Patti Frank, Vice President and Branch Manager of GuardHill Southampton, was featured in The Independent East End in which she discusses the mortgage process, GuardHill’s lending platform, and all about the history of our mortgage company.
“I have been in the mortgage business for 25 years. In 1994, I started as a mortgage broker. I always preferred being a broker instead of working for one particular bank because it allowed me to have a plethora of product options for my clients. When you work for one bank, they typically only have three or four loan options. However, when you are a mortgage broker, you have myriad options, because you are a third-party broker that can use numerous banks.
In 2014, I chose to join GuardHill Financial because of its stellar reputation in the industry and because after the mortgage crisis of 2008, the U.S. mortgage industry changed drastically. Joining GuardHill Financial allowed me to go from brokering loans to banking loans.
GuardHill Financial is one of the nation’s leading privately held mortgage banker and brokerage firms and has been in business since 1992. We fund our own loans, underwrite our own loans, and have a wide array of products and rates that most of the big banks do not offer. Since we underwrite our clients’ loans in our New York City headquarters, I am in a position to be hands-on throughout the entire process, which allows me to keep clients, their realtors, attorneys, and accountants up to date on how the loan is moving along.
As a correspondent lender, we have a large in-house administrative staff for processing and underwriting our loans quickly and professionally as well as a dedicated closing department, which makes the loan process to the borrower exemplary and efficient. GuardHill is always striving to have the best service, rates, and products in the industry.”
What exactly does a mortgage loan officer do? And why is it important to use one?
“A good mortgage loan officer acts as an advisor and guides a client through the loan process. A loan officer that works for a mortgage banker, such as GuardHill, has access to numerous lenders/banks and all the products they have to offer. We are also able to pre-qualify or pre-approve a client within a day or two for a mortgage. Some banks can take 30 to 60 days to get you an answer, and if it is negative, you are back to the drawing board.
I also like to meet with clients and get their paperwork in order to conduct an income, asset, and credit analysis to determine what they may qualify for, and which product is best suited for their needs. I can also advise them about what needs to be done in order to get themselves into a positive place for a mortgage approval.”
Patti also defines basic mortgage terms and reviews the mortgage documentation checklist. To read the full article in The Independent East End, click here.
GuardHill Financial has maintained its reputation as being one of the nation’s most reputable, privately held mortgage companies. To learn more about our products, click here.
