So a few days after a 2 week vacation I went to my nutritionist. On the scale only 1 lb up! That’s not so bad, considering the cruise ship had chocolate sushi and self serve chocolate yogurt cones! It must have been the exercise I did sprinting after a toddler the whole time. But then…..the nutritionist pulled out those clipper things! Oh how I hate this part…….and my actual body fat percent went up 3%, that’s like 4.5 lbs. The scale sure is deceiving.
Talking about deceiving, how about those preapproval letters? In a succinct paragraph, we are supposed to make a seller feel comfortable that this loan will fly? I am confident that the letters I release are, but I’m not the only lender in town. What do other people do? I was recently having breakfast with 2 of my top referring realtors, and BOTH had transactions that were denied the day before closing because of last minute issues. It can happen, but it should be rare if the lender had only asked the right questions and been more thorough on the front end (in these cases). So their worry is ‘How do we protect ourselves and our buyers/ sellers from this happening?’
So now I have a confession to make. I have been sitting on a checklist for some time. It’s not that I did not want to release it, I just lost focus. So here it is, better late than never. Its long…beware. But these are questions that you or an assistant can ask in 10 minutes time. If you get resistance from a lender, then you know how the rest of the transaction is going to be. You can alert your seller early, or as the buyer agent, be sure they get to a lender that has no problem answering these questions. Their earnest money is at risk! The kudos for this list should not go to me, but one of your fellow realtors, Betty Bezemer. She is a top notch professional, and she put the sweat and tears into this list, and I just tweaked and rearranged it. Deleted some things that lenders really cannot answer.
So here is a sample SCRIPT of how you could initiate this phone call (or have the script for an assistant to do it). You will get some lenders not wanting to answer some questions. Some of the questions are really specific. But they can be answered. Believe me, I scrubbed this list thoroughly. A lender who is on top of it, has nothing to hide, and would be happy to brag that fact to you!
Hello, this is ________ with xyz real estate, I am the listing agent for 123 Home St. You are doing the loan for the Smith’s, is that correct? I would like to follow up on the pre approval letter that you provided, and several questions regarding your company’s process, and the timeline for this loan, do you have 5 minutes we can spend? Thank you. ….Then start right with number one! Take notes!
My hope is that you implement this list TODAY, and that the integrity of the way lenders approach the transaction becomes more solid and predictable. And last but not least, your transactions do NOT fall through the cracks.
Enjoy the weekend!
RATES as of July 27, 2012 (UNCHANGED for the week)
The following assumptions apply:
• 20% Down Payment (Conforming) / 25% Down Payment Jumbo (Lower down payments available – call for details)
• 1% Origination Fee
• Escrows Required (if no escrow, higher fees may apply)
• Purchase Transactions, Primary Residence (Refinances have different rates)
• 30 day closing
• Credit Score 740 +
• Debt to income ratio <=40%
• Full Documentation of Income/Assets
Conforming ($200,000* - $417,000)
10 year (fixed) 2.750% APR 3.064%
15 year (fixed) 2.750% APR 2.965%
30 year (fixed) 3.375% APR 3.496%
5/1 ARM 2.375% APR 3.104%
7/1 ARM 2.500% APR 3.058%
FHA/VA Call for quote (max loan $270,000)
Jumbo ($417,001- $1,000,000*)
15 year ( fixed ) 3.375% APR 3.569%
30 year ( fixed ) 3.875% APR 3.986%
5/1 ARM 2.750% APR 3.220%
7/1 ARM 3.000% APR 3.272%
10/1 ARM 3.250% APR 3.380%
We do originate loans below $200,000. These amounts are chosen to show the most favorable rates.
For other product options or for loan amounts less than $200,000 or above $900,000 please call for quote.
Call for details!
