staff made the whole transaction easier. There are a lot of places a transaction can go wrong, but it won't be Phil's piece and on more than one occasion he and his team identified issues in the larger transaction before they could go wrong. read more

We have worked with Phil 3 times now: purchase of first home, 2nd home and now a refinance. We love his experience, knowledge and friendly service. He communicates well and is very patient in answering all of our questions. We highly recommend him to all our friends and family! Thank you, Phil! Sincerely, The Krugers read more

Highly recommend using Phil Gerstner, we have used him twice and each time it was such a pleasant experience. There was no guess work or having to contact him for further information, they were in contact with us and giving us useful information. He makes the loan experience easy! Made us feel like personal friends. read more

Phil and his team at Lighthouse Financial are truly an asset to the industry. Phil is amazing at his job and has helped my wife and I with a few mortgage/refi projects. Excellent service, honest business, genuinely helpful. We recommend Phil and his team to all of our family and friends and have for almost a decade. read more

Phil was absolutely amazing! He was so patient throughout the whole process, and always helped us understand exactly what we were doing, as well as provided resources to help us obtain everything. He was even awesome enough to come to our closing and make sure we understood everything up until the last dotted line. read more

He's the best! We have purchased 2 homes and both times Phil was our guy. He does everything he can to make sure the transaction is smooth and has the knowledge to get you the best deal he possibly can. I wouldn't use anybody else and I recommend him to all of my friends who are thinking of buying a house! read more

First time home buyer here- Phil was amazing and I would recommend him to anyone buying a home. He went above and beyond to get us our home loan. He stuck to our budget and did everything he could to make it work for us. He walked us through the process and helped us every step of the way! read more

Phil and his team are fabulous. Professional, knowledgeable, polite, and responsive. We were looking for a lender specializing in VA loans, and found the right man. I would highly recommend him to anyone, anytime for their lending needs! read more

All loan brokers should be as good as Phil. Professional and trustworthy, he and his team get good loan options and offer the best packages that meet your needs. We will not use anyone but Phil for future lending needs. read more