I've thought long and hard about what to write here. The quick version is this: SunTrust Mortgage had the best rates I could find, and I did my homework. Unfortunately they had the worst customer service that I have ever dealt with. I would not recommend you use them at all.
The longer version: As I said, I shopped around for my mortgage. I probably contacted 10 different banks/brokerages to shop for rates, plus used various websites. SunTrust Mortgage beat everyone, so I chose them. I should have known I was in for a bumpy ride when it took Tim Sutherland more than 72 hours and 2 emails to respond to my "I've chosen to go with your bank, let's get pre-approved" email.
And this behavior/treatment never really changed. Throughout the process Tim's team would often just not respond to emails. I don’t mean “not respond for awhile”, I mean not respond. Ever. Tim would sometimes call me instead of sending an email me because he didn't want to say some things in writing (shady). I would often repeatedly ask questions, or seek updates, and receive no response for quite awhile, then suddenly get inundated with large, multi-colored, multi-font emails with dozens of requests within…very difficult to follow and abide. The most annoying thing would be the "cut and paste" responses I would get from Tim, especially to time-sensitive or serious questions. Not only did these responses make me feel as if I wasn't a valued customer, they were often vague or didn't fully answer the question. I once asked about PMI “Renewal Periods” (something that seemed confusing and scary) and Tim responded with a link to a 1,178 page FannieMae document and told me to read pages 202 (201-10) and 206 (201-14). What!?! Have you ever tried to read anything produced by a government agency? It’s impossible to understand. And why am I paying your bank thousands of dollars to look this up myself?
“Frustrating” does not adequately cover the whole of my experience with Tim Sutherland and his team. Frustration was felt, as was fear, anxiety, and annoyance, practically on a weekly basis. Now that all is said and done, “exasperating” best suits this experience as a whole.
Tim often came across as snooty/cocky and a belligerent. The loan processor he works with, Jeanne, was impossible to communicate with. Donna, Tim’s assistant, was the only person that showed any compassion or sense of what customer service means. I gave them 2 stars only because the rates were very, very good. If it weren't for that and working within a 30 day escrow window, I would have walked away and possibly reported this office to SunTrust corporate. I’d recommend people to stay away from Tim Sutherland and SunTrust.