Did you close a loan with SOFI? If you did, how was it? They claim to have super fast closing.
@marcus335 I didnāt work with SOFI as the experience with them wasnāt good at all. Iād put them at the bottom of the pack of the lenders I talked to.
- Their response times were slow (1-3 days for an email response from them, at least a week or two for them to even send my packet to underwriting after it was ready.) It didnāt give me confidence that they could close anything on time.
- They offered me a lower loan amount than Wells Fargo (43% DTI was their max for me and I think Wells Fargo went closer to 50%)
- Their interest rates were terrible. They offered me a worse rate for an ARM than I got from Wells Fargo for a fixed 30-year rate. That was with 20% down. I have heard similar things from friends whoāve inquired with SOFI - that the rates are simply higher.
- Underwriter came back to me asking for weird stuff other lenders hadnāt asked for (e.g., HUD-1ās for my refinancing, settlement statements etcā¦) Wasnāt worth it given all the above, and Iād been waiting 2 weeks-ish already to get that response from underwriting. I had all the standard docs ready to go from talking to the other lenders so was surprising to be asked for these extra things.
I gave SOFI that feedback once they followed up with me and they didnāt respond. Perhaps there are a few individual situations where SOFI could work well (you really want 10% down ++ some other things about your file where they would lend you more than 43% DTI or give you a decent rate?) Or just millennials that want to do things more via online (though TBH I didnāt think their site was great either.) It seems ātrendyā as it were.
My favorite lenders were:
- Wells Fargo (great rates + service but you HAVE to have a good broker. Thereās a big range of quality in their brokers. )
- Union Bank had a really nice 15% down deal on a 10/1 ARM, I think it was 2.85% at the time, and a very effective broker. I didnāt end up using them but I would talk to them first next time.
- SF Federal Credit Union had similarly slow service to SOFI but the big perk there was that they offered me a 0% down loan with the POPPY program! That is really cool. The amount was quite low though so I couldnāt make it work. Iād talk to them next time.
- SF Fire has nice rates and ok service, Iād put them in the middle of the pack.
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Thanks for the review! Thatās disappointing. So much for them disrupting the mortgage industry.
Yeah I was disappointed 
They do have good reviews on Zillow and other places: https://www.zillow.com/lender-profile/SoFiLendingCorp/
Iād be curious to get a real report if you try them
Interesting review from Zillow:
After a very negative experience to begin (multiple mistakes and confusion, slow response times, etc.), I asked to switch brokers after being in contract for two days. I asked for a seasoned broker, and they gave me Jennifer. She was amazing to work with thereafter. She didnāt make a single mistake, gave me her personal cell phone number, texted me with updates, and pretty much hassled everyone in SoFi to make sure we closed on time. SoFi has great rates and low fees, which is what drew me to them, and if you can get Jennifer as your rep, youāll be set.
Hey, @Lulu, have you ever used a mortgage broker? Let them hunt down the best rate for you. My Big Bro used to be a Fremont Bank worshipper (heās in SV and has multiple places on the East Bay side). Skeptical, old Chinese guy that he is. Wait, that is borderline 3x redundantā¦ Anyways, finally managed a meeting for her to present to the man. She nailed it and he is sold now. Pushes all his stuff and engineer buddies towards her. Unfortunately, she doesnāt have any lenders that do reverse 1031 exchanges. Hey, @Elt1, I PMād you for your hard money lenderā¦
It was awhile that I got it, but I do still carry an existing 2.5%, 15 yr (āno cost, no feeā) loan through herā¦
Smart real estate investors show no incomeā¦With mortgage and depreciation and expenses most rentals donāt show incomeā¦There were great loans in the 80s and 90sā¦Stated incomes loansā¦When Bush and Greenspan allowed 125% loans and such the whole economy tanked. ā¦I maintain a lot of the problem came from OC lenders. .The rest of us sufferedā¦Now we are being lectured by an OC lenderā¦I call bullshitā¦
I havenāt used a mortgage broker beforeā¦that sounds like a good idea.
No guarantees, but again provides you with another avenue to go with. @intangible, uses essentially the same outfit that my broker is with (mine happens to be a manager but she still works). Up until my wife and I met up with her for lunch I did all of my refiās with her through fax and now email. Word of mouth clients. The only physical person we saw was the notary to sign papers at our house at our convenience. Honestly, more often than not, that was 9-10pm on a worknight. As you know, a lot of the initial John Hancocking is via electronic now. The good thing about using someone like her is that once she has all of your info via normal application she then later will have a headstart should you do another loan or refi. Just need to then give her updated paystubs and income tax returns.
Good discussion. I have a follow up question how to calculate debt payment wrt DTI for an existing heloc.
I would like to refinance my primary residence but have a big line of credit on my rental ( which I did not draw, so the actual payment is zero) Will bank consider my monthly payment to this to be zero and have not negative impact to my refinance?
@sfdragonboy āyourā Tracie is very lucky to have a loyal customer such as yourself championing her so profusely all the time. You are the āAlfredā to her āBatmanā (batwomen?) 
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Btw, Googain doesnāt work in WA state. Anyone (@marcus335 ?) know of a good mortgage broker in Seattle metro area that does no-cost no-fees refis at awesome rates?
Thanks, but I really do believe she helped me out. Yes, she is doing her job and earning her commission or salary by doing the refiās but I point to that really low 2.5% rate she locked in for me. I donāt believe that another broker would have necessarily done that for his/her client if you know what I mean. We as customers donāt really know what actually goes down. All we know is, ok my rate is X, good or bad, right? For her to tell me, I managed to squeeze it out to 2.5% for you was sweet. You scratch my back, I scratch yoursā¦
That definitely is a sweet deal. Which month last year were you able to get this low rate?
No. I havenāt done a mortgage here yet. There are some banks that offer us āemployee discountā rates. So Iāll probably go that route. Iāve done that in the past, and it seems to go smooth.
Yeah, no, that was a little while agoā¦ probably more like 3-4 yrs ago??? It was when rates hit rock bottom and there was some kind of delay (not her fault) so we were in limbo and so instead of holding me at a decent higher rate she goes hey the rates went lower for an instant and i went ahead and locked you in at the better rate. That may happen a lot for your folks, but I thought that was above and beyond. Again, if she didnāt say anything no one would be to the wiser right? I wouldnāt have known and would have been glad already with the rate she had in up until the last minute.
With your research so far, which areas appear to be good investments? I feel Bellevue, Kirkland & Redmond are too hot right now.
I like the east side of Bellevue. You can get a big lot and prices arenāt too bad. The schools arenāt as good as the rest of Bellevue, but I think theyāll improve. Bellevue is so central to everything. Sammamish is good, since you can easily get 1 acre plus of land. Density is going to increase, so that can be turned into 4 0.25 acre lots later. Snoqualmie has employee shuttles for Amazon now. Thatās the furthest they go east and makes it commutable. I have a co-worker that does it, and itās about 50 mins on the bus.
If youāre buying a rental, Iād consider Kent or Renton. Both have light rail to Seattle. Light rail is going to keep expanding even if it happens slow. Thatās only going to increase the value if youāre holding long-term. Along light rail, Columbia City is an area to watch. Itās definitely gentrifying.
If you decide to invest in East Bellevue based on assumption that schools are going to increase then I would suggest checking the trend of school ratings for past 5 years. Anecdotally, I have heard some schools in BSD have actually gone done in last several years instead of improving.
How about Bothell? Everyone seems to be buying new construction there.
Probably she might be able to recommend a good mortgage broker in WA state. Would you be able to check with her?