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Old 10-14-2010, 12:59 PM
 
295 posts, read 350,957 times
Reputation: 388

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I'm a FTHB trying to get preapproved. I've been trying to with chase (I bank with them) for about a month now and going almost no where. Bad service from their LOs has made me jump from one LO to another.

I've looked at a few properties already with my agent. Yesterday I emailed the selling agent about a property that I saw about a week back. She answered my questions very promptly but seemed a bit eager to pitch the referral to their lender. If I do go with their lender they'll credit me 3% towards closing costs and would match or beat the rates from the big banks.

I inquired more about the lender and she sent me the link to their site. They are a mortgage broker with offices in several states. The broker she referred me to has an office not too far from my location. Google search brings up neither good or bad reviews on this office. BBB does have a grade of B+ overall for the whole brokerage firm.

A part of me is telling to stick with the big banks while another feels like I should give these mortgage brokers a shot. I asked my agent but he hasn't gotten back to me yet. Any suggestions?
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Old 10-14-2010, 02:15 PM
 
Location: Kansas City North
6,772 posts, read 11,406,649 times
Reputation: 16922
You answered your own question in the second sentence. Why would you waste one more minute with Chase when you're getting a runaround in the pre-approval process? It would only be downhill from here. If you still have concerns about the mortgage broker, check out a few local banks, savings and loans and/or credit unions. You do not need to be an account holder there to get a mortgage there.
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Old 10-14-2010, 02:25 PM
 
Location: Plano, Texas
1,673 posts, read 7,000,928 times
Reputation: 697
The broker will probably be able to provide much better service and a better deal. Typically, you get the worse deal from a major bank.
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Old 10-14-2010, 10:01 PM
 
Location: Austin
7,244 posts, read 21,703,595 times
Reputation: 10013
Brokers can provide wholesale rates whereas the banks provide retail rates. You've been hanging around for a month with nothing? Something is either majorly wrong with your credit, or you haven't been asking the right questions to get to an actual mortgage person and not just an order taker at a brach.
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Old 10-14-2010, 11:21 PM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,950,339 times
Reputation: 18725
Default Not a red flag AT ALL, rather a sign that this agent understands the reality of current lending...

Quote:
Originally Posted by jtvaj125 View Post
I'm a FTHB trying to get preapproved. I've been trying to with chase (I bank with them) for about a month now and going almost no where. Bad service from their LOs has made me jump from one LO to another.

I've looked at a few properties already with my agent. Yesterday I emailed the selling agent about a property that I saw about a week back. She answered my questions very promptly but seemed a bit eager to pitch the referral to their lender. If I do go with their lender they'll credit me 3% towards closing costs and would match or beat the rates from the big banks.

I inquired more about the lender and she sent me the link to their site. They are a mortgage broker with offices in several states. The broker she referred me to has an office not too far from my location. Google search brings up neither good or bad reviews on this office. BBB does have a grade of B+ overall for the whole brokerage firm.

A part of me is telling to stick with the big banks while another feels like I should give these mortgage brokers a shot. I asked my agent but he hasn't gotten back to me yet. Any suggestions?
A few years ago anyone with a pulse could get a mortage in less time than most people get their dry cleaning.

That all has changed. Many of the most lucrative jobs in lending were with firms that specialized in subprime lending. The volumes were impressive. The big coast-to-coast lenders rampedd up their systems, pitied their multiple channels of loan origination, upped the commissions for retail bank employees. Then the market crashed.

Subprime lenders are gone. Big banks have massively reeled-in their lending operations, shifting the workload toward their low cost employees, slashing commissions, leaving many customers in the lurch.

The agent that recommends seeking a mortage broker to help get the OP a loan has almost certainly experienced the frustration of clients NOT being well served by disorganized / schizophrenic coast to coast banks.

The remaining non-bank lenders are far more capable of getting things in a timely fashion. They need not worry about rates. The brokers have always been geared toward being able to pay their employees on volume regardless of rates being crummy or terrific.

Really, there is nothing to fear when a real estate agent suggest a specific lender. Of course you should understand the rate and fees, that is the purpose of a GFE. I believe that any ethical real estate agent would only recommend a lender that will make the process go more smoothly and lead to more referrals for not parties.
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Old 10-15-2010, 10:20 AM
 
295 posts, read 350,957 times
Reputation: 388
Quote:
Originally Posted by FalconheadWest View Post
Brokers can provide wholesale rates whereas the banks provide retail rates. You've been hanging around for a month with nothing? Something is either majorly wrong with your credit, or you haven't been asking the right questions to get to an actual mortgage person and not just an order taker at a brach.
I was working directly with the loan officers at the bank. Almost got through the preapproval process with the first LO but she either quit or got fired (most likely the latter because she never informed me that she's leaving soon). They referred me to another LO and had to start from square one again. This one never return my calls and answers her email at her leisure. I got fed up with the delays and repeated broken promises and tried another LO at a different branch. When we first sat down to discuss what I wanted he seemed genuinely helpful but the moment I said FHA he started giving me the usual BS about them. He then said he doesn't do FHA loans and to try another branch. So this is where I'm at right now.

My credit is fine (mid 700s). I also have a coborrow and his credit is good as well. I'll admit our student loans are quite high but that shouldn't be much of a problem to get the amount of looking we're looking for.

Anyways I went ahead with the lender they referred me to. I need to submit my paperwork today so we'll see how it goes.
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Old 10-15-2010, 08:53 PM
 
1,504 posts, read 1,801,081 times
Reputation: 2721
Just be sure that you do your homework and be patient. I have always found my own lender for all of the houses that we have mortgaged through the years. Often times realtors get paid for referrals. Some realtors and lending agencies may be more concerned about their commission than finding a good mortgage company for you.
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Old 10-16-2010, 08:42 AM
 
Location: MID ATLANTIC
8,643 posts, read 22,796,116 times
Reputation: 10461
Some points to ponder.....ask the new lender if they underwrite and close their own loans, or must they submit to a third party for approval? (It's possible your file could be submitted to Chase for underwriting approval and get bogged down again). Many lenders are correspondent lenders that have the authority to underwrite and close the loans in house and then deliver to the investor post-closing.

As far as the red flag working with the Realtor's lender......not a red flag at all. 95% of my business is Realtor referral and this is why: If I screw up, not only do I know my future referrals from this Realtor are at risk, but any business from that Realtor's office is at risk. It's understood that my future business depends upon being able to deliver a smooth closing. Let's say I screw up and I am a broker 2 states over.......and the Realtor screams, "I'm going to make sure you never get a loan from this office again!" If I am two states over, I'm going to do nothing but chuckle.

It may feel creepy to use the Realtor's recommendation, but you have to remember, his/her reputation is at stake and no one (well never say never) is going to jeopardize their career (and income) by making bad recommendations.
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