Countrywide Home Loans Reviews

Pros

The MOST important factor in choosing a company to work for is being given the OPPORTUNITY and tools to succeed:
1) Countrywide offers short and comprehensive training facilitated by seasoned mortgage consultants
2) Great web-based tools to work from any location (very easy to navigate)
3) 1 hour grace period to lock in loan rates on new applications, processing is done locally in CALIFORNIA
4) Competitive pricing with the ability for each specific branch to negotiate on rates and fees
5) Reasonable guidelines and documentation requirements on loan programs
6) Great turnaround time on approvals and communications on deals
7) Compensation is negotiable (and based on experience... well above normal industry standards)
8) Management is very competent and supportive... they are available when you need them
9) Peers are very nice, helpful, and go-getters... definitely people you want to surround yourself with
I have only been with Countrywide for a few weeks since leaving another large institution that I've worked at for 8yrs... but I can tell you there is a reason why Countrywide is America's #1 lender... they are very efficient and it shows.

Cons

The downside of working for Countrywide is the bad reputation for their option arm loans and the subprime lending. Most people blame Countrywide for the housing problem and massive foreclosures. Countrywide was purchased by Bank of America in June 2008 and will officially be called Bank of America the beginning of next quarter. Until then, Bank of America and Countrywide are considered competitors with different programs and rates.

Advice to Senior Management

I would ask that senior management encourage Bank of America to keep doing loans using the Countrywide process.

Pros

Executive Leadership has been in mortgage sales, and understands the challenges the field faces, and how to grow market share. I also like the sales tools and technology that they offer. Compensation is fair, and if you work hard, you are rewarded.

Cons

Employees are encouraged to work/ grow market share before all else. Countrywide first, everything else takes second.

Advice to Senior Management

Get the BAC merger done quickly, report & communicate often, and be clear.

Pros

Many different products to compete with.

Cons

Could not compete on interest rate, seriously, this should have been the first consideration.

Advice to Senior Management

Find a way to offer better rates to beat the competition. Clients were surprised to learn we could not beat other rates.

Pros

The money, the money, the money. The compensation was so good it is the primary reason I give the company a "recommended" rating

Cons

Where to begin? The primary downside is that if one is looking to truly cultivate a career and not remain a hired gun salesperson, the chances are very slim to advance (example: 75 employees, 3 sales leaders equals a long, difficult wait, at least at my location)

Advice to Senior Management

It would be a waste of time, as senior management's sole roles were to make sure all available reps were on the phones, and to document if a rep's numbers were below standard for a given month.

Pros

For what they pay, they offer a decent compensation package. The benefits are quite decent and you have a variety to choose from. Amenities-wise, they have some of the standard amenities that you would expect from a big company (cafeteria, gym, etc) but many times - depending on your location - they are at some other location across or down the street. Most people are friendly unless you need something more than a few button clicks away. The offices are generally nice and you don't have to work with dilapidated or outdated equipment, which was a big change from my previous employer who was too cheap to shell out a few bucks to upgrade our 266-mhz Pentium 2 server (2006). Overall, you get a lot of good training from smart people and it is not unbearable to stay here for a year or two.

Cons

The culture is terrible. Many big-headed executives (either by pay or by self-confidence) prance around the office and only collaborate with their own kind. You'll have to learn a lot of different systems because CW produces some extremely proprietary systems. You'll never use these systems at other jobs. Furthermore, the culture is extremely bigoted, but on the surface, everybody seems fairly nice so you don't feel it until working here for a while. There is a bit of sheep-like following of simply doing the work and "being satisfied where you are" with the pride of having been at CHL, the most infamous subprime lender, for ___ number of years.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more in touch with your people on the ground and not your head in the skies. Oh and watch out for that subprime mess. Oops too late. I guess someone got too greedy.

Pros

Since I started back in 2004, I have met some of the nicest people that I have ever worked with. As a matter of fact, I met my wife there, and to this day have friendships that have grown and will probably last for years to come. Countrywide hires some of the greatest people! The location wasn't bad either. It only took me about 15 minutes to drive to work. But it didn't matter if your title was "Vice President" or "Customer Service", colleagues were always willing to help each other out. That's one of the best parts of working for them.

Cons

Pay, Pay, Pay. Mozilo, Mozilo, Mozilo. From what I hear, we have some of the lowest paid employees in our industry around. A friend of mine brought me into Countrywide and 6 months later he actually left because AmeriQuest was "Doubling" his salary! When he had his exit interview, he told his boss what AmeriQuest was offering him and said he would stay if Countrywide could match it (he actually liked working here). Countrywide told him "Good Luck". Countrywide is so cheap! But yet they have all this money to fork out for Mozilo's salary and get-away retreats, which they call "Meetings" for Sr. Executive Leaders. Let's face it, sure Mozilo started this company from nothing in his kitchen and deserves his fair share of millions, but his own greed and lust for power and becoming #1 led his very own empire and dream into the ground. We all applaud what he has done and created, but while he will be sipping on Mai Tai's somewhere in Belize, his employees who helped run his operations will all be struggling and trying to hold on to under-paid positions in a depressing economy.

Advice to Senior Management

At this point it's pretty much every man for himself. Sr. Management is worrying just as much on there high podium as the low man on the totem pole. I would say "You get what you deserve" but the problem is that they don't deserve it. It's not there fault no one had the balls to tell Mozilo that what he was doing might be wrong! It's not there fault that no one could see this economic crisis coming. It's not there fault that no one once questioned Mozilo's motives or disagreed with his greed. It's not there fault that they continued to get paid off of the common man's ignorance, poverty, stupidity and dreams of a better life. But then again........What do they get paid for? To kiss ass and be a "Yes Man" Hell, I could of done that and retired with Mozilo then. Instead I'm crunching numbers all day and realizing that one day this is all going to take a turn for the worse (well, only for some of us). If I could tell Sr. "Executive" Management 1 thing? It would be this: "In your next job - don't be a "Yes Man" You do have an opinion don't you? Use it! Grab your balls, even if you don't agree and take a stand in what you believe. After all, if you get laid off - your bonuses, salary, pension, vacation and retirement packages should cover the next few years of your life.

Pros

The compensation of employees if you are willing to work hard is excellent.

Cons

In the sales side, your only as good as your last month...that's the nature of the mortgage biz...if you are ok with an ever-changing product, constant change in policies, and compensation plans then a good place as well.

Advice to Senior Management

Consult with your highest achievers that are on the front lines before making sweeping policy changes; changes are necessary but there are much better ways to implement and inform your employees of changes. Not to mention the advise on implementation of new policies.

Pros

The pay well. Calabasas is a great place to live.

Cons

They are going bankrupt, no career opportunity. Old boys club atmosphere, if you like that kind of thing.

Advice to Senior Management

They are beyond adivce.

Pros

With the market today and the publicity of Countrywide, I don't believe that anyone would want to to work there. The only reason someone would want to work there, is if they are up there in the corporate world (before they went down) because they obviously got paid many mult-million dollar bonuses. Hence their problems today.

Cons

With all the bad subprime loans they wrote, they won't be in business in another year. Unfortunately they let whoever run branches with no type of management skills, they simply let them run the branches into the ground. I have seen it happen to 5 branches in our area.

Advice to Senior Management

IToo late...