How Many Credit Inquiries Does a Northern Virginia Buyer Have to Put Up With While Competing for Bank Owned Properties?
One of the most annoying things about taking a buyer to a bank owned home is having to have them prequalify with the owning bank's lender. Very frustrating indeed when you've had a buyer write many offers on foreclosures.
The Northern Virginia real estate marketplace in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties is full of bank owned homes (more commonly known as foreclosures.) And often times, the listings for these bank owned homes states that if your buyer is submitting an offer, they must qualify with a specific loan officer of a specific mortgage company before the offer will be considered.
In a climate where Northern Virginia buyers are competing, often times ten to fifteen buyers per property, just how credit inquiries does a buyer have to go through before getting under contract? Honestly, this is getting ridiculous. I've had buyers, writing strong offers, that have had five credit checks in the month of January alone. Two with
lenders they were comparing BEFORE house hunting and three during the house hunt and offer process. It's only January 16th!!
To boot, these lenders specified in these bank owned listings are completely overwhelmed, and in a lot of cases, not as responsive as they need to be. The decision to write an offer is not made before seeing the property. And once my buyer decides it's time to write an offer, the next stop is my office to put the offer together. This takes about an hour. I'm scrambling to get the buyer's offer in promptly. The lenders, well, they get to it as they can.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!
This morning I am waiting on a letter from a specified lender on a bank owned listing to qualify a buyer with a 800+ credit score who has a much larger than average investment portfolio than most first time buyers. This buyer could probably do 50% of the sales price as a down payment. And why exactly does a non-credit risk like my buyer have to jump through hoops with John Doe of Big Bank Mortgage for the bank to see him as qualified? Can't the listing agent call the lender on the approval letter that my client has chosen and do her own investigative work? You know, the stuff we listing agents are SUPPOSED TO DO?
Nearly twenty-four hours since my client called the specified lender and the listing agent is withholding his offer from the bank's asset manager because we don't have the Big Bank letter. I can assure you, it's not from lack of trying.
Chris Ann Cleland, Realtor- Licensed in Virginia, GRI, SFR, Northern Virginia Short Sale Specialist. Affiliated with Long & Foster, 7526 Limestone Drive, Gainesville, VA 20155. To contact Chris Ann, call 703-402-0037 or email chrisann@LNF.com.
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