JG Wentworth Home Lending

Run Far Away!!! I just wasted an entire month dealing with this company. They wouldn’t give me a copy of my refi appraisal until i cancelled the deal. Their appraiser low balled me by at least 20 grand. I still haven’t gotten to see what comps they used. Don’t waste your time… RUN! Don’t do business with Adam Weisinger.

I used the Costco mortgage program with JG Wentworth. My advice for everyone is to stay far far far away from them. They do not know what they are doing. Incompetence up and down the chain of command. They cost me thousands as a result of their incompetence, and just said it was a «learning experience.» Do no use Uriel Sabbagh as your loan officer. Stay away. They don’t under the simplest of loan rules, and don’t bother to train their employees.

UNACCEPTABLE SERVICE. Company lacks integrity. I have never worked with a company with such poor communication and morals. Our loan fell through after repeated mistakes/​delays on their part. Worst part, they didn’t even communicate this to us! Our loan officer, Adam Weisinger, was unprofessional and downright rude. STAY AWAY.

Marcus Barbosa from JG Wentworth in VA Beach has been WONDERFUL working with my mother to get a loan for her to redo her kitchen! It’s something she has been wanting to do for years and she is finally going to be able to start her big project because of Marcus’ help. He has been very kind and patient with our questions throughout the entire process. He was easy to reach by phone, email, and even text during our busiest days which we really appreciated! I would highly recommend Marcus for his excellent customer service and promptness.

I had to refinance my house due to a divorce. I decided to refinance my conventional loan to a VA loan and made the poor decision to use WestStar Mortgage. They had gotten good reviews online, offered me the best rate, and were veteran owned. I should have stuck with USAA. Chris Behrns (NMLS 2925) was my loan officer and Maureen Schmied was my processor. I first spoke with Chris in early March, when he indicated the loan would close within 30 days. My loan did not close until 02 July. In spite of some complications, it took entirely too long to close due to WestStar’s incompetence and lack of communication, and failure to plan ahead.
Rather than provide a list of required information up front, I was asked for items a few at a time. I’d submit paperwork and Maureen would come back with more required documents or asking for documents I had already submitted. Some documents had to be handwritten and scanned in. Maureen waited several weeks before notifying me that they were illegible. WestStar received my VA Letter of Eligibility but waited several months to realize that it was incorrect. We then waited several weeks for the VA to update it. Maureen also asked for things that did not even exist — such as a water test for my septic system. I wasn’t told to provide a water test (it was supposed to be for my well) or a termite inspection until several weeks into the process. Neither Chris nor Maureen could tell me the criteria for the well water test — just that one was required. As a veteran owned company, I would expect the employees to be well versed in the requirements of a VA loan.
During this process, my last name changed due to my divorce. I mentioned this to Chris during our initial conversation, who said I’d only need to submit my divorce decree to update documents. When I submitted it, Maureen requested my updated social security card and driver’s license. Chris then chimed in to say that was standard practice. Both were often unresponsive — I frequently had to send the same email twice to get a response and questions were often ignored. There were also long periods where I’d hear nothing from WestStar and have to email (usually twice) just to get a status update.
Since WestStar drug this process out and failed to address all issues early on, my documents expired. I went through the same process again — Maureen emailed to say she needed certain documents again. I sent those and was asked for additional documents. I got a call from my credit monitoring company that there was activity on my credit. It turned out that WestStar had pulled my credit again. I was sent an updated HUD-​1 and realized that WestStar had increased my interest rate without notifying me.
I sent an email to Chris asking for an explanation and a solution on getting me the interest rate I was promised. While I understand interest rates are locked in for a certain period of time, since it was WestStar’s fault the mortgage wasn’t closed on time and not mine, I should not have been penalized for their failures. Chris responded to my email with a vague, canned response. I then contacted Mike Peoples, head of loan officers. He spoke with Chris and came back with a vague answer about how the VA had taken awhile to update my letter and there were other complications. He did not take any responsibility for his loan officer or processor screwing up. However, he did agree to lower my rate and give me a credit. Since I was basically backed into a corner at this point, I accepted the compromise. It was not the original deal I had been promised, but I had already put money out and a LOT of time.
I was told that I would be given an opportunity to review my HUD-​1, with the corrected loan terms, before my closing. Chris went on leave several days before my closing and I never got a copy of the HUD-​1. Chris had told me months before closing that no cash would be due. When I arrived at closing, I was told that I owed money and needed to write a check. Of course, because I had no knowledge of this, I did not have my checkbook on me.
I emailed Chris immediately after closing to ask why I never received the HUD-​1 and why I wasn’t notified about the cash due. Of course, I never received a response from him. However, David Jenkins, the standby for Chris, called me within a few hours of my email! This is something Chris never did, no matter the issue. Although there was nothing he could do, David was genuinely helpful and explained they attempt to balance the loan as closely as possible, but it’s not always possible to come to $ 0. Chris only told me no cash would be due — period. I now believe that the issue was not entirely with WestStar but primarily with the loan officer and processor assigned to my refinance.
It was a frustrating process working with WestStar Mortgage. I had expected better treatment from a veteran owned company and was sorely disappointed. I have to question whether they purposely drug things out to charge me a higher interest rate.

WESTSTAR MORTGAGE FUNDING PROCEDURES ARE A JOKE.
I will make this review as short as possible.
Weststar’s policy on new construction is they will not start the funding portion of the loan procedure until they receive the complete and final appraisal (the 2^nd of two required) and a certificate of occupancy when dealing with a newly built home.
They require 5 working days to prepare for funding their portion of the loan or part of the purchase price after receipt of the two documents.
Here is the joke; the builder gives you a finish and occupancy date, you set up the closing, movers, utilities, appliance deliveries, landscape contractors, etc, etc. based on that date.
Then one week before closing Weststar discloses their polices listed above (which were not disclosed in the previous 60 day loan application period) and tells you to move your closing date so they are allowed the time to do their job.
Response to the joke;
Do you try and get a new loan in a week? (Impossible)
Could you trust Weststar after their non disclosures and continue?
Do you call the 20 or more people you have involved and cancel them?
Do you put your furniture in storage and pay for 2 moves?
Do you rent a hotel room for a week and get boarding for your pets?
The answer is;
You make other arrangements for your funding.
Other lenders do not have polices designed for guaranteed failure.
Run from Weststar, learn from this review, and get a lender that cares about their clients, and designs their policies to enhance their experience with the process, not make it a joke.

Pam Frantz and WestStar are downright dishonest. It was a very disappointing experience. In the end, she deceived me, and hid a key clause in the contract by burying it in the mound of paperwork. I only discovered this once they sold my loan to PennyMac. I was referred to them by Costco so I will be sure to let Costco know their business practices do not warrant a referral.