LaSalle National - mortgage lender of choice? I think not.
Written: Jan 23 '03 (Updated Apr 26 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: slow payment processing with no late fees, nice web site name
Cons: Customer service (except automated), difficult to get payoff information
The Bottom Line: Normally, an acceptable mortgage loan processor. However, if something goes wrong....
|
|
|
| Arthur.Rubin's Full Review: LaSalle National |
This reviews deals only with the mortgage-related aspects of LaSalle Bank DBA ABN AMRO. If they happen to do things right, and you don't need to contact a customer service representative, they may be a good choice for your mortgage.
History
We bought our home in 1993. Within the first year, our lender assigned our mortgage to LaSalle Bank, where it stayed (except for a name change to ABN AMRO and a change in processing address from Chicago to Big Beaver Road near Detroit) until I refinanced with Wells Fargo Bank in 2002. During that time, things went generally smoothly -- except when I needed to contact customer service.
In the beginning...
... God created the heavens and the earth. Sorry, wrong story....
We originally used a mortgage broker selected by our Realtor®, and the initial lender resold the loan to LaSalle Bank within the first year, so any mistakes we, the initial broker, or the initial lender made during that period would be off topic. Let me just say we paid one point (1 percent of the initial loan amount) to reduce the interest rate one point (1/8%) to 7 1/8%.
Payment schedule
The loan payments were due on the 1st of the month and not late until the 15th. I usually mailed payments on the 1st (except for the January 1 payment -- mailed December 24 to ensure that they receive it in the correct tax year), and the checks cleared around the 12th. I've never had a late fee, even when the check didn't clear until the 17th.
During the time I had automatic payment (on the 7th, if I recall correctly), that worked OK.
Impound accounts
When we set up the loan, there were no impound accounts for properties taxes or for insurance. When my homeowners insurance policy lapsed (the company left the state), I failed to get new insurance on the house in time. (My bad.) LaSalle was quick to supply their own insurance and set up an impound account. The insurance was expensive, and the escrow calculations were redone twice in the first year. (I dropped automatic payment around that time, as I wanted to make sure that my payments were recorded properly, even if they didn't calculate them properly.)
When I finally got insurance, it took about 4 months for LaSalle to change the insurance company they were to pay, and another 4 months to get the refund from the first insurance company. When we moved back in and got conventional homeowners insurance, it again took 3 months for LaSalle to process the change, but it was easier to get the refund for unauthorized duplicate coverage.
Also, about 3 years after we had obtained our own insurance, I requested that the impound account be removed, and I couldn't find anyone at customer service who had the authority to do so. There must be some procedure, isn't there?
Web site: mortgage.com
Nice name, and it was relatively simple to obtain a user name and password and "register" the loan, so I could easily see the current balance, the last payment and date, and the next payment amount and due date. (They apparently credit the payment much earlier than the check clears. I don't know why.) You can also make a payment online, although I never did. Payoff information is not available and cannot be requested through the web site.
Refinance time
As we have a home equity line of credit (at Wells Fargo Bank) in addition to the first mortgage, and its variable interest rate is acceptable, we wanted to see if we could refinance "in place" -- which requires that the new loan amount be slightly less than the current loan balance. (Everyone seems to want "cash-out" refinances these days.) I could apply online for a refinance (about 1 « points, and 5-7/8% interest for a 15-year mortgage in July 2002, with buydown options), but I couldn't refinance for a smaller amount than the outstanding balance using the online forms.
So I E-mailed customer service. I also called customer service, but they sent the request to voicemail.
In September, I started refinance procedures with Wells Fargo. BTW, Wells Fargo couldn't get the payoff information from (then) ABN AMRO, but I managed to get it mailed through their automated system.
Summary
This could be a good mortgage bank (because of the delayed payment processing) if nothing goes wrong, but if anything does....
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Arthur.Rubin
|
 in Personal Finance |
 in Personal Finance |
 - Top 500 |
|
Member: Arthur Rubin
Location: Brea, CA, USA
Reviews written: 97
Trusted by: 109 members
About Me:
Expert in mathematics, computers, income tax, with a wide variety of interests.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.