With mortgage rates available at levels not seen in decades, my wife and were among the millions of homeowners who recently refinanced their mortgage. Economic experts from Alan Greenspan to executives at private lenders credited the refinance boom with cushioning the recession. And lenders were busy.

After shopping around and working with a broker, my wife and I found a terrific rate at Washington Mutual that we didn’t even have to bother locking in. The lender had us close with no points in just two weeks.

In addition to 15 and 30 year fixed rate mortgages, Washington Mutual offers a traditional adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) for one, three or five years and an option ARM that pays off interest only and is best suited for those trying to squeeze the most house they can buy from their monthly payment. Being plain Jane vanilla types, we opted for a 30 year fixed mortgage and use our evolving financial status to decide how often to pay additional funds towards the principal.

Closing was a snap, and while there were some junk fees buried in the paperwork, those were driven by the settlement company, not WAMU.

Switching Over

In these days of electronic bill presentment and funds transfer, one shouldn’t have to worry about a coupon book arriving on time or using temporary invoices to pay the note. We didn’t. Our paperwork arrived in less than two weeks and was clear, concise and easy to understand. Within minutes we had transferred the old balance from Quicken, chuckled at the lower rate and set up a new scheduled transaction.

No More Coupons!

Welcome to the web. Carefully (more about that later) enter a password and the world is at your fingertips.

Perhaps Washington Mutual Mortgage’s best feature besides the fast turnaround in receiving our paperwork is the lender’s online section called My Home Loan. Setting up your account only requires the loan number, your social security number and an email address. Be careful though – the password is 6 digits, not at least 6 digits, and it’s case sensitive. Web denizens who fly through account setups would be well advised to take their time on this one. Fortunately, the site also offers the ability to choose a secret question and answer to reset your password on the fly.

Once you’re logged in, you’ll be able to check any bit of information you could conceivably think of regarding your mortgage. Everything from escrow balances and payoff information to your next payment information is available with a single click on the user friendly menu. You can even order copies of loan documents. According to the site, you’ll soon be able to view and print an IRS form 1098 (needed to deduct interest) right off the site.

Also dotting the site are various calculators and add-on products. As with any mortgage lender, don’t take the “how much house you can afford” at face value because they all yield notoriously high values. There are plenty of great books and reference sources that can help you calculate this number.

Customer Service

We’ve only had to place one call, but the phone was answered promptly and the customer service representative was very helpful. No complaints here.

The Bottom Line

Big banks and lenders take a lot of customer abuse for seeming cold and impersonal. Some is probably warranted. But Washington Mutual has been nothing but a joy to deal with since we started with them. If their bank branches were more convenient, I would seriously consider opening an account.

Five Things To Remember From This Review

1. There are a lot of options to choose from, but the site does a fairly good job explaining them. Read between the lines if you’re not choosing a standard mortgage.
2. Customer Service and fulfillment were lightning fast.
3. The web site is as comprehensive as any financial web site could be.
4. You can order documents and soon will be able to print IRS documents directly from the site.
5. Paying electronically is a breeze through major financial institutions and lets you hold on to those funds just a few extra days longer.

Joubert’s Fun Link

Of the financial supersites, I think SmartMoney.com offers the best advice – especially for those who may not be comfortable dealing with financial issues. Hint: skip the “Mortgage Expo” section at the top of this page and dive straight into the meaty articles and worksheets.

http://www.smartmoney.com/home/

©2003 Joubert

Recommended: Yes