Pushy, Pushy
One of the stipulations on the offer that came into me from the realtor making it on my listing was a sixty day escrow. The loan officer from the out of state bank the buyers were using said he needed that much time for processing. It seemed odd to me because I'd looked over the financials presented to me at the time of the offer and the buyers looked really solid. My clients were relocating and were amenable to accepting the offer, so we did. I had the name and phone number of the lender after he reached out to me the first week of escrow. He was aggressive and chatty. I asked him at the time why he needed so much time for their loan. "We have gobs of loans to process right now," he replied. "A bit of a backlog." Hmmm.
As you can imagine, not much happened the first couple of weeks in terms of moving the purchase forward. It's my responsibility as the listing realtor to check in with what is going on; it's the responsibility of the buyer realtor to stay on top of the loan broker. There were two early appraisals, both done by the relocation company. It was the understanding, however, of the buyer realtor that one of those was the loan appraisal.
I received a call from a bank appraiser around thirty days into the escrow asking me to meet him at the home. This was surprising to me as I thought the loan was already pretty far along by then. I met the appraiser then called the loan officer. "Did you just now begin the loan process on this property?" I asked, my edgy tone hard to miss.
"Yes," he said. "You should have heard from the appraiser."
"So," I began, "we are over thirty days into escrow and we are really at the beginning of the purchase loan process. Can you assure me we will close in another thirty days."
He chuckled at this, dismissing me offhandedly. It's so exasperating to be dealt with this way. "Kay...." He sighed. "Kay, I can't promise anything, but we will try."
"Try?" I admit I was getting a little hot. "We have a contract. Why have you waited so long to process? I'm not comfortable telling my clients they might go over an already exorbitant close timeline. What happened?"
"Nothing happened. We are just really snowed under with loans at the moment."
"That is not my problem...nor it is my clients' problem. I need assurances from you."
"Kay, I'm not going to get into this with you...." Wow...really?
"It's not my intention to get into anything with you," I replied. "It's my intention to make sure my clients' home closes on time. I'll be keeping in touch with you."
And I did. Once a week at first then every other day then every day as it became apparent it might close later than was promised. And, yes, we got into it several times toward the end. The loan is the most important element of the sale/purchase of the home. If the timelines run close on a thirty day escrow when the bank has worked really hard and has had a few last minute issues, that is very different from a bank that just waited until it felt like it to start the process. I understood the loan officer was busy with lots of loans. However, for me as the realtor representing the seller, that is his problem, not mine. The buyer realtor is supposed to be diligent with the purchase loan process, keeping on top of the bank to make sure all the timelines are met so that his clients don't lose out on the home or on the earnest money deposit.
We closed on the exact day, but it took a huge amount of pushing and "getting into it" to make that happen.
Bottom Line: Realtors oversee the entire sale and purchase process. The procuring of the loan is a buyer process, and realtors involved with buyers must understand the ins and outs of the loan and keep the transaction within the timelines set by the offer and escrow. Realtors should have good working relationships with lenders so they can work together if things become difficult, which they often do....more on this to come.
As you can imagine, not much happened the first couple of weeks in terms of moving the purchase forward. It's my responsibility as the listing realtor to check in with what is going on; it's the responsibility of the buyer realtor to stay on top of the loan broker. There were two early appraisals, both done by the relocation company. It was the understanding, however, of the buyer realtor that one of those was the loan appraisal.
I received a call from a bank appraiser around thirty days into the escrow asking me to meet him at the home. This was surprising to me as I thought the loan was already pretty far along by then. I met the appraiser then called the loan officer. "Did you just now begin the loan process on this property?" I asked, my edgy tone hard to miss.
"Yes," he said. "You should have heard from the appraiser."
"So," I began, "we are over thirty days into escrow and we are really at the beginning of the purchase loan process. Can you assure me we will close in another thirty days."
He chuckled at this, dismissing me offhandedly. It's so exasperating to be dealt with this way. "Kay...." He sighed. "Kay, I can't promise anything, but we will try."
"Try?" I admit I was getting a little hot. "We have a contract. Why have you waited so long to process? I'm not comfortable telling my clients they might go over an already exorbitant close timeline. What happened?"
"Nothing happened. We are just really snowed under with loans at the moment."
"That is not my problem...nor it is my clients' problem. I need assurances from you."
"Kay, I'm not going to get into this with you...." Wow...really?
"It's not my intention to get into anything with you," I replied. "It's my intention to make sure my clients' home closes on time. I'll be keeping in touch with you."
And I did. Once a week at first then every other day then every day as it became apparent it might close later than was promised. And, yes, we got into it several times toward the end. The loan is the most important element of the sale/purchase of the home. If the timelines run close on a thirty day escrow when the bank has worked really hard and has had a few last minute issues, that is very different from a bank that just waited until it felt like it to start the process. I understood the loan officer was busy with lots of loans. However, for me as the realtor representing the seller, that is his problem, not mine. The buyer realtor is supposed to be diligent with the purchase loan process, keeping on top of the bank to make sure all the timelines are met so that his clients don't lose out on the home or on the earnest money deposit.
We closed on the exact day, but it took a huge amount of pushing and "getting into it" to make that happen.
Bottom Line: Realtors oversee the entire sale and purchase process. The procuring of the loan is a buyer process, and realtors involved with buyers must understand the ins and outs of the loan and keep the transaction within the timelines set by the offer and escrow. Realtors should have good working relationships with lenders so they can work together if things become difficult, which they often do....more on this to come.
Comments
Post a Comment