Real Estate agent recommended against using NFCU for mortgage

[Horseshoez]

Hey gang, from this forum as well as a few others, I've always heard good things about using NFCU for a mortgage, so this week when we were talking to our real estate agent about buying a new home she strongly recommended against NFCU as, in her words, they are disorganized and take way too long.  She claimed she had lost sales because her buyers had allegedly been preapproved by NFCU and then at the last minute, they discovered something which killed the deal.

In lieu of NFCU she is recommending several "smaller/local" lenders who are very proactive; I can't tell if I smell a rat or not.  Have any of y'all ever had an issue with Navy, or know someone who has?

[sccredit]

Obviously anecdotal but I have heard stories over the years about how screwed up NFCU's mortgage department it. Never dealt with it myself as I have actually always used a local broker.

[VAMortgageGuy]

Agents are reluctant to work with lenders they don't have history of closing deals with. As a lender, I get the same reluctance from agents all the time because I lend in all 50 states. Agents are scared to work with me until I talk with them and show them my reviews.

That said, big box lenders, like NFCU tend to lack when it comes to customer service due to the way they are structured. Agents want to work with lenders that give them updates and close on time.

The idea that you need to work with a local lender is really outdated but you do need to be careful about which lender you work with.

[Cowboys4Life]

I am an NFCU member but did not go through them for my mortgage.  I sued LoanDepot and could not be happier.  Locked in a great rate (2.5% 3 years ago) and 29 days from contract to close.  I would give them a look.

[Horseshoez]

Thanks for the feedback folks, I really appreciate it.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

I have heard that NFCU can lag. I was looking at them for a HELOC and found the same for that process as well. My home is paid off, it shouldn't take 90 days for a desk appraisal and approval for 100k on 800k. So I wouldn't doubt what the agent is saying. 

[Cowboys4Life]

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@Cowboys4Life wrote:

I am an NFCU member but did not go through them for my mortgage.  I sued LoanDepot and could not be happier.  Locked in a great rate (2.5% 3 years ago) and 29 days from contract to close.  I would give them a look.

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Okay, I just saw my typo in that post.  It should read USED LoanDepot not SUED.  LMAO.  

[pizzadude]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

Hey gang, from this forum as well as a few others, I've always heard good things about using NFCU for a mortgage, so this week when we were talking to our real estate agent about buying a new home she strongly recommended against NFCU as, in her words, they are disorganized and take way too long.  She claimed she had lost sales because her buyers had allegedly been preapproved by NFCU and then at the last minute, they discovered something which killed the deal.

In lieu of NFCU she is recommending several "smaller/local" lenders who are very proactive; I can't tell if I smell a rat or not.  Have any of y'all ever had an issue with Navy, or know someone who has?

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I'd take what she said under advisement but in the end you should go with the lender who offers you the service level you need, with rates and fees that work best for you.  It certainly never hurts to shop around, so once you have your morgage scores you could always ask around the "locals" to see if they can match what NFCU's terms are.    In general I don't think any large bank / CU will seem to be as responsive but just remember that you're the one paying for it

[NoMoreDebt]

When we purchased our new construction home in August 2019 we had been pre approved already but the builder had us use their lender ( Loan Depot) for the credits being offered. That went relatively smooth it seemed. 

About a year or so latter we wanted to refi to drop our rate and ditch the PMI. Due to our bk7 we were about 4 months shy of qualifying for a traditional mortgage so had to go FHA and even though we had more than 20% down still had to pay PMI with our first loan. Covid was ramping up then and rates were dropping and our original Loan Depot loan officer wouldn't return calls. We used Chase since we have accounts with them and they gave us a less than stellar experience.

Delays, lack of communication. Original LO was either fired or quit and we went about a week before finding that out when new LO started working with us after we were in the dark a while then stood us up on the first date when were supposed to sign the papers. In the end it dot done and we got into a traditional with no PMI and no escrow and dropped our rate 1% but it was definitely a hassle. I bet most big lenders/banks are all like that?

ETA: It took about 2 months total

[Horseshoez]

The last time we applied for a mortgage was 2002 and our Merrill Lynch representative arranged everything, good thing it went smoothly because the whole series of events went at lightning speed (for a home purchase); here was the timeline:

• Last week of June 2002:
  • My wife mentioned to her boss I might have a business opportunity up in the Boston area
  • The next day, Wednesday, my wife was sent to work with one of her company's recent acquisitions, and not just as a one-off, it was permanent and an instant promotion
  • We contacted our Bergen County, NJ real estate agent that Friday
  • We met with her Saturday
  • She had the For Sale sign put on our front lawn Sunday evening and had to turn people away telling them "Nobody will see the house until Wednesday, and ONLY if they have their spouse with them."
  • Wednesday about 30 couples toured our house; the offers started coming in that night
  • Friday we had a deal for $100,000 over our asking price.
• First week of July 2002:
  • We drove up here to New Hampshire, looked at an easy 20 houses (some were simple drive-bys and a hard "NO!)
  • We put offers on two houses, one brand new and one already vacated by current owner, one offer was accepted
• First week of August 2002:
  • The closing of our New Jersey house was on the same day as the closing of our New Hampshire house so the money we needed to put down for the house we were buying wasn't going to be available for a week or so; Merrill Lynch and an associated mortgage company did the first mortgage deal and arranged for a bridge loan to cover the down payment.
• Second week of August 2002:
  • We moved

I don't things get done that way any longer given what has happened in the real estate world over the last couple decades; hence my being an effective newbie when it comes to getting a mortgage.