Just went under contract on a house in Arlington. These guys were referred by my relocation company, but I know nothing about them except they're headquartered out of Ft Worth and the originator was nice on the phone. Has anyone used them? They're a national outfit, but with an HQ in Ft Worth, would anyone consider them local?

In my experience, mortgage is 100% about service and being able to work with them. Hence, the question.

Thanks in advance!

I advise on mortgage/refi transactions almost weekly. By and large, most mortgages are a commodity at origination...price, service, speed. In today's world, most everything is done remotely anyway. A "local" banker might be able to fight a bad appraisal, and a local bank keeping it on their books might have a little more say in picking a friendly appraiser for a unique area, but for the most parts that's gotta be an arms-length transaction.

Most conventional loans are being sold within the first month or two anyway, so service down the road is an unknown. That said, a few folks I know who have used Colonial would use them again.

Closing on a place next week, I went with Pentagon Federal Credit Union, their rate and fees were the best I was able to find. Communication with the loan officer and processor has been great.

I have used Colonial for my last 2 home purchases. No issues whatsoever.

They're good. Have been in business since 1952. They also service about 90% of the loans they originate. Very high customer satisfaction rating.

Thanks all. I'm feeling better now. My last couple of moves I've had pre-existing relationships on the mortgage side. This is my first "blind" transaction.

Having used Colonial previously, I do recommend them.

My parents have been Colonial customers for the past 50yrs. To say the least they are very happy with them.

We used Colonial on a refi on our last house because we wanted a portfolio lender. No issues over the life of the loan.

CapCityAg89 said:

---

Just went under contract on a house in Arlington. These guys were referred by my relocation company, but I know nothing about them except they're headquartered out of Ft Worth and the originator was nice on the phone. Has anyone used them? They're a national outfit, but with an HQ in Ft Worth, would anyone consider them local?

In my experience, mortgage is 100% about service and being able to work with them. Hence, the question.

Thanks in advance!

---

Then why second guess using CRI's embedded Colonial mortgage guy? If a rough spot arises on finance the relationship between the mortgage person and the realtor can be crucial.

If it is Eric Contreras at Colonial he's been great in our CRI relo. We are about 5 days ahead of you on timeline.

I don't think it matters who you start with. My mortgage seems to get sold every other year.