First Western Home Loans

10/30/09

Shop around for mortgage brokers

by Charles MA at Citysearch

California Department of Real Estate (CA DRE) License # 01410498

Hopefully you're reading this review while you're early on in your mortgage shopping process, so you'll have a chance to shop around and go with someone else.

We got a mortgage through 1st Western and Vince Wirthman based on a recommendation from our realtor at Red Oak Realty. It was a terrible recommendation. Vince was a slow-moving, disorganized broker who was always a step behind. If you enjoy the idea of always chasing him down over the phone and asking him for updates, instead of the other way around, feel free to go with 1st Western.

The credit reporting service he uses may not be accurate. My current loan didn't show up the first time he ran my credit report. That was a huge red flag right there, and I should have known not to use him as a mortgage broker right there.

This guy worked for a mortgage brokerage (Diablo Funding) that went belly up in 2007, at the height of the real estate boom, so what kind of broker do you think he is? Look up "diablo funding group vince wirthman" at Google and read the first article.

I advise you to avoid 1st Western at all costs.

• Pros: The appraisal was quick
• Cons: never answers the phone, always a step behind