*Realtor review.* Buyers beware of who you choose at this office location. It's always tough to…read moreknow in beginning stages of choosing a lender/Loan Officer, but maybe this experience will help you avoid massive headaches.
Typically, Fairway is known to be a solid lender and competitive option for Loan Officers. I've worked with several lenders, including Fairway (different offices) over the last 7.5 years as a full-time Realtor, some closings with them this year as well (2022). One that I closed a couple of months back (different office) was fantastic!
To help him save face, I'll hold off on mentioning specific names of Loan Officers and other staff, but I'm in the process of a horribly messy transaction, where I represent seller. The buyer's agent is cooperative and making good effort... same with the buyer and seller.
At the start, the Loan Officer, we'll call him "C" was professional, reassuring us all that the buyer's file was buttoned-up. I asked questions over a lengthy phone call, and things seemed to be fine. Communication seemed completely fine, but I always take that with a grain of salt since it's only the beginning.
Well... communication and updates drastically changed once the buyer started to run into hurdles, closer to closing. I attempted to work with the Loan Officer to find a solution, same with his assistant. After about a week of no success, I reached out to management. This improved communication slightly, but after our first closing extension (now in need of our second), we (buyer's agent, escrow and me) get either 1) silence and no responses, or 2) written excuses of being in meetings and that they'd handle it soon later on.
I DO understand everyone is busy. I DO understand we aren't owed to be treated like royalty, but if Fairway is providing little to literally no updates, there's no excuse.
I've also voiced this to Corporate and the complaint department in Texas. I'm waiting on a call from someone else to hopefully better assist the borrower and all parties.
By far, this has been THE worst Loan Officer experience in my entire career. I'm saddened and shocked that Fairway and it's support so far has moved so slowly to help.
A solution to help the buyer close was fiiiiiiiinally presented on Friday, with Fairway letting us know the #s were off and that buyer needed $3.3k to close. The buyer's agent and I agreed to pay 1/3 each to help the buyer. We asked Fairway to chip in since we've been waiting on them, to cover an equal portion to help get this closed.
After hearing zero updates, the buyer's agent informs me that Fairway has asked the buyer to come up with $1.3k more..... Fairway's portion.
(Edit: Fairway now has agreed to cover $1.1k)
I understand people make mistakes, people get busy and everyone needs to make a living. But, being a Realtor and lender is about customer service. Sometimes you need to take a hit for clients. You don't bury your head in the sand when things get hard, nor do you just disappear.
I'm shocked at the way all of this is being handled and feel incredibly sorry for the buyer's experience and my seller waiting.
Regardless of how Fairway might respond, I have all the unanswered texts, emails and proof that this service has been literally the worst.
If you're searching for a lender, try a different office or different lender. The buyer's agent likely recommended this Loan Officer and he's having second thoughts after this poorly handled mess.
We'll see if anyone ever responds and how this plays out. Happy to give more details if you'd like, as I'd love to prevent anyone else from going through this... fellow realtors, buyers or sellers.
Lastly, if you read other random Google reviews of mine, you'll see I'm not one to just attack companies. I try to give fair reviews for the public to enjoy places, services or be aware of bad experiences. Based on other reviews, we just got the short end of the stick, but I wouldn't take a gamble with such a big process at stake. There are several other lenders and Loan Officers.
