Fadi Kanawi

Very fast and easy digital process. Much of the process is self service so may be better for a consumer more familiar with the mortgage process. Response time could be better.

2nd time working with them. Things just move fast and easy.

There were some major hiccups during this 30 day close: 1) My employment was not verified by the contingency date. To be more specific, they requested Verification of Employment a day or two before the date, expecting it to go smoothly. They should have requested it from day 1 because you can't expect every HR department to respond promptly. I had to act as the middleman the entire time, where I would tell HR who to send the emails to, etc. I would expect this is something Better should handle, not for me to worry about. 2) There is a ton of delay in communication between the departments in Better. If something doesn't go right the first time, expect long delays because there will be a lot of back and forth. 3) They have an online portal where you submit documents based on the instructions they give you. You would expect this to be streamlined, but in some specific cases, they're not. The underwriter requires very specific information, and this said information is not clarified in the instructions. There were many times during this process where I would submit a document that did not suffice, and I had to hop on a call with the processor to understand what is needed. Also, there are other little details like for statements: they say to provide a pdf or jpg, but it doesn't say it allows screenshots, as long as it includes the whole browser (including the url). I had to be told this over the phone. Every step of the way, I was worried something would come up and I would add days to my closing. Luckily, my processor was very helpful in getting everything expedited (as they should), and I was able to close only a few days after the expected closing date. This was my first time using them for a purchase. I've used them previously for 2 refinances. The 1st refinance went smoothly (1 month). The 2nd refinance took 3 whole months. Yes, 3. They say there was a technical glitch on their end, but that's really unacceptable. I had to threaten to switch lenders in order to get the ball rolling. I'm still giving them a 5 because I've had 1 good experience out of 3, and they offer pretty competitive rates. In addition, they also rate match (a CFPB loan estimate is required) and give an additional $100 in credits when they do that. This has recently been decreased from $1000 which was more enticing. I'm more open to shopping around now due to this. All in all, if you're expecting to purchase a home, expect to be involved in the process. I would recommend them more for refinancing since there isn't much of a tight deadline.

I was not sure how an internet-based lender would perform, but the experience was pretty good. Lower fees due to structure and easy interface to use for viewing tasks, uploading documents, and moving the process along. The only knocks are you get rotated through a team of people so communication sometimes has gaps and the loan estimate process had some frustration due to clarity of information. Closed on time though which was a concern going in and especially in the current environment.

Was really nice experience. Andrew always answered my bunch of questions by email. They request a lot of paperwork from my side but an easy way in my user through the website.