It is truly amazing to me how so many loan officers receive a failing grade from the Realtors that they work with. For every good loan officer, there seems to be two that are terrible at what they do. For one thing, all they want to do is sell sell sell, with out first learning about what they are selling. Mortgages seem to be easy to put together but in reality there are many steps that need to be performed and require much training.
Just yesterday I was speaking to a Realtor friend of mine and I asked about a friend's listing that I referred to her. The property was under contract and should have closed about a week ago. Well I called her to see how the closing went and she said "oh we never closed." I said "what?!?" She went on to explain what the problem was and it was because the seller bought the property a year and a half ago for a price that was way below market. He did some work to it and today he is selling for market value which seems inflated because he bought the property in an estate sale so cheap. Now the lender is questioning the value and requesting a separate appraisal.
I asked if the "loan officer" asked her for comps from when the seller bought the property to show that the home was purchased below market because he bought in an estate sale. I asked this because the appraiser can comment on that on the report to address the issue. My agent friend told me "He has not even called me or the buying agent, we heard this through the attorney."
Now, whether or not the lender will accept the fact that the seller bought the property below market as an estate sale and that is why there is a big price difference, I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. But what I do know is that everyone in the transaction should be communicating and working together to get the deal done. Oh by the way, the agents found out that the closing was not going to happen only two days before it was scheduled!!
This lack of communication is absolutely unacceptable.
Picture yourself, selling your house. You have had this house on the market 10 months dying to sell it. You dropped the price multiple times for a total price reduction of $80,000. You are literally staying up at night thinking about the house and why it is not selling. People have told you it's the price and so you listened. You brought the price down $80,000 which was not an easy decision but at this point you just want it sold. After the price reduction, it still sat on the market for another 6 months. Finally an offer comes in and you are under contract!! YES!!! FINALLY!! Only two days left until the scheduled closing date. You assume everything is OK because you have not received any calls leading you to believe that something is wrong. Then without notice......BAM!!! Mr. Seller, we have a problem. How would you feel? I would as a seller be very upset and rightfully so. Why is there a problem so late? Why didn't anyone tell me?
Too many times the sellers get lost in the mix. These deals are not only important to us, they are a million times more important to the sellers. I realize how important it is to the seller and because of this, every deal that I work on, I have the seller in mind. I know how they feel because I sold my primary house last year and it was nervewracking not knowing who the lender was and if the deal was going to close.
So for all you sellers out there....I'm thinking about you
If you or anyone you know are in need of professional mortgage financing, give me a call direct at 908 868 0685 or email me at erodriguez@arkmortgage.com
During the last decade, Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) have increased in popularity among consumers. These days, few homeowners (especially first-time buyers) remain in their homes for more than seven years. In this case, it often makes sense to get an adjustable rate mortgage with a lower rate, especially one with a 5-year or 7-year fixed portion, since they won't have the loan long enough to be concerned about rate fluctuation.
