How To Get Your Mortgage Deal Closed

How to get your mortgage closed seems to be a common question we are hearing from homebuyers everywhere. Doing a new home loan or a mortgage refinance can be challenging with the new Federal regulations mortgage lenders are faced with. Good news, experience can overcome most of the issues. Here we will try to help answer some of the common mortgage issues and maybe help you get you into that new dream home.

Have a good Real Estate Agent

Yes, your loan professional and your real estate agent must work as a team to get your purchase deal done. A real estate agent experienced in your area will have market  knowledge on such things as Comp sales or homes on the market that might just have been sold but not showing on the MLS. That high priced sale might be pointed out to the appraiser and maybe he will investigate.

The Value of An Experience Loan Officier

Every loan person will tell you they are the best, maybe even have the lowest rate, fastest close, ect. You will not really know if you selected the best until their experience is needed to get your mortgage closed. Complex things can come up and someone who has dealt with it many times before will not only overcome it but do it quickly. Don’t hire rate. Meaning, don’t select your mortgage person just because of some promised lowest rate. Team up with experience and fair rate.

Home Loan Appraisal Issues

Hope you kept that card with the Appraisers contact information. When problems with the appraisal come up, most of the time the require some sort of repair and having the appraiser come back out to re-inspect the property. Do yourself a favor, call the appraiser and discuss the issues, discuss the repairs you made and if they are everything that is needed. Only, after you are satisfied that everything is good, tell your loan officer to order the re-inspection. You will be charged a fee for this so best to avoid until you are sure you are ready. Look at the appraisal when it comes in and make sure you tell your loan person you want a copy as soon as it is available.

Mortgage Credit Problems

This is usually an issue early in the process but sometimes the file can get all the way to Underwriting and have problems. If you are working with an experienced loan person, they already reviewed the credit report and have seen problems. To many mortgage people just look at the score and not much else. There are easy ways to get disputed items removed, credit scores improved and debt to income issues overcome. Just make sure it is done at the front end of things-not when the file is in Underwriting.

Closing your Mortgage

Ask for an estimated HUD-1. It will show you the details of your loan, the payoffs if any and if you will need cash to close. If you are escrowing the taxes & insurance, it will reflect those items charges as well. Review the HUD and make sure you are on track several times thru the process.

When problems come up, ask for the exact problem or a copy of the email from the Underwriter describing the problem. Don’t let the loan person just say they are working on it. Get involved in the problem and find a solution.

Here is an example of a recent issue and how it was overcome. The income for mortgage qualifying is calculated using tax returns for the last 2 years. Borrower had been promoted last year and made more income that the previous year. The numbers were tight, but it looked like it would get approved. The Underwriter spotted non reimbursed job expenses on the tax returns and under guidelines, must deduct them from the income calculation. The loan was denied.

The Borrower came to us saying they had tried and been denied. Experience told us that the easy way to get this approved was to use only 1 year tax returns income. The Borrower had been told by the previous Broker that was not possible. The loan was easily approved with the 1 year tax return income and the borrower got the house of their dreams.

We are a California mortgage lender that is licensed to originate loans in most states. If you have been turned down for a new home loan or mortgage refinance, give us a call. We offer an EZ online home loan application and a great mortgage payment calculator. Let us show you why experience counts.