Joe Burke – Guaranteed Rate, Inc.

From our initial meeting to closing, Joe Burke made the home buying process smooth and pain free. More importantly, he always made himself available to answer any questions. I always felt fully informed and educated in the process. Plus he was available beyond normal banking hours. my wife and I were extremely happy with what normally is a long and tedious mortgage process. thanks, Joe

Joe was great to work with on my first home purchase. He laid out all of the potential scenarios in terms of cost breakdowns and closing costs. I knew going into my first home purchase exactly what I should expect in terms of down payment as well as monthly mortgage payments. He made everything easy to understand and provided me the information quickly so that I could become comfortable with all parts of a home purchase prior to actually pulling the trigger.

Joe saved my mortgage! I would (and have been) recommend (ing) him to anyone. Very helpful, easy to deal with, knowledgeable. He also has a great team of people he works with who are readily available to speak with and help out.

Joe is a smooth talker. He will tell you what you want to hear, but it is not always the truth. Joe told us our refinance would be ‘cost free’ to us. The numbers changed so many times throughout the process that we lost track of what was happening. In the end we paid $ 1000 out of pocket. When questioned, Joe said, «I’m sorry, I screwed up.»
I’m sorry, too, Joe. Clearly we screwed up too by trusting you.

ATTENTION FIRST TIME BUYERS
Joe Burke saves the day! And the condo closing! I was a first time condo buyer and a week away from closing with another mortgage company when stuff hit the fan. I will not go into details of what happened with the other company (see my Unilocal reviews for that). I found Joe from Guaranteed Rate on
and called him in a panic. From the moment we talked, he was cool, calm and collected and assured me that he could help me close within 3 weeks!!! I did my homework and reached out to other companies, making sure I get the best value, and Joe was able to out do every offer I had. What I liked the most was how straightforward he was with me. Buying your first condo is a big deal, and securing a mortgage can be stressful, even if you have good credit. Joe outlined everything in a spreadsheet (i love spreadsheets!) and answered every little question I had. And I had a lot. I should point out he did all this the week before Christmas and was able to have me close on January 3^rd!

I worked with Joe Burke and his team, and I was nothing but completely satisfied. From the first conversation with him, and the whole process, Joe made me feel like I was his top priority (even if I wasn’t!), answered all of my questions, and calmed my nerves about the whole buying process. He really went above and beyond, and made it seem like it was nothing. He was highly impressive and an absolutely pleasure to work with. I would absolutely recommend him to anyone I know that’s going to consider buying, or refinance. He’s truly great at what he does. He even called me the day of my closing to congratulate me, and ask if I was going to celebrate! It just made me feel like it wasn’t just a job to him, but that he actually cares. I know why my agent highly recommended him. It’s almost a shame this isn’t something you do very often, because working with people like Joe was fantastic. A+, 5 stars all across the board. Thanks Joe!

Even though we decided not to make a purchase at this time, Joe was very helpful in our decision making process. He crunched all of our numbers and was very honest in what we needed to have in our accounts in order to buy our dream house. He also helped us realize what we would need to bring to closing for the sale of our current property.
I will definitely save Joe’s contact info to pass on to family and friends.

Although Joe seems like a nice person, I contacted him a week ago and still have not heard back from him. Not good.

As first time buyers we were very nervous about the whole home buying process. We decided to use Joe based on our realtor’s recommendation and his positive Unilocal reviews. This was undoubtedly one of the best decisions we made. Joe was honest, patient and thorough. He walked us through the entire process and kept us well informed. When we encountered some difficulties he offered us great advice on how to proceed. In the end he made us very comfortable with the commitment we were making. I highly recommend Joe to other buyers, especially first time buyers.

I found Joe through positive Unilocal reviews and was happy that I did. Not only was he highly professional and supportive through the very new and confusing process of getting a mortgage, he was genuinely easy to talk to.
I’d recommend Joe to anyone, particularly first-​time buyers like us.

Joe helped me buy my first condo and has since helped me refinance twice. I can’t say enough good things about my experience working with him. As a first time home buyer, Joe took the time to explain to me all the different expenses that go into buying a home and helped me figure out what I could afford. He gave me detailed breakdowns of each of the properties I was interested in, and my closing was smooth as can me.
I would recommend Joe to anyone looking to purchase or refinance home.

Joe has been doing a stellar job for my clients over the years. Joe truly cares about each and every one of his clients and he always gets rave reviews from my referrals. His experience in the industry is priceless, but what really sets him apart from the crowd is the commitment that he makes to get the job done. Hard work, dedication and a warm personality make him a great choice for your lending needs.

I cannot seem to find the words perfect enough to describe my experiences with Joe Burke. He is part lender, part advisor, part consultant, part educator and part psychologist. When I met him almost 7 years ago, I had no idea that «this lender» would become such an important part of my life.
While working together (now twice — once on a purchase and again on a refi!) Joe was top notch. He was thorough and exact. If he said he was going to do something, not only did it get done by the time he said it would get done, but I was always kept in the loop. As a type A personality, I loved this! He always made sure that I understood what was going on and that I was comfortable int he decision we were making. Realistically, I cannot think of anything that could have made our «transactions» together any better.
In addition, when not working together, Joe has always kept me in the loop of things going on within his industry. He truly is an expert. He truly is a huge resource in my life. And I don’t know what I would do without his blog keeping me up to date on all sorts of topics. Joe Burke truly is one of a kind!

As a professional in the real estate industry, I have to say that Joe Burke is one of the best out there. With all of the things that are going on in the industry, there is no margin of error anymore, and Joe makes sure of that.
I have worked with Joe on a number of personal loans for my homes and have been confident to recommend him to friends, family and professionals alike. I can do so knowing that he will take care of them both professionally and personally, with the understanding that this isn’t JUST another transaction… this is someone’s home and life he’s dealing with.
Also, he writes a great blog with insight into the marketplace, things to do in Chicago, and more at
. Thanks for all the help Joe!