Guild Mortgage Company

I feel everyone should be warned about Fred Holsman and Guild Mortgage. I was working with Fred of Guild Mortgage, but just fired him today. He seems to work out of his house in Rancho San Diego. He was quite charming when I first interviewed him about a refi on my house. I told him I wanted no surprises and that I wanted to know everything up front. I was convinced he was the lender for me. I said I wanted to get going with the refi before the feds met to raise the interest rates. He looked me right in the eyes and said nothing. I found out later that his company had already raised their interest rates in anticipation of the feds meeting, but he said nothing to me about it at the time. Then his mother, the underwriter, emailed me 19 pages of documents/​disclosures to sign. They couldn’t be e-​signed, Fred said, but there were no instructions on how to get the documents back to them signed. Some of it was so blurry I couldn’t read it. Fred told me just to sign it. Really?! None of the numbers on it matched what Fred and I had talked about, but he said it was just a start and not to worry about it, there would be adjustments. He also said that I would be owing a couple of thousand dollars of interest to pay off my loan. (My new lender and my financial advisor have told me since, that untrue. I got less and less comfortable with Fred and Guild Mortgage. I told Fred that, from now on, he needed to print the documents and that I would come to his office and sign them. But the very next day he e-​mailed more documents to me. Is it that he can’t read or that he doesn’t care what I wanted him to do? So I called and reminded him that he needed to print them out and that I would come to his office and sign them. Which I did. That’s when I found out that Guild had raised their rates before the feds met, in anticipation of the event. The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I got. Is this how they are with everyone, or is it because I am a woman with no man attached to my hip? Anyway, I have excellent credit, no debts and a decent income that won’t change because it is retirement money. There are hundreds of lenders who want to give me the refi, so I went with someone else; better interest rate, much less money for closing costs, ($ 2,000 less), no lying, (by commission or ommission), and no blurry documents. Choose your lender carefully and don’t let them charm you into doing something you know you shouldn’t do. Even if you are having trouble getting a loan, be careful and don’t fall prey to the cheats, liars and criminals. Good riddance to bad rubbish, is what my mom always says.

Michael Greco is extremely honest, knowledgeable of market trends, and attentive to our needs. He consistently makes himself available to answer our questions (and we have many), even after business hours. He helped us get into a great loan for a contingent purchase and the process was a breeze with him. He accurately predicted interest rate increases and he locked in our rate before they went up. We are confident that he is one of the best in the mortgage industry and we would recommend Michael to our friends and family!

My first review was taken down, because all I had the patience to do was concur with a lot of the other reviews that bring up the fact that communication is terrible with Guild. So I will now expand.
I have been trying to refinance my house for almost 4 months. The attention to detail and quality of communication surrounding my refinance has been remedial.

LORD, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. The Fred Holsman Group is TERRIBLE! I WILL NEVER EVER USE THE GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY AGAIN — EVER! Here’s the short version. My mother and I selected a 3 unit investment property. Okay, so fine. Ready to have the inspection. Met the inspector at the property. After taking the day off work and standing on my feet for 4 hours, I hand the inspector a $ 900 check. TO MY HORROR, we get a call from Fred. Well, he’s made a mistake. Initially he told us the down payment would be 20%. This is all we had in the bank for crying out loud! Then Fred tells us – wait, you need to put down $ 25%. Oh wait, it’ll be more. Oh one more thing… because you both own so and so number of properties, it’ll be… This went on and on and on. We cancelled the offer. Moving on…
The amount of paperwork which was required wasn’t the problem. I get it. Regulations. The problem was that every few days, it seemed like he was asking for yet another document. It was never ending. He had to check my credit 3 TIMES! Each time, I had to unfreeze it at $ 30 a pop (frozen because of identify theft). Why was I charged $ 25 on the closing document for a credit check? You’d think I would have received a $ 90 credit. Why didn’t he just up front outline ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS WHICH WERE REQUIRED INSTEAD OF PIECE MEALING IT? More…
So now I find another property. It’s got 3 units but it’s not listed as a multi-​unit property. So he doesn’t bother to read the contract and starts processing it as a multi-​unit… here we go again. Let’s start this nightmare over why don’t we! It’s not like I don’ have a day job…
I’ve owned about 8 properties, maybe a few more. I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE HAD SUCH A HORRIFIC, STRESSFUL, DEPRESSING, ANXIETY RIDDEN, AND HAND WRINGING EXPERIENCE THAN I DID DEALING WITH MR. FRED HOLSMAN. Perhaps my loan wasn’t important. Perhaps he has bigger fish to fry. Maybe it was because the property is in little old San Ysidro and didn’t cost much. Maybe our loan was a tiny speck in his universe but I don’t think I have ever felt so (I’m not going to write it!). I feel ill to my stomach writing this because I’m basically a nice, fair and caring person.
Oh one more thing. Got a call yesterday from Escrow that Fred’s office needed a replacement escrow earnest check for $ 5000 because the one we initially wrote at the get go when escrow was opened was signed by my mom or something to that effect. Geez, she and I are on the same account! WHAT DOES IT MATTER? TELL ME, WHAT DOES IT MATTER? Here goes my poor mother, going from here to there and back again. She’s 89. Please let this nightmare end.
If you want a wonderful mortgage broker, it’s Jeff Wilson at Integrity Mortgage 1−949−407−7813. I would have used him, but our real estate person had already set it up with the person she uses… Fred! Forgive me Jeff. It will not happen again.

Absolutely terrible. They deserve negative stars. I am so glad to have refinanced away from Guild. Do not bother, do not waste your time or money. They are horrible in every way, period.
The loan origination process was drawn out, fraught with setbacks, plagued with antiquated processes and paperwork. Ever get a loan application that is clearly a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy so it isn’t even close to being straight on the page?
I can’t even count how many hours I wasted on the phone getting bounced around from corporate to branch and back and forth just to try to find out who my loan officer was. Me: «I’m calling to find out who my loan officer is and speak with that person.» Guild CSR after 10 minutes of hold, questions, and transfers «Who is your loan officer again?». F you Guild.
When I inquired about refinancing I worked with two different individuals who were completely shady, refused to directly answer questions, and refused to put in the effort to discuss rates. All they would do is say «I’ll put your package in the mail, when you get it sign all the paperwork and send it back and then we can talk about rates and such.» Sure. And they would literally snail mail me a giant-​ass stack of loan application paperwork. Nothing was digital. These guys are stuck in the 1970s.
Want to set up electronic payments? Sure, Guild offers that… through WESTERN UNION WIRE TRANSFER. Again, welcome to the 1970s.
I am SO happy to have left this POS company. Stay away, this industry is too competitive for a place like this to survive. If your mortgage broker even hints at looking at this place fire him/​her immediately. I wish we had.

Have nothing but good things to say about Erika and David from Guild in Mission Valley. We applied for Guild to Guild refinance. David and Erika met with us to explain a small list of things we could do to better position ourselves in our refi efforts. We were disappointed that we had to wait but their advice turned out to be spot on. A simple 60 day delay and replanning of how to tackle our refinance resulted in a better rate and more available cash to remodel! We were thankful they didn’t take our first application and run with it. At the risk of losing our application they were honest and told us that we needed to wait and take care of a few things.
Both were very helpful and available by phone or email. Responses to questions came instantly.
Highly Recomended!

David Bushey and the team at Guild did an exceptional job with us in helping us to finance a condo for our daughter’s first home purchase. Not only did they make the process next to effortless, but they were there every step of the way ensuring we understood exactly what was going on, what was required and what was coming next. In particular David was terribly patient with our numerous questions and daily calls. Always professional, realistic and most importantly sincerely interested in our situation and making the transaction work for us. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and kudos as well to Erika Morgan who really was a star behind the scenes.

I am a first time home buyer and had no idea how to proceed with getting a loan. I am so happy I was referred to David Bushey, he made it so easy to understand the process and got me a great rate. I am extremely happy with my home loan! I would highly recommend David Bushey to everyone I know.

Updating my previously miserable experience with Guild. Since the original review we have refinanced our mortgage with Guild. The primary reason for this was due to the experience we had with our agent Ed Broderick. He won over our loyalty and has become an invaluable resource whenever we are looking at our current options in the market. I’ve been informed that the manager (mentioned previously) is no longer with the company. That’s a good thing.
Our refi experience was hassle free and relatively easy. If you can, ask for Ed to service your loan. He delivers a great customer service and saved an otherwise toxic relationship.
There are seemingly infinite options when looking for a lender. Ed is the new standard I hold when shopping loans. He hasn’t been beat yet and he’s turned some deadends into workable solutions without being a burden in any way.

So after watching 5 Seasons of Grey’s Anatomy I was ready to start practicing medicine and after 5 mortgages and refinances I’m ready to start my own mortgage lender, now all I need is a few hundred million dollars.
Short of all that cash I will say that there are two main pieces to selecting a good lender, first is the company and I have to say Guild had their stuff together. They were more efficient than a Japanese Assembly line and more timely than a German Train. The whole process was so well organized, Guild covered everything so well that I’m surprised when it was all finished they hadn’t put my Spice Rack wasn’t in order (Actually they may have if spices are supposed to be ordered by popularity of songs in which they’re used). And our loan was completed so quickly that I’m pretty sure we traveled back in time and it closed 60 days BEFORE escrow even started. It was impressive to say the least.
The second and most critical piece is your actual Loan Officer and he was beyond perfect, almost too good to be true. Our Loan Officer is a guy named Dave Bushey and he looks so much like John McCain that when I actually saw John McCain in the Phoenix Skyharbor Airport two weeks ago I approached him and asked him if he felt I could qualify for an income property and when he said he didn’t know what I was talking about the crowd of people around him and I came to the sober realization that we weren’t talking to an all-​star mortgage lender but in fact it was just a congressman and we were all very disappointed. Dave is perhaps the most knowledgeable lender I’ve ever met and what’s more he makes everything so clear and easy to understand. But perhaps the best thing is that Dave makes sure everything is meticulously prepared. I was strapped in expecting another 3 month escrow and it closed in a few weeks. Dave is open, honest, professional and I’m pretty sure the laws of thermodynamics do not apply to Dave.
I should probably also note that I have gone through the lending process with Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, Bank of America, US Bank, Amerisave, and Guild; and Guild Mortgage and Dave Bushey were hands down the best.

Pretty sure that I’m cursed when it comes to two things in life: blackjack and real estate loan transactions.
We’ve bought two homes and performed two refi’s, all four of which have turned out horrendously with other lenders mainly due to processing complications on their end.
Our last transaction was with US Bank to try to ref-​fi both of our properties. This started in July and was dragged out through October. After FOUR months, there was no end in sight to the number of delays they kept encountering and excuses they kept giving us. We finally drew the line, cut our losses, and went to Guild based on a recommendation from our realtor. It was here that we experienced the most dramatic improvement in professionalism, customer service, and most importantly, turnaround time!
We worked with Dave and his team and I could not recommend him more. Not only was he very knowledgable on a complex subject matter that most of us are not experts on (at least not me), but he was also incredibly responsive and did a fantastic job of holding our hands throughout the entire process. We ended up not only getting a better rate than the other lender, but we also closed in about two weeks, which is a 1200% improvement over the timeline we were dealing with with the other lender. It was like going through a drive-​thru equivalent of a home lender.
We’ll definitely use Guild again for our next transaction!

All humans stumble and make mistakes. Companies are composed of humans, ergo– companies make mistakes too.
When I originally called Guild, I was put in touch with a salesman who was an arrogant jerk. I wasn’t sure if I was being oversensitive, so I asked my wife to call the jerk loan officer. She called him and after a brief conversation, was instantly furious.
I am in charge of dozens of employees, and I appreciate it when customers offer me feedback about customer service– so I did just that. I called Guild headquarters and sent them an email. Apparently they take customer service extremely seriously. The senior vice president (S.H.) called me the next day and listened to my angry tirade about how he should be embarrassed by the behavior of his salesperson/​loan officer. S.H. asked me for another chance to prove how seriously they take customer service. He told me that he’d put me in touch with his best loan officer. I don’t want to mention his name here, but his initials are E. O., and you’ll know you have the right guy if he has an apostrophe in his last name and his assistant is A.R.
Already extremely frustrated, I called E.O. and talked with him about the loans. He instantly calmed me down and assured me that he’d do everything he could to help me. Without going into too much detail about the loans, I will say that my refinances were extremely complicated and literally involved over 1000 pages of paperwork. E.O. wasn’t phased.
Over the course of several weeks, E.O. and A.R. put the wheels in motion to get the loans done in a timely manner. Yes, it took longer than a traditional refinance– but like I said earlier, my case is complicated to say the least. We hit a lot of bumps along the way. None of it was the fault of E.O. or A.R. One of the appraisers said the water heater had issues, another appraiser said my roof is falling apart, then my existing lender said I was delinquent on payments… none of which was accurate, but those are all things that will put the brakes on a refinance.
E.O. didn’t bend any rules in my favor. He was clear from the start that the mortgage industry is extremely regulated and every little piece of paper has to be signed and counter signed by the virgin Mary and the 12 apostles. Seriously, this process took a very long time and involved dozens of phone calls. I talked with E.O. or A.R. almost every day for a few months. But, my patience and their customer service paid off in the end. My loans closed last week, and I am saving truckloads of money.
One of the things that I originally told S.H. (initials of the senior vice president) of Guild was that their customer service is horrible and it’s no secret because their reputation was in the toilet on sites like this. He told me that he understood, and apologized. When he told me that he was going to put me in touch with his superstar E.O., I promised him I’d leave online feedback either way. I’d either drive their reputation further into the ground if E.O. failed or I’d leave good feedback things worked out. Things worked out fabulously. Guild literally saved me several hundred thousand dollars, which means that my kids will have college paid for ahead of time.
Like I said at the beginning, we all make mistakes. Yes, my first impression of Guild was not good. But, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Guild is a wonderful company with some amazing employees. E.O., and A.R., thank you so much.

Terrible, terrible, terrible!!! We decided to refinance our home with Guild Mortgage because we had dealt with one of the brokers on a prior refinance when he was with a different company. We knew the drill and what to submit for the loan, so we thought we were prepared for a quick and easy underwriting. Not this time. This time, with this company, the exerience was absolutely horrible. They made the process so difficult. These people are absolutely clueless and be careful because they will cheat you on the rate.
First, despite the fact that I gave them all of our tax information, they kept insisting that there must be more. They even wanted to contact our accountant directly, which I refused to permit, but they did it anyway.
Second, they spent countless hours getting my wife and her employer to justify why the amount on her pay stub was more than the amount we submitted on the application. I can understand if it was the other way around and what we submitted was greater than the paystub, but we just ended up rounding to a lower number and they required several letters of proof from her boss. They also couldn’t understand the simple concept of «if the pay date occurs on Saturday or Sunday, we get paid on Friday». That also took additional letters and clarification.
Third, they said they couldn’t lock in a rate until after the appraisal was received. No problem, we hurried to make the arrangements for the appraisal to be done. We were told we were approved and locked (although the broker claims he never said it). Almost a month later we found out that we were never locked in and a few days before we were scheduled to close, they so nicely informed us that the rate had gone up. Oops, sorry. There’s nothing we can do. This mistake ended up costing us an additional $ 50 a month.
Finally, since the notary was scheduled to come and they needed to create the final documents they made a big stink about getting us to sign and return two documents. They called and left several messages that they needed these documents immediately and it was so critical. We won’t be able to close on time if they don’t get them back. That night when we met with the notary, those same two documents were in the package and we had to sign them all over again.
I would never, ever use Guild Mortgage and I would never recommend them to anyone that I know. The experience got me so upset, that I turned around and called another company and refinanced the house again with CashCall and did a no cost mortgage at a rate that was lower then the first rate Guild Mortgage offered us. Stay away from Guild.

Someone tell me how to get hold of these people!!! I have called and been left on hold for at least 30 minutes; I have left multiple messages on voicemail, and have yet to get throught to a loan rep! This is not customer service. I may have to change companies… :(

Christine Bayes is such a great communicator!
I had a bad experience with the previous company that I used and my number one complaint was the lack of communication.
Not a problem with Christine! I emailed her and got a response every time, usually within a few minutes. She made me feel like mine was the only loan that she was working on.
I had an atypical loan with a lot of unique challenges, but Guild helped me close in record time. Whenever a challenge would arise, Christine took care of it posthaste.
She really is a star!!! When you need a home loan or refinance, don’t hesitate to contact Christine Bayes, you won’t be sorry.