WORST. MORTGAGE. EXPERIENCE. EVER!
Derek N.
Purchase
In my opinion....WORST. MORTGAGE. EXPERIENCE. EVER.
I DO NOT THINK ANYONE SHOULD USE THIS COMPANY. I DO NOT THINK YOU SHOULD WORK WITH JOSH RAPAPORT!
By the skin of our teeth we were just barely able to close on our new home this week but what an absolutely terrible experience it has been.
As someone who has owned multiple properties over the years and worked with numerous lenders I can say with 100% certainty that I think Josh Rapaport and District Lending have been the absolute worst to work with.
I think his poor communication, a completely disorganized process, and being completely unprofessional toward all of us made us feel anxious the entire time. Let's not forget he also yelled at my realtor and actually called the title company to yell and tell them to F#$k off. Josh has left a terrible impression upon us all.
But wait, there's more. After going under contract and starting the underwriting process Josh told us many times that we all should stop bugging him since he knew what he and his team (which is outsourced to some lame 3rd party - Wemlo) were doing and that we had plenty of time for underwriting, etc. Well, what a joke! We missed our first closing date (he never even acknowledged it) and then when pressed he actually told us to go find another lender, seriously are we in junior high school?!
I think and feel like Josh essentially held us hostage with our rate lock and escrow. Days before the closing things continued to be completely disjointed and we almost lost the house, rate lock, and escrow literally bringing my wife to tears. Josh also seemed to lack transparency, especially around his compensation given he told us he was not getting compensated for part of our loan structure, yet in the final disclosure docs he was clearly compensated.
Never in my life have I worked with someone who was as rude, unprofessional, disrespectful, and what would appear to be running a shady and dishonest mortgage brokerage.
You can find great mortgage professionals out there to help get what you need, but in my opinion you will not find it with Josh Rapaport and District Lending. I think you should stay away, FAR AWAY!
This team is legit
Deanaminns9
Refinance
Conventional
We have done a number of real estate transactions over the years and simply put Josh and his team have provided the best experience hands down. Absolutely some of the best service from a team who prides themselves on attention to detail, performance, and always putting the client first..
Off to a great start and then....
dannyboysf
Purchase
Josh was really great in the beginning, very informative, super nice guy. And then he kinda disappeared in the end. Don't buy his 'preferred realtor' discount of $1000.00 off at closing. It did not happen.
Pleasure to work with Josh!
Alfredo
Purchase
VA
It was awesome and stress free working with Josh. Very prompt and detailed communications throughout the process. Will definitely work with him again in the future.
Josh is a Rockstar!
David Pruitt
Purchase
Conventional
If you want a full service lender that is always on the ball, Josh is your guy! I love people that have an attention to detail and Josh did not disappoint. He helped ensure my loan closed early
Never Again!
bekylove69
Purchase
FHA
My Family and I began looking for our first home in January of this year. As recommended by our REALTOR, we started off by contacting several lenders before deciding to go with District Lending. The first person we spoke with was Josh Phillips. He seemed very charismatic and nice and very willing to help with the Pre Quals. I mean, he returned my call at 9am on a Sunday. On March 30, 2019 we finally found a home and got it under contract, and opened escrow; we were on a roll!
Almost immediately, On April 1, 2019, I received a phone call from the owner of District Lending, Josh Rapaport. He stated that he would be taking over our file and commented several times on how this will be “a very easy file... no foreseeable issues... very well qualified”. What a great thing to hear! Our realtor informed him that OfferPad (selling agency) charges a $50 per day per diem for every day over the close of escrow. Mr. Rapaport assured him and me that this would not be an issue at all and that we could possibly be ready to close early.
After the inspections were done there were a couple of issue that we were concerned with because of FHA. On April 9, 2019 my realtor contacted Mr. Rapaport regarding the possibilities of repairs needed and the seller’s willingness to offer cash back instead. He mentioned that we should wait to answer the sellers until we got the appraisal back and see what, if any, repairs were needed. At that point, he sent an email to Tami Matthews at Mortgage Processing Group apparently ordering the appraisal. She in turn sent a credit card authorization form for me to complete and return so she could order the appraisal. I returned it to her almost immediately, authorizing the fee she stated would be $495-$515.
Things seemed to be running smoothly. A couple of little things happened, nothing Earth shattering. When my realtor asked Mr. Rapaport for an update the response he got was “contact Tami”. Hmm, okay. Between April 9 and April 15, Tami assured us in multiple emails that the appraisal was good. We kept hearing “Yes it was ordered... should be on my desk any time...let me call and check.”, even sent my realtor info on a loan that was not ours and referenced a VA loan. Finally, on April 24 the appraisal was officially ordered. My credit card was charged $645 and not the $495-$515 I had authorized. Undoubtedly, this increase in cost was due the fact that it’s now a rush order.
Our close date was supposed to be May 1, 2019. So, when the appraisal was ordered just days before closing, you can imagine how tense things started to get. When I consulted with Mr. Rapaport and expressed my concerns over this I received answers such as “I'm not sure what you want me to do... why would you be afraid of losing their Earnest money?... I don't understand what you are asking me”. After our call on April 26, I was literally in tears. Mr. Rapaport was arrogant and rude. He refused to take responsibility for the delay which is now going to cost me money. Finally, we get the appraisal back and now we are ready to close. Even on the night before closing (which by the way was on May 10) my realtor received a phone call from the title company that numbers still did not match and that according to what she received, our file had not made it all the way through underwriting yet. It was not until he got in touch with someone at Loan Direct (company funding the loan) that a closing manager became involved and got this mess to the finish line.
In the end, we had to pay a penalty of $350 (OfferPad was kind enough to give us a little wiggle room) because of Mr. Rapaport and his lack of professionalism. Mr. Rapaport only committed to pay $150 with no excuse as to why he will not cover the rest. That is going on the assumption he will actually pay us, because as of today (June 12) he has not. When asked via email as to why he would not accept responsibility, he would dodge the questions and just simply state he will pay $150 and made a promise to cut the check as soon as the loan funded. I am calling out Mr. Rapaport's professionalism and his integrity, in the process of figuring out why the appraisal was not ordered, he simply stated he was not told to and tried to push blame onto our realtor. In my opinion, DO NOT use this company or have dealings with Mr. Rapaport. If he is not willing to make a $350 mistake right, what happens if it is more? What if my realtor was not able to go around him and get us to closing? We could have lost our earnest money and been out more than $4000. Mr. Rapaport made what should have been an exciting experience horrible. Please be advised to use Extreme Caution if you choose to use District Lending.
Very easy to work with
Patricia Miller
Purchase
Conventional
This was our first time buying a home and getting a mortgage. Our experience with Josh exceeded expectations. Josh offered us a very competitive loan without sacrificing customer service. Josh was very responsive and willing to answer our questions. I look forward to working with him again in the future.
A Pleasure to Work With
Mustafa
Purchase
Conventional
Josh and his team were very easy to work with and they were easily able to close the house on time! I will definitely turn to Josh and his team first for any future home purchases.
Made our experience a great one
Angeline
Purchase
Josh and his entire team were an exceptionally professional group; they helped me every step of the process facilitating lending operations to complete my home purchase. They were also patient, responsive and planned ahead so that we were not hurried to get our requirements submitted. For me, they are nothing short of amazing.
Great experience with Josh together with his team
Adela Farrington
Purchase
Other
The entire experience was not stressful. Working with Josh and his team was smooth and very professional. From start to end they made me feel that I was their top priority. Guided me every step of the way of the process of finding our dream home. Thank you so much for everything Josh for helping us find the home of my dreams.