It will not be fair to only point out the good or the bad things about a company. When it comes to being thorough and transparent, I would give Legacy 5 stars. Although Romanello group is a team, I have spoken mostly with just Jeremy throughout the entire process after meeting Tom once. They were able to get me a pre-approval letter after about six weeks. A 2 week delay would be our fault for not being able to get requirements submitted at the office. They were too many to scan and email so I had to find the time to drop them off instead. I did expect that because they were a team, they would be able to give me at least a pre-approval letter within 2 weeks like the other lenders I have applied with. But somehow, being a team may tend to get things delayed if not everyone on the team can answer or help with questions that only the loan officer could answer, and the loan officer is not always available, and communication gets passed around. I have worked with another lender who did everything himself and was able to get it to the underwriter and gave me a pre-approval the next day. He didn't have a team to help him out but he got things done so much faster. In the end, I ended up going with this other lender because he was also willing to match the lowest rates from a third lender without a problem. However, when I asked Tom if he could match the rates, before he even heard me out, he just blurted that he is not interested with working with me anymore. Wow! After all that hard work that they did to make sure they were thorough, if they did not want to match the other lenders' quotes, he could have said it in a more polite manner by simply saying he couldn't or wouldn't be able to match it. He doesn't have to blurt out words like that to a client. Good thing, I applied with other lenders for comparison too and this lender I went with instead of Legacy Mutual doesn't have the lowest rates either, but he is very personable and trustworthy to go with us all the way, despite knowing we could have gone with someone else. Tom just judged us too quick before hearing us out, and later when he found out what the real story is, he replied that if ever this lender won't work that we can let him know. But too late, my trust is shattered, what if he's going to say the same line the next time? As first-time home buyers, we need to know our lender is willing to work with us all the way, and if he knows he can't, at least say it in a nice way next time. I appreciate all the advise and tips Legacy Mutual has given, but in the end, we need a lender who is actually willing to work with us on the loan. After all, what can tips do for you if you still end up unable to loan with them? He may be helpful to someone with a low credit score, but to someone like us who have excellent credit scores and can actually shop around for better rates, he simply shut us down just like that. Thank God we have 2 other really good lenders. If you happen to be a first time home buyer, you do need to shop around with at least 2 other lenders in case one of them will suddenly just shut you off instead of hear you out. Buying a home is a huge investment, and lenders should give a buyer the opportunity to shop around. That is after all what gave us the excellent credit scores because we don't just waste our money on just about anything we set our eyes on. This is something Tom needs to understand so he will not end up dragging the rest of his hardworking team down because of a rash judgment or a quick harsh statement said to a client. His loss, not mine.

Not only an incredibly KNOWLEDGEABLE Lender, but an incredibly honest, transparent and professional one. There are TONS of home loan options out there for the good credit, well-prepared buyer, but it takes a true advocate and professional to work with someone with less than perfect credit and their FIRST homebuying experience to make it not only successful and stress-less, but an absolutely referable experience! Thanks to Legacy Mutual Mortgage for keeping it real ... and being HUMAN and personal and overcommunicating with me throughout the process!