Real Estate with Dallice : Me, You and the lender relationship
If you need a loan to buy the real estate you just put under contract, your lender relationship is crucial. I like to think of us as a 3-legged stool; You, me and lender. We each bear weight and responsibility and without any one of us, the stool won’t hold up. When I say “your lender relationship” here is what I mean: You chose him/her, but the burden on creating and maintaining a great relationship falls on the shoulders of both you and I.
My lender relationship
In order to get from application to full funded loan, there are many steps to be taken along the way. For my part, communication back and forth, is key. I pass along copies of the Contract to Buy and the Counter Proposal if there is one. Then any Amendments to the Contract, as we proceed. It’s important that they have up-date-info about price and concessions. Also such things as Post Closing Occupancy Agreements and work on the property that may be completed post Closing. I need to be updated by him/her too.
I like to know when the appraisal has been ordered and received and if the lender is running into any issues. It’s nice to pass along little tidbits of info to the Listing Agent too. It makes them and their Seller feel more secure. Tidbits like “the loan has been submitted to Processing” or “we anticipate having full loan approval in 48 hours” are good. The Seller wants to know when the appraisal has been received, approved and if it “came in at value”. They are not entitled to know the exact value the appraisal gave the property, but the are entitled to know if appraisal is lower than Contract price. A low appraisal could hinder the ability of the Buyer to get the loan or give cause for the Buyer to terminate.
Your lender relationship
You, as the Buyer, have even more homework. Your lender can only function well if you gather the info they need. The info will go from loan originator, to processing and then underwriting. It starts with an initial application plus supporting documentation and credit check. Supporting documents might include tax returns for 2 years, pay stubs, info about other income, assets and debts. During this time or during the pre-qualification period, the Lender may have given you advice about how to maximize your credit score or debt to income ratio. It’s vital that you don’t get complacent. Try to keep working on improving your situation all the way to closing. Your lender will pull credit again in the week leading up to closing and it needs to be as good as it was at loan application or better.
Working with the title company
Another important member of our team is the title company. While the lender is hard at work, so is our title team. They are pulling public information about the property to insure a clean title can be passed along to the Buyer at Closing. Using the Contract and Amendments, they will draw up documents for closing:
- Settlement Statements
- Bill of Sale
- Deed
- HOA transfer
They will work closely with the lender to gather the real estate and loan figures together. Then they will have them approved by the lender one last time before closing. Our Closer will also be presenting and notarizing the lenders closing packet – for the new mortgage.
In the event the Buyer or Seller needs to Close away from the local area, they can help arrange a “mail out” closing. If there is the need for one party to give Power of Attorney to another person for Closing, they can help with that too! We love our local title experts… They keep us organized, safe and legal.
Post Closing they will do things like:
- Pay the final water bill
- Pay off the existing mortage (Seller’s)
- Submit HOA transfer docs to the HOA
- Record the Deed and the Deed of Trust
- Issue the title insurance policy!
Summary
In a nutshell, you have a pretty big team on your side. Everyone is invested in getting to Closing without drama. We are all here to help and are experts in our fields.
It takes a village!
Next time let’s take a look at another VERY important person on your team. I’m going to surprise you with who that is, but explain why. 🙂