So you want to buy a house in the beautiful Denver area, but you’re nervous because you’ve heard horror stories about what can go wrong. I’m here to tell you, while there truly is a lot that can go wrong, these problems can almost always be addressed and solved.
As long as home owners want to sell a house, and home buyers want to buy a house (and not TOO MUCH changes in the political realm), things can be worked out.
There’s a lot of annoying things that can happen in the loan process. It’s important to remember that your lender wants you to get a loan, and in fact will not get paid if you aren’t successful. In other words – don’t forget that you’re on the same side!
First, your lender will give you a list of things to do and not to do in the interim before closing, such as, “Don’t buy a car, don’t change jobs”. They may also get very nosey about things like, “Where did this big cash deposit come from?” and ask you to prove your answer. And if your credit score needs a bump up, the lender may say pay off some debts, or contact the credit reporting bureaus to get some things cleaned up.
It’s totally annoying to do what you’re told, but please – in the interest of getting into that new home - Do as they ask. Don’t get creative, don’t get advice from a TV personality or your best friend’s cousin. Some of these tasks will be real, time-consuming work. But they won’t assign anything that’s impossible, just keep pushing and you’ll get through it.
If you chose a good lender, and did all they asked, they most likely will have all they need a few days before closing on your new home. You can relax and start packing. If you chose a not-so-good lender, they will still be working on your package the day you’re supposed to close, and there’s not many things more annoying than that.
Sometimes, even a good lender has trouble getting a difficult loan finalized. But a good lender would have explained what might go wrong and how they’ll try to fix it. And even though not getting the loan would be much worse than annoying, at least you should end up knowing the lender did all they possibly could.
And the best lenders would stick with you, and help you change the situation, so you can get the loan next time.
If you need to find a lender, I can give you names and numbers of a couple of good ones. I don’t receive any kind of financial payback for dong so, just the satisfaction of knowing they’ll do the best job for you.
Here’s some blog posts written by actual lenders, that will help you understand more about getting a loan to buy a house.
What's the Safer Loan?
What is Mortgage APR, Can You Explain It?
Rates, apr, points, fees, gfe's - How the Playing Field is Still Crooked
Why Loan Officers Kill Deals, Cost You Time and Money, and Anger Customers
Read the other posts by clicking on their names, below.
1. Getting your loan
2. Finding the house
3. Offer, Counteroffer Click here to read Part 1. Click here to read Part 2.
4. Inspection & Negotiation
5. Appraisal
6. Closing
7. Moving
8. The Special Fun of ‘Distressed Sales’
9. REALTOR Speak
Copyright © 2011 Joetta Fort
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I am a residential real estate agent, happily helping folks buy a house or sell a house in the beautiful and friendly suburbs northwest of Denver. Learn how to buy a house in Colorado.
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Find all the homes available in Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, North Denver, Thornton, Lafayette, Louisville, Wheat Ridge and Golden.
I write posts on real estate issues and local events in the Denver metro area, especially those communities between Denver and Boulder, as a public service. My hope is to give people an idea of the ‘flavor’ of our community, in case they’re new or moving to the Denver area.
Joetta Fort, Realtor 720-353-8031
Joetta,
There's a reason for each of the items, and it's best to follow them. The car example is a good one. Just wait another week!
Brian