Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

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not-a-financial-guru
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Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by not-a-financial-guru »

We need to close a 30 year conventional home mortgage loan in exactly 30 days from today. We looked at local banks and they have very high fees along with high rates. Now we are looking online and came across Sebonic Financial. They have rather great reviews at Zillow.com and some other sites, but along with those great reviews are some very poor ones. The loan officer I talked with seemed knowledgeable but pushy (and I found a negative review of him specifically online). I wonder if I can ask for a different agent. Anyway, their rates are very good and the only fees are supposed to be a $445 appraisal fee and a $125 Texas attorney review fee. We will still have to pay title fees, and I'm assuming they can work with the title company we have chosen. I did not ask that question yet.

He said they could close in 30 days. But can they? I'm hoping several of you have experience with this company since I must make a decision by Monday at the latest. Thanks!
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LadyGeek
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by LadyGeek »

Welcome! I took a look at that site, Sebonic Financial, and noticed "Visit the NMLS Consumer Access website for regulatory information about us." at the bottom of the page. So I did.

I didn't know about this site before, but it seems to be an excellent first start to see if a company is "legit." The intent is to determine if the company is licensed for your state. Using the NMLS number for Sebonic, 66247, comes up with: Cardinal Financial Company, Limited Partnership. Enable browser cookies to view.

Small world. Cardinal Financial was the very first mortgage broker I ever used, back in the early '90s. They did indeed start in PA, as I was in their only office getting a mortgage arranged. However, that was 20 years ago and doesn't have any bearing on your question for today.

You mentioned a $125 fee for a Texas Attorney. For Texas, this company is listed as "Mortgage Banker Registration" - no license has been approved. I could be wrong, as I'm not familiar with real estate licenses.

Who is giving you the pressure to decide by Monday? Can't you ask for an extension?

I refinanced my mortgage through PenFed (PenFed Banking & Investing). It was done entirely online except for a title insurance agent who arrived in person at my house to sign the paperwork.
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not-a-financial-guru
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by not-a-financial-guru »

Thanks for the reply. I did some further digging and they do appear to be licensed to do business in Texas. However, I'm still a bit leery since it's an online lender and we need to close in 30 days. We are closing on our home in Wisconsin on the 14th and need to close on our Texas home by the 16th, per the contract. We don't want to lose this house contract, nor do we want all our stuff in a semi with no place to go. In other words, this contract needs to make it to the closing table on time.

The brick and mortar institutions have MUCH higher rates/fees but maybe they are the better choice due to the lower risk. Ugh. I wish I could find a reputable brick and mortar that wasn't so much more painful to our pocketbook.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by LadyGeek »

Let's frame the problem a little differently and look at priorities.

1. Close the deal, which has to absolutely be completed by the 16th. You've found a local lender. Done.

2. The cost of the loan is higher than what everyone else is paying now. This is having an emotional impact (a lot of stress), as it's causing you to stop from completing priority #1.

To address #2, refinance your mortgage after the dust settles. You don't have to hold your mortgage for 15 (or 30) years. Depending on the interest rate differences, it's a matter of finding the break-even point at which refinancing becomes the better choice. Unfortunately, it might not occur for a few years. OTOH, rates could rise to the point where your current rate is acceptable.

If you don't refinance for 5 years, how much extra interest have you paid (compared to a better rate loan)? If it's a few thousand dollars, would that have broken your deal? Probably not, so consider this extra cost as part of the package. This is Mental accounting, but you're about to go down a very risky path if you go with an unproven lender (to you).

If you need a decision by Monday, this is not the time to start looking.
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not-a-financial-guru
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by not-a-financial-guru »

That was a very wise posting and I appreciate it since you are so correct. Emotions are running high right now with inspections starting on Monday, trying to find a loan, in the middle of moving estimates, etc.

We have a few local options. The best only offers a 15 year loan, which is not affordable based on the required monthly payment, but Wells Fargo might be the next best with a 30 year loan. Their rate is a quarter point higher than what we have found online with about triple the fees. Not the best, but it does offer peace of mind...something I'm sorely lacking at the moment. ;-)
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by LadyGeek »

Then go with Wells Fargo and get your peace-of-mind. You could do a lot worse. Calm down, relax.

If you hang around here long enough, you'll find plenty of examples that would make your frustration over the 0.25 point rate and high fee differences a mere walk in the park.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by Cosmo »

not-a-financial-guru wrote:That was a very wise posting and I appreciate it since you are so correct. Emotions are running high right now with inspections starting on Monday, trying to find a loan, in the middle of moving estimates, etc.

We have a few local options. The best only offers a 15 year loan, which is not affordable based on the required monthly payment, but Wells Fargo might be the next best with a 30 year loan. Their rate is a quarter point higher than what we have found online with about triple the fees. Not the best, but it does offer peace of mind...something I'm sorely lacking at the moment. ;-)
Call Prime Lending/Sherri Eckert first thing Monday. I have done a closing on a home and a refi through them thus far. They are based out of Austin. I live in the Houston area and I was able to turn on a closing in less than three weeks. They are fast and efficient and AND they are inexpensive. Sherri over there is "on it" , keeps things moving and insures there are no delays. Some of the services associated with the loan (like underwriting) are under the same roof and makes things more efficient. If you are interested, PM me and I can give you more info.

Regarding Wells Fargo, I do a lot of banking with them and I ALWAYS check with them first but they NEVER are able to give me a deal anywhere close to Prime Lending (or anyone else for that matter). The irony is my loan always ends up at Wells Fargo anyway in several weeks.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by harikaried »

We refinanced with Sebonic where we put in the request online on the 1st of the month and signed on the 28th of the same month. However I would still probably recommend a mortgage company with a local presence for the initial purchase just in-case something unexpected happens. If you do plan on refinancing soon anyway, you don't particularly care about the interest rate for the time between purchase and refinance, so perhaps you can try getting more lender credits.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by athan »

I figured I'd resurrect this thread from six feet under since i am debating using Sebonic Financial for a new home purchase. I have talked with Sebonic and also Academy mortgage (have used in past refinance). The difference is approximately 0.25 on a 15 year fixed rate, which comes out to a little under $30 per month in favor of Sebonic. This translates to approximately a $6,000 difference in interest over the 15 years. Closing Costs also appear to be lower with Sebonic by a few thousand dollars.

Has anybody used Sebonic to purchase a house? If so, was the process smooth and on-time?

Are there any hidden costs or any type of bait and switch rates?

I am leaning towards going with Sebonic despite negative Yelp reviews related to slow processing and mediocre service. Any and all comments are welcomed. Thanks.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by JDCarpenter »

athan wrote:I figured I'd resurrect this thread from six feet under since i am debating using Sebonic Financial for a new home purchase. ....

Any and all comments are welcomed. Thanks.
new thread would have been better. :?

Anyway, we had good experience with them on a 220K 15yr refi last fall--although they were pushing for a much quicker closing that we needed/wanted, which would have required arranging a meeting for us to sign when we were on vacation 2000 miles from home. Someone was striving to close by the end of their bonus month, I think, and it took a couple of emails to knock them back.... That closing date would have been within 30 days of application.

Other than that, process was smooth and everything worked out as promised. So too, they've maintained seamless servicing of the loan during the post-closing transfers of the note.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by Strayshot »

I used Sebonic Financial to do a cash-out refinance in 2015, the process was seamless and all paperwork was done electronically. Worked with a guy named Barry Huggins. They were licensed for my state (NM), used the first competent home appraisal company/appraiser I have ever met, and let me close with the title company I had used in the past so that the closing costs were cheaper. The rate was excellent, my mortgage is serviced by cardinal financial.
My title guy had never heard of them before but said they were the most organized and well-communicating company he had ever worked with in 30 years.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by JDCarpenter »

Strayshot wrote:...my mortgage is serviced by cardinal financial.
...
Cardinal = Sebonic.
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ThreeBears
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by ThreeBears »

I used them.

They had (1) cheapest rates, (2) lowest origination fee, and (3) found a title company with lower title fees than I could find on my own.

I had to babysit a little. The trickiest part is the hand-off between the bank and the appraiser.

But, overall, I recommend them to everyone!
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by athan »

Ok great...sounds like good experiences overall. I will come back to this thread after my mortgage process is complete.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by WallStreetPhysician »

not-a-financial-guru wrote:We need to close a 30 year conventional home mortgage loan in exactly 30 days from today. We looked at local banks and they have very high fees along with high rates. Now we are looking online and came across Sebonic Financial. They have rather great reviews at Zillow.com and some other sites, but along with those great reviews are some very poor ones. The loan officer I talked with seemed knowledgeable but pushy (and I found a negative review of him specifically online). I wonder if I can ask for a different agent. Anyway, their rates are very good and the only fees are supposed to be a $445 appraisal fee and a $125 Texas attorney review fee. We will still have to pay title fees, and I'm assuming they can work with the title company we have chosen. I did not ask that question yet.

He said they could close in 30 days. But can they? I'm hoping several of you have experience with this company since I must make a decision by Monday at the latest. Thanks!
I found them via Zillow and did a 15-year mortgage with them. Good experience and no problems so far.

- WSP
CuzzinOlaf
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by CuzzinOlaf »

Reviews are good, people here have used them, and I'm highly considering having them do my loan that I close on mid November. Any new reasons why I shouldn't give them a shot. So far the loan officer I've been working with has been super responsive, etc.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by chonp3 »

Have used them for two refis. Both went very smooth and done in under 30 days. Best rate available at the time. Would use again
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by denovo »

CuzzinOlaf wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 3:38 pm Reviews are good, people here have used them, and I'm highly considering having them do my loan that I close on mid November. Any new reasons why I shouldn't give them a shot. So far the loan officer I've been working with has been super responsive, etc.
They were a little bit slow, but otherwise lowest prices.
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Re: Anyone ever use Sebonic Financial for mortgage?

Post by just frank »

I used them for a refi in Nov 2016 and was completely satisfied. Just like the time I used Cardinal for a refi a couple years earlier.
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