I had my first closing with THE MARGARET ROME yesterday! Margaret Rome + Mortgage Mama = Active Rain Success.
I purchased Margaret's book when it first came out, hot off the presses, after reading her blogs here on AR. Margaret and I first met in person at her Active Rain open house which Dr. Stacey Baugh had encouraged me to attend. Margaret is as sharp, kind and encouraging in person as she is to read. I also was lucky enough to attend the dinner Margaret hosted, meeting lots more Rainers. You can read all about it at Margaret Rome Lied!
Stacey Baugh and I had met through Active Rain and she was kind enough to write a blog about our working together. Margaret saw it and commented (of course) and then contacted me to not only congratulate me in person (yep, she called me!) but to see if we could also work together when she had buyer clients. I certainly wasn't going to turn her away!
The funny thing about this particular house that we closed on yesterday is that I had gone to see the property when I was thinking about having my aunt move in with me. Although it wasn't right for my family, the folks that purchased this home have found the perfect property for them. The house was built and maintained with love. I know the Grewe Family will be very happy there!
Margaret worked very hard to help the wonderful folks selling this very unique property, dealing with the emotions having to sell the home they built and loved. Since the property is a unique one (two homes on one lot) it wasn't selling. When the home had to be sold as a short sale, Margaret wasn't fazed. She contacted the bank, after a not so great experience with the first rep, found Milton Clay and Richard Carlson at HSBC who were AMAZING. They were responsive, approving the short sale within days, NOT Months, approving updates needed, even getting an approval for the bank to reduce their cash required at settlement by paying for a termite treatment that was needed. Mr. Clay even contacted me the day of settlement to make sure that I had the updated HUD approval and thank ME for helping them! The bank rep on a short sale CALLED ME!! Don't be discouraged if your buyers are interested in a short sale with HSBC. They truly have their act together and were a pleasure to work with!
Margaret found buyers whom this home was perfect for. Margaret referred them to me to pre-qualify. They were in a unique situation, making me do some extra leg work to find them the right loan (one of the most fun parts of my job!). The buyers were helpful in getting the documentation required, and with the lack of technology (fax, scanners, printer broken) allowed me to meet with them several times in various places (once even at 10:30 at night after signing docs with first time buyer with lots of questions!) to get additional docs or signatures. The sellers had the documents they needed and were very responsive to the title company when things popped up. The underwriting team used common sense underwriting and got this loan to the table on time (te docs were even at the title company the day before settlement, with funds available at settlement!
Genuine Title did a great job with their part. Cheryl and Jodi cleared conditions on title and helped us to get documentation that was out of their "typical", and made for a smooth transaction. Ralph does a great job explaining the documents so the buyers and sellers actually understand what they are signing! He keeps everyone at ease with his professionalism and great attitude.
Lansdowne Inn provided a great place for Margaret and I to decompress and chat after the settlement. I truly enjoy her company and learn something new each time we meet.
Well, that's the story of my FIRST LOAN CLOSING WITH THE MARGARET ROME. Looking forward to many more!
Thanks to Active Rain for putting us together, for Stacey Ann Baugh who encourages me to blog and get out and meet Rainers whenever possible (and has become a great friend) and thanks to everyone involved for making this a great settlement.
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