Dean Rizzi – Guaranteed Rate

I can’t say enough good things about my experience with Dean and the whole Guaranteed Rate team. He was all the things you’d expect (responsive, clear, accountable) as well as a number of things you’d only hope for (friendly, calm demeanor and incredibly knowledgable in the jumbo space in particular). It was our first home purchase and we had a couple unconventional things that he was able to navigate and communicate with the lender without any problem.
Basically, highest possible recommendation.

I had originally began my loan process with another lender, but I was unsatisfied with the poor quality service that I was receiving. My real estate agent sensed my frustrations and recommended that I reach out to Dean at Guaranteed Rate. BEST DECISION EVER. Dean and his team were so pleasant to work with. They answered all my calls and emails and made it very easy to have open communication throughout the entire process. Also, the secure web portal is a major plus! It is very user friendly and made it so easy to upload documents electronically versus fax/​mail.
Many thanks to Dean, Chance, Justin and the rest of the Guaranteed Rate team for their assistance with the purchase of my new home. I value good customer service, and this team did not fail me!

Dean Rizzi, Chance Haynie, and the rest of the team at Guaranteed Rate were very responsive, which helped in closing on our home refi on time. Would definitely use their services again, and highly recommend them.

We were recommended to Dean Rizzi’s team at GuaranteedRate by our real estate agent, who in her many years working with him has had nothing but positive experiences with him. This was our first mortgage loan; we were apprehensive about the process. I left a message with Dean. He responded very quickly, and within about 10 minutes we had hashed out the contours of what the loan would be (this turned out to be accurate).
The first step was to apply using the online system offered by GuaranteedRate. Online encryption is strong, so we felt comfortable submitting our financial information this way. It took no more than 2 hours to gather the necessary information as downloaded pdf’s from various sources: bank statements, credit card statements, tax returns, etc. It was impressive.
Within I think 2 days of having applied, Dean contacted us with a pre-​approval offer. In our next step, we went shopping for homes. The San Francisco bay area is reportedly a strong seller’s market. Consistent with this, our preferred home — a fixer with no available inspections — gathered several other offers that were, remarkably, contingency-​free. We were not in a strong enough financial position to take this kind of risk, and had to negotiate hard for our offer to be accepted — with contingencies. We made it into contract but were set on a short leash: get the inspections and financing done in a much shorter period of time.
Here, Dean’s group shone. They quickly delivered our financing despite new regulatory requirements that our real estate agent has seen slow many other loans. It’s difficult to overstate how responsive the team was during this process. We had exposed ourselves to some risk with a contract of this structure, and Dean smoothly got us over the finish line with what we consider to be good and fair loan terms. He even came in about $ 2000 under the original closing cost estimate. Just in time for Holidays.
So, as is probably obvious, I strongly recommend contacting Dean regarding a home loan.

We just purchased our first home in San Francisco and thanks to Dean and his team the whole process went without a hitch. They were extremely wonderful to work with and their customer service is exceptional!!!

My husband and I used Guaranteed Rate services to refinance our mortgage and we received excellent service from Dean Rizzi and his team. Dean was very courteous and helpful and everyone on his team was extremely professional and competent. We were able to go through the process without any problems, always feeling like we were being treated with the highest level of customer service. I would recommend Dean’s services to anyone looking for a home loan to buy or refinance.

We just did it again with Dean and his team. He is now also part of a corporate structure that gives them a greater access to more lender choices for his clients. There is no one else that I would use. That said, there is a bit of a problem in general with every company I am working with these days, and that is a lack of thoroughness and professionalism from the frontline staff. I hope there will be a little more training done to encourage all employees to read emails thoroughly and not ask clients for the same item multiple times.

After working with Dean and his team it is no surprise that they have a 5-​star average. Great service and a great experience with a very professional team. If I ever have a need for a mortgage or refi in the future I would jump at the opportunity to work with them, unfortunately I cannot envision a scenario where I would be able to get a better rate than the one they were able to obtain for me!

Dean and Chance were truly amazing to work with. They were both quick to respond, professional and were confident in their approach.
When it came to strategy, Dean worked with our realtor to create the best strategy when making offers. Not only did we get our dream home, we did it all with tight deadlines that were continuously met. He really understands the SF market!
I would highly recommend Dean to anyone that needs a mortgage loan or refinancing, you won’t be disappointed!

We were trying to take some equity out of our property that was in a trust that we had recently inherited and the traditional banks and other lending institutions wanted nothing to do with us.
One call to Dean Rizzi and he was able to tell us exactly what he could do for us, how long it would take and what it would cost. Dean even recommended a wonderful attorney to help us with our estate.
I highly recommend Dean Rizzi and his team at Guarantee Mortgage Corp, our loan was approved and we did not even have to jump through any hoops!
Thank you Dean!

We had a complex loan situation requiring 85% financing with two separate loans in a new condo project. Dean not only found very competitive loans but also followed through with every little detail and obstacle that the lenders were throwing at us, and helped us get our loan closed. Dean has knowledgeable staff and his office has many years of experience with loans in the local San Francisco market.

Read this if you are an H1-​B holder.
Dean Rizzi was recommended to me by my realtor, because he is known to other SF realtors and having a reputable mortgage lender on the pre-​approval improves the chances of the bid.
Dean Rizzi and his assistant Chance worked hard on my Jumbo loan mortgage. I had gotten my pre-​approval with Dean for 30% down to make my non-​contingent bid look more competitive, and I was told by friends I should be able to easily change the conditions later. Dean had even helped make bid successful by talking to the seller realtor to assure him my mortgage would happen. Once my bid succeeded, it turned out that Dean’s rates are somewhat higher than other competitors, Dean could also provide better rates, but only with a large bank that takes longer and under-​appraises. So I stuck with Dean because he seemed very competent, had made some progress already, and I didn’t want to jeopardize the purchase. However, at that point it turned out that due to my H1-​B status, not only could I not lower my downpayment to 20%, I had to raise it to 35%. The lender Dean works with it very finicky and kept asking for extra conditions after the conditional approval, and even after signing. But Dean and Chance fought through all that and were able to get my funded. I checked with other lenders and at 35% down, Dean’s rates ended up being pretty good.
Since I had to put in an unexpectedly large downpayment I was left with little cash to do anything with my new place. I looked around for HELOCs, but they all seemed to give a lot of trouble for recent purchases, and for being H1-​B status. It seemed pretty hopeless. So Dean referred me to one of his contacts and that turned into a surprisingly seamless process. Now my HELOC is funded!
Pros: Dean and his team are really professional, hardworking, accommodating and helpful even when it’s beyond their responsibility.
Cons: If you are in H1-​B, shop around for pre-​approvals and make sure you triple-​check H1-​B is not a problem before you even bid on your dream home. If you bid with non-​contingent financing and a tight schedule, and you put 20−30% down, Dean’s rates are not the most competitive.
Perhaps using another lender from the beginning would have avoided some trouble. But Dean worked really hard when there were challenges, and if I knew there would likely trouble, I would rather have Dean on my side to work it out. At the end, with his excellent referral for the HELOC, things ended up working out.

I just got my fourth loan with Dean’s help. He helped me buy my first house, refinance it a few years later, and then buy a vacation home. My most recent transaction was for a new home in Sacramento. Dean and his staff have always come through for me with the best loans at great rates. Anyone who has ever purchased real estate knows what a stressful process it can be and Dean and his staff were there at the tough moments making sure the deals were getting done. He has advocated me with lenders and I know that his help was key in completing transactions on time. He is the best in his field. I wouldn’t work with anyone else.

Dean and his team (Chance) have helped my family with two home loans and a refi over the past seven years. In every case, Dean got us the best possible rate. In one case, Dean went above and beyond to help clear up a problem on my credit report that was created by a mistake on the part of a banking institution. Lastly, Dean and Chance were highly responsive to the many questions I posed throughout the process.

I was the listing agent on the transaction and Dean went above and beyond to make sure we were kept informed on every important mile stone in the transaction. He is true professional and I welcome the opportunity to work with him again.

Dean Rizzi put together the initial funding package that allowed us to purchase a duplex in 2003. When one lender dropped out, he found us another. We refinanced several times with Dean. Dean was successful in persuading a prospective lender to remove two conditions that were deal-​breakers from our perspective. Dean’s team is thorough. They make the application process easy. Though Dean himself is incredibly busy, he makes himself available to discuss long and short term financial considerations. I’d recommend Dean for either residential or rental financing. There’s a reason we refer to him as «Dean, Dean, the Money Machine!»

We have used Dean’s services for 16 years, for our original financing and several re-fi’s since. It has saved us a lot if headache! We recommend him to all our friends, and they report equally excellent service.

Being a San Francisco Realtor, I have the opportunity to witness many lenders first-​hand while dealing with my buyer clients. Dean and his team were communicative, efficient, and dealt very professionally with challenges that sprang up unexpectedly. Perhaps my personal favorite trait is that Dean picks up his phone — I rarely got voice mail! Kudos.

Dean and his crew, Shaun Leonard to be exact, did an amazing job on my loan.
The banks were beyond difficult and slow… and well… did I say slow. They navigated me through all of those waters with skill and grace.
I would not go to anyone else.

We wouldn’t work with anybody but Dean on our loans. We have purchased 3 homes and done multiple refinances with Dean over the last decade or so. Most recently, we purchased a home in the ultra-​hot Cupertino market. Homes there are still getting from 5 – 20 offers, so it’s important to be competitive on all aspects of the offer, not just price. On our recent offer, Dean was able to help us be competitive by committing to – and delivering on – very short timelines for removal of the financing contingency and closing.
We’ve always been very happy with the rates he’s able to get, and his team’s customer service has always been fantastic. Their fees are clear, and they don’t try to sell us different loans than we want. Dean’s very accessible by email and phone, including outside normal business hours. The real estate business doesn’t limit itself to weekday business hours, so it’s great to be able to reach Dean at odd times if necessary — e.g. for a pre-​approval letter for an offer packet — during the purchase process, too.
By the way, Chance and Shawn, who work with him, are great. Everybody is very professional, knows their business in and out, and is very attentive to detail. These are not guys who will let something slip through the cracks. Our Realtor and our escrow agent during this most recent closing (who had not worked with Dean before) commented on how quick and professional Dean’s team was, too.