Gold Coast Bank N Clark St, Chicago

Gold Coast Bank has been great to work with. John & his team went above and beyond to close my loan fast when I purchased my home. I decided to refinance my mortgage a year later and had a great experience again. The team helped me with all options possible on refinancing my mortgage. What was most important for me was the communication & understanding all my options. Thank you Gold Coast Bank!

I have had the pleasure of working with John Drivas and Gold Coast Bank now on multiple transactions. Gold Coast bank always goes above and beyond for their clients. Along with John, Christos and Sal were a big part of getting things done! I have use them to purchase my home, and just recently, I use them for refinancing. John gave me my options and was able to save me a couple hundred dollars. His team made everything smooth and always communicated with me. I would recommend them over and over!!! Thanks again Gold Coast Bank!

John and Jina have helped my family with several home and investment mortgages over the last couple of years. They consistently respond quickly, are supportive of us searching for opportunities and are honest and direct with us when the terms of the deal may not be in the best interests of the bank's portfolio. Which means I don't waste a lot of time or burn bridges with the realtor's or sellers I'm approaching because my banking officers have been clear with me. I tell everyone to go to John and Jina at Gold Coast and I'm proud to say I'm a customer. One of the best banks in Chicago.

Don't waste your time dealing with Gold Coast Bank for a mortgage. They'll lie to you after initial niceties and then they will change their mind and yank the rug out from under you after being approved. Our broker let her personal problems and brazen ignorance of employers cloud her professional decisions.

Thank you to Gold Coast Bank and John Gonzalez for the past 10 years and your hard work and effort in every deal that I have had with the bank. Every employee of Gold Coast has always been patient and answering mine and my wife's questions and explaining thoroughly exactly the process and also stating at times when the process would take longer at certain points than at other points. In banking you have to be patient not everything happens right away! David Appel Customer Gold Coast Bank

I feel mixed in writing this review. While everyone at Gold Coast Bank was nice and easy to work with as well as made sure to explain things in detail to us as first-time home buyers, there were some subtle notes of sexism that were bothersome. Despite providing the significant majority of the down payment, making a very similar income to my male partner, and having excellent credit, I (a woman) was often left off of documents, not included in emails, and -- when I was included -- I was always referred to as the co-signer. Even the congratulatory letter they sent after we signed for our home did not include my name anywhere. My male partner and I had to remind them multiple times that I should be included on and informed of everything. When we noted my exclusion, they often said it didn't really matter and it wasn't a big deal. Being included on documentation for the largest purchase of our lives does matter and is a big deal.

In short: It’s like this bank is being run by a bunch of used-car salesmen. If you love pushy salespeople using shady maneuvers to sell you a loan for an unfair price, this place s for you! It seems like there is some shenanigans going on here. For example, the loan officer I was dealing with refused to specify in the loan proposal that there will be no closing costs, and instead wanted me to take his word on it "because the bank's general counsel told him not to include it in the loan proposal". This is a huge red flag to me. Furthermore, he behaved in a rude and unprofessional manor when I asked him to counter a much better offer that I received from another lender, telling me that I am not worth his time. Finally, their archaic, online banking sucks. It's like dealing with a bank that is stuck in 2001.

My initial experience working with John Drivas and Sal Aievoli for real estate financing was positive. I later selected a different bank for my next financing need and had a good experience with that bank, too. I can only assume John took this personally because the next time I brought business to Gold Coast he told me he'd need several days to work on it. Several days later I followed up with John, then later Sal and others at Gold Cost. After 8 days with no one returning my calls or emails I went with another lender.

Great people and great ideas. They have helped me with interesting ideas and have saved me a ton of money with their interesting mortgage strategies on our commercial space. Thank you!

Fast, thorough, discreet services both by John and Demetra.