Consider a local bank on your next home purchase. You'll be glad.
Mike Cooper brings up several stories of big banks causing great stress to buyers and real estate agents alike because there were last minute turn-downs for things that should have been caught at the beginning of the process. It is SO important that lenders review all documentation early in the home buying process to ensure smooth sailing through closing. If you are working with a lender who gave you a prequal without reviewing your documentation thorougly, you may be in for a surprise! This doesn't happen all the time, there are some great folks that work for big banks, but sadly we seem to be hearing these stories more and more.
I am proud to say that in over 10 years in the business, I have only had one buyer who wasn't able to close on their home as expected, and it was because they lost their job 1 day prior to closing through no fault of their own.
One of the reasons my buyers go to closing on time and with the right loan is that all documentation is reviewed (even tax returns!) on most buyers prior to the green light on a home search. I never want a buyer to fall in love with a home they can't afford! If I have a question about a borrower's documentation meeting guidelines and regulations, I will review it with underwriting PRIOR to prequalifying that borrower. I also never want my borrower's (and realtor partners!) to experience the stress of a last minute turn down!
Corridor Mortgage Group even has a Power Approval that allows our borrower's to get a FULL Mortgage commitment PRIOR to finding a home and getting an appraisal. It's a great way to alleviate the stress of the unknown, especially when you have a buyer without excellent credit, w2 income and verifiable assets that needs some outside of the box and inside of the guideline thinking! It also allows buyers to negotiate with the power of a cash buyer...great leverage and peace of mind for all involved in the transaction!
If you are in Winchester, Virginia...call Mike Cooper to help you find a home and trust his recommendation for a lender, he won't steer you wrong! If you are in Maryland, call me, I would love to help you (or your client) become a POWER buyer! With all processing and underwriting based right here in Maryland, you will know you are in the right place!
Home-buyers, consider giving small local banks a try before going to the national brands when buying a home. Why? There are a lot of reasons, but better customer service, quick access to the same people you worked with when you took out your loan and competitive rates and fees are a few. One additional reason is that local banks rarely have the challenges you face with a large national banks. Let me give you a list of experiences I've had over the past year to explain.
Bank short sales are the bane of the real estate business. I've done a lot of them, and I've dealt
with a lot of different banks, but the two banks that have given my clients (who were their customers) the highest levels of stress have been J. P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America. Both banks have dragged my clients through more mud than a Spartan Race. They have abused them during a terribly difficult time at such high levels that some have required medication to deal with the stress. That's just not right.
Over the past year, I have had two insane experiences with two other large banks. In one case, I had a morning closing, and I also had an afternoon closing scheduled with clients who had a Wells Fargo loan commitment. During the morning closing I received an email from Wells Fargo stating that they had rescinded my client's loan approval on the day of closing. Why?
They rescinded his loan approval because the investor / owner ratio exceeded their criteria for his condo purchase. The odd thing about that situation was that they had that information for a month prior to closing, but on the day of closing while my client was traveling up the east coast to close on his property, they pulled the rug out from under him. Fortunately, I had a good friend, Mark Lynch with Prime Lending, who was able to get things back on course and saved the day.
This week, I had a Friday closing scheduled for a property that has been under contract for 45 days. In this case, BB&T was the lender. On Wednesday, BB&T rescinded my client's loan approval, 2 days before closing, because they didn't like the way she is paid. Her commission income, which they knew about from day one, violated their guidelines. Two days before closing! Again, I turned to my friend, Mark Lynch, who once again saved the day.
What do all of these stories have in common? They are large banks that have thousands of customers and very little customer service or concern about damaging a few customers here and there. They don't need you, so they don't treat you with the same level of dignity and respect that a small local bank would. When you get ready to make your next mortgage application, call your local bank and see how they compare to the "to big to fail" behemoths who could not care less about you.
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Give me a call, or email me for all your real estate needs, and let's make something amazinghappen.
mikecooperva@gmail.com, 888-722-6029
Cell: 540-336-5522
Real Estate Sales and Property Management
(Disclaimer: All grammatical mistakes, punctuation breakdowns and misspellings are purely for your amusement and entertainment. Feel free to cackle.)
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