Surprise, Surprise…Your Closing Date Is Moved, Again!

Sometimes loans don’t close when they are supposed to close. During this recent refinance boom, it’s not uncommon for a lender to be unable to give you a firm closing date. What exactly can cause your loan closing to be delayed?

It seems like the whole world is refinancing their mortgages right now. Well, not the whole world. I imagine other countries aren’t experiencing the same low rate phenomenon that we are right now. However, I can assure you the mortgage industry here at home is experiencing record numbers in volume due to the current market. It’s a great opportunity for a lot of people to save big bucks, and for long term. However, since everyone and their cousin is trying to refinance right now, it’s creating some logistical difficulties.

Think about it. It’s not just the lenders who are overwhelmed with business right now. So are all the vendors they do business with to get the loan closed. That means appraisals are taking longer to get done, and title companies are scrambling to coordinate title searches and loan closings. Even more obscure vendors, like credit reporting agencies, are behind. Say you want to update a customer’s credit report to remove some erroneous information. Guess what? It’s taking longer than ever to get it done.

Because of this huge glut, lock periods for loan rates are typically longer than usual. A lock period is the timeframe in which you must close your loan to secure that fabulous interest rate that got you to commit in the first place. Lenders are having to set realistic expectations for their customers. How can you possibly close a loan in five days if you don’t have the appraisal back? You see, some things are out of your lender’s control. Realtors are very aware of the limitations that lenders are facing these days. They are ensuring that they too set realistic deadlines when negotiating purchase contracts for buyers.

There are so many moving pieces to a puzzle of a loan closing. Everything has to be coordinated to make it go smoothly. That means that you as a customer have certain responsibilities and obligations, as well. For instance, get the requested documents to your lender as soon as possible. If you dilly dally, you may run into problems. You see, your lender has a whole pipeline of loans, as do all the other mortgage lenders that work for that particular company. All of these loans have to be reviewed by an underwriter. So, basically, your loan has to take a number. And if you’re not prompt, your loan may go to the back of a very, very, very long line. Most people want their loans to close at the end of the month or in the first few days of the month, so you can imagine the huge glut and back up that occurs. Thus, be prompt and responsive to your lender’s requests to allow everyone time to do their job.

The moral of the story is to listen to your lender and keep an open line of dialogue going. Keep him/her aware of changing situations. Email is great tool for use in accomplishing this purpose. It takes only a minute or two and can save everyone lots of heartache in the long run. And if your loan closing date gets moved, take heart. It will close, eventually.

Let My Experience Work For You!
Email your home loan financing questions to Kristin Abouelata, Home Loan Specialist with Mortgage Investors Group, at question@kristinmortgage.com or call direct: (865) 567-0113 Toll Free: 1-800-489-8910. For more information visit her website at www.kristinmortgage.com Home Loans Plain Talk.