1st Gateway Credit Union in Camanche, IA

Where to begin? This Credit Union is wonderful. Very knowledgeable officers, and mine always knows exactly who I am when I call. Paperwork always ready for whatever new loan I need when I walk in. Beautiful branch in Comanche IA to (sorry if that is misspelled) I can't speak highly enough about the employees at this company all around. I have left my loan officers business cards all over, and would be happy to talk anyone's ear off, should they ask where I go for loans. (I'll leave names out of my review, so it's not confused as an ad) They treat you like you matter, even when they're not sure they can give you a loan. They always return my phone calls. Usually, you leave a message, you never hear back. I'm understanding of that to an extent, I know how hectic it can be handling people all day. But not here. It's often the same day, occasionally not until the next, but never have I been forgotten. Even if it's ten minutes later, I can here a smile on the other end of the line, and an apology for my wait, however short. They do tend to quote with all the loan insurances, i.e., disability, unemployment, gap, ect. This is fine with me, because I request such things on all my loans, it's my personal preference. They are not at all pushy about it though. I turned down the extended warranties, and it was a simple "Ok, no problem" not 10 mins of explaining all the ways it's the best thing since sliced bread. Some loan officers are so aggressive with those because the commission percentages for them and the bank are very decent. Not here. I applied for a mortgage here for a house me and the wife wanted. It was a foreclosure, so there were certain stipulations for pre-qualification, bank rating, ect. Anyone who has gone through getting a mortgage, knows it's not usually fun, and getting a foreclosure is even less so. My mortgage officer (not who I have gone through for all my other loans) was beyond amazing. She would email me back, or call, as many times a day as we hit roadblocks. Always chipper, never stressed out or whiney. My realtor needed a paper with my bid, that gave a star rating of the credit union. I didn't know there was such an official thing, but there is. She (my realtor) called back, very excited, that she received the paperwork within an hour, and the credit union is five stars. Apparently, that's a big deal, and factors in to the selling bank approving my bid. She also informed me that they do not require PMI on my loan. I was doing %10 down, and every other place my realtor had dealt with, did PMI until you had it paid down to %80 of the homes value. I can't say that everyone's case would be the same, I don't know their policy for everyone, and every mortgage will take different twists and turns. But on mine, there was none, and that's $100 in my pocket every month. Now, the house didn't work out. They accepted my bid, and they wanted to close in under 3 weeks. My loan officer was up for it. She said "Oh yeah, we can make that happen!" Which was wonderful, considering they had just changed the mortgage laws, and there was even more paperwork now, and everyone was green to the whole thing. But there was some major issues the inspector found, and it all fell apart. No fault of my credit union. She was as crushed as I was, and I know, when we stumble across our dream home, my mortgage is just a phone call away! In conclusion, I can't say enough good about this bank.