Yay! You have a contract on your house! You are moving!
Slow down, not so fast- there are some "what if's" that can happen. It is this apparent down time that confuses both buyers and sellers- and they all come back to the Realtor, who is like a quarterback. Or if you like business analogies more than sports ones, the project manager.
What is going on? Why is there 4 weeks before closing? Why do we need to extend the contract? This came up on a recent (ongoing) transaction of mine, in which I represent the seller. Below is what I explained to her:
The steps the lender takes, once they have the signed sales agreement:
1. processing- gathering all of the bits and pieces- jobs, bank statements, rental history, credit, appraisal. Ordering titlework.
2. Underwriting- reviewing all of those bits and pieces, and finding something wrong and making people explain all of it, for the 3rd time.
3. USDA- reviewing everything, and making sure the processing and underwriting didn't miss something. It seems like they always catch something- or backed up themselves, due to the shear number of applications they receive.
4. Back to bank for closing dept- putting it all together, and drawing up the 250 pages for buyers to sign. Closing department then sends all those pages, plus 250 more instruction pages to title company, to draw up the final HUD- which title company submits back to closing department, who will ask for revisions- but will eventually say ok, now we can close
5. title company- gathers signatures, pays of mortgage of sellers, gathers all money from buyer and from buyer's bank.
This is my take, and I obviously don't live/work in a market that has attorney's involved in every transaction.
As the Listing Realtor, it is my role to ask as many questions as possible, until someone stops taking my calls, if necessary- then informing the seller what is going on. Sometimes I can't do anything about the process but wait- but when I can, I swoop in with information, documentation(if needed) and alternate solutions. Hero for the moment! Often shortlived, but I'll take what I can get.
The best part is once we have final approval on the HUD- closing!
Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb but how well you bounce. ~Vivian Komori
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