Reserved Parking For "The Lovely Wife"...TLW...ROAR!

Hubba! Bubba! Wink. Wink. SVW (smiling very wide)

Instead of commenting I am going to send you over to:

                            The Active Rain I Don't Give A Crap Meter. 

Wink. Wink...And Laugh On Line...

Well Broker Bryant, this is one of those instances where I would use a rebate. I would call up the buyers agent and make an agreement if he rebated $1,000 that I would rebate $1,000 as well. You could even asked the seller to give $500 more the Buyer to give $500 more then you and the other agent only a total of $1,000. But bottom line if everyone is willing there is a way.

Now keep in mind I'm not talking under the table deals.

By the way, what did you do?

Here's a solution, whether it sounds ethical or not -

Let the deal die that day - then write up a new deal for closing the next day - double end the transaction and split the difference ($2000) between the buyer and the seller.

How's that one?  Controversial oh yes.  Ethical?  Debatable. 

The seller, you said has already kicked in 6%. The buyer apparently came out of an apartment and has no equity and normally these buyeers have nothing after they have closed on a property, so this leaves them out.

The buyer's agent is, I assume, looking to the seller's funds as his source of commission. From the sounds of this transaction the property may not be producing a pile of cash for commission, but apparently everyone will get paid when it closes. So one looks at the marginal income being provided, and the agents (maybe only the agents without participation from the brokers) cough up the cash to close and move on to the next closing tomorrow. The agents can make a car payment from the proceeds, or dig into their own funds to make the car payment.

The question, to be paid or not to be paid. To each his own.

Bummer.  I'm a softie, I'd probably kick in someway or another.  Check the sofa for change, cash in a few coffee freebies, something.  Oftentimes it comes back to you better than expected.

First if I were you I would have taken TLW's gun and BAM shot the loan officer and Buyer's broker for not communicating. I am not sure what the license law is in your state but if I had to chip in I would try and get the buyers agent and myself to chip in if possible. Then it would be NEXT....

I think I'd try to get on the phone with the loan officer first to see if the extra $2000 could be reworked into their loan.  It may push off closing for a day, but at least it would close.  And if it worked, their payment would be only a few dollars more a month, and you'd look great.

Jay you hit on something there. Since the Title company and loan officer were not communicating with the sellers agent. They both could cough up some of their fees as well to make this deal work.

1. Buyers agent would not answer her phone.

2. Ditto for the loan officer.

3. It's late Friday afternoon.

4. We have mortgage docs already.

5. Sellers had already presigned via Fed-ex.

I promise to come back later and post my solution.

BB: Soooo, just who is the ethically or at the least, communicationally-challenged one in this transaction? Buyer's agent? Loan officer? Seems to me, based on the evidence as presented there is a potential for some kind of legal recourse here.

Jay

Well if the buyers agent is not answering calls regarding this and is not properly representing their client..then the buyers agent has cut themselves out of the deal and agents commission could go towards the deal.

Comon Bryant you have us all wondering?

BB... I love this post! I can't wait to read and learn!

Danny, not yet. Remember in Florida we are Transaction Brokers. No agency relationship unless we choose to work that way. In this case there was no agency.

My first thought would have been to write a $2000 check myself (but that's illegal - at least here in TN).  I'm curious to know what you did. 

The question I have is how did it happen? Is it a case of mortgage fees that are not spelled out up front? 

Hmmm I would of tried to split 5 ways...lender, buyer agent,buyer, seller and listing agent...assuming that everyone has a vested interest in closing. Failing that I would of said "next"...sounds like a unqualified buyer to begin with. I've once had a title company take  a little less to close a loan...so maybe a 6 way split.

Ok...one more time. This is like a puzzle!

I see two parties at fault. The buyers agent and the loan officer. The Seller had already signed the docs via mail or fed-ex. The buyer, the listing agent and the Title company all were there at closing and had somewhat shown good faith to one another through the deal. The lender was on board as docs had passed to the title company. So what happened is that the buyer went ahead and signed the docs and the closing was funded by the lender and the loan officer was left out in the cold!

This is like who killed Mr. mustard in the library with the candlestick holder! 

That's a big "no brainer".  I'd have paid it.

I'll give it a shot :)   First, call my broker to make sure what i'm gonna do is cool.  I'd leave the buyer's agent a message (while recording it and open the message by letting them know i am recording)..  call me or i'm filing a complaint against you and your broker with the State of Florida.  Then I call the broker, and do the same. I'd let them know that they have to perform to get paid. no perform, no cash to close and they knew about it 2 days prior. dont pull that last minute see what happens. so they didn't peform.  redo the docs,

Worst case, no answer from either party, i'm not sure i would close. rewrite the contract, like Christina said. redo the docs. and let them sue me for the commision later. its not going to close as its written now, because they need the 2K. so it can die.. they didn't do anything about it.. didn't notify.. buh-bye now.

take me to arbritration.. i'd leave the money aside jsut in case :)

know i'm curious.. let me know.

Bryant....  this is a tough one because everyone talks about splitting fees here and there.

First off, on the mortgage side, the money can only come from the buyers, in some cases a gift (depending on the program), and the seller contribution aka sell help/concessions.  If the seller was giving the full 6% and the buyers needed $2,000, the only thing that could take place would be the loan officer reducing their fees and or the buyer coming up with more money.

Now...with that said, the seller could walk away with less... and the realtors could kick in some of their commissions. But it could not take the place of what the buyers would need at settlement, at least legally. There are some programs that allow for VOD's, verification of deposits. And they don't care about seasoning. Which means the borrower could pull money out of their mattress and stick it into their account, prove it, and then pull it for closing. This can be done, because of the type of program. Other than that, I would love to hear what actually took place. 

One thing I don't know is what kind of program that this was. From reading this post, it sounds like a 100% financing deal?  There are a few called 103% and 107% financing which still allow 3% from the seller also.

So...inquiring minds would like to know.  ;o)    PS.... as the loan officer, I would have given up enough to get the deal done, just enough to make something.

Bryant...I'm not a Realtor (as you know) but I just can't resist putting in my 2 cents worth from an outsider's perspective. If this were not a real estate transaction and I was in your spot I would consider the following. Assuming that I had enough commission to maintain a positive cash flow after doing what I'm about to suggest and assuming that I assessed the buyers' character and liked what I saw, I would loan the buyers the money, sign a 2 year, low interest note (the minimum allowed by law) and get the deal done. Your sellers would love you (it's about relationships); the buyers would love you (it's about relationships); it doesn't sound like the lender or the buyer's agent are the kind of people you would want to value for future business purposes, you close the deal and demonstrate your abilities as someone who conducts business at an incredibly higher level than the other amateurs around you. In my experience, the universe rewards that kind of behavior.

Well,

in Illinois I am a designated agent. So, let's look at how I would represent the seller. They NEED this to close. I've worked hard for them and have confidence in me. That being the case, I'd have the $2000 taken from my commission and credited to the buyer. We now can close. I'd explain what I did to my sellers. And, I'd also point out to the buyers that this is the only way it's going to close.

I'd hold back the buyer's agent's commission. In fact, I'd might reduce his commission by the $2000. At least, this way he gets a commission.

But, what if I were the buyer's agent? Many years ago I had such a closing. They buyers were moving from a TH to a single family and at the closing they were short money. Well, I was both their listing agent and their  buying agent. So, we wrote a fast agreement stating that my commission would be reduced by the amount and the buyer/seller would pay me on installment every month until the amount was paid off. Of course, the fact that they moved a few houses away from me helped. But, I felt that I could trust them. They were fine...and I ended up making them happy and just spread my commission over 2 years. 

not enough info.

if the loan amount was big enough, the lender should have been able to raise the rate and use his rebate to buy out fees.

I don't have the slightest clue but I'm jumping on board to see what Byant did.

I agree with Tom Burris. 

Eileen....  yes, you could do that if you wanted to, but how would you get it to the buyers legally? Remember, it still has to follow certain guidelines and such.  Just my .02......  not trying to take away from this post, but also giving true lending facts.

Realistically the buyer has no money so he won't pay...It is not the seller's problem. so he should be out of the loop.. I would explain to him that I would do what ever it took to make sure the deal closed.. and I would let him know that first I would try to get the buyers agent and the loan officer to split the costs( they screwed it up).. If that didn't work I would go for a three way split and if no one else would step up to the plate I would take care of the matter. The Seller  is my client and he would be whole at the end of the day..

K

Hey it looks like game on!! I will post the outcome here tomorrow. I want to give everyone time to play.

For the mortgage guys. The purchase price was $250,000. 80/20 financing. $15,000 seller contribution. RE Com is 6% 50/50 split.

EEeeeerrrrrrr

Danny hang in there man:) Here go read this

BB,

Bryant..."Been there done that".  I don't think the selling agent deserves a commission and his commission should go towards the buyers costs.  If the buyers agent was responsible and willing to help the buyers and the situation I would simply have asked him to take the $2,000 off the top of the 6% and what is left over would go to you and him.  This is taking the high road instead of pointing fingers and judging one another.

If the closing could have been delayed some would there have been a possibility of the property appraising for slighty more to cover the buyes costs?  Buyers could have been allowed to have possession and rent for a couple of weeks.

Bryant.... wow.... $15,000 in seller help. I hate to say this, but there should have been no reason then...that the clients were still $2,000 short. I am sorry, something doesn't sound right on the mortgage side. Yes, the buyers have to pay state stamp taxes, 2 types.

2. Wind and homeowners insurance....

3. title insurance ^ closing fee

4. taxes

5. survey.

6. at least a commitment fee

7. points, but as someone stated, they can reduce this and raise the rate

8. appraisal

9. credit report

Sorry again, but there isn't $15,000 in total costs on a #250,000 deal unless the loan officer was trying to make more money in the deal. Just my opinion, but this should be interesting.

Overall... this deal should have never died, if there was truth to the fact that the buyers were $2,000 short. Sounds like someone was either trying to stronghold a client or there was something else that would keep the deal from closing. 

I'd take the easy way out.

I'd grab my cell phone, dial (407) 873-2747, and ask Broker Bryant what to do.

After all, he has delt with this situation before.

-Chris

From the mortgage side of things....    The LO should have known way in advance of closing (as in, the day the loan gets submitted to the lender and gets the rate locked) potentially what money the buyers are going to have to bring. That should have been communicated to you very early on in the transaction. If it looked like the buyers were going to need to bring $2,000 and you were told about that early on then things would have never gotten this hairy to start with.

Personally, I kind of blame the LO for what seems like non communication. The $15,000 in sellers concessions should have more than covered closing costs (at least in Ohio they would)....sounds like this LO was out for all he could get or didn't know how to figure the numbers from the git go.

You say that you found this out one hour before the closing was supposed to happen...  well, where I am, the LO has to approve the HUD before the closing ever gets scheduled..   If I were to get a HUD that showed the buyers bringing any cash to the table I am on the phone to the buyers and to buyers and sellers REALTORS so that everyone is on the same page at closing. Nothing I hate more than a deal that goes sour at the closing table....

Please let us know how you solved this dilemma..   I'm very curious 

Kevin 

nice game. I liky!  I'm with Jay here, grab TLW's gun and BAM!  I also like Bill Leider's idea....very nice....you appear as the nice guy for all parties and gained a customer from the buyer's side (are you sure you're not a real estate agent?).

My first gut reaction would be to ask all parties to chip in (except the sellers, they chipped in enough).  I would look into that HUD and dissect all the fees from it...including all those bogus document preparation fees, courier fees, toilet paper fees.   But my true reaction would be to play hardball - the buyer would be in default of the contract if they don't close and could loose his deposit, which would be cash for my seller.  Tell them to work it out or I walk with the deposit.  How much was the deposit?

In my former life I worked as a paralegal/closing agent for a busy lawfirm in Orlando.  Too many times buyers had this situation and more often than not it was in junk fees the mortgage broker charged. I always found it helpful and often times very interesting to compare the good faith estimate with the final HUD and determine the difference.  Many times if questioned by the buyer or the buyer's agent, they can be adjusted to save a deal.  It's disturbing however that the buyer's agent AND the mortgage broker didn't bother to be there for their client but I am sure expected to get paid.  Who's interest were they looking out for??????

I believe that a good real estate business is built on referrals and referrals come from great service.   I am guessing after this the buyer won't be referring their agent to anyone!  Of course if you saved the deal and found a way to happen then I'm sure you'll be the first one on their mind when talking real estate. 

In other posts it's suggested that you give up a portion of your comission to make the deal happen and I hope you didn't end up having to do that....

I don't really know what  you could do.  Obviously, you seem to be the only one besides the buyers and sellers who seemed to care about this situation.  I think that all other parties could have done a better job of keeping you up to date so you could help in the solution while there was still time.

Sticky, Sticky I feel for you and if I was the buyer sleeping in a U-Haul for two days I wonder if I would consider a discount broker for the next deal? 

Something is not right with this deal, but I think that the brokers on both sides would reduce commissions, if not then the agents should, if that is not an option then grab your socks because you will be in for a ride.

I don't understand why the loan broker didn't just call the appraiser and put some ungodly pressure on them to bump the numbers - that is what usually happens.  I have a funny feeling the 2000 is in the loan end but who knows could be a ton of things

Cant wait to see what happens will be interesting!

Broker Bryant, You have me intrigued.  It is far too late for me to be doing any intelligent problem solving...So, I'll pop in after you've revealed the solution to the riddle!  Great post.

Lets see, the lender, the escrow company and the title company all would have been hit up for fee reductions.  If they didn't kick in, well you know...no ticky-no tacky.    The difference would have been split between the agents in the deal.  Nobody would have argued with me either!  I don't take any crap!

BB,

I saw this post yesterday but did not have time to chime in. As a lender/mortgage broker and at the end of the day the solution for the most part was in the buyers lenders/mortgage brokers hands. The closing costs were not the $15000 (6% of sales price) they were $17000 including the $2000 needed  by the buyer at the closing table. I don't know just how tough this deal was from the lending side.......but bottom line.....$17000 on a $250,000 deal is on the high side......considerably.......I have to believe the lender/mortgage broker was excessively greedy in this case. I really suspicion that the buyers agent was going around and around with the mortgage broker. Nothing can excuse the lack of communication!

I would even suspicion that the mortgage broker was making a healthy yield spread on top of the points being charged. As a loan officer/mortgage broker I pride myself in being accurate with my initial GFE estimate and am critical of myself if I'm off by a couple of hundred dollars when it's time to head to the closing table.  The loan officer/mortgage broker was incompetent if they didn't know that the buyer needed an additional $2000 early on in the process. Bottom line the best and easiest solution to facilitate the closing and avoiding all the hassle and legal issues was for the lender/mortgage broker to discount/waive their fees by the $2000. It is my opinion that they would still walk away with their "fair share."

I would have appealed to the lender/mortgage broker to do this and get closed immediately in the best interest of all parties. If I met with resistance from the originating loan officer I would then run the problem up the lenders corporate flagpole as far as I could possibly go. Diplomatically, if possible, if not with the implication that complaint and resolution would be sought with Department of Financial Institutions, BBB and what ever agency or watchdog agency that I could come up with.....no lender or mortgage broker  wants to have to deal with this!

The root problem lied with the lender/mortgage broker thru either incompetence, or failed re-disclosure or inadequate communication, greed or all of the above. The solution was their's from the getgo! I would love to see their documentation trail on this file, initial GFE, re-disclosed GFE and final GFE and supporting TIL's. There may be even more of a story there! This situation is somewhat similar to a recent post of mine: Realtors Client Won't Smell My Roses!

Interesting perspectives to the solutions. Obviously the last statement about pressuring the appraiser is likely to set me off, but besides that isn't even possible. Good luck once the appraisal has been emailed and (reviewed by the underwriter) to get those numbers changed. the new (higher) appraisal will not get flagged? hellloooooooo?
not a likely solution because the appraiser wont do it, the loan package would have to be reviewed again and they are the maximun 6%.   this is the crap that really set me OFF!!!  call the apprasier!? B.S.

The deposit can be salvaged if the sellers agree..so the buyers don't immediately lose their deposit. if all parties agree, which I think BB could convince them on anything, then it the contract can be redone.

I dont believe that you could lower the buyer's side commision just cause he is a jerk and without written approval. the jerk isn't answering the phone...   The LO should be eating part of this $2,000.

SO BB, what's the answer?? aw shucks, i shuold just search for your prior post ;)  ok, i'm calm now. >twitch, twitch<

Is it tomorrow yet?  I hate shows that are continued... LOL

Ok BB, it's tomorrow and were all waiting!

What's the story Dude?

I would find a way to pay it... be the hero - these buyers will become your clients - the sellers will refer their friends to you and you walk away with more than the cash.

In Oregon this would have to be done with a fee agreement through the sellers - and if all the seller's docs are signed you would have to get additional docs revised docs signed did you have time? 

Or some lost auntie could give the buyers the money - an envelope of cash found on the closing table?

OK here goes. It got quite long so click here

Call #1 - Buyer's Agent's BROKER... get them on the phone

Call #2 - Three way in Loan Officer's Manager...

Tell them what the deal is... get them to pull the trigger on a broker rebate of $1000 from the LO and the Buyer's Agent will match it with $1000

And when they ask why you're not chipping in?

1) YOU'RE AT THE CLOSING GETTING THE DEAL DONE

2) YOU ALREADY PUT 6% IN FOR YOUR SELLERS

3) YOUR SELLERS ARE TELLING EVERYONE TO CLOSE OR LEAVE AND SO NOW YOU ARE PROTECTING THEIR COMMISSIONS

Get the HUD... see the compensations and fax everyone on the call a copy... show them where the $2000 can come from.

 Also... title costs roughly 20 cents on the PROMULGATED dollar - get title to pitch in as well...

Promulgated Rates can easily be discouned 20-30% to make a deal go

oh yeah... that's why I attend my closings

Ron Withers...

Charging Points?  That's assuming a lot. And you know that GFEs are hard to predict which is why they are ESTIMATES. 

We Mortgage Broker's can't all control title - but in the interest of the parties involved it would help because then we can get better data for our GFEs.

I had a similar scenario - I was NOT charging points!!!!  Title came in HIGH and they conveniently did not send me a HUD prior to closing to REJECT. 

Healthy YSP and Points?? that's not something we can know unless we see the HUD ourselves. 

The root of the problem is the blame game.. .if the HUD came out and every party got a copy - the Buyer's Agent and Loan officer could have made the appropriate changes to the HUD to get the deal done.  There should not have been two days of Arguing...

People forget 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing!

Ron... you are a Mortgage Broker and you just blasted our whole industry with your comment when YOU DON'T KNOW THE FACTS ON THE HUD.

It is our job as Mortgage Brokers to coordinate and control these numbers... but don't forget that we're not the only people getting paid here.  We're getting paid on the loan amount and usually less than the 3% that the buyer's agent is getting

Bryant specifically noted that the three parties had been arguing for days.  I would guess that someone in that group was trying to coordinate this... sure, the agent could have been yelling at the LO and blasting his/her fees... or the LO could have had it down to the bone and blasting the agent for presuming that there was anything left to give... or there could have been more than Bryant said past that...

It is just a stupid blame game scenario to create and exacerbate when there's no HUD for a good mortgage broker to analyze and see where the numbers could have changed.

6% seller concession is the limit - so it HAD to come from the buyer's side!

Ron- that kind of comment is what gives us a bad rep and even further hurts our reputations - whether we're good at our roles or not

Ok....on to the other site to check it out!

Depending on my relationship with the parties involved i would probably contribute from my commission or loan someone the money.   Thats just my way and i believe what goes around comes around.

Desiree www.TriCountyHomes4Sale.com

Hey David... I haven't read BB's link yet. But you are jumping all over Ron, when I think you are failing to see the point. 

Yes, I hate to assume.... but $250,000 and $15,000 to $17,000 in costs?   What, title was $5,000?  Even if so, $10,000 is still plenty. Title insurance wouldn't be more than a total of $2,000 anyhow.

You said... And you know that GFEs are hard to predict which is why they are ESTIMATES.  Yes, estimates, but I agree with Ron again. I am very, very good at what I do. If I am going to be off, it will be by a few 100's and usually just because of title. I know my fees very well, hence the reason why I am usually less than $50 off. If I am doing a loan out of state and not familiar with their fees, I am calling the title company. Also... when you get the title insurance, 99% of the time, it's followed by their bill/invoice.

Overall.. I am not trying to talk down to you David, but I guess some of us look at the initial good faith estimate as a critical piece of our business. And that several of us pride ourselves in being accurate and not using the name good faith estimate as just that, an estimate that doesn't have to be accurate.

Last... you say that Ron has bashed most of the people in the mortgage business. I actually think that is a good statement. I am not even a realtor and I can't tell you how many stories that I have heard from previous clients that their previous loan officer was way off at times....  in my gestimation...(yes, I know it's not a real word)  this is called bait and switch then... and I know many lenders and loan officers that practice this. Not saying all... not saying 50%... but A LOT. You talk about our reputations that have been hurt and that his statement hurts it even more?   I don't think so... do a poll and ask the average consumer. Our industry has already been tarnished and in all honesty, I am really ashamed of it and many of the people that are allowed to still operate as a loan officer. Just my opinion.....  but 14 years of experience and seeing this every year.... the people that can't come close on a good faith and don't do their job. Simple math.....  $15,000????  Even with Florida's state stamp taxes to be paid by the buyer...still plenty of money to even throw a few points in this. My gestimation...  I would have bet that there was at least 2 pts in this deal, upfront.

getting back to what should have been done on this... yes, getting a hold of the mortgage company and go right up the chain of command per se... and use terms such as lawyer, suing, and BBB... etc etc This will work with most lenders, no matter shady or not.  Now off to read the link.

Jeff and Ron,

First of all Ron - didn't mean to tear you apart there...

Jeff... I agree - we get paid to get GFEs right.

What I don't agree with about title is that we know right away the fees.  I wish it were so but the truth is that when we don't control title, we don't know our fees.  Here in Palm Beach County - the seller controls title and sometimes it is very hard to get figures done...especially before that first quote.  So we go on industry standard/promulgated... then we redisclose if they are materially different.

I wish it could be 100% accurate all the time but maybe you all just have more responsive title people.

Ron... the way I read your post spoke to me in a very negative way about US.  Something I heard in your tone ("""""") was what I've heard SO MANY TIMES from Realtors about how we jack up rates and charge points etc... I've actually got a partner that I work with that has some insiders at retail lenders - he gets their internal rate sheets and they START at rates which would pay us 2 points YSP...

Needless to say... I can't defend the LO if there were that many problems... but I can't in good conscience read your comment and believe that there aren't other people - especially ones that don't have the experience of working with one of us - that read that post and believed that the one person truly at fault was the LO.

So...sorry I was so harsh... I did not mean to be so rough.... but I will hold firm on the fact that there were sellers who were all in... Bryant did the noble thing in the end... and then there was Title, Buyer's Agent and LO... instead of Bryant eating 1800... the Buyer's Agent and LO should have eaten that.  Bryant did a great job as it was and should have gotten a bonus.... the LO and Buyer's Agent should have been dealt with harshly.

Jeff... 6% could also be ALT-A... GP will do it on some programs... BoA will do it on some programs... it could be one of the neighborhood advantage type programs - community heroes etc...

I would have tried to get the buyer agent's broker on the phone.  If possible I would have tried to get them to split the $2000 three ways with me and the loan officer.

One thing about this scenario is that I do not know what the buyers were promised or whether or not it was the buyer, the LO or the REALTOR(R) that started the confrontation the 3 of them were having. I do know I could not reach the LO or the agent and neither bothered to show up at closing or return my calls. It is possible that the buyer knew all along they needed money to close and were playing dumb or chose not to pay attention. Don't know.  From my position it didn't matter. I just needed to get the deal closed for my sellers and was under a serious time restraint. I did not have time to take other actions. Once it was closed the issue that started it all made no difference to me anymore. It was closed and I moved on to the next deal.

Bryant.... very true in your statement. Something I learned a long time ago....  lets take care of the problem at hand and worry about what took place later. In either case, you handled this quickly, efficiently, and with class.

Overall....  David...  it doesn't matter on the program, but with that purchase price, there is no need for $15,000 to $17,000 in total costs. But Bryant makes a great point, who knows if the buyers actually knew. But my money would be on the loan officer not coming through, since this person didn't show and or couldn't be reached.

David...in regards to the title fees. In any case, you still shouldn't be more than a few $100 off, no matter if they get back to you or not. Maybe this would be helpful, if I don't have title costs 2 weeks before settlement, I call the title company. If you are finding resistance?  Keep calling and asking for people and or help until someone does talk to you. There will always be at least once person in any company that will pick up the phone to help.  Just from my experience of doing loans in over 15 states myself. 

David P.

Firstly, I apologize for the delay in responding to your comment as I have been slammed trying to stay up with my business and dealing with personal family medical circumstances.

It was not my intent in any way shape or form to slam the mortgage industry as a whole with my comments. I have been in this profession for 30 + years and that is the last thing that I would ever do. I did write my comment very hastily as I was trying to get out the door to visit my wife in the hospital.

Regardless of the industry there are those bad apples that cause the rest of us to cringe at times. And I truly believe that the client had a bad apple in the loan officer and most likely the Realtor in this circumstance as calls were not returned and the Realtor did not even attend their buyers closing.

Now here are some of my considerations that went into my comments.

• I live and work in Broker Bryant's market and have done many loans in this community.
• I'll will give you 10 to 1 odds that I new the title/closing agent and that they are my preferred closing/title agent as well, so I could pin down the title and closing fees very easily.
• I routinely produce an intitial GFE that will be within a couple hundred dollars of the final, I am fanatic about this!
• Of all the information available the best guess portion of my GFE was the escrows/prepaids for hazard insurance.
• I did my own GFE and determined that I could probably do this loan for $5000 less in total settlement costs and still make a respectable fee. Bottom line is that a broker that is not open-minded enough to consider a fee reduction to get the deal to the closing table (part of something is a lot better than all of nothing) let alone return phone calls gave me the indication that most likely the loan officer was , most likely,  a bad apple.

There is some more that I could address here but I believe that it is best to leave it here.

By the way, thanks for your well wishes and words of encouragement for my wife on a separate post. I appreciated it.  She was awe-stricken with the post and members comments.