Does it help to use a local mortgage company? (San Diego: real estate, condos)

[CatWarmer]

We may be looking for a house this fall in San Diego. The local realtor we've been working with says sellers may prefer to work with a local mortgage company. Apparently there may be a conception that a San Diego company can process everything more quickly and efficiently.

We're in Illinois and have talked with a well-established mortgage company here; our guy says he's done a dozen mortgages in California in the last two years and sees no problems.

We hope to pay cash for 75-80% of the purchase price and finance the balance. If you were selling, would it matter to you where the mortgage is being processed? Might that be a tipping point between offers?

[sdjimbob]

The only thing that seemed to matter when I brought (albeit 4 yrs ago during a similar tighter market) was highest price offered first, then type of buyer: all-cash, conventional, or "other"

If I were to sell, I'd probably prefer a conventional loan buyer over a 1st-time/FHA type. The lender wouldn't matter to me.

[kathygrl]

As a Realtor here in San Diego, I'd have to say that the most important thing regarding lenders is to have a "pre-approval letter" ( not just a "pre-qualified letter") prior to going out looking at properties...this will show a seller that you are a solid buyer and ready to go! If you have a good relationship with your lender in Illinois and he can write loans in California, then use him. Many times a listing agent will still request a "cross qualification" with their lender just to ensure you are a good buyer (and to try and sway you into using their preferred lender) I personally am not a big fan of this and usually refuse to have my buyers do this!
Happy house hunting and welcome to San Diego!!!

[socketz]

Originally Posted by sdjimbob

The only thing that seemed to matter when I brought (albeit 4 yrs ago during a similar tighter market) was highest price offered first, then type of buyer: all-cash, conventional, or "other"

If I were to sell, I'd probably prefer a conventional loan buyer over a 1st-time/FHA type. The lender wouldn't matter to me.

Agree.

FHA loans normally require 60 days (vs. 30 for conventional) to close and extend the contingency removal period from 17 to 21 days.

FHA also requires that the home be FHA approved.

They have a website setup to verify this step: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/cond...D1E704110AE561

But they close the site after hours and on weekends, which is when 90% of the buyers are shopping and making offers.

[socketz]

I found that the buying process works best when you first target a specific area (Realtors can't be experts in all areas of a city, they'd be lying if they claimed they were) and then secure a knowledgeable Realtor in that defined area and use their preferred lender or at least someone they have used before as they will be communicating back and forth with one another on your behalf.

When I say knowledgeable I mean someone that knows the area well: Floor-plans for various condos, traffic patterns, local soil issues, taxation, zoning, potential resale upside, home construction, the list could go on...

The financial market is so incredibly competitive that most lenders offer essentially offer the same packages. Small lenders have access to more packages compared to large lenders like a BoA, but in all reality, you will find that most of them are fairly in line with one another. It's really your credit score, existing debut, financial resources, etc. that make the most difference in the rate you receive.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by socketz

I found that the buying process works best when you first target a specific area (Realtors can't be experts in all areas of a city, they'd be lying if they claimed they were) and then secure a knowledgeable Realtor in that defined area and use their preferred lender or at least someone they have used before as they will be communicating back and forth with one another on your behalf.

When I say knowledgeable I mean someone that knows the area well: Floor-plans for various condos, traffic patterns, local soil issues, taxation, zoning, potential resale upside, home construction, the list could go on...

The financial market is so incredibly competitive that most lenders offer essentially offer the same packages. Small lenders have access to more packages compared to large lenders like a BoA, but in all reality, you will find that most of them are fairly in line with one another. It's really your credit score, existing debut, financial resources, etc. that make the most difference in the rate you receive.

I definitely agree. Though my wife and I travel around SD and explore, we had an experienced agent that was a very good friend to help us buy out first place.

But I love real estate especially in SD. So many great places to live around here. I couldn't believe it when I saw, but someone may have finally figured this out finally.... in an app of course.

sockets you might appreciate it as well.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fypio/id889106052?mt=8

[CatWarmer]

We've been keeping an eye on the San Diego housing market for about three years; the realtor has us subscribed to an MLS web site that I've filtered to our preferred price range, locations, size of house and lot, etc. I wake up every day and browse the houses - lots of fun! I've learned about property taxes and calculated California income tax out of curiosity- turned out to be lower than Illinois, much to my surprise.

We've vacationed several times in San Diego over the years. Then we spent a couple of months living in two VRBO houses in SD in early 2012 when we explored the area, investigated different neighborhoods, toured houses, learned where we could shop, recreate, and worship, and generally had a great time trying it all out. So we have a fairly good idea of what is available where and how much it would cost. Our realtor has been a great help in advising us along the way.

We would be pre-approved for a conventional mortgage; as noted it would probably be no more than 20% of the purchase price. We've owned our current house for 27 years and intend to sell to a builder (several are just waiting for the word to make offers) with a postponed move-out. No issues re debt or credit score; we'll probably qualify for a very good rate based on what we learned. The actual mortgage isn't the issue so much as whether a local lender could give us an edge as far as the seller is concerned. I'm thinking we could work with both our lender here, and one or more in the San Diego area. Other than double fees, are there any issues with having two pre-approval letters?

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

I definitely agree. Though my wife and I travel around SD and explore, we had an experienced agent that was a very good friend to help us buy out first place.

But I love real estate especially in SD. So many great places to live around here. I couldn't believe it when I saw, but someone may have finally figured this out finally.... in an app of course.

sockets you might appreciate it as well.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fypio/id889106052?mt=8

Thanks for the recommendation, shmoov. That's a great app. I just downloaded it today. Anyone interested in San Diego real estate should give it a try!

[CatWarmer]

My little iPod touch is too old for the app and it's not on Android. Too bad - it would be interesting to see if it came up with anything different than the MLS service.