Townstone Financial, Dave Hochberg and his conglomerate of team members have been and continue to be honest, straightshooting, integrity-minded individuals - professionals that actually display professionalism!! My experiences - I called him on his show one Saturday in December 2010 and talked to David and the real estate attorney/guest Bob Lattas when dealing with Big Blue Chase Bank (my 1st & 2nd Mortgage Holders) regarding my loan modification attempts. David and Bob provided excellent advice (free of charge) on the show but also with follow ups afterward personally (also free of charge) - even though I had not done any business with them and still haven't as of yet - which demonstrated the reality that they go above & beyond the call of duty. David has made himself available early in the mornings and even on calls or e-mails at 10:00pm at night with me!! What big, giant, mega-monster lost-in-the-shuffle bank/lender would/could ever provide that type of service?? David and Bob were honest about the fact that at the time in trying to get my loan mod for my mortgages a lot of them simply were not working out - the banks/lenders were/are really not our friends and would, in many cases, would rather just foreclose than "work with you" on a loan mod with the new realistic budget in our new economy (personal and macro)since 2008 hit. Time has proved that to be true in my family's case as job/career losses, stage 3 cancer, near death from a broken appendix and other hardships produced a bowl of "life happens soup" for me and my wife before and after the failed loan mod. They have let me know of my options as time has gone along in one of the most difficult, horrible stretches in my life and I know that even though my home will be foreclosed or short saled as I Chapter 7 out all of the debt out to get a fresh start, Two or three years from now after the bankruptcy discharge and transfer of deed/sale, I can get an FHA loan with 3.5% down and in the meantime work on rebuilding my credit with Gary Novel - who, by the way, when I called him to leave a message on a Sunday morning figuring I'd get a callback Monday or Tuesday - called me back 15 MINUTES LATER THAT SUNDAY MORNING! Who else and what other team would be willing to take time out of their Sunday morning to volunteer to do that? I've had the privilege of referring clients to David and the Townstone team as someone working in the legal/financial community who has clients that were looking for a trustworthy mortgage pro to obtain the best purchase or refinance option/strategy or an issue related to their team and David and his team have communicated the truth with every one of them. Not only will I continue to refer friends, acquaintances, associates and clients to them but after I hit the reset button with my own situation I look forward to using Dave and the Townstone team for a home purchase when the timing is right in the relative near future. One other tidbit - I notice a couple of derogatory and defamatory "reviews" by a "Leo". With all due respect and no disrespect, as everyone is entitled to their opinion - as someone who works 10-12 hour days or longer for my own job/career to support my family - I deal with numerous people - clients and colleagues both - on a daily basis that sometimes want to "smooth talk" or "tickle the ears" to pander to get business or meander around the bush. David speaks with a firmness and clear confidence that can surprise a person initially - but what he speaks and the WAY he conveys and articulates a substantive financial issue especially related to the mortgage industry and how people are affected positively or negatively is with PASSION and CONVICTION - from the heart based on accurate knowledge and learned experience - wisdom. We need that in this day and age and it's all the more better that he has a financial radio show where he can put himself "in the shoes" of someone and let them know exactly what's is in their best interest to sometimes shock a person to their senses to get on the right track - sometimes Mr. Leo that may come across as brusque - it's called brutal honesty and the facts of reality that sometimes may sting like a bee - but the medicine is necessary in many instances. It's not at all rude or pompous to be practical, honest and truthful in business dealings in this day and age unless one prefers to be interviewed for an upcoming episode of "American Greed" Keep up the excellent work David and Townstone!! Dave W. - Homewood, IL read more

I purposely posted to this service because I want everyone to know that this agency came through for my family when no other banks/services would give me a chance. I had a tough case. My husband had been a full-time student and then out of work for three years, having landed a decent paying job just 6 months ago and I, still in school, have little in w-2s to show for myself. Our home-equity loan of 60 K was coming due this year, and coupled with 100 K for tuition (and growing) and a personal loan for 190 K which we couldn't pay interest on for over a year, I didn't know who would help us, but I didn't want to lose the house. I didn't even have enough to cover remaining tuition and a dissertation. My only saving grace was a good credit score. Bank of America solicited us and after spending hours and days submitting paperwork (and "communicating") we were refused for the issues that I spelled out at the outset to them. US Bank wouldn't even talk to me (try wading through their phone tree) even though I held the home equity with them (not my choice). Forays into a loan shark operation netted a best interest rate at 8.5% while SoFi's computers couldn't handle my numbers. I didn't know where to turn. I even called up a mortgage broker advertised on 820 AM who didn't return a call after my husband took a day off to talk to him! Then I heard Townstone Financial's ad on the same station. I talked to Ira who came up with a brilliant idea that I was able to take advantage of to reduce my debt ratio. Now, I looked like a better risk. I also was able to get a loan for more than I thought I could ask for. I was treated with kindness. How much would you pay for someone to find a creative solution to your grave-outlook problem ? Ira is brilliant. After reading some of the other reviews, I can tell you that Ira followed-up with me and kept me notified of where we were at with frequency. He called to make sure the closing went well. Yesterday, I deposited an enormous check into my acct. It is done. How do I thank Townstone for treating me like a human being? By giving you this unsolicited testimonial. Thanks Ira and Stella. heidi read more

In the spring of 2010, after teaching in France for 40 years, I retired and decided to become a first time homebuyer in Chicago. My only source of income was my Social Security and pension. I was having a difficult time securing financing with my 800 credit score. I contacted a number of mortgage brokers and banks and NONE of them could help me. Then my Realtor strongly recommended I call David, because he has a knack of getting loans approved when others cannot. I contacted David while in France and even with the time difference, David reviewed my information and devised a plan that enabled me to purchase my first home. I was apprehensive because everybody I talked to who reviewed the exact same information said I couldn't purchase a home. I was impressed how David solved my problem and secured me an excellent loan. This man thinks out of the box, is a specialist and a problem solver. I have read Leo's and Diane's comments and that wasn't my experience. David was always available to answer my questions promptly (and being nervous about the big step, I had plenty of questions) but I was very touched that he showed up at my closing. The story doesn't end here. Four months later, David called and told me he can refinance me into a lower rate w/o any closing costs and I even got money back. The story still doesn't end here. David then called me a couple of months ago and asked if I wanted a lower rate at no cost to me. My rate went from the original 5.25% to 3.99%. The two refinances David did for me that did not cost me anything lowered my payment $300/month, which is savings of over $100k over my 30 year mortgage! I guess you can say I am 100,000% satisfied with David's expertise, professionalism and his unique ability to solve problems. I trust David so much that I have and will continue to recommend him to family and friends and to everybody on Yelp. PS: I imagine that this is finally "The End" but I would not put it past David to call me again! read more

It's about time someone out here watches out for the little people as the banks sure as heck don't. I emailed David about a re-fi for our house. About a week went by and I did not hear anything back from David. That day at a clients location I was listening to WGN and David was about to come on to Garry Meiers' show. I sent a text to Garry asking him to let David know that I had emailed him and didn't hear back. 30 seconds later I received a response from Garry, and 15 minutes after that I received a voice-mail from David (since I was still on location I didn't get to the phone). With having an odd schedule I can be tough to get in touch with, but David tried several times via email and voice-mail over the next several days. As Garry responded to me via text, David gets hundreds of emails every day and sometimes some of them fall through the cracks. In hindsight I myself should have just emailed David again a few days after the first attempt assuming that he DOES get a lot of messages (especially with times being as they are) and mine might not have gone through. When we finally spoke, David was very personable and easy to talk to. He was able to answer all my questions and was able to look up information about our current loan that I wasn't aware of. Towards the end of the conversation David decided to refer me directly to someone he trained who works for our mortgage lender, forgoing any commission he might have made on this deal. Talk about a class act! Not only did David try several times to contact me (which most companies would have probably written my business off after 1 or 2 tries), and instead of trying to be greedy and make money in his pocket, he turned us on to someone who can help us directly at our lender which will help speed up the process for us. Folks, if that isn't great customer service I don't know what is. You definitely need to contact David and see what he can do for you! read more

Weeks ago, I heard David Hochberg on with Garry Meier discussing the advantages of having access to a HELOC - even though David's company does not offer HELOCs. I heard David tell the caller to contact his office, and he'll supply the name of a reliable guy to contact to get a HELOC. Go to his guy. I took those words to heart. My wife and I have worked hard to save our money, not spend extravagantly, have money set aside for retirement, and pay off our mortgage as early as we could. But while the rest of our investments are relatively liquid, our house is certainly not a liquid investment. David's advice about having access to a HELOC before an emergency actually hits made more and more sense as I thought about it and the weeks went by. So I emailed David's office asking if I could get information on whom I should contact. I was shocked to actually get a callback from David himself within 90 minutes, and this was on a Friday late afternoon! I mean, HELOCs aren't even a business Townstone is in, and here's the head honcho calling me late on a Friday afternoon! I've heard David enough with Garry Meier to know that David really knows his stuff, is forthright, and I believe him to be totally honest. Now, to hear back from him directly, talk about service! Talk about caring enough to make someone's life a bit better financially when there's nothing it in for him, now that's SERVICE!!! I'm just now finishing up with David's guy in setting up the HELOC. If David provides that kind of customer service when I'm not really his customer, I can only imagine the high level of service if I were his customer! Anyone that needs a mortgage or a refi or a reverse mortgage - or in my case, a HELOC, contact Townstone Financial. It's the first and only place I'd recommend to my friends and relatives. read more

When my husband and I were ready to buy our first home, we met with a bank and even received a pre-approval letter. However, we did not feel as educated about the process, all the numbers, and the approval itself, as we wanted to be. So, based on a recommendation from a close friend, we visited David Hochberg from Townstone Financial. We met with David for almost 3 hours on a Friday afternoon and truly felt like we understood what we needed to in order to proceed with our first home purchase. We felt more empowered. Most importantly, David ran my credit report, discussed it thoroughly with us, and found some things that would have kept us from finalizing the closing of any home (which the bank I previously spoke to didn't even acknowledge!). David armed us with the tools we needed in order to improve my credit, we did exactly as he advised, and within a couple of weeks, my lowest credit score increased a very significant 60 points! David is so passionate about what he does and is very eager to share his vast knowledge, allowing people like me to feel far more confident about decisions being made and steps being taken to attain our dream. David is a real no nonsense type of person, tells you how it is, and does not waste your or his time sugar coating things or giving you incorrect information. Always ready to answer our questions, as dumb as they may sound to us, and eager to help us on our way to buy our first home (which has becoming less scary because of his help), David is absolutely going to be our go to person whenever we want to make any decisions regarding mortgages, credit maintenance, etc. I have already recommended David and Townstone Financial to various people, and will continue to do so because what you get is top-notch, no BS, service. read more

I don't typically write reviews (I've never really had a reason to). I definitely feel I have a reason now. I can't say enough about my experience with Townstone Financial, specifically, David Hochberg. My husband and I tried to refinance with Wells Fargo and Chase bank to no avail. We were basically told that it was impossible to refi and the banks weren't interested in doing it. We were very frustrated. We called David and he returned our call within the hour. After asking some basic questions he told us he was pretty sure he could do the refi. That was three refis ago! I have read the other reviews and can honestly say I'm not sure where Mary and Leo are coming from. He is definitely blunt and to the point but that is exactly what is needed. He knows the mortgage market better than anyone and he certainly isn't going to blow smoke and tell you something that is not true just to try to get your business. Every time I called or email he was very prompt at getting back to us. David has saves us thousands of dollars when other banks wouldn't give us the time of day. We had such a great experience with David that I referred my sister and brother-in-law to him. I don't typically refer people. I'm always worried that the experience will go badly and then I feel responsible, but I knew David would take care of them and he did. He help them through the entire process. He got them a fantastic realtor and attorney and they closed on their dream home a couple of weeks ago. We will never use anyone else but David and his team and we are very grateful! I would refer him to anyone who needs a mortgage or is refinancing and know they will be taken care of. read more

I have been in my house for a month now thanks to David Hockberg. I cannot recommend him enough. Please allow me to outline his awesomeness. Several months ago, I reached out to David to check the feasibility of purchasing a home. I have to tell you that when you call Townstone Financial, David answers the phone. And if he doesn't? He returns your call ASAP. I told him up front that my loan would be modest, yet he treated me like I was buying the Taj Mahal. And he's funny! I enjoyed every interaction I had with him. David gave me great advice - how to improve my credit, how to work with cash gifts from family, and always answered my calls and questions promptly. But David did more than that - I had a problem with a past mortgage I was no longer responsible for - appearing on my credit. What I paid my useless lawyer thousands of dollars for, David accomplished, free of charge. The entry was removed and I was free to buy home - but it doesn't stop there. Because of a sweetheart deal Illinois has with a few towns and very few lenders, I qualified for a down payment grant in the town I moved to. David is not a part of this program, but wished me well and simply asked that I pass his name to anyone I know who was interested in buying a home. I asked David if I could compensate him for his time, he worked with me for MONTHS, and he wouldn't take a dime. David is the man to go to when you want to buy a home. He works miracles, and gives you the best information available. read more

I met David Hochberg about 18 months ago after Wells Fargo completely screwed up a loan for me and I had to scramble to find financing. Although that purchase didn't work out (at no fault of David's or Townstone Financial's) I kept his contact information. When I needed a loan for my latest purchase this year, I only called David this time and it was the best move I could have made. In addition to purchasing a home, I was working 50 hours a week and planning a wedding at the same time. David made the whole process as easy as possible. He showed up at my door to drop off paperwork in person on a Saturday, took my phone calls on his cell on a Sunday and really went the extra mile to help me. His assistant Lindsey was fantastic as well and really helped me get this all done in a timely fashion. Emails were returned quickly and I NEVER had an issue getting a hold of him or Lindsey. I work for a major insurance company and personally deal with banks and mortgage brokers on a daily basis. During my 13 years in the industry, I can say without a doubt that David Hochberg is the most knowledgable, hard working and client-centric mortgage professional I have ever met. I highly recommend working with him. Even though I didn't have a large purchase he could retire on, David, Lindsey and the rest of Townstone Financial treated me like a million-dollar client and I couldn't ask for anything more! read more

I can't say enough about Townstone. I was searching for a loan for over a year, and was turned down even with my perfect credit. I heard Dave on the radio and I thought it couldn't hurt to try. Dave came out to my office and brought the documents to get started and was very positive about securing a loan, even though I had my doubts about getting a loan in this economy. He proved to me that he has great contacts and knows how to get things done. Long story short, I closed 3 loans with him and he got me better rates than the other banks were offering. I had to get a couple extra appraisals because of red tape with the banks and Dave was nice enough to compensate me out of his pocket which I have never heard of any big company doing !!! I'm not sure how many employees he has but things went right through the system like clockwork. His assistant Annette was especially helpful with fixing things every time the bank threw in a monkey wrench, we just chewed it up and spit it out...lol...Listen to his radio show as he tells the truth about the banks and even more. He has a lot of courage using his free speech to speak the truth about what is going on in this country on his two hour show every Saturday. I am actually looking forward to doing more business with him since I now have an avenue to get loans closed quickly......Bill form Bridgeport...:) read more

My boyfriend is an avid listener of WLS am radio and he is the one that insisted that I call Dave because he listens to him all the time. I finally called Townstone Financial on Thursday to speak with Dave, I had to leave a message and he called me back that Saturday afternoon!! Who returns business calls on Saturday?? Dave does! I was very impressed that he took my business that seriously to call me on a Saturday! He apologized for disturbing me on a Saturday and for not being able to get back with me sooner. He was very professional on the phone and I told him the reason for my call was to get some options for refinancing my home. He said he would work on it and he would call me that Monday. He came up with a much better option for me than my current lending institution never even considered. Dave suggested that I do an Express Home Improvement Loan to pay down some of my debt prior to refinancing. He said that it would save me more money and even improve my credit score. Everything Dave said was true and he really helped me see things much clearer and I felt a huge relief after speaking with him. I will recommend his services to everyone I know and if I would give him 6 stars on this website I could! Seriously people if you are having some financial difficulties Call Dave he really knows his business and you can trust his Knowledge!!! read more

Townstone Financial and David Hochberg are the best in the business! My review for him and his company could not be higher and if I could give him a 10 star rating I would. First of all as the Local Sales Manager for one of the radio stations he advertises on I can say in the five years I have worked with David i have never recieved a complaint call from a listener who has called him for help! That in itself is an amazing success rate. Beyond that I had a good rate on my house for a 30 year loan. I told David what the rate was and he told me I can get you almost a point lower and you will pay nothing for the loan. Not only did he deliever on ALL OF HIS PROMISES but he did with the professionalism and knowledge that you rarely see in his industry! I closed my new 30 year loan with NO CLOSING COSTS AND PAYED NOTHING! David saved my wife and I close to $400 a month. He was a complete professional and the best part of the entire situation was how well he explained everything to my wife and I. Not only did he take the time to review the process but also explained how he could give us such a great deal. Since re-fiing with David and Townstone my wife and I have recommened many people to him! The feedback is always the same: Professional, Brillant and Honest. I can't think of three better words to describe David Hochberg and Townstone Financial. read more

I used Townstone this summer to obtain financing for the purchase of my first home. The service I received at Townstone was fantastic- first of all due to no fault of their own my business with Townstone wasn't as smooth as I'd hoped- you see, I applied for and used the FHA first time home-buyers tax credit as soon as it was announced- because hubby and I don't make an obscene amount of money most of the homes we were interested in were foreclosures then add to all that our good-but-less-than-perfect credit scores and you can see how things could have been bumpy! If you've tried to buy a foreclosed home then you know there's A LOT of red tape to get through. The folks at Townstone were persistent and patient from start to finish- they got us a fantastic rate on a very reasonable mortgage, helped us understand why there were delays and what special circumstances applied to buying a foreclosed home while using a FHA loan- they explained everything to my satisfaction and beyond. David was of particular help and I very much appreciated the other staff with whom I spoke with almost weekly! I highly recommend using Townstone Financial if you're thinking of purchasing a home- they'll get you the best rate out there (given your particular circumstances) and make sure you understand the financing process. Best Wishes! read more

David Hochberg and Townstone Financial were incredible in helping me wrap up my 30-yr home loan. My wife and I had some serious financial hurdles and there were also some challenges with the property as well. We had been through two "bank" mortgage lenders that treated us like we were on an assembly line and David was the complete opposite. He provides creative solutions that banks don't even know about because their "brokers" have probably been pushed through certification exams and out onto the streets with no training. David is the best in the state of Illinois (if not beyond) and I've recommended him to several family members and friends who would all agree that he is a 5-Star professional at a first rate company. For those who find David's directness as aggressive or crass, you're not paying attention. David is an assertive, get-right-to-the-point kind of guy who looks for solutions and works efficiently. He understands your time is valuable and I'm sure his time is valuable as well. Personally, I find it refreshing and wish more service providers were as direct with me in presenting problems & solutions so that I could have avoided previous disasters because too many professionals beat around the bush and tell me what I want to hear instead of what I need to hear. read more

I've heard Townstone's ads on a radio station that I frequently listen to. I had some issues with an underwater mortgage and was running out of ideas, so I figured it couldn't hurt to contact them and see if they could help with anything. Within a day I was emailing back and forth with David Hochberg, the company's president. Later that day he called me to explain that due to my situation, his company was unable to help me. David didn't just let me go there though. He spent at least half an hour talking me through what some of my options going forward were. He then put me in touch with another company that could better help with my financial needs. He has since called back several times just to check in on the progress. In all my dealings with David Hochberg, he was helpful, knowledgeable, and above all, extremely honest. He spent a good amount of time helping me, knowing that his company wouldn't be profiting from me. At no time was I charged any fee, or was a fee even brought up. As my financial situation changes, I definitely look forward to working with Townstone financial in the future. I can say I will certainly be going to them for any mortgage needs I may have, and I recommend others do so as well. read more

I have now worked with David on 2 different occasions after listening to him on the radio and his ads. First he did my mortgage when purchasing a new house and on a refi a couple months later when he saw the rate drop enough to help me. How about this I cut my payment $100 a month and paid nothing out of pocket on my refi!!!!!! Thanks too Dustin and Annette for their help closing both loans. As a professional in the real estate industry I can be involved in hundreds of real estate transactions a year and as a seller our biggest fear is dealing with Mortgage Brokers, but David is different. When you talk to him he tells you the straight scoop of what will work and what won't. The other difference is that most mortgage brokers have the philosophy of "GET THERE MONEY, GET THEM ON PAPER AND WE WILL FIGURE IT OUT LATER". Then a week before closing they tell the buyer, sorry we couldn't get the deal done. I've heard it to many times. You might not want to hear what David has to say sometimes, but it's better than being hung out to dry a week before closing. Bottom line is I trust David and that's why I've shared his name with a couple attorney's, a judge, family friends, and in people in my office. Thanks David, Tom read more

We called after hearing David on the Steve Dahl show and now the Steve Dahl Podcast for years. I have heard all the stories that David Hochberg has shared over the years and told my partner the only way I would refinance and most importantly handle everything from start to finish was if we used Townstone Financial. I called at about 9:30am and got a call back from David, the owner, within a half hour. He said one of his colleagues, Lin Takrudtong, would call me back within another half hour. I had to ask a number of questions as this is my first refinance and they did everything I asked, Lin presented three different choices. The most important thing was Lin said it is a way anyone could understand. They give an easy to complete list of what you need to provide which I completed in about an hour. We had our refinance in about a week signed, sealed and delivered in a little over a month. The only delay was Cook County being late sending out the tax paperwork so they very smartly told us to wait until that happened and then close. We now save about $400 a month on our mortgage and could not say enough about the whole experience which can be painful but they made a whole lot less painful. read more

I could go on and on about Townstone and the services provided by David Hochberg.They were the most professional, knowledgable, responsive people I have ever dealt with. We contacted them with questions about refinancing. They not only refinanced our 5.5% mortgage to a 3% but they also advised and assisted us in rolling all of our credit card debt into the mortgage, saving us thousands and showing us a way out of our debt that we never thought possible. We are forever in their debt, and cannot thank them enough for showing us a road to retirement that we never thought possible. We recommend them to EVERYONE - family, friends, etc. We cannot thank them enough. David even returned out calls on the weekends and handled all the paperwork in a timely fashion. They are the BEST! I cannot understand how anyone can be dis-satisfied with their services, but I do know there are people in the world who cannot make a decision and drag their feet and just will never be satisfied, no matter what. I am 64 years old and have dealt with many companies - many of whom give poor service and I would not deal with ever again or recommend. As I said, you cannot get any better than Townstone! read more

I talked to David for about 40 minutes about my mortgage situation, never once did he ask for my business, never once did he tell me what to do, all he did was present the facts to me and give me honest straight forward information that I found to be nothing but helpful. I called him as a result of hearing his radio ads and double checking with several of my friends/co-workers who have used townstone in the past and had great experiences! He walked me through all the steps I would need to take and said to call back anytime I needed my questions amswered. I have talked a number of brokers (Platinum & Performance) and banks (US BANK, First American, BofA, Wells Fargo and Chase); and his knowledge blew them all away. If I move forward, I will move forward with David/Townstone and I'd recommend you give them a chance just like I did. FYI - David is very blunt and to the point and did initally come off as mildly abrasive, but in the end, just like I said above no other company I talked to compared knowledge wise or spent the time he did working out the details of my questions. My hope is that you will have a similar experience and I expect you will! read more