Best Bank?
 

Which is the best bank in area? Most ATMs? Convenient? Low Fees?

I dealt with Citizens Bank in the Villages for 8 years and found them to be very proffessional. I would highly reccommend them for all your Banking Needs, Would still be with them had I not moved to Georgia. Good Luck Go in and see them and I think you will be happy.

Citizens First Bank owns The Villages. There are branches all over and dozens of ATMs. Don't misunderstand, there are other banks, a few anyway. But for sheer convenience Citizens First is the choice to make.

:agree::agree: Citizens is my bank and has excellent customer service and very convenient branches and ATM's throughout the villages. They are :eclipsee_gold_cup: in my book.

Bank Of America
 

"What I like about Bank of America is the accessibility of being able to do banking everywhere. Being snowbirds, we have the advantage of using the banks in both our hometowns, North and South. Have always found them to be excellent to deal with." :agree:

I FULLY AGREE....Bank Of America alllll over Fla....including Chattanooga Tenn

I love Community Bank. Small bank with all the big amenities. we just refinanced our house there and got 4.3%. Annette McCullough is a wonder. It has a small town feel - they always remember my name - with big city amenities.

I like Citizens Bank a lot .. they are cheerful and friendly. They have apples and popcorn and dress up for Halloween. I know, I know, not good reasons for choosing a bank, but part of The Villages experience.

Bank of America has better investment rates, but I don't find them very friendly at all.

Suntrust-great for everything from banking and mortgages.

Maybe The Villages owns Citizens.. Hard to find the other way around. That might be why they are many branches to serve the fine people that live here..

Best bank
 

Is Citizens First Bank 'related' to Citizens bank ? Sorry if it's a dumb question.If so, can you use it just like we use Citizens bank here in the frozen north?

JES,

Probably not....Citizen's First Bank is a local Bank with branches in the Villages and nearby towns.

There used to be a Citizen's Bank in the DC area but I think they were long ago acquired by someone else. No doubt, the Citizen's bank in your northern area is totally different from our local bank.

It really does not matter which bank you choose to go with as they will probably be bought up by someone else within the year. In the case of my bank, they will probably merge with someone just after I receive my 400 new checks.

Just a quick update for Citizens First Bank. I just found out that if you have a need to talk to them about their debit card due to a problem it had better be during business hours. They do not have 24/7 access thru an 800 number as I am accustmed to. I agree they are friendly and seem to be customer oriented, but that aspect is a major shortcoming in my view and does not support their effort to support the customer.

Ten years ago I didn't have a debit card, but it is 2010 now and my life revolves around it to the extent that I need 24/7 support. Wouldn't you know as was stated earlier I just ordered checks. :grumpy:

I really like SunTrust -- they have branches on 466 and 441, as well as in Wal-Mart, so they're pretty convenient for local business. I also like Bank of America for a national bank.

Something tells free checking is going to go out the window with the new laws on overdraft fees, so everything may change re rates.

(And Citizens First is owned by the Morses.)

Bank of America is so huge that it can be accessed from many states, which is big plus. Have always found them to be very pleasant, obliging and accessible 24/7.

I received a late notice on a utility bill which NEVER happens to me. Am very dedicated to having my bills paid on time without fail. I called BOA to ask if this transaction had been processed and they responded yes and the payee had cashed the check.

The BOA then called the utility company, and I then received a response from BOA saying that the utility company had posted my payment to the wrong account!! The bank settled the problem with them. Now, I thought that was extremely generous of BOA to actually settle with the payee to correct the payee's error and report back to me in a timely manner just about an hour later. Very very pleased with them. Interestingly, I never received a call from the utility company apologizing for their error!!

Best Bank
 

After interviewing Citizens and a couple of credit unions, we decided on Sun Trust - good decision. They had great customer service, others were not too eager to take our money and showed little interest. Sun Trust won us over hands down!

Living in VA I bank with BB&T. I was very glad to see they bought (Colonial I think) and now have branches all around the local TV area. They are a great bank to deal with and have all the right products. I have only visited a couple different branches near TV, but found the same great service I have come to expect in VA.

I used to bank with BoA until one month they posted a credit card payment, their credit card, late, their online banking system, and charged me a $39 late fee. They even agreed with me it was their fault as they had some type of posting problem that delayed the payment a couple days and still refused to provide the credit. Claimed it was 2 different divisions and nothing they could do. They lost my checking, savings, home mortgages, ATM, and credit card business.

They still mail me applications every other day, which I write "deceased, return to sender" on and stick them for the return postage. You would think they would stop sending them. Guess it must be another division that gets the returns.

Who owns Citizens Bank
 

A few statements as to the ownership of the local bank got my interest. Does TV or the Morse family have total or partial ownership of the bank? Is that the bank that is recommended by TV sales office? If they do, can they infuence the bank appraisal values at the time of sale? Anyone that has a home loan from other banks had any issues with appraisal value of the home to be purchased in TV?

SunTrust

We purchased our home in March and had a very pleasant experience with Citizens. We are parttimers in TV and we set up an account to use while we are there and left our accounts in Kentucky in tact. Works out real well, Citizens is our choice. :laugh:

Convenient
 

Have to admit CFB is convenient and gives us a local bank to deal with, should we need to write a check in the local area. Found them pleasant, helpful, and easy to work with when setting up a new account. Online experience was a little hard to negotiate (different mind-set?) and when looking to transfer money for closing and allow CFWM to withdraw funds, their schedule of fees indicated I would pay an incoming transfer fee along with my bank charging me an outgoing transfer fee. Needless to say, elected for a cashier's check from my bank (free) along with notary signatures needed (also free) and sent back in the pre-paid UPS package with closing dox. We also kept our Chase account, for national access.

I was told they have total ownership, but I won't swear to it. I do know they have at least partial ownership.

As to influencing appraisers, the reality is most realtors have an appraiser or two they influence -- the appraiser wants the business, the appraiser is going to do his/her level best to come at the amount the realtor wants. It is part of the business. That being said, the appraiser does have to prove to the lender's satisfaction that the appraisal is legit. That is, the comparables (houses previously sold in past few months) have to be the same type of house in the same area if at all possible; the amenities in the home have to be similar (pool/no pool, tile flooring, etc.); and so on. The appraiser has to justify when a house is worth more than the comps -- that is, extended garage, bird cage, better tiling, etc. So, the influence issue really isn't an issue, unless we have another housing debacle. Appraisers really do try to work with their realtors/mortgage brokers to come in with the price asked.