The Little Engine That Could
When acquaintances contacted me to let me know they were relocating back to California, I was happy to help them find a home to purchase. Preliminarily, I knew they had a foreclosure a little over two years before. They'd purchased the loan with an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage), which means they had a locked in low interest rate for the first couple of years, but then the rate went up according to the fluctuating federal rates. Their house payment rose so high it became difficult to make the payments.Their two years out from foreclosure is typically not quite enough time for many banks to loan again--three to five years is normal. They had been informed by well meaning banking friends to just stop making payments on their property. This is never really the smart thing if you want to keep your credit score anywhere near above water. So, in this case, they'd just walked away from their home. They didn't have a banker or loan broker working with them and asked if I would recommend one. The person I suggested to them had worked with me on some tough loans in the past, so I gave them her number. Perhaps she could navigate a loan for them given their circumstances.
The rest of this post is a tribute to her, the loan broker who never quit. She brokers loans, which means she doesn't work for a specific bank but shops loans with many institutions in order to secure the best possible loan for her clients. The first bank began, of course, with a preliminary approval of my clients' collective credit and ability to pay the mortgage. The appraisal came in under the list price of the home, so that was to our advantage if the sellers would lower their price a bit. The home had been on the market for a while, so they talked it over and acquiesced. That was the first hurdle. However...the bank had issue with my clients' paperwork and the circumstances of their default on the previous loan. They wanted information from the buyer employer. The problem with that? My client still worked there and hadn't turned in his resignation. So, he refused to speak with the employer.
Bank number two was contacted. We are losing time now on the original promise to close in thirty days. There is an appraisal. It comes in fine. But the bank isn't happy with the foreclosure. If we change banks again, it will call for a new appraisal which triggers the seller that there is trouble in loan paradise. The loan broker is working overtime to get all she needs from the buyer, but there is again the letter needed from the employer and other conditions to be met. Every bank comes back with an approval with certain conditions--things they need from the buyer to fully fund the loan. We are literally days from close without resolution. The loan broker is checking other banks...trying to find one that doesn't need the response from the employer. She and I are on the phone several times a day, including an extended conversation on my way home from vacation with my husband.
We were hours from close when the letter was produced and the conditions met, my client satisfied that this was the only way he would get the loan he needed for the home he wanted. It was touch and go all the way. Had it not been for the hard work and diligence of this loan broker, who could've reasonably given up on the transaction, my clients would have forfeited the sale. The broker and I celebrated with huge sighs of relief! We had all been in this transaction together...the clients, the broker and I. All pulling toward the same goal. I know, very often, buyers have no idea how much work it is to get and keep loans on track. It's our job to make it look easier than it is. To take the pressure off them during the transaction. The broker and I had a few sleepless nights wondering how it would all turn out.
Bottom Line: When it's up to you, work with lenders who you know are tenacious and honest. I have several lenders and brokers I recommend to clients when they ask. If they come in with their own lender, I quickly work to make contact and create the atmosphere on our side that is conducive to a smooth escrow...to the degree it's up to me. Lenders who go above and beyond are such a find. Look for that one.
The rest of this post is a tribute to her, the loan broker who never quit. She brokers loans, which means she doesn't work for a specific bank but shops loans with many institutions in order to secure the best possible loan for her clients. The first bank began, of course, with a preliminary approval of my clients' collective credit and ability to pay the mortgage. The appraisal came in under the list price of the home, so that was to our advantage if the sellers would lower their price a bit. The home had been on the market for a while, so they talked it over and acquiesced. That was the first hurdle. However...the bank had issue with my clients' paperwork and the circumstances of their default on the previous loan. They wanted information from the buyer employer. The problem with that? My client still worked there and hadn't turned in his resignation. So, he refused to speak with the employer.
Bank number two was contacted. We are losing time now on the original promise to close in thirty days. There is an appraisal. It comes in fine. But the bank isn't happy with the foreclosure. If we change banks again, it will call for a new appraisal which triggers the seller that there is trouble in loan paradise. The loan broker is working overtime to get all she needs from the buyer, but there is again the letter needed from the employer and other conditions to be met. Every bank comes back with an approval with certain conditions--things they need from the buyer to fully fund the loan. We are literally days from close without resolution. The loan broker is checking other banks...trying to find one that doesn't need the response from the employer. She and I are on the phone several times a day, including an extended conversation on my way home from vacation with my husband.
We were hours from close when the letter was produced and the conditions met, my client satisfied that this was the only way he would get the loan he needed for the home he wanted. It was touch and go all the way. Had it not been for the hard work and diligence of this loan broker, who could've reasonably given up on the transaction, my clients would have forfeited the sale. The broker and I celebrated with huge sighs of relief! We had all been in this transaction together...the clients, the broker and I. All pulling toward the same goal. I know, very often, buyers have no idea how much work it is to get and keep loans on track. It's our job to make it look easier than it is. To take the pressure off them during the transaction. The broker and I had a few sleepless nights wondering how it would all turn out.
Bottom Line: When it's up to you, work with lenders who you know are tenacious and honest. I have several lenders and brokers I recommend to clients when they ask. If they come in with their own lender, I quickly work to make contact and create the atmosphere on our side that is conducive to a smooth escrow...to the degree it's up to me. Lenders who go above and beyond are such a find. Look for that one.
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