This is a difficult review because not everything in my home purchase process was Tony's fault. Specifically, the lender took longer than expected and delayed closing twice and almost put the deal at risk. While Tony was very responsive and nice, I think he wasn't great at delivering bad news or managing expectations. In the end, I lost confidence that he could even bring the deal to a close (which he eventually did).
I think a lot of the problems and frustrations could have been cured had he been a lot more clear at the beginning when my offer was accpeted. For example, I knew a 30 day closing was going to cut it close (Tony had warned me way back when we did pre-approval), but Tony didn't raise these concerns about likely not being able to close until much closer to closing (or when I told him my offer was accepted and we were still in diligence). If he had simply said "30 day closing won't work or is unlikely" when my offer was accepted, we could have approached the seller much earlier in the process (rather than days before scheduled closing) or been personally prepared for delays (e.g. by extending leases and not scheduling movers).
In addition, later in the process, I found out that it was well known that my lender is slow moving, which would have been good fact to know at the start. Lastly, while I know I was frustrated toward the end of the process, I had minimal confidence that Tony was acting as my advocate and conveying my frustrations to the lender. Many times it felt like Tony didn't want to upset the lender by pressuring them too much. Given that I was client, this was extremely frustrating, especially after multiple closing days and additional financial costs associated with extending leases, moving last minute, etc.
In the end, I had a unique loan request, and I think it was slightly out of Tony's wheelhouse. I think the best action would have been for him to recommend I use another lender. Moreover, I think a lot of the frustration and imposition of the delays could have been minimized by simply setting expectations properly right after my offer was accepted (likely moving this review from 1 or 2 stars to 3 or 4). Again, Tony is a very kind and hardworking person, and I know some of this was out of his hands. Unfortunately, as the face of my lender and because of my inability to directly communicate with the lender, I have to place the blame with Tony.