FHA loan, no decision & out of time (approval, credit, requirements)

[krismosch]

Looks like even though our FHA loan wasn't denied, it also wasn't approved in time and the sellers walked.
Right now I'm just in shock that we are losing over $1,000 between inspections and appraisal. I'm a little numb right now but soon the ANGER will pop up and I need to know who's head I want on a platter.

This was nothing to do with us (the buyers) or the sellers. Everything we needed to do was done.

Our loan processor seems to have been a little green around the gills. He talked a good talk but I'm not sure he truly knew what he was doing. If he said, "We'll have a decision today." once, he said it 50 times. He's saying the UW had a 72 hour window to give final approval on the loan after we received the conditional approval with 1 condition that we satisfied quickly. That she didn't do her job and he will be filing a complaint.

I was very frustrated by people with the waiting game. I can say a loan denial (no matter how devastating) would have been easier to take than the "one more day, we just need one more day" I've dealt with this month.

Long story short, we were supposed to be moving into our new home June 30th. Instead I will be signing a lease on a rental today. A very nice rental in a great neighborhood (I should be thankful!) but a rental none the less.

[youngins]

Did you have a realtor?

[charlygal]

Why didn't you get pre-approval before you began house hunting?

[Scooby Snacks]

Originally Posted by krismosch

Looks like even though our FHA loan wasn't denied, it also wasn't approved in time and the sellers walked.
Right now I'm just in shock that we are losing over $1,000 between inspections and appraisal. I'm a little numb right now but soon the ANGER will pop up and I need to know who's head I want on a platter.

This was nothing to do with us (the buyers) or the sellers. Everything we needed to do was done.

Our loan processor seems to have been a little green around the gills. He talked a good talk but I'm not sure he truly knew what he was doing. If he said, "We'll have a decision today." once, he said it 50 times. He's saying the UW had a 72 hour window to give final approval on the loan after we received the conditional approval with 1 condition that we satisfied quickly. That she didn't do her job and he will be filing a complaint.

What condition was that? (No need for you to mention it; just think about what it was). And how long did it take for you to satisfy it? Loans are notorious for taking longer than promised, especially FHA loans, which are backed by the federal government. And we all know how efficient Uncle Sam is I think you're blaming the wrong person. You need to be blaming the Fed or the sellers. Sellers can nervous about selling to people who require an FHA loan in the first place. You pay a lower down payment and the Fed requires a couple more inspections than a conventional loan. Also, closing sometimes takes longer on FHA loans.

[krismosch]

Yes, we had a realtor and yes we were pre-approved. I don't see how the sellers can be blamed. They extended the contract once. At the end of the day, they needed to sell the home (money) just as bad as we needed to purchase a home.

The condition was they wanted copies of our rent checks for the last year. It took me hours from the requests until I submitted. I'm all for playing by the rules but I need to know what the rules ARE!

[SmartMoney]

Who was your lender? Big box bank? We're you applying for a grant? By law, a credit decision must be made within 30 days of loan application. Was a loan commitment issued? Or was it suspended subject to one condition? Unfortunately, there's way too little information to give you an idea who wasn't looking out for your best interests, including your own role in expectations.

Over the next year, do disect this experience and do what you can to not have a repeat experience.

[youngins]

Originally Posted by krismosch

Yes, we had a realtor and yes we were pre-approved. I don't see how the sellers can be blamed. They extended the contract once. At the end of the day, they needed to sell the home (money) just as bad as we needed to purchase a home.

The condition was they wanted copies of our rent checks for the last year. It took me hours from the requests until I submitted. I'm all for playing by the rules but I need to know what the rules ARE!

Good local lenders will work real hard to court realtors in their areas.

I myself was so close to a clear, but hit a snag with a Lender requirement. My realtors firm no longer "recommends" them due to ongoing issues with closings.

While lending requirements are standard, sometimes it just depends on what underwriter you get and how busy they are. My realtor worked real hard to find a good local lender which understood my situation. I think she tried 4 different banks ran my scenario by their underwriter. Asked them how long it took them to close etc. After finding a contender she convinced the sellers agent the issues I had could be overcome. From then on the sellers agent was copied on just about every correspondence between the realtor and the LO to show we were trying in good faith to make this deal go through.

I lost $1000 of seller credit but I was able to work out a deal to rent the house I was trying to buy at $30 per diem. At least he was making some money. (It turned out the seller is a lawyer, so his office drew up a separate rental contract)

I'm not saying this is best for you, I just understand your frustration and really sorry - the best is yet to come.

I'm actually a believer that good things happens to those who wait...

I ended up qualifying for a loan which gave a $2500 credit toward down payment, as well as a mortgage credit certificate for a tax CREDIT of 50% my yearly mortgage interest up to $2000.