Equity Trust Company Equity Way, Westlake

Equity Trust Company Reviews

• S

  Stephen Billmann
  5

  After transferring my money from another self directed custodian, Equity Trust Company handled a transaction in 48 hours that the other company took almost 3 weeks to handle.

• C

  Cindy Ishimoto
  1

  I am forced to choose a star, however I would give this company a minus rating if I could, there is nothing about this company that deserves any stars. This company charges you for everything. I have decided NOT to do business with them and transfer my account. If you close an account, they charge you $225.00, imagine that all they have to do is transfer the money and close the account and they want to keep $225.00 of your retirement plan. They charge $200 for annual maintenance and now when I don't want to work with them they want more money. I would encourage anyone considering this company NOT to get into business with them. They will nickle and dime you into poverty. On top of that their service seems great when you start with them, yep because they want your money and then after that it goes downhill from there. I recommend you stay away from this firm, I will be happy when my account is finally transferred and out of their ability to take more and more or my money! 1/23/19 IF YOU are doing business with this company you need to consider my above comments AND that for 2 years they have continued to email me that my account maintenance fee is available by signing on to my account and they continue to email despite of multiple requests made to get me off of their email list and to figure out why they are sending me these messages when my account was closed. This company does NOT care about their customers, they do not care if they continue to but their former customers, they want one thing and that is your money. If you are considering this company move on do not use them, if you are unhappy and trying to close your accounts know they will rob you blind and they will never let go of you, they will continue to contact your over and over again!

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  Maria Miller
  1

  Their mailing of bill payments is terrible. At least 25% of the time the intended recipient doesn't receive the payment. Then they charge you $30 to cancel the payment and reissue a check, so you end up paying for their shortcomings. And if you have them overnight the check in order to bypass USPS, and for some reason the package is misdelivered, they refuse to follow up with the carrier, in this case, FEDEX.

• B

  Beth Devitry
  5

  Equity Trust provides 5 star customer service.

• D

  Dave Velzy
  1

  Equity Trust Company is a house of pain. 10 years ago, enticed by the lure of private lending I set up an IRA account with ETC. They were often inconsistent in processing transaction documents. Follow up phone calls were routinely required to expedite loan paperwork, both opening and closing loans. You learn to add an extra day to every process. A day to spend calling, waiting on hold, complaining to workers who 'just follow policy'. Want to talk with someone competent? That gold service costs extra. Ha. What if your loans go bad? Do you understand how difficult Foreclosure or Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure are even without a dud of a custodian in the way? Then you need to manage the property. Do note: a check from Equity Trust Company will not be honored at any major retailer. OK roll forward 10 years and I'm finally selling off the last of the seven houses acquired through Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure. ETC just couldn't let me go without one more PITA incident. In order to get the paperwork for closing, the documents need to be signed by ETC. ETC has an expedited processing service for $75 that will allow you to get documents ready in three days. Documents in before 10:00 am get processed the same day. Yesterday, I submitted the documents at 9:12 am and received two email acknowledgements of the receipt. Called back asking where are my docs? Answer, don't know, paper processor went home. But here is your overnight UPS#. Call back today to followup. Oh sorry. We lost your docs in our email queue they didn't make the cutoff we'll get them out today. In the future use fax it gets our attention better. Are You Joking? Run Away. Do Not Use Equity Trust Company.

• M

  Michael Romero
  1

  Do not use. Customer Service is the absolute worst in the industry! their fees are extremely high and they don't seem to care about the client. I have a client who has had some difficult times but Equity is not willing to cut the client a break on fees to the point where the client has felt threatened. There a plenty of other self directed IRA companies out there that are reasonably priced and who also have good customer service. Buyer beware!

• P

  Pinaki Ghosh
  5

  updated My wife and I have been Equity Trust Customer for more than 15 years. We have quite large investment portfolio. We have done our research and here are some conclusions and observations 1. There are only about 3 trustworthy large companies who deal with individual investor's IRA and Equity Trust is one of them. 2. They are respected in the financial community 3. Like other companies they do have lapses but can we find any company which does not have problems here and there. The question you need to answer is that is your money safe or not. 4. Its works better when you have little larger balance because then the fees are proportionally low as compared to other companies. 5. ETC is not responsible for how your investment perform - they are just custodian (I saw a strange review that is why I made this comment) 6. They are audited by large houses like KPMG 7. Their customer service is extremely well if you follow the paperwork correctly. (So choose the correct form and do not do illegal things like self dealing) 8. They do not allow illegal things like Check book IRA etc which is a great news because it keeps the industry clean. 9.They assign you a real person (when is the last time you talked to the same person twice in a bank). If things get stuck take advantage of this and talk to them. 10. Their Bill pay is better than any banks - (as long as you are below $5000) Here is how I solved my problems This an update - recently they have implemented a portal based payment so all your borrowers can directly pay through the portal instead of ACH or sending you a check. It has reduced my workload by 80% and cycle time by 90%. 1. I never allow a third party to send them checks (from note interest) - i collect the checks and send them with proper paperwork. Works 100% of the time. Now they can use web portals to pay directly to ETC to your account. 2. Make sure the checks are correctly written "ETC Custodian...." - very important. 3. Always send checks through certified mails (my checks were lost once) but after I started using certified mail they are never lost. 4. After you complete a paperwork - check the status in website and contact your agent if necessary. They assign you a person (when is the last time you talked to the same person twice in a bank) 5. For large sums use wiring - it really works good (like real estate sell) Complains: 1. Wish I do not have to tell my pin to anybody (should be validated by telephone system) And Yes I am a real customer who has been a customer for 15 years

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  Pam Helton
  5

  I've been using this company for 2+ years so that I could fully self-direct my 401(k) account into real estate. Yes, the fees are higher than what you might pay for a standard investment account, but the freedom to control your investments comes at a price. If you are hands-on investor, then this is the right account for you. The customer service has always been excellent. Every encounter has been pleasant and very helpful.

• D

  David Rentals
  5

  Shanice was great to work with. My transaction went smoothly and closed on time.....2.5 weeks from putting the property under contract! Thanks Equity Trust! Just a follow up, Tiffany has been great to work with also, answering questions and explaining why the answer was what it was. Super clear! Thanks ETC team!

• M

  Mark Ellis
  5

  I have only great experiences. Purchasing 4 residential and 1 commercial properties so far. Initially the requests were paper and fax, now all on line and super fast. The closing was on time simple with abstract companies, simple title work with policy requests. My returns are over 30% but that is because I bought and sold myself and this is not hard to replicate either if you know what your doing. So far, I have had great experiences and am only expecting Equity Trust to perform the duties of a custodian not a money manager. They are only performing the simple tasks of what I want them to do. Maybe others have expectations beyond their capacities. Mark