Charlotte Home Buyer Advice - Avoiding Heartbreak with The Right Vendors Who Understand Time Management
I have proclaimed many times that in order to keep your lending qualifications/licensure (including underwriters and processors), you should be required to buy/sell your home at least every 2 years. That would insure the realization that there are critical deadlines that every single buyer and seller lay on the line when all parties to a transaction are trusted to get a job done on time.
The absolute worst is when a seller is also Closing on the same day on their purchase. I've had transactions 4-deep (seller-buyer-seller-buyer...) that are all Closing same-day. If just ONE of the lending parties drops the ball, there are 8 families involved, movers involved and the agents who have to pick up the pieces and watch frustrated, heartbroken buyers and sellers frantically re-scheduling their lives. It's a true nightmare so, I've learned to stay on top of them--especially the couple of weeks prior to Closing. Sometimes it requires the skills of a magician to get the job done!
However, sometimes there is absolutely nothing that we, as real estate agents, can do about the delays--especially as listing agents. We have no control over the buyer's lender with the exception of the ability to put pressure on them to get their jobs DONE! We recently had a Closing for one of our sellers that had a 2-WEEK delay in Closing, toppling other Closings and causing unnecessary delays across several transactions.
In fact, the Title work was not even ordered until 4 days AFTER the scheduled Closing date! Despite following up to ascertain that this had been ordered EARLIER in the process, it had, indeed, not been ordered upon receipt of the ratified Contract. The underwriter's excuse? "We've recently experienced a flu epidemic in our office and just could not get these files done!" Really? And, WHY wouldn't you communicate that the week or two prior to Closing so that all parties could make the necessary arrangements? This 2-week delay caused an incredible amount of additional work on ALL agents, the attornies, the paralegals and, sadly, all buyers and sellers that this Closing hinged upon. As though we don't have ENOUGH to do!
I recently had a conversation with an agent who I am working a cross-sale, explaining that our lender has been with me for quite some time--and expressed that if a lender is late just ONE time to Close, they're off my list! He exclaimed, "Darn, you're tougher than me! I cut them some slack the first time!" For me, it's all about time management and if you're a lender, you'd BEST have excellent time management skills--there are a LOT of lives on the line here!
Our Closing attorneys are to held to the same standards. Federal guidelines require that buyers have the opportunity to review the HUD-1's 48 hours prior to Closing. Why, when the package arrives a week prior to Closing, are we not seeing the statement until we get to the Closing table? That is just not acceptable! We all block our schedules for a 1-1.5 hours for each Closing. When we arrive at the attorney's office and discover errors on the Closing Statement and have to go back to the lender for another approval, it delays EVERYONE! Not only the agents and the next Closings in line but, the clients have typically scheduled to meet movers or have to return to work--they are also delayed. Again, time management skills are most definitely needed to EFFICIENTLY do your job!
Despite the fact that we provide our buyers a list of WELL-qualified and highly competitive lenders and attorneys, buyers sometimes still take the referral of friends and co-workers; I understand that, I really do. HOWEVER, I have only had a couple of transactions in which these referrals proved to complete a timely, successful Closing. When Closings do not occur ON TIME, buyers and sellers alike are left, literally HOMELESS, and the agents are the ones left to pick up the pieces through this miserable turn of events. Oftentimes, these things are beyond our control but, at least I know that we have forewarned my buyers NOT to stray from our list! We successfully Closed at least one transaction each week last year--we KNOW our business! We KNOW who our buyers can trust to get the job done. Buyers, PLEASE take the recommendation of your real estate agents! We are in the 'trenches' day in and day out and have nothing at all to gain from sending you to qualified lenders and attorneys, other than keeping you from experiencing heartbreak and frustration!
I can tell you that my list of vendors is PHENOMENAL! The lenders get RIGHT to work on the package as soon as the ratified Contract is in-hand--if not before! In fact, my lenders PRE-APPROVE our buyers rather than simply pre-qualifying them. Then, when the Contract arrives, they're ordering Title work, appraisals and moving the file to underwriting--DAY 1 (NOT Day-28 of a 30-day transaction)! The packages always arrive at the attorney's office EARLY and our recommended attorneys get the HUD-1 out EARLY as well. Really, it IS knowing how to manage your time and files properly.
As a lender or a real estate attorney/paralegal, wouldn't you rather get it done before the phone starts ringing repeatedly with everyone associated with the transaction on the other end of the line asking why you're late? I'd MUCH rather get a 'THANKS for getting this done so efficiently!' than having to spend valuable time answering questions from angry parties to a transaction.
If you're thinking of buying a home in Charlotte, let us help guide you through the process. We'll provide you a list of lenders and attorneys that GET the job done!
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