203k nightmare.... (loan officer, real estate, approval, foreclosure)

[dolphingal]

OK first off, I do not have an attorney - I had to fire him, so I don't have an attorney to ask regarding this.

I have an offer for a homepath property that was accepted 8/5. Loan commitment 9/22, closing date 10/1. homepath attorney letter states "time of the essence" NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE GRANTED.
I was preapproved for a 203k streamline, the loan officer's recommendation re: contractor sucked. Found my own - lost 2 weeks because of that.... during that time, I paid down some cards and LO did a rapid rescore, now up over 640 to use for application(lesson #1 - ask LO if I can get more money now cause I read over 640 DTI can go up to 50%..........).
Got a great contractor, did estimate, appraisal done(8/26), didn't get any feedback for over a week, now 9/2 - problem with appraisal stating that they didn't like the estimate of removing cabinets... uhm ok. LO now says in phone call - mind you this is a MONTH after my rescore he says - oh BTW, you can get more money, never mentioned it......... WTF???????? So then I am told that I can spend more money....he tries to get appraisal redone with "figures". I call him saying uh, isn't this a full 203k? Don't I need a consultant now? Isn't this going to delay things???????? I contact my contractor on consultants he has used, got my own guy(LO gave me recommendations....uhm thanks but no thanks after what happened before - they aren't local anyways).

Consultant gets report back 9/11.... ugh. My LO emails me saying "well that is why I make the recommendations"

Here we are, its 9/16, no appraisal report - loan commitment 9/22.... LO tells me on MONDAY that the appraisal is being typed up(yeah right), then says Tuesday, now expecting it today. I asked him "what about loan commitment extension? When do I do this?"

His comment "you are too focused on deadline dates". WTF. I put down almost 6k in earnest money.

I seriously don't know what to do - he is promising me 3 day turnaround for approval.........this is ridiculous. So I get to scream at him on Thursday????

Obviously my LO is stringing me along - with a seriously defensive attitude. I am sooo pissed that he KNEW I could get more money for repairs(the home needs a lot of work, plumbing electrical, home winterized, so we had to do worse case scenario for repairs)

I wish I had an inspection done(lesson #2), the listing agent refused to dewinterize(that's a whole other story), and its as is with homepath.

I wish I paid this 203k consultant to come out when it was a streamline(lesson #3).... hindsight is 20/20.....

Its not like I have thousands of dollars to throw at this deal, its FHA.

I am so frustrated and pissed that if I was advised in early August with my score/increased DTI it wasn't offered to me. This would be a done deal.
Oh and title has cleared, got the HO policy set up 2 weeks ago.........before this all fell apart re: the 203k rollover.

My LO is being so defensive - telling me to relax. I care about my earnest money deposit - not him.

I don't know what to do - my nice but clueless agent(she then later admitted she has NEVER done 203k or foreclosures before.........oh brother, wish I fired her back then, should have done more research) wants to know what we need to do now...... Uhm isn't that her job? Do I have to type up the homepath amendment myself? good grief.

And here we are, mid day Wed and uhm crickets - no appraisal report yet....

I am so sick and pissed off. Talk about mismanagement and a horrible evasive condescending LO I am dealing with. Jerk.

I don't know what to do. my loan app wasn't signed by the 5 day rule from contract acceptance in the addendum, so if I need to provide a notice I got nothing. the 203k delayed that possibility 100% due to the asshat contractor that my LO recommended.

Oh and the LO is the freaking branch manager....at the headquarters of the company.

[Pfhtex]

OK, time to see the nurse:

Your credit sucks, you are buying a beaten-up Homepath house with THE most time consuming loan. Appraisals take time, 203k's take even more time, and your LO sounds pretty sharp to me. Lenders have ZERO control over appraisers.

Your choice of this loan type, and the fact that YOU took two weeks finding the contractor, and the fact that YOUR credit sucks, and you engaged in either ignorance or wishful thinking regarding time frames, are the problems here.



Quit blaming. Lighten up with the number of question marks you are using. Stop thinking you have excellent credit and executed all of your duties perfectly. Try being civil.

[SmartMoney]

appraisal done(8/26), didn't get any feedback for over a week,

mid day Wed and uhm crickets - no appraisal report yet....

I can't make heads or tails with your post. I'm not saying you don't have reason to be upset or concerned. Just by its very nature, Homepath is problematic. You must be a glutton for punishment to add a 203k on top. If you are a first time homebuyer, your agent didn't prepare you properly. And to think you are going to have to go thru draws????? If you are stressed now, you've seen nothing yet. Has anyone prepared you for delays in construction? Cost overruns? Unintended discoveries requiring repair funds in addition to what is known now? I'm not trying to stress you out more, but I am concerned you have not been properly prepared.

[SanRemo]

I have to go along with everyone else on this thread. You picked a mountain of a problem with this home.

Homepath is tough to deal with even if you are experienced with them. 203k's are about the most difficult loans that can be done.

You fired your attorney
You distrust your Loan officer
Your credit score is pretty bad

I imagine Homepath will give you an extension if your agent asks nicely and you can provide documentation that you are getting close to loan commitment. You need to STOP pushing the blame everywhere else and accept the fact that you are trying to achieve a very difficult objective.

Call you real estate agent now.

[dolphingal]

Appraisal done, file went into underwriting Thursday, told I would get my loan commitment by Mon or Tuesday at the latest.
Title clear, HO policy done, all my LOEs provided, etc. etc. etc.

I love how people think because my credit score sucks that I don't deserve some respect, lets just say that I don't wish what my family has gone through on my worst enemy. I had a 780 FICO before our lives turned upside down. I am now employed again and make good money and trying to get a really cheap home so we can move forward, and still live in a safe/nice area with good schools, not easy to do for under 200k. I was emotional and freaking out, pardon me.

I had everything done timely, was very disappointed when my LO told me that he knew I could have had a full 203k a month ago and didn't tell me...... could have saved me alot of headache, and wasted my contractor's time for he had to do a whole new estimate with the new 203k consultant. The appraisal having to be done twice we were up a serious deadline, too close for comfort in my opinion.

My LO recommended contractor LIED about coming out to the property, left our plumber waiting(the listing agent from homepath wouldn't turn on the water due to it being winterized so we were stuck with the worse case scenario re: the plumbing, the contractor's plumber didn't want to make the trip....so we had to find a local guy to be there also, we also had 2 other electricians and another plumber come out that week too) and told the LO he spoke with him. So I had a right to mistrust the situation. I found the approved contractor list from my lender off the internet - my LO didn't tell me there was a list - and found a new contractor in 3 days.... consultant 1 day. my LO is miffed I didn't use his people.

As far as the attorney: My atty didn't read the homepath addendum and moved our closing date CLOSER, and sent a letter to homepath's atty without my permission. Had to write my own letter to the homepath atty that I fired him. It was ridiculous.

So there have been some unnecessary bumps in the road. I can handle issues with repairs,etc .etc, the place is practically getting gutted and all plumbing redone, floors, electrical. I have learned alot, so if this doesn't work out for whatever reason we will keep moving forward and try again. I did not want to deal with our realtor trying to do an extension, the listing agent is not communicative at all and actually told my realtor off when my realtor asked her for our fully executed contract(which she didn't send back for 2 weeks, lied and said she sent it...not professional at all).

I should have done my research re: timeline needed for 203k... I was preapproved before I made the offer, my LO didn't give me any advice on that re: optimal closing date, and obviously my realtor thought 30-45 days tops like most people thing to do. So we followed her advice.

I can understand the complexities of this situation, however the so called professionals that mismanaged some things could have made this process much smoother. I am disappointed in the lack of professionalism I have encountered, it almost lost this opportunity for my family.

[SanRemo]

Have your real estate agent get in touch with the listing agent tomorrow and get that extension. I imagine that in all the emails and information your agent has received from the listing agent, there is contact information for the Homepath person handling the file. Copy that person on the extension request.

I don't think anybody is saying you should be disrespected because of your credit score but this is a huge part of the loan profile. You just have accept that there are going to be extra bumps in your road.

[dolphingal]

I contacted my LO today for the listing/selling agent want to know if an extension is needed, sent him the agent's correspondence. My LO's response "Due to be underwritten tomorrow"...... is that a yes or no? Guess I will wait to see what happens tomorrow. Is an underwritten loan mean an approval? I will be shocked if this actually happens timely, I am tired of trying to interpret his responses.

[SmartMoney]

Sorry, but you are in for so much you are in no way prepared for.........being underwritten means nothing more than is the loan a yes or no? Will you be approved? And if yes, with what loan approval conditions? What else must you provide? It's a laundry list - if you want the loan, turn these items in. I find the most frustrating conditions revolve around your bank statements or the appraisal and property conditions.

It's impossible to tell you what to expect - very little information has been given to predict what to expect....but anything can happen, including a suspension, which is nothing more than saying critical information is missing to render a decision.

What we cannot tell is if your lender is doing the underwriting and closing, or, is the investor performing these tasks? The more cooks in the kitchen, the messier the outcome.

If you are asked to write any letters of explanation, I urge you not to convey the same edge of entitlement that come across in your posts. Not sure if the tone is intended or not, but at this moment in time, most of the back office in the mortgage world (processors, underwriters, and closers) are working horrendous hours without full compensation (in many cases OT is not authorized). While computer programs approve files, humans review and read the letters, and like any human, reading a letter conveying a tone of "I shouldn't have to put up with this cuz everyone is lying to me" will not go over well, and could create more loan conditions. Just saying dial it down a notch. Things should start happening - don't shoot yourself in the foot at this stage.

[dolphingal]

Smartmoney, thanks for your comments, I do appreciate it, this has been a roller coaster ride for me so my tone is honestly frustration and fear. I was told by the LO that they approve for 620 and under, one of of the top lenders in the country re 203k, 3 day loan approval, etc. etc.- was sold this bill of goods a week after a broker told me to not even bother applying for a loan until my bk/foreclosure drops off in a few years.... so its been up and down from the beginning. I wasn't going to bother with this process until I was contacted by this LO. Thought I'd give it a shot on this foreclosure because it was so affordable. Its hard to not get excited. Dummy me.

I contacted my LO tonight, we have now missed the loan commitment deadline. I asked the status and he emailed me stating that the underwriter was going to approve it late this afternoon but wanted another set of eyes and its now being reviewed for a 2nd signature from the underwriter manager due to the bk/foreclosure. The lender is a privately held non bank lender.

I don't take this as a good sign. I asked him if this will be a whole new process or will he get a response tomorrow - his response was "probably tomorrow". I asked him repeatedly last week about requesting a loan extension and he said not to do it, that there is a 3 day approval and we would get a loan commitment yesterday or today...... I don't even know how to respond or what to do now. I know we are out of almost 8k overall at this point and can't get any of that back now. This truly sucks. I feel like a fool even bothering at all.

So I guess I just see happens tomorrow. My agent is asking about an extension. With the time of the essence threat and no extensions granted from the homepath's attorney I don't even know what is an appropriate timeframe. A denial would be easier to handle - wish it was before our deadline so we could get our money back.....

[SmartMoney]

Look, there's a ton of data and information not known or shared, but one thing is clear - you should not be out 8K before you even have an approval. Start gathering your notes and emails a see if you can document the sequence of events. Ask your agent and their broker to sit down with you to review what has happened. The fact you are out that much money has me concerned shortcuts were taken. If you don't feel like there was a reasonable explanation, keep on their heels. After the broker, possibly an attorney. Just because your contingency is up, doesn't necessarily mean you are out the money.....come to think of it, maybe start with the attorney.