Please help a first time home buyer! (loan officer, 2009, approval)

[Noiren]

We are supposed to close on a house in Atlanta by the 15th of November. We are using an FHA loan, the mortgage broker has set for the FHA appraisal to be done on the 5th of Nov, but he has not given us the actual loan approval or locked in any rates for us. He just has a good faith estimate document for us.

How long does the process of an FHA loan appraisal take? Just because an appraisal is done, it does not mean that we can close on a certain date right? Is the broker able to confirmed a closing date for us or is that entirely up to FHA to get back to us?

I really need to understand the whole process because the broker is claiming that he is able to close us in by mid Nov, but less than 3 weeks time seems far fetched to me. We are also looking to close in time for the 8k credit so hence the time crunch. Should I be asking our Realtor these questions or does she stay out of loan issues?

I'm getting very anxious because I have a terrible feeling that we're running out of time as our rental agreement here ends on 15th November and we have to now extend it to end Nov, paying even more penalty.

[VictorBurek]

You need to take control of the situation or find another lender. Tell the broker you want the appraisal done immediately or ask what the reason is for delaying the appraisal. As far as how long does the appraisal take depends on who they are using to complete the appraisal. I have 2 FHA certified appraisers that i use in the Dallas area that can do an appraisal for me in a day if i ask them too.

If you want to lock your rate, tell the broker to lock and to send you confirmation of the rate locked and when it expires.

3 weeks is plenty of time assuming you have already completed application and returned the loan documents with proper documentation such as pay stub, W2's, etc...

How did you find this broker? Did the realtor suggest that you use he/she?

If you havent provided any documentation yet or completed a loan application, you might want to get a new broker.

[Noiren]

Thank you for the advice.....

The appraisal can done only on the 5th because it's the 91th day of the seller's ownership. I guess he's what you would call a flipper and we had to wait for the 90 day rule for FHA loan.

My spouse has already completed the application and submitted the required paperwork like pay stubs, taxes etc.

Our realtor recommended him to us....we're new to the area and picked her out of a realtor website. She's been decent so far although she never gave us comps for the house which I thought was peculiar. I never even realized that was the thing to ask for from a Realtor until I read about it on these forums...I feel like we went in not prepared enough and now I'm so stressed about the time crunch.

What happens after the FHA appraisal? Does it go back to the underwriter and then take a lot of time to process? Why is the broker so sure we're able to close by mid Nov, doesn't it depend on the underwriter and not him?

[VictorBurek]

I see, that explains the hold up on the appraisal.

Your loan officer should already have the rest of the information at the lenders. Once the appriasal is complete, it will be forwarded to the lender for them to review to make sure the value is justified. It will take the underwriter a day or two to review the appraisal.

Yes, it depends on the underwriter but in most cases, especially if you are working with an experienced loan officer,the loan officer will have a good idea of whether your loan will be approved or not.

If you are planning on closing on the 15th, you have plenty of time. If your realtor recommended this LO, than it would bet that he/she knows what they are doing. They at least knew about the 90day rule on fha loans.

[Rakin]

Does your contract have a closing date that they can't meet ?

I personally don't care much for a Flipper / Investor type house, most (not all) are fixed up just enough to add flash and hide the neglect. Hopefully you've done inspections by now and all went well.

If they can't close on the date in the contract you can terminate and move on to another home.

[Noiren]

Thanks VictorBurek, I feel a little better...I was afraid that the appraisal process would take weeks and we will not make our deadline. We have read too many horror stories about how closings can drag on for months.

Rakin, I agree with you about flippers but fortunately, the inspection went pretty well, there were some minor plumping issues and a few foggy windows..the biggest thing were the old roof shingles but the seller has agreed to fix all of the above. Hoping that nothing major happened recently due to the floods.

The original date on the contract was 5th of Nov but now that it's officially delayed....we are waiting for the new paperwork to come back to us and be signed, the new date will probably be the 15th.

[rjrcm]

Originally Posted by Noiren

...The appraisal can done only on the 5th because it's the 91th day of the seller's ownership. I guess he's what you would call a flipper and we had to wait for the 90 day rule for FHA loan....

Uh, the 90 day rule requires that you can't have an accepted contract until the 91st day. How can you already be doing the appraisal?

[slmaol]

If a married couple has a home - with one persons name on the deed....can the other person buy a home and be considered 1st time home buyer or not ? If no - will selling the 1st home help the other partner qualify as 1st time buyer ?

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by slmaol

If a married couple has a home - with one persons name on the deed....can the other person buy a home and be considered 1st time home buyer or not ? If no - will selling the 1st home help the other partner qualify as 1st time buyer ?

Basically the IRS is pointing out guidelines that will AUDIT huge percentage of these deals. Do not try anything creative. Here are the rules:

First-Time Homebuyer Credit Questions and Answers: Homes Purchased in 2009

[raven302]

We're going FHA and hopefully your process will go a little smoother that ours. We have been trying to buy since the start of the summer. *Venting frustration* Goes something like this, I'm sure I've missed some details but this is our basic situation...

First house/offer: Short sale
We were "approved" made an offer, 2 months later had no response from their bank. Retracted offer. Shortly thereafter later they LOWERED the price almost $20K. Rocket science, could have had it sold but I'm sure they're looking for someone with cash.

Second House/offer:
"Still approved", made offer. A few days later mortgage company says were no longer approved due to law changes since we were first approved.. Seller accepts another offer. Lost house while they "reworked" our loan. We REALLY liked it...

2 months of "we need this and that BS" constant faxing, errand retrieving documents etc. Looking at dozens more houses. Said we'll still be "approved" (paperwork processing) and "keep looking!"

Third house/offer:
"Were approved still!" Made an offer on the current house we like, but not as much as the previous 2. Closing has been moved 4 times since offer and the sellers acceptance due to them needing some BS or another. Just got a call today (CLOSING IS TOMORROW) some BS law has changed again and we might not be able to for 2-3 more days. We've already notified our apartment complex were leaving, scheduled utilities, boxed things, arranged moving company, etc.

We don't have the patience to deal with this anymore. We're living out of boxes... school, long commute and a 2-year old all produce enough stress already!

*Big sigh*