Flagstaff Real Estate - Mortgages
Southwest Mountain Living at its Best
Mortgages
Actually we generally don't have mortgages in Arizona, we have Deeds of Trust, but that's a technical distinction I will be happy to fill you in on some other time. For practical purposes, everyone, including the lenders, seems to use the term, mortgage, for simplicity's sake.
You can also access some national mortgage sites on the Net, get the rates instantly, and make an application on-line if you wish. At the risk of incurring their wrath, I strongly urge you to use the on-line sites for information and then apply locally with a real flesh and blood mortgage person. They'll at least match what you can get on-line and we'll have an accountable live person if we encounter the snags that seem to plague the lending process.
Here are a couple of useful sites for mortgage information and mortgage calculators:
Locally, try the following mortgage brokers/lenders. We have personal experience with each of them and have found them all to be committed to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. They all offer rates and programs that will beat or match anything you will find elsewhere. They have each passed our test for the Best in the Business and we recommend them without reservation.
Lynne Dewar
Sr. Mortgage Consultant
Office: (928) 527-7974
Cell: (928) 814-6362
5200 E. Cortland Blvd. #B6
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
ldewar@elendersdirect.com
Lenders Direct is a Local Lender with many loan products to fit your needs. They offer FHA/VA Loans, Conventional/Jumbo Loans, New Construction Financing, Lot Loans, Home Equity Loans, First Time Buyer Loans, Stated Income Loans, and No Down Payment Options
Honesty, integrity, and customer satisfaction are Lynne’s commitments to you. She truly cares about the people she represents and she’ll earn your respect using her 23 years of mortgage financing knowledge to accomplish the goal of finding the right loan to purchase your dream home or refinance your existing mortgage.
Nikki Turner
Wallick and Volk Mortgage Bankers
Assistant Vice President/ Branch Manager
320 N Leroux Ste. A
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
928.556.0600 office
928.556.9519 fax
800.219.5626 toll free
www.wvmb.com/nikkiturner
Nikki is truly passionate about her profession. She understands that it’s not just a house, it’s your home and she can help you realize that your home is a truly valuable financial tool to achieve your plans for the future. When you call on Nikki and her team, rest assured that you are entrusting your home financing with those who rank amongst the most highly qualified and ethical in the lending industry, as Nikki has achieved the elite CMPS certification.
Shelley Williams
Countrywide Home Loans
http://countrywide.dorado.com/ShelleyWilliams
Shelley_Williams@Countrywide.com
(866) 526-4599
Linda Rogers
Astana Mortgage
Linda@AstanaMortgage.com
800-982-3553 928-282-3553
Linda is first-rate and runs a tight mortgage brokerage - ethically and professionally. She's really smart, trustworthy, caring, and competitive. Her clients love her and so do we. Her office is a short distance from ours on Hwy89A.
Pam Bayles
CFS Mortgage
1120 W. Hwy 89A, Ste A1
Sedona, AZ 86336
(877) 393-5636
(928) 282-5636
301-3717 cell phone
Pam@CFS-Mortgage.com
www.CFS-Mortgage.com
Pam has been extraordinarily helpful to our clients with superb service and very competitive rates. CFS is a mortgage broker as well as a direct lender. Pam's office is also very convenient to ours, just down the street on Hwy 89A.
More Advice...
Again, my suggestion is to do your loan research on one or more of the national mortgage sites and then contact someone locally and challenge him or her to match your best quote. My experience has been that using a local broker or lender versus an out-of-state institution eases the whole process and ensures timely escrow closings. Keep in mind, by the way, that shopping for a mortgage is a very tricky business. It's extremely easy for less-than-ethical mortgage brokers to stick even very sophisticated borrowers with hidden costs and junk fees while quoting rates that appear attractive. There are innumerable elements that go into a proper rate quote and it's important to be comparing apples to apples. My best advice is still to choose someone that you know will do right by you.
Frankly, I've had rotten luck with several transactions which involved out-of-state lenders, ranging from unnecessarily delayed closings to outright unethical practices which have cost my clients money and major headaches.
If you do decide to use someone other than a recommended local mortgage broker or banker, please make sure that you have a well established personal and professional relationship with that person or institution. There is way too much funny business going on with that industry and way too many fly-by-night charletans in that business to trust someone you don't know or hasn't been recommended to you. That is especially true of many of the on-line mortgage companies. Lots of horror stories there.
For Luxury Home Mortgages
Luxury home financing is a whole different ball game. If you are financing a home in the million dollar and up range, I strongly recommend working with a specialist in that arena. Such a person is Tim Kruger, Senior VP of The Private Mortgage Banking Group in Sherman Oaks, CA. PMBG is a nationwide, direct lender that funds Super Jumbo financing up to $20 million. Their professionalism and experience assures high profile clients of unquestioned confidentiality and concierge-level service.
They have over 7,000 different loan programs, including no doc loans, 100% loans, and interest-only financing. Of particular interest to the luxury home buyers is their Pledged Asset Program which allows clients avoid having to cash out stocks and bonds, for instance, in order to purchase real estate.
I know Tim personally through Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate and he comes highly recommended by a number of members of that group.
Tim Kruger
Private Mortgage Banking Group
http://pmbgloans.com
TKruger@MetroCitiesMtg.com
(800) 523-9551
Final bit of advice: Get loan Pre-Approval before you start shopping for property. You'll put yourself in a much stronger bargaining position and save yourself some money. Plus the whole process can be sped up that way. A third of the real estate buyers in Flagstaff pay cash and pre-approval puts you in almost the same position as they are in. Sellers love buyers with cash or loan pre-approval.
