Washington Mutual Bank Mortgages and Information

Services

1. Washington Mutual Home Loans

Washington Mutual is one of the nations leading mortgage lenders. They offer loan services in all states and the District of Columbia. WM is currently managing over 4 million home mortgages. They are a direct lender who handles all of their loans internally. One great feature they offer first time owners is the possibility of a low down payment that can be only 3%. Another great option is a 40-year term, which can lower your monthly payments significantly. Once you decide to get your loan with Washington Mutual, please be aware that they do require a $295 application fee when applying via their online form. This fee will used to pay off fees associated with the loan.

Their online mortgage section has a great landing page. You will access to tips for homeowners and people who are looking to buy for the first time. They offer all types of loans including home equity line of credit (HELOC), Refinance, and New Home Purchase loans. Within each of these loans, there are different options for you to choose from. The following options are available when choosing Washington Mutual for a loan:

• Option ARMs- includes 15 Year, 30 Year and 40 Year terms
  - Minimum Payment (payment changes annually, payment cap, best if you want to keep more cash now, can result in deferred   interest)
  - Interest Only Payment (avoid deferred interest, does not result in principal reduction, keeps payments manageable)
  - Fully Amortized Payment (reduces your principal, pays off on schedule)
• Flex Home Loans
  - Flex 3 or Flex 5(lower interest rate initially than fixed, interest rate cap, 7.5% limit on increases or decreases, has a lower
    minimum interest payment that is adjustable
• Fixed Rate Loans
  - 15 and 30 Year term options
  - Guaranteed fixed rate protects you from rate increases
  - You always know what your payments will be
  - This can be the best choice if you have steady income coming in
• Traditional ARM’s
  - Combines fixed rate for first few years and than switches to adjustable. This can be for 1, 3 or 5 years of fixed rate terms.
  - This can be a good option if you plan on selling or renting the home within term of the fixed rate you choose
• On The House (home equity line of credit)
  - Fast approval time which can be less than one minute online
  - Can be tax deductible
• Other Types of Loans
  - Vacation Loans
  - Investment Property Loans
  - Auto Loans
  - Personal Lines of Credit

Be sure to try some of their helpful financial tools such as their glossary that can be accessed from the top nav bar on Home Loans page. In addition, you can also use the various loan calculators they have. This can also be found on the top nav bar on the Home Loans page.

The online process begins with you choosing the type of loan you are looking for. Once you have done this, you are asked to register on their site. This is a 7-field process. You than click the submit button. This takes you to you’re my notebook and application page where you can choose the type of loan you interested in. This online application consists of 3 steps.

The first step begins when you click on Step A-Enter the Property and Loan information. You are brought to a disclaimer page, which you need to read. Once you have done this, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the agree to terms button. You than need to click on Go To Next Form button.

This takes you to the property information page that consists of 10 fields. Once you complete this information, you hit the save and continue button. This takes you to the prospective loan information page. This has 17 possible fields you need to fill out. Click the Save button and you are taken to the borrower information page. This has 18 possible fields that need to be filled out. You are now taken to the current residence page.

This new page has 9 fields. You than have to go the owned information page that has another 12 fields that needs to be filled out. After you click save button, you are taken to a page that summarizes your residency. Verify this information and click the go to next form page.

You are now taken to an 18-field employment page. Click on the save changes button and you are taken to an employment summary page. Verify the information and click go to next form. You are taken to a 4 field other income page. If you have other sources of income, you enter it here, if not, click on save and go to next form button.

Now you are taken to a retirement accounts page. If you have retirement accounts, you enter it here. You now are taken to a verification page on this accounts page. Verify the information and you are than taken to a other assets page. If you have other assets, list them here, if not, continue on. This is followed with another verification followed by a Liabilities page. This is followed with a declarations page that has 14 more fields.

You are now taken to a Home Mortgage Disclosure page. If you do not want to disclose the information, just click save changes button after checking the appropriate box. You are now taken to the choose loan page.

You choose the loan rate you are looking for and click the get loans button. You will than be shown various choices of loans that can be offered to you. Choose the loan you are looking for and finish the application process. You will than be asked for your credit card information so you can pay the $295 application fee that will be applied to your loan. You can than finish the process and get your loan with Washington Mutual. The process is long but you will have the comfort of knowing you have chosen one of the most trusted financial services companies in the United States

2. Washington Mutual Personal Banking

• Free Checking (no monthly fee, no interest, classic visa check card, $5 plus package fee that gets you free checks)
• Interest Checking ($12 monthly fee, $1500 balance to waive fee, 3 interest tiers, Classic Visa Check Card, $5 plus package includes free checks)
• Gold Checking ($7 monthly fee, no interest tiers, Gold Visa Card, Plus package included, Free checks, Purchase protection included)
• Platinum Checking (Unlimited check writing, interest tiers that can take interest up to 1.85%, need to maintain a minimum balance of $10,000 across all Washington Mutual Accounts, benefits of Visa Platinum Check Card)
• Statement Savings (less than $5 to start with a .50% interest rate)
• Money Market Deposit Account ($1000 minimum, tiered interest that goes from .50 to .99%
• Guaranteed Great Rate Money Market Account ($5000 minimum to start, interest rates that range from .90% to 1.09%)
• Traditional CD ($1000 to start, interest that range from .85% to 2.86%. This depends on the length of time you choose for this account., 1-120 month options)
• Liquid CD ($5000 to start, interest between .75% to .95%, fee personal online banking)
  

3. Washington Mutual Credit Cards

• Student Visa (credit line from $500-$2500, build your credit, no annual fee, worldwide acceptance, ATM access, $100,000 travel insurance, 24 Hour fraud and customer support)
• Classic Visa Card (no annual fee, cash access at ATM’s, travel insurance, competitive rates)
• Platinum Visa Card (low rates with exclusive benefits, balance transfers, cash advances, $400,000 travel insurance, no annual fee, generous credit limits, emergency services, warranty manager)

To apply for any of these credit cards, you will need to call their 800 number or visit one of the Washington Mutual Financial Services located throughout the United States.

4. Business Banking

• Business Checking (up to 250 checks per month, no interest, 24 hour access to customer support)
• Business Interest Checking (up to 250 checks per month, can earn interest)
• Business Analysis Checking (no transaction limits, no interest for this account, account analysis, treasury management services available)
• Retirement (SEP IRA for your employees)
• Payroll Services
  

5. Investment Services (managed through a WM Financial Services, Inc)

• Individual or Joint Brokerage Account ($2500 minimum, online access, trade on margin if chosen on sign up)
• Retirement Account ($1000 minimum, can be either a Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, SEP Plan)
• Trust or Custodial Account( $1000 minimum)

Overall Review of Washington Mutual Online Site

From the moment you enter their home page, you know that this site has been designed not only for the consumer but for businesses as well. Everything is well laid out with a sharp but not cluttered design. Their nav bars are highly functional and responsive and throughout our exploration of all the pages, there were no noticeable delays or errors. In this day and age, that is a feat that should not go unnoticed.

They offer comprehensive financial services, which includes investment services, many types of mortgages, equity lines of credit, checking, savings, and multiple business services. Their customer service was excellent with fast response time. There are multiple options for every financial service you might be searching for.

They have many helpful tips and resources related to Loans and Investment services. If you are looking for quotes, they have a link that can get you those. If you need to do some loan calculations before you commit to getting one. This includes an affordability calculator that can be found off of their Home Loans page on the left nav bar. Other calculators can be found from top nav bar on the Home Loans Page. They have over 10 different, useful calculators that will help you make an informed choice when choosing a loan.

Overall, I would highly recommend this site to both businesses and consumers alike. Word of Warning though, be prepared to spend many hours on this site because there is a lot to take in. Wizard of Loan rates this site a 10 out 10. You will not be disappointed!

Please note, that Wizard of Loan is not in anyway affiliated with Washington Mutual. Wizard of Loan is a financial resource site that offers reviews of other financial companies sites and services. Our goal is to help empower the consumer so they can make the best, informed choices related to their financial decisions.