Austin Matson – Washington First Mortgage Loan

Austin helped me with my first home purchase and I really appreciated his consistent and timely communication, his flexibility, willingness and ability to explain things so that I could actually understand it, and he never seemed bothered by my numerous questions and concerns about the process. I worked with Austin from a recommendation after my first loan fell through due to my home being considered a non-​warrantable condo. Austin thought of a successful solution that my 3 prior lenders did not think of, and his rate couldn’t be beat by anyone else. The home buying process was not an easy one, but Austin made it as manageable as possible for a first time homebuyer. I would definitely recommend Austin to others!

Austin Matson, no longer works for Cobalt Mortgage. He is a senior loan officer at Washington First Mortgage in Kirkland.
Matson advertises he has lots of experience. If so, how did he let this happen? He had 46 days to secure a WA First mortgage for my daughter’s house purchase. As the days went by he consistently told her she qualified for the mortgage. Then only 4 days before closing he told her she no longer qualified — and the only way to salvage the loan was to add me as a cosigner! If we hadn’t found another way — which cost us many thousands of dollars extra — my daughter would have lost her house. Everyone involved (except apparently Matson) was angry. My daughter’s real estate agent said she should have been told of any problems way earlier than 4 days before closing so she could shop other lenders. The r.e. agent vowed never to work with Matson again.
I complained in writing to Tryg Satterlee, Washington First’s president and a company owner. Five weeks later I’ve received no response. None, despite what Satterlee says on his web page:…“true success shines in creating life time clients through clear and concise communication, honesty and integrity.” Does he even believe that? You judge.
Satterlee previously owned another mortgage company that was fined by the state of Oregon in 2011 for failing to respond to seven requests for required documents. Last year Washington state held WA First in violation of its Consumer Loan Act for failing to pay the state almost $ 69,000. And another WA First owner, Richard J. Seraka, was stripped of his license and ordered to stay out of the mortgage business for 15 years after it was found he had altered loan documents. All this can be easily verified online.
So wish my daughter had researched Washington First Mortgage and Austin Matson before she went with them. They were a costly, costly mistake.