Disqus - Latest Comments for kenmontville

Re: Want SEO? Here’s a 4 letter word that will help you get it

Ken Montville — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 20:01:38 -0000

I guess it makes sense. I just seems like no matter what kind of advice one gets it's really all about adding more and more and hoping it all works out. Or, as I read somewhere about writing, in general, and not necessarily about blogging -- Write for yourself and to hell with everyone else.

Re: Want SEO? Here’s a 4 letter word that will help you get it

Ken Montville — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 19:15:15 -0000

So let me see if I have this right? Pay for it by running an ad campaign. I guess that means Google AdWords or some type of social media advertising such as Facebook ads or Twitter ads. Of course, that's a little bit of a dark science, as I've come to understand.

Write, write, write. As I understand it "guest bloggers" get the Google thumbs down (I still get a smattering of e-mails from people wanting to guest blog mostly so they can place a link). If adding links or stuffing keywords is now a thing of the past, how does Google find my blog among the hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, millions of real estate blogs out there?

Am I reading this right? SEO is really just about adding, adding, adding more and more content know matter how short or long? What determines "... a piece of content that delivers what Google (and users) want."

I haven't blogged in close to a month (although I've written dozens in my head) because I can't tell whether anyone is looking or not. I have one post I wrote in 2010 that seems to get a lot of comments so I know that one post seems to rank. But, what about the post I wrote last month, last week, yesterday?

It's all too much for my pretty little head.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 13:03:11 -0000

It sounds like you may not get final approval for the loan. It is good that you paid down your bills. That is not wasted money. It is also good you have saved money for your down payment.

The money for the appraisal is probably gone forever but you probably got your money's worth from the home inspection and you won't need to spend that money, again.

The $500 good faith check (earnest money deposit) is probably still safe as long as it is with the buyer's real estate broker (your agent's company)

I would still suggest looking for a reputable mortgage company. Your agent may be able to help you out with this. If not, you need to find someone who will help you and stay legal. You don't want to go to jail for mortgage fraud. It is serious.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 12:11:19 -0000

The first thing I would suggest is to find another loan officer and another mortgage company. Anyone who asks you to commit mortgage fraud by getting someone to lend you $2000 and say it was a gift is sending you down the wrong road.

Many mortgage programs allow gifts but they need to be documented very carefully. Usually the gift comes from a family member.

It also sounds like you have other issues such as a lack of money for a down payment and closing costs and some credit issues. These may not be something to keep you from getting a house but you need to find an ethical, truthful and helpful loan officer in order to get you the mortgage you need.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 21:19:57 -0000

Doesn't sound very encouraging. I hope you can get the remarks removed.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 20:27:23 -0000

Good luck, Jannie. Credit repair isn't quick or easy. If you're working with a builder, my guess is they'll be patient for awhile. Many times the house isn't completed exactly on the day they promise, anyway. Keep plowing ahead. They should have asked you for stuff earlier but it's not unusual for everything to pile up at the end.

Keep the faith and keep giving the mortgage company everything they want.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 19:23:43 -0000

Your lender should have never strung you along for all this time. Ditto the underwriters should never have had you sign all the different documents without having an idea that you wouldn't qualify for the loan.

If you're simply trying t refinance, it shouldn't be all that hard. There are a number of factors that may come into play, though. How much is your home worth vs how much you owe on it (this is equity in your house). If you owe more than it's worth that should have come out when the appraisal was completed.

However, you point out that they mention your credit is not good enough. 658 is a low-ish score and you may need to do some work to bring it up. You can usually get a free copy of your credit report to see if there is anything on there that doesn't belong to you or is erroneous or very old. Check out https://www.annualcreditrep... to get your credit report.

Having said that, the lender should have told you that upfront and early in the process.

I would suggest finding a good local lender - someone you can talk to in person - who can walk you through the process. Online lenders or big national mortgage companies don't care about you. They just try to push you through the system and hope for the best.

Good luck.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 08:20:46 -0000

Amen, Jim. My favorite is getting a letter from a very large, national mortgage lender saying the loan has been "fully underwritten" even before the appraisal has taken place. Then, about two weeks later they come back with a low appraisal or they come back with conditions that need to be met.

The loan is either "fully underwritten" or it's not. Why lie to all the parties. It does no good.

I have had a client forced to produce his divorce decree from 20 years earlier. Even though there were high credit scores, plenty of current income and assets, all documentation in place. The underwriters still wanted to see a 20 years old divorce decree.

It's out of control and lenders lie to their clients (the borrowers) just to keep them on the hook until it's too late for them to change to a lender who can get the job done.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:22:50 -0000

Rock on! Enjoy your new home.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 15:20:43 -0000

If your loan is still in underwriting, you might talk to your Realtor about extending the settlement date. It would take a miracle for it to get to the title company for closing that fast.

It sounds like the underwriter is being extra super cautious ("refer with caution") and they are looking into every nook and cranny. This will take time and it may not have a happy ending.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 12:39:40 -0000

At this point all you can do it wait it out and keep giving them whatever they want. It's crazy that mortgage underwriters wait until the last minute to decide there is something else they need but it's very common.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 09:03:49 -0000

Thanks....and good luck.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 08:37:41 -0000

On the upside, you're more prepared than most. Most people have their loan officer telling them everything is peachy keen until the underwriters start getting around to process the file. That's when the fun begins. Usually that's not until the Eleventh Hour and both buyers and sellers are gearing up to move and pass possession of the real estate.

It's then that the mortgage underwriters start finding all kinds of things wrong. They say they're just trying to adhere to lender guidelines and detect fraud. Why they wait until the week before settlement is beyond me but it is extremely common.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 17:06:57 -0000

Amen, Lacey. There is no reason to wait until the last minute to get IRS transcripts. They're not going to change between Day 1 and the day before settlement. It completely baffles me why underwriters to do this first thing.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 16:29:30 -0000

You aren't required to obtain the buyer's financing. It really sounds like the buyer won't be able to secure the funding for the loan from what you've written in your comment.

If the settlement date passes and the buyer can't obtain financing you may just want to let this one go and get yourself a decent Realtor who will look after your interests.

The good part is that you sound like you know the appraised value of the house so that's a good baseline to establish an "as is" price that will help sell your home quickly.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 19:14:13 -0000

I hear this stuff all the time. The file is incomplete. The buyer went out and bought furniture. All kinds of stuff to shift what is really happening away from the underwriter.

What about tax returns from the IRS? That shouldn't need to wait until the week before closing. Unless you're closing on April 15th the IRS should have returns that match the borrowers or not. Yet, time after time, it's the week before settlement when they're ordered and the deal falls apart if they don''t match.

What about HOA or Condo questionnaires? The buyer really doesn't have anything to do with those. They need to be reviewed. But when are they ordered? At the end when everyone knows that condo and HOA management companies take quite a long time to get a response back to the underwriter. God help us if there is even the smallest thing that doesn't look right.

You want to uncover fraud and make sure that the loan falls within the guidelines of the investor? Fine. Great. Wonderful. How about doing it so that if there is any bad news to share you can share it early enough in the process so that everyone isn't packed up and ready to move.

The fact is the mortgage industry and underwriters have gotten so used to waiting until the last minute that they can't help but go past the contractual settlement date (contractual for the buyer and seller, certainly not the lender).

The attitude seems to be, "No biggie. They'll just have to wait another week or two."

I do know that there are companies out there that can get things done and do deliver bad news early if there is bad news to share. Most of them just leave the file on the "later" pile until it too late for anyone to do anything except scream and cry.

As you pointed out, the underwriter is immune from all of that. They'll never get the seller asking who's going to pay the additional mortgage or utilities. They'll never get the buyer crying that everything is in the truck and they've given notice that they're moving out or they can't keep telling their employer that settlement might be tomorrow or tomorrow or tomorrow.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 22:21:23 -0000

They certainly can, Jeanine. It's their money and they probably think there is a risk of default if you have health issues that will affect your income and ability to repay the loan.

Pre-approvals you get in the mail are really mostly scams to get you to commit to a certain lender. Nothing is really "approved" until a mortgage underwriter says it is and they'll run you through hell to get one.

You might try going through the management company that runs the mobile home park. They usually have a good source of mortgage money specifically for mobile homes.

You might be out of luck, though, even for $36,000.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 17:05:09 -0000

That's part of it, timej31. The other part is that 99.9% of the time the originating lender sells off the mortgage within minutes of the settlement and they don't want to "buy it back" if the entity they sold it to (like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or HUD) find that they forgot to get some obscure document.

The originating lender doesn't want to get saddled with a $300,000 loan on their books.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 17:01:55 -0000

On the nose, Brother, on the nose.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 06:26:19 -0000

I've walked through this so many times. I wish I could tell you something that would make things easier but, the truth is, you just have to have faith it'll happen. Who knows? You may be one of the lucky ones where everything happens like it's supposed to.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 20:10:45 -0000

I'm with you. I've worked with many a seller who has everything packed up and moved out only to find out at the last minute there will be a delay. Sometimes it's only a day or two. Other times, it's a week or more.

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can really do about it except hope for the best. There are lenders that can get things done and close on the scheduled day. Most of the time it's a real crap shoot.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 19:19:17 -0000

Hopefully, an underwriter will answer your questions. Most of the time all I hear from a loan officer is "there's plenty of time" yet they still keep asking for more and more documents.

"This is the last condition, I swear." Two days later they call and say something to the effect of "The underwriter noticed such and such and needs another document."

I'm kinda in the same position. I have a closing date on the 16th and they keep telling me everything will be fine. Then they ask for something else.

Re: Smooth As A Baby’s Bottom

Ken Montville — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 20:27:01 -0000

Thanks for the kinds words, Dave.

You're right. There are a ton of moving parts in a real estate transaction and anything can go wrong at any given part in the process.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:35:03 -0000

I have never read a comment yet from an underwriter who doesn't claim to work long hours into the night and weekends trying to help people get a piece of the American Dream by buying a house.

Puh-leeze.

Underwriters don't get paid enough. If they do work OT it's because they either need the money or they work for companies that intimidate their workers into doing things they shouldn't (like work late into the night and on weekends).

Sure. It's a good thing to try and find fraud and to make sure tax returns match up with the IRS and people make as much money as they say they make. I'm all for it.

However, high credit score, high income, high asset people still get put through the wringer, it seems, "just because".

Besides, how hard would it be to do a little of this legwork early in the process instead of two days before settlement when everyone is ready to move.

It seems to me that underwriters get a file and see a settlement date about 30 to 45 days out and immediately put it into the "later" pile only to start working it a week before settlement. It's then the underwriters start asking for this, that and the other document and proof all kinds of ridiculous stuff.

If you're gonna "find fraud" or other do-gooder deed, it can be done just as easily within two weeks of getting the file. But nobody does that. They would rather everybody have the moving truck loaded up and ready to go before they kill the deal.

"Collateral Underwriting" also allows the underwriter to challenge the appraisal. It doesn't matter if the underwriter is in California or North Carolina with a property in Maryland. They can say, "Nah. Don't like the value. I'm changing it."

Speaking of glorified salespeople....I can guarantee you there is no glory in either originating loans (which keep underwriters employed) or being a Realtor. We're the ones that get the calls, texts and e-mails every three hours when a loan doesn't close on time. We get the screaming clients. We get the people crying because they have already moved out of their apartment or other house expecting to move into their new house. We're the ones that people want to reimburse them for additional expenses caused by sloppy underwriting. I wish we were glorified.

The fact is that there are some lenders out there that, for some magical reason, can get a loan done on time or even a couple of days early complete with an approved HUD-1 and instructions and funds to the title company. If some mortgage companies can do that, most should be able to.

Thankfully, new rules are being put into place with steep penalties so lenders (and that means underwriters) will need to get their stuff done in a time frame that respects the buyer, the seller, the title company and the glorified sales people.

Re: How Mortgage Underwriting Can Screw Up Your Life

Ken Montville — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:15:31 -0000

As long as you pay your mortgage each month on time, I wouldn't worry about having to move. If you've been to settlement and signed all your mortgage documents including the Deed of Trust and Note, you're good unless you default.

Despite all the other stuff Jody says, the underwriters real job is to make sure whoever you are getting your loan through can sell it off 10 seconds after you settle. If the underwriter misses something or if the guidelines aren't followed to the lender the "investor" can reject the loan and whoever loaned you the money is now on the hook for it unless they can find an investor that will take it off their hands.

Most small lenders that works with builders like Lennar don't like holding onto loans. That doesn't mean they can kick you out.