The Federal Savings Bank

Horrible experience. They send letters every week to advertise being part of the VA IRRRL program. If you look, you’ll notice the phone number is different in every letter. So, you can’t trace if there’s been any complaints about the number. The representative got very defensive when he couldn’t answer why the number is different and after I asked to speak with a manager, he said he’d take me off the mailing list and hung up on me.
After I tried calling back with no answer, I received a call from someone who apologized, and though he was very nice and informative, I still believe this company is very deceptive.
The first guy told me they are VA owned and operated when I asked if they are from the VA. He then said its because 95% of their loans are to veterans.
THAT DOES NOT MAKE THEM VA OWNED!
I just learned they used to operate under the name Chicago Bancorp and they have a lawsuit against them from 2014, and the owners’ names are the same as now.

Run away, don’t walk away if anyone tries to get you to work with The Federal Savings Bank. Krista Amos (Las Vegas NV) in particular is someone to avoid.

Jack Amberg is as good as it gets. He walked me through the mortgage process and was with me every step of the way. Hats off to Federal Savings Bank for getting my loan done.
Paul J Kludac
Detail Kings Founder & CEO
630−963−1282

Unprofessional and untrustworthy. Horribly disappointed with the mortgage loan experience. Do your research and LOOK FOR ANOTHER COMPANY!

WORSE MORTGAGE EXPERIENCE EVER… Our originator Christine was a rock star-​after that everything went down hill in a BAD WAY. I finally closed yesterday at the 80 day mark. They lie lie lie about everything. My loan was a conventional re-​fi with excellent credit and low debt ratio. My emails went unanswered and my original lock expired because the processor sat on my file for three weeks before she even ordered an appraisal then had the nerve to tell her boss that I was on vacation and unable to be home for the appraiser-​blatant LIE. THERE IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY OR CUSTOMER SERVICE at this bank. I have a file almost two inches thick of excuses after excuses. Nobody communicates with each other and definitely not with you as the borrower. Consider yourselves warned about this banks mortgage department, no matter what state your in!!!

The mortgage process for my first home this July could have been very stressful, but thanks to my mortgage banker Jean Downes, it was an absolute breeze. She always responded quickly to my questions and kept me in the loop, which put me at ease. I’m a hell of a question-​asker; Jean was extremely flexible with this and always came back with an answer quickly even when she had to find answers from someone else.
I’ve heard horror stories of how the financing aspect of home-​buying usually bogs things down, creates problems and is just an overall pain. Thankfully, Jean never hit me with any surprises or false-​expectations. I sat at closing and everything moved forward smoothly. Definitely recommending her and the entire Downes team to my friends.

We attempted to work with Ryan Cotter whom was recommended by a friend. It was easy to make the original appointment with but after that it was very difficult to get in contact with him. We found the house we wanted and called and emailed him…2 days later nothing. We decided to meet with someone else that our realtor recommended and he explained all of our options to us and was much more transparent and helpful. 6 days later Ryan emailed me back to tell me he was out of town and was ready to meet. No thanks!

I can’t pick negative stars, so will go with one. If you’re thinking of using this bank for a VA loan– DON’T. They are the most irresponsible team of mortgage bankers I’ve ever dealt with. They have no intention of helping the veteran.
It’s too late for us to switch lenders now, but hope I can help others not make the same mistake we did.
— Rita Mattson

They shouldn’t even get one star, but unfortunately 0 stars is not an option. I am the listing agent for a home here in Bluffton, SC and they have hands down been the worst lender I’ve ever had to deal with. There’s too much to even go into, but they have been rude, unprofessional, and incompetent. They will not commit to a closing date and have delayed the closing by several weeks. God only knows if this will ever close. Everyone is displeased with this lender, attorney, buyer, seller and buyer’s agent. DO NOT USE THEM!

As other reviewers have noted, avoid the federal savings bank under all circumstances. We worked with Ryan Cotter who was recommended to us by our real estate agent, but ended up dropping the ball and causing us to delay our closing date. Overall, the staff were completely incompetent.
Since I rate businesses on how well they execute what they promise, I will go through each of the dimension the Federal Savings Bank «Perfect Mortgage Experience».
Outstanding customer service: A complete flop from end to end.
First, the assistant assigned to us, Anna, was even more incompetent. She sent us emails requesting all different kinds of documentation that was required «immediately» but did not understand why the information was required or the actual date it was needed. For example, she wanted us to wire all of the 25% down payment to the title company more than a month before the scheduled closing. While this might be preferred from the lenders perspective, it is not a small amount of money to wire and have sitting at the lender for weeks on end. She could not articulate why that was required (if at all).
Second, Ryan Cotter, our loan officer. Initially he had us sign over 50 pages of documentation to secure the rate for the mortgage and initiate the process. About 2 weeks later, he asked us if we now wanted to lock in the rate (now that the rates had gone up ~¼ point). What?!? Lock in the rate now — hadn’t we done that 2 weeks prior? This is just one example of many showing Ryan’s complete inability to make the process transparent and to guide us along the way.
Third, Bernie Miller, who we were referred to when Ryan failed to complete our loan on time. When I spoke with Bernie to highlight the gaps in service and questioned why the FSB could not match other rates (detailed more below), he said that the value FSB offers is that when you are upset about the process there is a physical location to go into and yell at someone. I never went into the office in person, and quite frankly never want to have to do that.
Low mortgage rates: They do not have the lowest rates, period.
Initially the rate we locked in was a good rate, but quite frankly I did not shop it extensively. When we ran into the issue with Ryan not locking in the rate we thought and wanted to raise it by ¼ point, I shopped the rate online and found other places willing to match the original rate promised. Only at that point did Ryan concede to match the other rate I found. From that point forward, the mortgage process became an absolute headache and it seemed he was trying to weasel out of the preferred rate at every turn (i.e. making late requests for information with the threat of delaying close). Next time, I will look for a reputable mortgage company online with good reviews and low rates.
Fast closings: Absolutely not — we closed nearly 20 days AFTER we were scheduled to close. Not because the house wasn’t ready and not because we had not provided sufficient documentation to Ryan. Solely because of his lack of understanding of the lenders and our situation. While it is not necessarily his fault if an application is rejected, it is completely his fault that the documentation for the initial loan approval was not submitted until the scheduled close date (which would have pushed the original close back by ~5 days regardless) — absolutely unacceptable. The required items for the loan approval and completion dates were a complete black box despite asking for a timeline of activities several times.

I dealt with Jennifer Katz but when her incompetence began to surface, her «Vice President» jumped in to save our relationship. Eric seemed to try to help but when the loan process got back on track, Jennifer would inject herself back into the process. If you have a human brain (that works) either write your own loan or find someone else to do it for you. This is a boiler room operation and they have no business claiming to help veterans. I firmly believe this «bank» has no idea what they’re doing.

Dwayne Jacobs called us on 4÷26÷13 to offer us a 2.5% refi rate. We filled out the paperwork, but he never contacted us; we always had to contact him. We paid for and received the appraisal. He promised us a closing date of 5÷31÷13 or before, but had not been in contact with us to set things up. We contacted him on ⁵⁄₂₃ only to learn that we had not locked in on the rate and there was nothing he could do about it. Now we are out the appraisal fee and the rates have gone up! This bank is a scam — do not use them!

I would be cautious before trusting anyone at this company. I gave them a good faith deposit to begin work on a refi and after 10 attempts to contact multiple people at the company had to give up. It probably is blessing in disguise because who knows what sort ride they would have taken me for had I continued in the process. My advice would be to certainly be very cafeful about giving them a dime too early in the process. I would love my money back for a service they never provided. Do not trust anyone here. Check out all the negative reviews for Chicago Bancorp — that is the name they used to operate under. Wonder why they needed to change it…

SUMMARY: Highly recommended bank and VP Loan Officer (Patty Dalkos), best interest and finance rates, personal and outstanding service, someone who is working on your side giving 110% effort. I rate the service and experience with 5 stars. I challenge you to find anyone who is better than Patty Dalkos. I highly recommend Patty to ANYONE who is looking to work with one of the most professional and best people in the business, and I look forward to working with her in the future.
I used to think that all banks and loan officers were the same across the board. I was gravely mistaken until I met Patty Dalkos from Federal Savings Bank (previously Chicago Bancorp). I was referred to Patty and did not have high expectations as I thought I would be another loan to a bank and nothing more than that.
After my first discussion with Patty, I had a confident feeling that she would give 110% of her time and effort to ensure that I would find my perfect condo and that there would be no hiccups in the finance process. Patty did an amazing job of asking what I was seeking, clearly defined the expectations, and explained what was required from beginning until end. I felt like she was on my side the entire process and she did everything in her power to ensure that the deal was a great success, and that I would receive the best financing option. Additionally, I shopped around with 2 other big banks and the level or service (and finance rates) was not even comparable to what Patty offered me.
Patty helped me close on my condo in 35 days. I didn’t think that was even possible to today’s environment. She was the backbone of the entire process and worked well with my realtor, the seller’s realtor, and both lawyers. Patty was on top of the process from beginning until end. Any time I called Patty she was always available or would return my calls in less than one day. She is always available on email and responds right away. I know that my deal closed so quickly and successfully because of Patty. She communication was outstanding, and weekly status updates reduced my stress and anxiety. Patty’s level of service far exceeded my expectations and blew my previous financing experience out of the water. Thanks for a job well done, Patty, and I look forward to your services in the future.