Genesee Regional Bank-Winton, Rochester NY

After going through 2 mortgage's and a heloc with other banks I can say dealing with GRB has been THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. Save your energy and go someplace else.

The process of getting pre-approved and getting my mortgage was quite smooth, I worked with some wonderful people during that experience. However the issues with the servicing division since then have been an absolute NIGHTMARE! It's nearly impossible to get ahold of anyone who will listen and actually help you try to solve your problem. Last year, after 3 months of phone tag and being assured everything was "all set" I eventually just paid my homeowners insurance premium from my own checking account because they, for some unknown reason, couldn't get the money from my escrow to the insurance company. I'm currently one month into the SAME ISSUE THIS YEAR!

EDIT: Due to the below we cannot make this five stars but we have updated from 2 to 4 stars purely due to how leadership has handled communicating with us and providing actionable solutions to move forward. The past cannot be changed but how we move into the future can redefine even the worst of initial experiences. Kudos given to the leadership team here for being receptive and collaborative.

ORIGINAL: I want to start with why two stars and no one, that is because of an individual named John or Jason who was responsive, educational, and honest with me regarding the poor experience I had with this organization.

The low rating is due to the lending practices by the loan officer. This organization came recommended from my agent as an organization that will work to get things done in your favor and is phenomenal to work with. It started out that way, very responsive and setting expectation for the process, then it all fell apart at the end and we felt very taken advantage of. The solution to rectify was just insulting.

Context: we own a real estate investing business and wanted to purchase a home under our business name. This was clear from the beginning with our agent, our attorney, the selling attorney, and our loan officer. Several times in the process we needed to correct paperwork to ensure the home was purchased in the business name and questions were raised as to why personal items were being requested. We were informed it was due to the personal guarantee that was necessary with this loan type.

One month after closing our personal credit was severely impacted and we discovered the loan was applied to us personally, even though everything was titled in the business name. After speaking to the organization we were advised they only do commercial loans on 5+ units and if we wanted the loan to be in the business name we would have to refinance elsewhere, eat the fees, and accept that interest rates have risen substantially. How convenient for them.

I would highly recommend finding another institution until this one can get back to who they used to be, the organization that gained notoriety among agents, attorneys, and homebuyers for exceptional customer service and honesty. Hopefully that is sooner rather than later.

In the end, it felt like a bag was put over hour head, we were hit with a blunt object, and then left to fend for ourselves. It was not a partnership, it was a transaction and one that now feels predatory in nature.

Just closed on my first home purchase and I cannot recommend GRB enough. Matthew Nevins was a rock star and made himself available to me constantly for my many questions. My processor Lexa was great and kept us informed of the process every step of the way. The same with our closer Tammy. The app made the process super easy. If you need a mortgage, do yourself a favor and call Matt!

Genesee Regional Bank has been extremely frustrating to work with. I refinanced my mortgage through them one year ago due to changing marital status. Due to the extremely high demands on banks for mortgages and refinancing at the time I assumed my bad experience would get better. Sadly, a year later I have had nothing but problems, many unreturned voicemails, uncorrected escrow issues, and now when I'm selling the house the bank doesn't respond to requests by my attorney's office. On the phone the customer service people are always kind and helpful, but dealing with the bank itself has been a bad experience in general. Definitely wont be using them for a mortgage in the future, and will not be recommending them to others.

My name is Ocie Burton and I just bought my first home with GRB. I am more than pleased with the process and customer service over the past two months. I worked closest with Jacqueline but Erika and Joe didn't miss a beat. Everything came either on time or before it was expected. Great bank to do business with.

***Updating my initial review to reflect that customer service and senior officials did respectfully and completely address my concerns and make amends such that a satisfactory deal was reached. I ultimately was very pleased with that interaction and resolution. ****

Initial concerns:
I was treated very unprofessionally. The loan officer, Joe Petralia, became angry and rude with me when I pointed out discrepancies from the initial loan estimate, asked for follow up on items he indicated he would take care of, and requested verification of closing costs.

Lies, deception and a waste of time and money just to be told no 2 weeks before closing on our home. As a first time home buyer this bank has absolutely driven my family away from buying a home. Very sad practice and the communication is absolutely absurd!

I am using this company for my home loan and i have had the worse experience with the staff. Staff is externally rude and disrespectful and to sum it up there is no communication even from the managers. I was working with Patrick Greer in the begging and since I wasn’t getting any kind of communication I decided to work one of the managers (Ashley Shoemaker) who turned out to also struggle with communication. In addition she also struggles with not being able to follow trough. I am still waiting to hear back about my closing date that’s supposed to happen in 2 days. I was supposed to get a call from Ashley over 32 hours ago, and it still has not happened. I would NOT recommend this company to anyone.

Very happy to have worked with these people getting a mortgage to buy my house. It was smooth dealing and they were very thorough and efficient 10/10 always recommend

Went to GRB for a mortgage refinance asked the loan processor Amy Palladino and Lisa S. DerCola who I was working with form the start what charges and fees would I be charged on this loan. I was told I would only be charged an appraisal fee of $600.00 dollars! Sent all the paper work they need to process the loan not just a little bit of paper work, I spent hour and hours and weeks working on this refinance thinking they were only going to charge me the appraisal fee. They then send over the disclosures showing over 8,000 dollars in fees 4,500 of that being charged from GRB itself. I do not recommend this bank to anyone looking for a mortgage or refinance! They are terrible! Wasted my time and money thanks for nothing GRB.