At Arete Mortgage, Jeanne and her staff know you want to be a homeowner. In order to do that, you need a home loan. Problem is, you don't know how much house you can afford which may make you feel apprehensive about buying in general. We believe all home buyers deserve to live in a home they can afford.
We understand people are seldom taught how to buy a home and sometimes there are obstacles like credit score, savings, and debt that get in the way. We have helped over a thousand clients, just like you, get a great mortgage, at a rate they can afford. Buying a home is one of the most important decisions you can make.
We understand people are seldom taught how to buy a home and sometimes there are obstacles like credit score, savings, and debt that get in the way. We have helped over a thousand clients, just like you, get a great mortgage, at a rate they can afford. Buying a home is one of the most important decisions you can make.
Services
Jeanne Randazzo Szczech, Mortgage Broker/President, founded Arete Mortgage in 2001 after having spent several years as a Loan Officer and Loan Processor in Southern California. She earned her B.A. in English from the State University of NY at Geneseo in 1990 and continued her studies at Lehigh University in PA where she was awarded a Master's Degree in Education in 1992.
Applying for a mortgage can seem like a daunting and scary process. To help, we've created a checklist of things for you to compile, complete and acknowledge before applying. Credit history is a recorded file of past and current credit that is utilized to compile a credit score. A closing cost is a payment required to finalize a home loan and is separate from a down-payment.
There are a number of different types of home loans available to you, and it can pay to familiarize yourself with them. Luckily we're here to help you choose the best type of home loan for your needs. The most common type of loan option, the traditional fixed-rate mortgage includes monthly principal and interest payments which never change during the loan's lifetime.
Information and interactive calculators are made available to you as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We cannot and do not guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes.
Reviews (18)
Branden Murray
Jul 21, 2021
Report
Esther Godson
Jun 16, 2021
Report
Arete Mortgage - Jeanne and Alison - are amazing. We yet again are reminded at the highly skilled, professional businesses we have local to Durango. They are experts, attentive, and prompt! Jeanne has perfectly guided us thru both refinancing and purchasing -- as well as those random other questions we have! Thank you yet again Jeanne and Alison!!
Beth Filliman
May 28, 2021
Report
Erin McMahon
Dec 30, 2020
Report
When I mentioned to a friend my husband and I were thinking of re-financing our home, she told me I HAD to reach out to Jeanne at Arete. I'm so grateful my friend made that recommendation! Jeanne and her staff were incredibly responsive, helpful and motivated as we navigated re-financing. It truly was an easy and satisfying process because Arete led the way with their expertise. I'm so happy we chose to stay local, and we will definitely choose Arete again in the future!
Cindy Coleman
Nov 19, 2020
Report
Shawn Hobbs
Oct 29, 2020
Report
John Palmer
Oct 06, 2020
Report
Joanna LaPrade
Sep 23, 2020
Report
Jeanne and her staff are competent, clear, hard-working, welcoming, and prompt. Jeanne painstakingly answered our many questions, making it her priority for us to understand the process. We felt extremely supported and listened to. Working with Arete Mortgage made the logistical side of buying our home seamless.
Hilary Parker
Aug 27, 2020
Report
Allison Ragsdale
Aug 05, 2020
Report
We have used Jeanne and her team for both of our home purchases so far and will use Arete for every mortgage need in the future! Purchasing a home seemed overwhelming and daunting but I never worried for a moment with Jeanne in charge. She is extremely knowledgable, responsive and we love working with her! Highly recommend!!
Kierstin Godson
Jul 19, 2020
Report
I’ve had several loan officers that were fully clueless, before I met Jeanne. She is on top of it, knowledgeable and articulate of all loan products, super quick to respond, amazingly detail oriented, extraordinarily reliable and has a great sense of humor. I’ll never go anywhere else and highly, highly recommend!
Avery Anderson
Jun 10, 2020
Report
Arete Mortgage is nothing short of extraordinary. I would have given them 10 stars if I had been able. Jeanne and Allison were remarkable partners in helping us to close on a "complicated" property. To begin, I liked that Jeanne asked for all of our financial data up front; that meant that by the time she gave us a "pre-approval letter" she already had a high degree of confidence that she was going to be able to see the loan through to completion. She also helped us to ask better questions in the due diligence process, found us a great interest rate, and then did an impressive job in navigating
Arden Galinson
Nov 20, 2018
Report
Merida Odiorne
Sep 14, 2018
Report
Wow, Jeanne is really knowledgeable. I really feel she had my best interest in mind, and I did not feel pressured into anything I did not understand. I just love how she explains things. With so many options out there, I am really glad to know Jeanne has my back! Plus she is a broker, so not just working with one lender, which means she shopped the market to get me the best loan!
Marcy Eckhardt
Sep 05, 2017
Report
Brett Rezek
Oct 09, 2014
Report
If I'm looking for a broker I expect: honesty, integrity, respect and knowledge of the field. Jeanne encompasses all of these traits and I'd trust her to do a thorough and professional job. Not to mention she's fun to be around and likes cruisers! My friends have loved working with Jeanne. There's a reason she's been voted Durango's #1 Independent Mortgage Broker!
Julie Gwyther
Mar 18, 2014
Report
Katherine Sumrall Griego
Mar 18, 2014
Report
Jeanne is one of the most knowledgeable mortgage people in town and I really value how much she cares for her clients. She is also just super fun to work with! Being a real estate broker in Durango, it is great to work with mortgage people that are prompt and communicative. Plus, I used Jeanne for my own real estate purchase and had a great experience from the client perspective as well!
