Advise on Mortgages and Buying a Home

Our mortgage is through Wells Fargo. No problems at all. This is our 3rd home and I've never purchased a home not using a bank for the mortgage, so I can't give you advice.

If you have the money, they say that it's a GREAT time to purchase!! Plus, the tax credit for first time home buyers....can't beat that!

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For both of our home purchases we used Travis Olson with Olson Mortgage Group. He is great and gets the best rate for you.

Travis Olson | Senior Partner
Olson Mortgage Group
at Northwest Mortgage Group, Inc.
10260 SW Greenburg Road, Suite 900
Portland, Oregon 97223
Direct: ###-###-#### | Fax: ###-###-####

http://www.olsonmortgagegroup.com

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A.,

If you are in the market and willing to wait a little...contact a Primerica. They are not currently working the new home loans but expect to resume this summer. The company motto is: helping families become debt free and financially independent. One plus is that they do not sell their loans to anyone...You have the same company as long as your loan exists.

Good luck and God bless,
T.

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Hi, A.! We have had great luck working with Steve Nassar, a mortgage broker. He was so helpful for us on our refinance, and my friend used him for a first home purchase. Our mortgage ended up getting sold to Wells Fargo, and we've been happy with them. Steve's number is ###-###-####. Good luck!

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A.,
We've used Michael Leland at Mortgage Trust for over 10 yrs and two homes. He is great. Extremely ethical and will take good care of you. He is also the owner of the company. His number is ###-###-####.
Best of luck to you. It's a great time to buy!
N.

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I personally have't had a good experience with either of those large banks. I recenlly refied my house to 4.5% & 15 years from 5.5% & 30 years with HomeStreet Bank, I liked them so much I now have all my banking matters with them. They have a special going on right now, any new customer who opens a checking account with them gets $215 & it's an interest bearing checking account with no minimum balance. How many banks can boast that now?
http://www.homestreetbank.com/index.aspx
This is the website.
I don't go with banks that are large & impersonal. I found out that HomeStreet bank doesn't have any mortgages in default. That should say something about there lending policies. I used Meg Foster's services from the Vancouver branch, she is very professional & caring.

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I would check out the blog site www.activerain.com. Its a blog site for realtors, mortgage brokers, inspectors, and everyone else that you would use to buy a house, to blog about their industry and to inform the public. Do a search, read the blogs, and find the one that would be a great match for you. You may find that one person's perfect experience with a certain mortgage broker will be a nightmare for you.

Most of them are pretty transparent about who they are and how they work.

If anything you will learn a lot about what to expect thru the entire process.

If you have any questions, you can contact my hubby, he's a realtor... he has 3 trusted mortgage brokers that he uses. He specializes in 1st time home buyers as well. He'll be happy to answer any other questions you might have. Todd - ###-###-####

Thanks and good luck!
S.

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We are closing next week on our first house and we have a really good mortgage broker named Carol Flanagan at Northwest Mortgage Group. We also have a great realtor if you need a recommendation. We also have credit in the 770 range, but didn't have a ton of cash to put down. We used an FHA loan, got a great interest rate and then get the tax credit. When we put in our offer there was another offer and the buyer went with us because our mortgage broker is known for being very solid in this community.

Good luck with everything and let me know if you have any questions.

M. :)

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I am closing this week on my first home and had a great experience and rate from Sheila Smith @ at the Real Estate Loan Co. in Lake Oswego. She was very patient with me and all my questions. I also applied with both Wells Fargo and B of A, as I have accounts there and she was able to get me a better rate on a conventional loan. I also used a great Real Estate agent, who did lots of work for me on my home purchase. It was a short sale, so needless to say, it was alot of work for him. Joe Edwards, from Edwards Realty, in Beaverton, but he also handles the east side of Portland. I would use these companies again and again. Good luck to you in your search and happy hunting.

Joe Edwards -###-###-####
Sheila Smith ###-###-####

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Hi A.:
Rick at rshomeloans.com is amazing! His phone number is ###-###-####. I would recommend you
call each one of these recommendations & talk to them. That will help you decide, you need to shop around.

Good luck!

L.

A.,

I have an excellant guy in Vancouver. He is my cousin's husband, and definately can be trusted. If you are interested please let me know and I will send you his name.

K.

We used Wells Fargo for our first home a year and a half ago. They seem to be fine and are, apparently, pretty stable. We bank with Bank of America, though. Wells Fargo just offered the better mortgage terms, at the time. As far as I know, I think either has a pretty good reputation. Good luck on purchasing a new home. That's very exciting!