Reviews (1)

As a first home buyer, I was contacted by Glen Woodward when applying for Quicken Loans. In our conversation he seems very nice and was very assuring that I would be taken care of. We even agreed on the rate lock on a rate that was below the current market average. So far so good. Quicken Loans/ Rocket Mortgages advertise a "Rate Shield" at which they advertise - "Lock Your Interest Rate Lock your rate for up to 90 days and protect your monthly payment from going up while you search for the right home. If rates go up, your rate stays the same. If rates go down, your rate drops. Either way, you win!" You will hear this over and over if you are put on hold on their phone service.

A couple months later, I finally find a house and it's now time to close and wrap things up. I get updated disclosures of the loan but my rates are still the same from two months ago. The market averages have dropped around .5% to 1% since my rate lock. Expecting what has been advertised, I wrote an email asking what is going on, I was later told wait for their pricing sheet to update. Finally after a week, I another call from a different broker asking if I had questions, and I asked for some kind of update on my new rate based on what was advertised by "Rate Shield." I was told it was the same as when I first signed up two months ago.

This prompt me to investigate my options. And here is where all my lessons begin teaching me the world of brokers and how they work for lenders. They are salespeople who earn their commissions by the fees they can mask into your estimates. Glen Woodward is no exception in double or even triple dipping into tacking on fees...such as $850 application fee or $300 underwriting fee (these are the same as origination fee). Also hyperinflating the appraisal fee to $850, which they are typically only $400 to $500.

And to further add to the crooked "30-year veteran," after my final call with the other broker, Glen attempted to woo me with a new "lower rate" that he had management sign off on. But when you look over the estimate, the fee went up $1000 because he tacked on further points to the origination fee, which pretty much a standard.

So in the end, I chose not to proceed. I am now out $500 and this is my own fault for being a first home buyer. So if you want to pay more closing cost to have a shady broker collect a fat commission off you and for them to not follow what they advertise by all means go ahead with Quicken Loans\Rocket Mortgage. In the end, they are no different than any other company that has a systematic broker between the buyer and lender.

My $500 lesson for first home buyers:

1) Shop around, get as many loan estimates you can at least 3 and compare them.

2) Research the fees that are on the loan estimates, you can find out which are "junk fees" such as Glen attempted on me.

Never give money until you did step 1) and 2).