Horizon Financial Inc

This "Broker" advertises quick service and expertise in the field of mortgages, but if they are "experts" in the mortgage field, one has to wonder why they did not know in the first week what additional questions the lender would want answered. Instead, over six week's time, I received very slow service, a constant barrage of requests for more information, little to no communication unless I repeatedly asked for feedback, no timelines, and ultimately after six weeks in limbo - no loan. I do not have pristine credit - but they knew that the day I contacted them. However, they identified new "issues" at every step of the process...and they would not work on more than one "issue" at a time. Even things that were clearly problematic - like anappraisal that needed to be appealed were shoved onto a back burner. Every time they asked for additional documentation, they received it immediately - and I got no feedback about what had happened with that additional information or where I now stood. After I got angry because things were sitting with no movement and no answers, and emailed the CEO of the company. He did not answer my email, but suddenly my "agent" informed me that the VA had said that because I had a loan modification on my existing home mortgage, I had to wait three years to refinance. I contacted the VA and was told there is no such regulation...that this broker was playing their own game. I was advised to report them to my state Attorney General's Office and to the state Banking and Finance Commission. I advise you to seek assistance with a different company!! If you let them touch your information, their inquiry will lower your credit score, and after a couple of months, you may well be left with nothing to show for all of your effort but sand through the hourglass and lost opportunity with a company that might have actually been willing and able to assist. RESPONSE FROM Horizon Financial Inc: It is hard to respond to this review due to privacy issues with Mrs. Barringtons loan application. We value our customers privacy and would never disclose the information regarding personal credit or details of the loan. Surprisingly, she has disclosed the very information that we would never disclose. If you read her review, you can draw your own conclusions. Does it take a long time to process some loans? Yes, banks have strict guidelines in 2012. It also delays a loan when a borrower wants to appeal their appraisal because they are not happy with the value that was obtained. We invite everyone to contact the VA Regional Office in Atlanta GA to verify Mrs. Barringtons statement . I contacted the VA and was told there is no such regulation...that this broker was playing their own game. I was advised to report them to my state Attorney General VA will and did confirm that a bank can deny a VA loan that does not meet the lending institution's requirements. We wish we could approve all loans but this is not reality. Horizon Financial certainly does not benefit from loans that are not approved. Horizon Financial has many customers, most whom write us favorable reviews. Unfortunately, Mrs. Barrington is unhappy because we could not provide her with a loan. We wish her success in obtaining a loan another lender. more

Mike Owens was easy to work with. Answered my questions promptly and offered alternatives when problems came up. I was a little disappointed that rates were dropping during the rate lock period but my rate did not improve. Also low appraisal impacted loan amount. more

Here is my thank you letter to Scott Fawler: You are most welcome Thanks for your time and your patience! I have ignored every attempt from many financial officers in the past 2 years. I was not even looking when you have contacted me. How you found me is still a puzzle :) You have an extraordinary staff. in particular, Leighann who been super friendly and helpful. I will keep you in mind as a reference for my friends. Hopefully I will use your services for my housing project in the near future. more

Scott and Donna were great to deal with. They went above and beyond by answering any questions I had even after the loan was already closed. more

Just finished a refinance with Horizon Financial and Mike Owens. Mike was great...he was in contact with me every step of the way and answered all my questions quickly. The process was quick and easy. Would definitely recommend them. more

Mike Owens was very professional, responded quickly to any questions that we had, and gave us a great deal! From my perspective it was painless refi. more

I am glad I went with this lender, as they provided a great rate, but they were very slow in the closing and underwriting process. They gave conflicting information in their time estimates. They made a mistake in the initial good faith estimate that caused the underwriter to send it back, which threw everything behind by a week, and said they would expedite because of this mistake although they clearly did not. The closing attorney also said he found this lender difficult to work with. All of these issues resulted in not having the HUD until the very last minute, and they did not fax all of the documents to the closing attorney until 20 minutes before the scheduled closing. This added unnecessary stress to an already stressful situation. Scott Fowler was communicative, but perhaps needs more oversight over the people working with him. more

Scott is very professional and is always on top of things. It was indeed a great pleasure to do business with Scott and Horizon Financial. more

We had a small glitch and Scott made it right. more

Scott Fowler and those who work with him were outstanding in their response to our questions and specific in recommendations to accomplish our goals. During the re-fi process, there was never doubt that Scott was puttng the client first. We are very pleased with what was accmplished for us. more

Mike & his group.. Once again were top Notch.. more

Great experience more

I have refinance with Mike Owens for Horizon Financial three times, that should tell you whether i recommend him or not. Each time there were "difficult circumstances" with our house but Mike made the refinancing possible and the process easy. more

This was the fifth mortgage product that Mike Owens has placed for us. In this case Mike proactively shopped this product to us as we were unaware of the HARP program and its reduced equity standards. We were able to reduce our rate by 125 basis points which lead to a substantial monthly savings! As always, the process was smooth and the Horizon team was truly professional. more

Mike and his team did a wonderful job with keeping me informed and up to date on my loan application. more

We found Horizon through the internet after comparing several lending sources. Their rates and expenses were the best deal after comparing all ... although this, of course, is only the first step in securing a new loan. Throughout the entire process, Gary and his team were always quick to respond to questions or provide information for me / our realator for the closing. We had a slightly unique loan package so this was very much appreciated. I would recommend and work with them again. more

Everything worked the way it was supposed to. This was my second refi with them in a year and both worked very well. more

I did my refinance with Scott and I would say it was great experience. I would recommend him. more

Prompt and very efficient service more

I began the applioation process on 1/27/12 and closed the refinance on 2/16/12. From start to finish in 20 days without aany problems is outstanding. My bank said their process time was >60 days. Horizon's customer service and professionalism was excellent. more