Loan Rescue

I really struggle with these kinds of things….on one hand, I am angry and passionate because the so-called professional should have known better. I want to yell from the roof tops. I want to saddle up and do my best impression of Paul Revere.

On the other hand, I think that sometimes there is no intentional malicious behavior, just ignorance.

Even so, ignorance is not an excuse, it’s at least excusable if it’s identified early enough and it doesn’t cause any real damage.

Let me see….is there a nice way to put this?

Ok, sure, I can put a nice sugar coat on this, no problem:

“Not all Lenders and Agents are created equal”

Oh boy, that’s got about a quart of syrup dripping off it all over my keyboard (Elizabeth, if there’s a typo…that’s why – keys are sticky!)

Alright, I thought I could do this with great civility, tact and careful consideration for those that simply do not know any better…unfortunately, not knowing any better is not a good enough excuse for putting your loan approval, your deposit money and your home at risk.

Let me give you a few recent examples of what i’m talking about:

Peter Maldonado recently saved a home for his buyer that was being “bait and switched” while trying to get a CalSTRS 80/17.

Loan Rescue – 911: Pete took the time to craft this delicate Haiku about the close call that was narrowly avoided with Amy (sorry Pete, I don’t mean to give you crap about your blog – you get an A++ for effort!)

“Bait and Switch” is a very common tactic we encounter from Lenders that know better, but make much more if they shove an uneducated and un-empowered home buyer into an FHA loan for reasons that that defy logic and ethics.

An example of a lender that just didn’t have the experience, support or desire to save a buyer’s home is next.

Loan Rescue – 911: The buyer contacted us because they had not received an approval from their lender and escrow was due to close shortly. We contacted the lender and they told us (why they didn’t tell the buyer…I’ll never figure this one out!) that they had GIVEN UP trying to get the buyer approved to purchase the home.

On the line is a very significant deposit (purchase price was almost $500,000) and a Dream Home that was a phone call away (from the other lender) from being abandoned and hopes dashed.

We quickly determined that the home buyer needed help to qualify for the loan and discovered that there was a sister in Michigan that was willing to co-sign on the FHA loan required to purchase the Dream Home.

Although the home did not close by the scheduled close of escrow, we communicated and negotiated with the buyer’s Realtor as well as the seller’s Realtor to work together to save the Home.

Broadview Mortgage paid the per-diem penalties on behalf of the home buyer in order to keep the seller from cancelling the purchase. We completed the loan in 17 days.

Finally, this buyer may have saved a lot more than a headache.

Loan Rescue – 911: I received a comment on one of my posts, here on this site, from a home buyer that had questions about the actions of both their current lender and agent.

The agent was not acting in the best interest of the buyer and would not honor a promise they had made earlier in the offer to ask for closing costs from the seller.

The buyer had made an offer on a short sale some time back and was told at the time to “not ask for closing costs to be more competitive” even though money to close the purchase was a great concern. Short sale lenders do not typically have a problem with paying closing costs – that was red flag number one.

The buyer was advised that they could ask for closing costs later, and when confronted, the agent said that it would not be a good idea to ask now. Again, the money to close the purchase was a great concern.

Next, the lender that was referred by the agent provided a good faith estimate for a CalSTRS 80/17 that didn’t seem quite right. Not to mention the fact that when asked, the buyer didn’t know for sure if they were actually approved for a CalSTRS 80/17.

Upon closer review, we uncovered that the Lender had failed to document all of the closing costs required from the buyer to complete the purchase of this home that was now in escrow.

The buyer had already paid, out of pocket, for a home inspection and an appraisal and was now close to a thousand dollars into a home that they would not be able to come up with enough money to buy…..and probably would not have known until they signed the loan documents!

The buyer canceled escrow, fired the Lender and Agent and now is out looking again for a home that is more affordable and will not cause financial strain on the family to close escrow or afford the monthly payments.

Sound unbelievable? ALL OF THIS HAPPENED IN THE PAST 30 DAYS!

5 things you can do you if you find yourself in a Loan Rescue EMERGENCY

Understand turn times. Once you have your offer accepted and you open escrow, you should have a conditional approval from your lender in 7 days or less. If you do not, there may be a challenge.
Do NOT be afraid to question or FIRE your lender if they are not communicating with you. The risk you run of continuing to work with an ineffectual lender may result in significant out of pocket costs and the loss of your home.
Do NOT be afraid to cancel the escrow and keep looking. You have a contingency period that allows you to back out and retain your good faith deposit. If you are not 100% confident in your lender or agent’s ability do not feel pressured to continue with the sale. There are plenty of opportunities out there.
Educate yourself about the home buying process so that you can quickly identify when you are dealing with ducks instead of soaring with eagles. Your home buying team (Agent and Lender) can be your greatest asset or your worst nightmare.
Contact our Loan Rescue Team in an EMERGENCY or to avoid emergencies by clicking on the Picture Below or call 866-667-6724.