Nikki James – Opes Advisors

I was referred to Nikki by a friend of mine who worked with her during a recent home purchase. Given the crazy real estate market, being able to get all the complicated details of securing a loan straight is not easy, and Nikki (and her assistant Niki) got all of it together for our home purchase without a hitch and in super quick time. The office for OPES is clean and bright, and conveniently located on El Camino Real. Nikki met with us personally when we first contacted her — I was glad to see she was down-​to-​earth, very straightforward and knowledgeable in describing to us what our options were (and throughout the entire process of getting the loan, has been super clear and concise about what all this jargon /​fine print that we’re signing away means — this has alleviated a lot of stress and she’s been happy to answer my many questions in straightforward plain English). She and her assistant are super clear about what documentation is needed and hounding us for submitting it in a timely manner — the line of communication between her and us was definitely always open and ultra timely. An additional plus was the fact that her fees were reasonable and less than we expected. Overall, we would definitely see her again for another home purchase later down the road. Thanks Nikki!

While we weren’t familiar with Opes when we initially started looking for a lender, many of the real estate agents we talked to were. They were quick to tell us how much they like partnering with Nikki (at Opes) because of how reliable, fast, and efficient she is. Needless to say, that kind of validation from third parties in the industry was a very strong signal.
Our first meeting set the tone for the relationship; Nikki is such a warm, friendly person, and she immediately made us feel comfortable. She wasn’t trying to give us the hard sell on anything, instead spending time getting to know us and patiently answering all our questions about the mortgage business. We came away from that initial encounter feeling confident that we’d found the right person to help us through the stressful and intimidating process of acquiring our first home loan.
What especially appealed to us about Nikki’s approach is that she analyzes her clients’ overall financial picture to help them figure out how much they can afford to spend on a house and how much they should borrow. She spent a couple hours with us plugging in numbers and making several (conservative) projections based on a few different scenarios. Although I consider myself to be fairly savvy when it comes to managing my money, as a first-​time home buyer I found this exercise to be tremendously helpful and informative. It helped us feel more comfortable with purchasing a home and taking on a mortgage because we were able to understand what we could truly afford. Perhaps more importantly, it’s a responsible business practice in an industry with an otherwise poor reputation for protecting customers, and was a signal that Nikki was looking out for our best interests.
We were initially a bit worried that this level of service would come at the cost of higher rates or extra fees. That wasn’t the case, however; we spoke to several other lenders and the interest rate we got from Nikki was as good or better than any of the other quotes we got.
When our offer for our home was accepted, things got real. Because of regulations, lenders require a tremendous amount of financial information before final approval of a loan. It’s an overwhelming process, but Nikki and her assistant Niki (yup, you read that correctly) were with us every step of the way. They sent us lists of exactly what which documents and details we needed to provide, were quick to reply with answers to any questions we had.
I can’t think of a single reason why anyone wouldn’t work with Nikki to get a home loan. She was lovely to work with, and her level of service, integrity, and competitive rates made our decision to go with her a no-​brainer.

I was originally referred to Nikki James @ Opes by a co-​worker as I had started to consider a new home purchase having rented in SF for a number of years.
As a green card holder and recent immigrant, my personal situation and needs were hardly straight forward despite having a solid if not relatively short credit history. Nikki took the time to listen, understand and address my personal situation, and was able to pre-​approve me for a mortgage where some of the big banks had been unable to help. She also took the time to talk me through various options and financing terms that I wasn’t completely familiar with.
Just a few days later, I found a perfect property, and also found myself submitting an offer with a condition for a 21 day close. Nikki was un-​phased, and moved incredibly quickly to work with my realtor and start the loan application process. Working closely with Nikki and her assistant (also Niki) they handheld me through the entire process. Both were incredibly responsive to all my questions, and worked tirelessly to close my loan within 21 days.
I found Opes communications to open, transparent and detailed throughout the whole process. When I tell my friends I just closed in 21 days they’re amazed… this is a testament to the professionalism and efficiency of Nikki and her team.