but only because I advocated for myself. There is a time and a place, and a way to go "Karen" effectively, let's talk about it. First of all, I'm a millennial so I have no cash reserves. I used Commerce Bank's neighborhood connection loan. The program itself is fantastic. It features no down payment and a $5,000 grant towards closing costs. My only complaint about it is that they don't list on the site that you must have three valid trade lines at least a year old with positive payment history. My credit score was high enough for pre-qualification but then I got a $4,000 down payment surprise after I got an offer accepted on a house(after a bidding war) and started to go through underwriting. I was however able to use their non-traditional credit option, so even if you don't hit that bar, you have options. At first my loan officer seemed okay. The second things started to get tricky however, that changed quickly. He was rude, dismissive, lacked empathy, and was completely devoid of problem solving skills. Every issue that popped up was treated as an emergency with no way through, no solutions provided. One example is that I was unable to generate a bank statement before my regularly scheduled statement came out. I had to liquidate my 401k and do some other things in order to generate the cash for closing. They wanted a statement that showed I had the cash to close. The statement that would have shown those deposits wasn't going to come out until the day before closing was scheduled. He would accept nothing but a full bank statement. He repeatedly yelled at me and emails and was exasperated with me over the phone and through text messaging. Not especially reasonable considering this is a program for first-time home buyers and low income buyers. All of a sudden my closing costs exploded to over $5,000 after earnest money and the lender credit. I spoke with my agent and we got the seller to agree to add a $3,000 credit and increase the purchase price in order to cover it. Then Payman dropped an entirely new bomb on me. Neither the lender credit nor the seller's credit could apply to the down payment. I was a hair's breadth away from a panic attack and my agent was floored. At this point, my closing date was coming up fast. I was aggressively pursuing every avenue I could to get the money when I was treated to a panicked call from my real estate agent that Commerce Bank had reached out to the seller's agent and notified them the loan was suspended and they weren't sure if we were going to be able to proceed. My agent had never seen this happen but was able to talk the seller's agent off a cliff and keep the sale going and buy us time after she reached out to him in a panic. She could have very easily stopped the sale right there. At this point Payman stopped answering both my communications and my agent's communications. Enter Karen. I called a local number for Commerce Bank to file a complaint and was notified my concerns would be passed on to his supervisor. At this time he finally answered and I requested a supervisor through him as well. Act 3: Cinderella Story. His supervisor quickly reached out, apologized, and made clear that they should have never contacted the seller's agent and would reach out to them once more to walk things back. I worked with three people from that point forward. Ryan, Megan, and Deb. All three were phenomenal. All three were more than willing to help work through problems and figure out solutions and alternatives. I was able to print out transaction histories for the 401k and the bank statement and they were accepted just fine. Megan also clarified that he was completely wrong and that the lender credit could very much apply to the down payment. My final cash to close dropped to just over $3,000. It floors me that they have someone so callous and incapable of basic problem solving working on a program for new home buyers and low income buyers. I wanted to quit a thousand times along the way and I only finished because I had a great agent and because I advocated for myself to get to people who could actually help me. I just closed yesterday on my first home. I've aged 10 years, but I'm proud I pushed through. I'm happy with the neighborhood connection program, I'm thrilled with the support ever received after bypassing my loan officer. I'm worried about other new homeowners who quit their dream because of this truly incompetent loan officer. Upon reflection, It wasn't until after he tried to call me and got my voicemail that he went bad. I did not reveal my identity as a transgender woman for fear of this exact scenario. I can't say for certain that my gender identity was the cause, but my instincts tell me it was. Why else would a loan officer who says they have 30 years experience be completely unable to resolve the most basic of issues and give me patently false information? I leave you to ponder that. Bigotry or incompetence?

Well-run, and very professional. They have an eagerness to please. They want to give individual credit; they want to help. I love this bank and respect this bank. They also have a great user-friendly website and a classy, beautiful Visa card. ??

Just to sign up and 15 months 0 interest, they never bother me so far an started me with a 10 k limit, so far they are just a great company