E*Trade Mortgage and Lending, not for the young or first time buyer!
Written: Aug 14 '02
| Site Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
|
| Full Review |
I am currently in the process of purchasing my first home. After three years of apartment life I have grown tired of throwing my money away. If I have to pay for living space, I want to build equity and keep what I pay.
As an avid computer and internet user I began a search for information. I wanted to know if it is better to build, buy, or buy used. I wanted to know what school district is the best (for resale purposes). And I wanted to know who was the best company to get my mortgage from. Most people said a credit union would give me the best rate, however, several people told me that E*trade would beat any bank hands down.
So I visited the E*trade website, clicked on mortgages under the lending section and applied for a loan.
-Speed is relative-
Within minutes (about 20) after submitting my mortgage request I had an email waiting with an exceptional offer--$80,000 for a 30-year conforming fixed interest (6.15%) mortgage with no points. However outstanding you think this offer is, it is a disguise.
My “approval” email was accompanied by an automated email from a “loan consultant” named Jason Coker (Yes I am using real names on here. Freedom of the press and I have all of his emails—or lack thereof--saved). Immediately I sent an email to Mr. Coker requesting a pre-approval letter to give to my realtor to show I was on the ball. I also told him I would need a mortgage between $110-150k.
A day later Mr. Coker responded in a very non-personal manner. He said that in order for me to get my pre-approval letter and to increase my loan amount I would need to fax two pay stubs, two W2’s, and a copy of a bank statement with my down payment (the website states nothing about other financial information being needed). They next day I faxed in all the information and sent Mr. Coker and email informing him that I had just faxed him my information. I also asked him how long it would take to find out if I qualified.
A day later as usual, Mr. Coker sent another non-personal one lined response, “should take 1-2 days.” So I waited two days, emailed him again and got nothing. He emailed me back about four days later and we played email tag one day at a time for about a week and a half (so much for a speedy loan). One of my friends who went through them for his loan warned me that I would have to “keep on them” if I wanted a loan.
Around the two week mark after badgering my loan consultant he sent his final one line email, “with the job history and stuff, I don’t think it’s gonna work but I’ll keep trying. Try back after talking to some other lenders.”
I was furious. One of my first emails from Mr. Coker said I was a sure bet and I didn’t need to shop anywhere else especially since I had 20% of my requested loan amount in cash. I didn’t shop anywhere else and I looked forward to getting a loan through E*trade. Apparently their sales consultants can’t judge a “sure bet” very well.
-Quotes and lies-
When E*trade sends you your first “approval” email they make it appear that you’re already approved… Well, it’s just like those credit card applications everyone gets in the mail, “Pre-approved for a credit line of $100k, just fill out the application!” The “approval” is nothing more than a number generated by their computer using the figures you punched into their website. It is nothing more than a guess at what they might give you once you send in your information. The quote is a lie, designed to get you to apply, just like a pre-approved credit card letter.
-Customer service or not-
Besides the lie about the quote/rate, I was very disappointed with the service at E*trade. Mr. Coker never returned my calls or returned my calls with an email. Email messages were short and non-personal (the type of emails people send you when they are busy and don’t really want to talk to you). And their overall attitude towards me was not the greatest. I suspect that it has something to do with my age and that I applied for a loan by myself. My final two emails to Mr. Coker informed him that my mother was willing to cosign the mortgage to help me qualify—I never received another response, email or phone. They blew me off completely.
-On the positive side-
I guess everything wasn’t so bad. Some mortgage/lending companies require a $300-400 application fee just to apply! E*trade requires no such fee. So I really didn’t lose out except that I had to apply for new mortgages from other lenders. A word of advice, never apply for just one loan, apply at several lenders! This has caused my closing date to fall back about three weeks! Thanks E*trade! Applying was also fairly easy. All you have to do is fill in an HTML form, answer a few questions and click send. The site was laid out very nicely.
To date I applied to other services such as a local finance company and a few banks. I also applied at www.lendingtree.com and received another offer from E*trade which I completely ignored.
-Conclusion-
E*trade may be a reputable website and service for buying and trading stocks, but their mortgage and lending department is a joke with terrible customer service. If you’re in the market for a mortgage avoid E*trade and their crummy communication and service. Go to a bank, credit union, or lender where you can actually talk to someone in person and get more than a one line response. And if you do get a one line response, you can always scream and yell at their manager ;-)
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
wvabackpacker
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: Jeremy Hays
Location: Columbus, OH, USA
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 46 members
About Me:
Maybe I'll write another review someday...lots of new gear...
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.