You all are amazing. We consider you as part of our family and have been so bless through all of your hard work.

Marina and her team provided crucial information and updates that allowed my home purchase to go smoothly and within budget. I highly recommend them.

MARINA with each step of the way. She gave expert guidance and clearly advised what I could expect throughout the process.

Courtney was amazing.

Marina was there every step of the way and was a pleasure to work with.

Marina is a perfect 10! I drove up from San Diego to Seattle looking for a place the I could afford, never mind love. She was thoughtful honest and enthusiastic when I found it. So, Thank you Marina!

Marina was friendly, responsive, and helpful, but our main complaint is that everyone involved communicated almost exclusively with me and not my partner, Astrid, meaning if I was working and unable to receive or respond to messages, nothing happened. The text conversation with the loan officer and coordinator would have been much more helpful if both of us were included. We are equal partners in this mortgage (a *JOINT* VA loan) and can address most questions equally. My partner felt very dismissed and condescended to. A lot of problems could have been resolved much faster, especially since our timeline was very tight. Almost all automatic communications (including this review!!) were sent just to me. Only emails from VU staff went to both of us.
A lot of information on the loan application and other documents was incorrect or missing, since it was completed by the loan officer through a phone conversation, not by us. A lot of answers were assumed and not asked directly. Several items required multiple follow-ups to correct, which could have been avoided by us filling out the application to begin with:
- My previous home ownership was missing completely
- My actual last military base wasn't listed, instead one nearby
- Both of our previous addresses and who lived where were incorrect/missing, we didn't live together until recentlyMy partner is self-employed and recently moved. Marina didn't seem to understand how self-employment can continue even if a particular business name in the previous state was no longer used or how tax classifications can be changed to reflect the best current filing status for a business entity/self employment. After a lot of back and forth (which should have been by phone call not email), detailed questions, and extra documentation, we ended up just using my own income and finances alone for the application. All this hassle could have been avoided if this was suggested from the beginning, as soon as it was clear that the self-employment side was not necessary.
[Astrid here -- I knew the self employment would be more complicated, but the loan officer should have asked more questions during the initial conversation or explained what would be required upon finding out my line of work. Also, I felt very uncomfortable that private information re: my relationship (Russell had never lived there)/what the rental verification was for i.e. a joint mortgage was given to my previous landlord (in a small town where I have a lot of clients who talk to each other) without clearing it with me first. The landlord didn't need to know or anything other than verifying a previous address and that rent was paid on time.]
Regarding the website, Astrid couldn't create her own login and had to use mine. Only my phone number was allowed to receive text verifications. Multiple times, after we uploaded documents or information, we were asked to provide it again until we said it was on there already, then whoever asked found it. It must not be very well organized. Having a separate loan officer and loan coordinator seemed to add to this confusion.
The only reason we went with VU is because you offer joint VA loans which USAA doesn't. Comparing this experience with almost every customer support experience using USAA or the bank that originated my previous mortgage, I would not recommend VU except for our particular joint VA loan circumstance. And I recommend a lot of changes on how it's handled.