Hello everybody. I am looking for very diligent loan officers with excellent customer service who can help with first time homebuyers. Any recommendations/ suggestions?
FHA Buyers – A Call to Agents
We all know that FHA loans are back in the game – they are reasonable and competitive and appeal to a much broader audience now, with changes in loan limits, terms, etc. And obviously, more FHA loans mean more FHA appraisals – Great!
So now I make my plea to agents, if you know you have an FHA buyer, preview your houses, learn what FHA is looking for, take a course in basic residential construction – educate yourselves! If your buyer has limited available cash and your seller is unwilling to make repairs, why are you showing your buyers houses that need work?
This is not a once in awhile situation, and I see it most in Prince Georges County, this is a regular scenario: I get an FHA assignment on a purchase; the house is not suitable for FHA for obvious reasons (failing roof, missing plumbing, failing deck, infestation, mold, no smoke alarms, etc.). I condition the appraisal on FHA repairs and here it comes… The agent is ticked off at the appraiser, and sometimes even tries to coerce me into turning a cheek, saying something is repaired that’s not, etc… This week was a new one with a forged extermination certificate. Yes, I am serious.
So here’s the biggest question – why on earth would you want your buyers to be in a home that doesn’t meet FHA minimum standards? Especially if you know that they do not have reserve funds available to repair failing systems? You are doing your buyers a disservice and surely not acting in their best interests. Furthermore, you are making a bad name for all of the good agents out here!
So… please hear my plea. The real estate business is under constant scrutiny. That means that those of us who are serious about our profession can’t stand it when a few that aren’t are out here ruining it for all of us. And brokers – this is your responsibility; train your agents, oversee them, and if they don’t get it or can’t perform, set them free. Same thing goes for appraisers out here apprenticing trainees; don’t use them for simple labor, typing reports and filing – TRAIN THEM! This is the future of the real estate profession as a whole; we need to take it seriously.
“Over the past several years, appraisals have impeded our market's ability to recover naturally.”
I read this in a blog today… this is just one sentence – it goes on and even worse, credits an appraiser who openly tries to meet contract prices and discusses/reassures listing agents/buyers of anticipated value. Scary!!!
Well, anyway, I felt compelled to defend not just myself, but the appraisal profession as a whole. I guess I am slightly offended by the bad rep always being dished out to appraisers. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I get just as ticked off by the lazy and incompetent appraiser as anyone – probably even more so, but when done right by a diligent, competent appraiser, an appraisal is the only impartial reporting of value in a real estate transaction.
Buying or selling a house is a very emotional thing for almost every party involved in the transaction (yes, even you investors out there). Whether you fall in love with its architecture or location or price (wink), or its ability to house a home business… whatever it is, people love their homes. And frankly, in this market, there are just as many people who hate having to sell them. Now, I don’t claim to know the market in every state, only in the DC Metro, but let’s be real: It’s crazy! We have banks under pricing, owners overpricing, short sales trying to recover a 2005 purchase price, and a few unprofessional agents out there who will list anything that comes their way, regardless of price and who will sell whatever buyers want to buy. (I know, you guys would never do that)
Now, in the post I read earlier, there were many comments regarding market value being what a buyer is willing to pay. WRONG! Any utilized definition of market value includes a statement regarding both parties being knowledgeable or well informed. And I hate to say it; there are MANY buyers out here who are misinformed and misguided. They have little concept of what a house is worth, and trust in the guidance of loan officers to tell them what they can afford or agents to tell them what’s a good deal. So many buyers are more concerned with a monthly payment than with a sales price. So, no, just because a buyer is willing to over or under pay for a property based on misguidance does not make it market value.
Now, in a typical transaction, you have a buyer, you have a seller, you have a listing agent and you have a selling agent, you have a loan officer, you have an appraiser and you have a bank. Your seller, listing agent, selling agent and buyer’s agent all have big checks to collect at the end of this transaction – they want the deal to close or they don’t get paid. The buyer and the bank, however, have a lot to lose – they are the ones coming up with the loot! Typical buyers have emotional ties to a property they want to purchase; rationale often goes out the door, and aside from that, most buyers aren’t market experts, they are trusting in one of the previous parties of the transaction to properly guide them. The banks are the ones taking the greatest risk, as they are usually half way across the country, will never see the property, and don’t have a clue about the real estate market where it’s located. Yet, we get upset when we ask them for a half a million dollars and they want reassurance as to the loan’s security.
Appraisers are meant to be completely impartial. They have no present or past interest in the properties they appraise – they have nothing to gain or lose by the transaction. They get paid the same fee for their service whether the “deal” closes or not.
They are intended to be the voice of reason in a transaction built by commissioned sales persons. They are meant to minimize monetary risks by providing a fair report of true market value.
Now, are there appraisers out here who are terrible at their job – YES! I review their work and let ‘em have it J. But… are there just as many agents out here who sell a house here and there and have no idea of the market or of basic house construction, etc? Yes – we all know a few. If everybody did their job right and did all their due diligence, there would fewer surprises at the closing table.
But to actually infer that appraisers are preventing the market from recovering? Ouch, that’s a little harsh, don’t you think? The market is what it is – all we can do is accurately report on it.
OK, so maybe it's just me... but I don't think so.
45-days into an FHA loan application and still no commitment. Do I think that is terribly unusual, no. What has me ripping my hair out is that along with no commitment comes (drum roll....)
In all fairness, I have gotten:
Again, to be fair, this is a first for me. Maybe I have been lucky, but this is by far the worst lending experience ever. A recent survey amongst colleagues, however, infers that maybe I am not alone? So what is going on? What happened to the days of loan officers eager to go to settlement? To 9:00pm phone calls from the work-a-holic underwriter (who knew by the way that I would still be at work too)?? Where are you??
OK, so contract closing date is before June 11th... please fellow Rainmakers... can I get a raindance??
Oh yes, and your input on qualified loan officers in Maryland & Washington, DC?
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Service oriented cert.appraiser - luxury, FHA, income. We understand the importance of deadlines, communication and delivering a quality product. Reasonable fees specializing in complex properties.
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