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Old 07-11-2013, 05:09 PM
 
148 posts, read 219,590 times
Reputation: 95

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I closed my loan toward the end of June and my mortgage originator always got back to me very quickly and delivered everything he promised as far as the lender credit/rate. He was also able to extended the rate lock for a week at no cost. There were some delays (not on my end) with the underwriting due to a large amount of refinances / applications in May. Took about 47 days to close on a 30 year FHA loan but had to wait a week for a second appraisal towards the end of the process so it would have been more like 35-40 days.

It was a stressful time (first time home buyer) but overall I am pleased with the Lender. I had everything prepared at the day of application and they only needed a few things which I always gave them within a few hours of being asked (had everything scanned). I am very detailed oriented so perhaps that helped.
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Old 07-11-2013, 08:47 PM
 
40 posts, read 121,368 times
Reputation: 16
Default rate help

I am having tough time dealing with my loan officer, he never responds to my calls or emails. He is giving me rate 0.25% more than what penfed is offering, unfortunately I had to go with this broker as the builder is offering 5k against closing. Any suggestions how to get best rate from him ?
Thanks.
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Old 07-11-2013, 10:45 PM
 
3,805 posts, read 9,286,485 times
Reputation: 4978
You can try sending him an Official 2010 GFE with Penfed's terms on it - but he likely knows that only he is tied to the $5k incentive from the builder. How big is your loan?
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Old 07-12-2013, 09:44 AM
 
40 posts, read 121,368 times
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Taking loan for 250k.
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Old 07-12-2013, 10:15 AM
 
Location: Kansas City North
6,778 posts, read 11,414,393 times
Reputation: 16947
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkgourmet View Post
I've never had a bad experience. Period. Whether it was a face to face broker, online refinance, FHA streamline refinance (many years ago on my very first home), builder's mortgage company, they've all gone smoothly and easily.

Why? Because I'm prepared ahead of time. I recognize that I am the one asking somebody else to loan me hundreds of thousands of dollars. We've worked hard to keep our credit scores over 800, we make sure we have at least 20% down, we don't ask for more money that the acceptable LTV and debt to income ratios allow. I have all the paperwork they may ask for ready to go (tax returns, bank statements, 401k statements, etc.), scanned on my computer so that it can be emailed within seconds upon request.

I expect THEM to be efficient and professional. They deserve the same from me. It's business, not personal, and they've got the gold, not me.
I think this is key. If you've got questionable credit, at the top of your DTI, etc. you're guaranteed to get super close scrutiny and thus more opportunity for hassles.

That being said, new regulations stemming from the real estate crisis have upped the frustration level big time. The differences between my mortgage experience in 2006 and 2010 were large.
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Old 07-12-2013, 10:15 AM
 
1,939 posts, read 2,147,799 times
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We have had nothing but smooth and easy transactions with all our home purchases. In fact, our last one in 2010 was closed in two weeks and we weren't even in the same state as the purchase. At the closing, our loan officer said ours was the easiest loan he had ever done. We went with small, local lenders every time. All our mortgages have been sold to major banks. I never thought to review my lenders - perhaps I should, they were all awesome.
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Old 07-12-2013, 10:17 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX USA
5,251 posts, read 14,139,287 times
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Would say it was a good experience, but it wasn't a bad one. It was what it was. They asked for a lot of information and I was able to provide the info they needed. Granted I had everything I thought they might need ready, bu my builders lender made this a very quick and process.
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Old 07-12-2013, 11:59 AM
 
3,805 posts, read 9,286,485 times
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Originally Posted by googleajax View Post
Taking loan for 250k.

At this point, it would be a tough call to start the game with another lender who is merely promising better terms. For all you know, they could "walk you up" to the same terms you have now, especially with present market volatility.

I would not assume that the other offer is set in stone, and I'd pressure my existing guy, promise referrals, etc., but sit tight.
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Old 07-12-2013, 12:29 PM
 
Location: West Chester, PA
49 posts, read 92,048 times
Reputation: 21
I just bought my first house with my Fiancee, closed May 22nd. Before I even started seriously looking (with a realtor), we wanted to talk to a loan officer. Even though I work in finance, mortgages are a bit of a different ballgame.

I had submitted a few online prequalifcation requests to big banks like Wells Fargo, PNC. I was immediately turned off by the automated responses, and delay in actually speaking to a real person. They really didn't want to talk on the phone, and just said we were prequalified for way more than we wanted to spend...not to mention the figures they used really weren't totally accurate.

Next I thought I would find a local loan officer since we are first time buyers and I like to ask lots of questions(fiancee could care less and doesn't understand half of the lingo). I simply googled mortgage near "place you live". Immediately I started checking out the websites of companies right in the town I lived in. I either emailed folks or filled out the form they had. The first place to respond to me via email was the head of the branch. He included another loan officer in his reply. The next day she called me and we had a 30 minute phone call to go over are situation, our options, her recommendations, and a pre qualification. None of the other replies and phone calls I got even came close to the helpfulness and attention that I was given from her.

Next we found a realtor. Went over the deal with him. He recommended two mortgage brokers. Talked to them, didn't get a great feeling. We shopped for our house and we got a blanket pre-approval letter, basically she said we were approved just so we could show our realtor we were serious(since we were younger clients 25 and 24 years old). Keep in mind, there is zero agreement to go with that lender at this point, but that is the service that won me over. Everytime we found a house we liked, she would put together estimates for me with quick turnaround time. Any type of situation I inquired about(10% down, 20% down, closing costs, different taxes, etc...). Once we found THE house, I asked her for about 4 or 5 different estimates so we knew the best way for us to structure our offer. Once we had our offer in mind, she sent over a pre approval letter for that amount only, which she recommended over showing the seller what we were actually approved for(negotiation purposes). Once the sellers agreed, we had a certain amount of day, per PA real estate contracts, to complete a mortgage application with a lender. So naturally, I phoned a few others and they simply weren't on par with the service level we were receiving. "rates" were not really given, since the advertised rate isn't real, it changes all the time. Our loan officer was up front, we had a face to face meeting to bring our paperwork in and fill out the application and talk through everything. She was great throughout the entire process, with letting us know what else we needed to provide and being proactive in us keeping current with pay stubs, checking deposit explanations, credit history applications(fiancee signed up for Macy's card, sigh!), etc... Top notch with dealing with our realtor, closing agent, underwriting, appraisal, insurance agent, all the while keeping us informed with everything going on.

In summary, find a loan officer that you like and truly cares about finding the best solution for you. Some of the process is on you though. You need to do your homework, prepare all documentation for a mortgage application(heck look it up now and work on getting the stuff you need ready to print/email), and being timely in any requests. Email and smartphones are powerful tools, so use them and stay up to date and on top of your realtor and lender. Hope this helps calm your nerves a bit. Realtors and loan officers(up until agreeing to mortgage, its not hourly) are free for you as a buyer, so find ones you like through interviews and make sure they care about what is best for you and not just their bank account.
Feel free to PM me as I just went through the entire process.
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