Guaranteed Rate

Karen Greenberg is fantastic! Knowledgeable, practical, available, flexible and friendly. She and her office managed my mortgage for a property in Texas and did a lot of work behind the scenes with all the parties involved. She was an excellent guide throughout the process and kept me informed all the way. Met all our deadlines and closed as expected despite some of my last minute changes. Yeah, she’s a trooper. Very happy with her and her team.

I was referred to Jay Sondhi through a friend and cannot thank both of them enough! Jay helped me navigate through the amazon of mortgage paperwork and made everything look easy. Our closing went through super fast thanks to all the guidance from Jay. He also made sure we never panicked and everything was mad crystal clear to us from the get go. He also drove close to 50 miles to be at our closing and wish us good luck. The superior customer service also applies to everyone at Guaranteed Rate who worked with me on my loan. Definitely recommended and I will be using his services in case I need a Refi in the future.

Jason Smiley and Tony Guaraldi are the best lenders anywhere. Jason recently saved a real estate deal of mine that was imploding due to a lender who quit (or was let go from) his job. So the loan went down the tubes with him. Jason jumped in and saved the day. He works all hours of the day and night and stays in constant communication with all parties at all times. Professional, courteous, honest — there is nothing more you can ask for in a lender that these two don’t possess. I can be pretty tough when i am vetting a business, and these two lenders deserve the highest ranking available.

This review is for Karen Levine. We recently refinanced our mortgage in San Carlos. From the minute we first talked with her, everything was fantastic. She talked with us about pros and cons of refinancing based on our goals and assumptions about how long we would be in the house. I never for a second felt she was pushing us to do something that didn’t make sense — even if it meant she wouldn’t make money. In the end, we discussed that it did make sense. From that moment on, the process was flawless.
Thank you Karen for making what can be a stressful activity, easy! I would recommend Karen to anyone and I will definitely do business with her again.

Jason Smiley is the best! Knowledgeable, friendly, honest, with GREAT customer service. His communication could not have been more responsive. He answered e-​mails, often within the hour, picked up the phone to answer every nagging question I had throughout the entire process.
In addition, he helped my wife and me navigate through some difficult credit issues to secure a PHENOMENAL loan for our home purchase.
You will not be disappointed with Jason and his team!

I was referred to Walter Tang from a good friend of mine and was basically told he is the best in the business and I couldn’t agree more which is why I just had to write him a review. Prior to looking for houses, I went to see Walter about what I could afford and what I couldn’t. How are mortgages calculated? If I made X amount, will Y amount be affordable for me? How much does insurance typically cost? Property tax? Closing costs? After consulting with him, I was able to come to a value that I was comfortable with paying each month. Needless to say, having a mortgage that is unaffordable could lead to huge consequences and Walter helped me by calculating every expense that I didn’t even think about or know about so that I could make a highly informed decision.
In order to stand out in a sea of millions, which is what this market (May of 2015) just seems like right now in the Bay Area. I was able to put in an offer with a 25 day close and waived my loan contingency. Is this risky? Of course it is. Did this get the offer accepted? Of course it did, it’s as good as cash! and my objective was to get the house. But Walter reviewed all my financial statements and income statements before advising this, it wasn’t a blind and irrational decision. Was I nervous during the whole process? Well… if you were going to lose 3% of the initial deposit if the loan didn’t close, you’d be a bit nervous too. So I basically called Walter almost every night: Hey man, how’s the loan? Everything good right? How’s the appraisal? My email went through and you got my tax returns right? Did it go to underwriting yet? Has the underwriter approved it yet? What about now? Hey I’m sorry you’re at dinner, but loan docs are about to come out right? I would call him at 10:00pm at night because sometimes you just get so nervous but he still picks up! 23 days later, loan docs were finally approved and high fives all around. Walter Tang was there for me through the entire process, was extremely knowledgeable and patient. Would I call Walter for my next loan or refer him to another friend? Is water wet? Of course I would!

This review is long overdue. Karen Levine is the best mortgage lender you will ever find. She is so sharp and fast throughout the whole process. She made our real estate purchasing very stress free. Trust me, I own several properties and having a good real estate agent and mortgage lender are the key to successful purchase. As you know, the buying process is never smooth, we were having a lot of problems with the sellers agent and Karen really did come through for us. Her expertise and knowledge in the filed really helped us to not get pushed around by the sellers agent. I truly believe that if we did not have Karen, we would have not get the credit that we deserve. Fast forward to now, Karen is helping us refinance our properties. My husband and I did not even consider refinance until Karen reached out to us. The rates are so low right now. It is a good time to do it. I would not hesitate recommending Karen Levin, VIce President of Mortgage Lending to anyone. She will look out for your best interest and offer you the best lending experience. Here is her contact:
Karen Levine
Vice President of Mortgage Lending
408−497−1647

I reached out to Jason Smiley at Guaranteed Rate at the suggestion of my friend who is no longer in real estate. Jason gave me a way to get my info to him that same evening, and made time for a follow-​up call the next morning to get us moving fast. He was able to get us pre-​approved in a matter of days, and worked with us and our realtor to have an offer accepted in under 2 weeks from our first phone call. Jason and his staff were always available for questions I had, and Jason actually personally called the selling realtor to vouch for our loan approval being an easy one. I don’t always buy houses, but when I do I’ll go through Guaranteed Rate again!

The staff at the Hollister, CA office are professional and will jump through hoops for the client. They have a wonderful program that gives back to Vets which I did not know about prior to working with them. The icing on the cake was Connie Boyd, our loan officer. She was fabulous at taking care of me, the neurotic buyer. I had so many questions and caused her some headaches but she was fantastic at answering every question and making my mistakes seem small, even though I know they created more work for her.
Use this company, you will not be disappointed.

Guarantee Rate was able to get me an amazing appraisal/​er and he gave us an excellent appraisal on our home. The previous bank, sadly, sent out an appraiser with weak appraisal skills and gave our home the same price as a home that was sold in a quick sale to the cent, as well as being out of our neighborhood. Guaranteed Rate was able to give us an appraisal that was $ 300k HIGHER then that of American Pacific. Guarantee Rate (Nikki) who kept me on my toes and didn’t let me give up. THANK YOU Guarantee Rate for all your help and excellent appraiser. (The appraiser was a native of the Bay Area his entire life so was able to understand how the home prices rise and fall. That is essential for a good appraiser.)

Finding a good lender is not easy, and as a real estate professional, I can say without reservation that all lenders are not created equally. Tony Guaraldi and Jason Smiley have earned my referrals for a few simple reasons:
1) Their core values and integrity caught my attention. In an industry flush with crooks, Tony and Jason have ALWAYS kept my clients’ interests first and foremost. They work hard to earn an honest dollar, and their commitment to doing things right is unwavering. Since I also live and work by these principles, I was immediately impressed with their practices.
2) They do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it. If they make a commitment to me, I can count on them – every time.
3) They offer excellent loan products with competitive rates. Because they’re brokers, they are not tied to one bank’s products the way a retail lender would be. This means they shop my clients’ loan scenarios across dozens of lenders to make sure my clients get the best rates on their mortgages.
4) Because they do such a good job, they’re very successful. Sometimes, the best agents and mortgage brokers can be difficult to reach on account of being spread thin. Tony and Jason have reinforced their team with an outstanding assistant, Josephine Madriz. Between the three of them, I’m always able to reach them in a pinch, and they make themselves available to my clients readily.
5) In real estate, things happen fast, and purchase contracts are always tied to deadlines. I’ve learned over the years that I can count on Tony and Jason’s proactive planning in order to meet critical deadlines such as loan contingency removals, funding deadlines, rate lock expirations, and escrow closings. In a few rare instances, my clients have been able to find a loan with another lender that’s offering ¹⁄₈^th of a point less interest but have proceeded with Tony and Jason nonetheless because of their track record with closing loans. My clients have never regretted working with them. Just like with attorneys, doctors, CPAs, and Realtors, the «cheapest» game in town is usually not the best game in town. Failure to honor a key deadline can kill a deal and have clients losing their dream home. I sleep well knowing that Tony and Jason will deliver and not leave my clients facing this horrible possibility.
Tony and Jason are not vendors I merely use. They are business partners whom I trust enough to refer to my own family. The excellence, integrity, and quality that marks their work have earned my loyalty, and I proudly refer all my clients to them. If you’re considering them for a purchase loan or refinance, look no further – I know your expectations of them will be far exceeded!

This review is in regards to Mary Pennel. She was so professional throughout the entire process of my husband and I buying our first home. Any time there was a bump in the road (due to the sellers and their agent), Mary stayed on top of it and made sure we were ready to close at the first possible moment. She was wonderful and we would recommend her to any of our friends and family.

We had a very good experience with Western Bancorp and all Thanks to Terri Bertrand
Terri Bertrand is by far a superior Mortgage professional. She demonstrates the utmost integrity. and professionalism. Her response time is always impressive and the results are always there. If you are considering a mortgage broker, and found Terri’s contact, search no further. She is the best.
I still can’t believe we were able to close in few days with several bumps from our side that her expertise knew immediately how to solve with the lenders. Not only did we obtain a mortgage in time to close in few days in San Jose but with great rates and more money in our pockets at the end.
In brief, I was introduced to her at least 1 years ago. She was instrumental in helping me purchase my first home in San Jose. she was knowledgeable of many programs and government tax assistance that made the impossible, possible for me.
Our home would have been possible if I hadn’t had her support on my first home purchase.)
Along with just knowing the business front and back, Terri and team were friendly, energetic, easy to work with and most importantly responsive. Teri answered all of our concerns, questions and stress promptly and reworked the loan several times so it would be better for us short and long term.
Terri has always exceeded my expectations. She also has a caring spirit and a wonderful way of communicating both the good news and the bad news through the pre-​qualification, qualification, and funding stages of finding a loan.
A true delight to work with. Absolutely effective. Incredibly responsive.
Simply the best.
Sriram

This review is about Karen Levine, VP of Mortgage Lending at Guaranteed, who helped us close our first property earlier this week. Karen came through wonderfully well, when the previous mortgage lender we were working with pulled a bait and switch on their quoted rates. We were already in contract when this happened to us (This is probably what gave the other mortgage broker the gall to pull that stunt) and Karen worked extra hard to make sure that we could meet our contract obligations. She was super responsive — being able to answer questions much beyond normal business hours, and was always communicative on what was happening with the process. Would highly recommend Guaranteed Rate, for their ability to deliver on their promise, and Karen Levine within Guaranteed — for her ability to go over and beyond, to deliver stellar customer satisfaction.
We’d definitely do business with Karen and Guaranteed again.