I debated whether or not to post this blog entry. After speaking with other agent colleauges and title companies with similar experiences, I realized that my venting might save someone else the headaches and everyone can take this post as they wish. We all know that every transaction these days has more risk than before when it comes to the financing being approved. However, when a lender screws up a slam dunk deal over and over again, there is room for alarm. After multiple delays and mistakes on behalf of M&T staff, the home purchase is on the brink of collapse. A typical home purchase transaction, even today, takes approx. 30-40 days. This underwriting nightmare is on day 60 and no end in sight. I guess they are too busy living large on all the money they received from the taxpayers to do their jobs and do it properly. So, if your mortgage broker says that he/she is going to use M&T to finance your client's home purchase-RUN-because it's as safe as Osama Bin Laden babysitting your kids!
Demetri, I am writing in defence of M&T Bank in Bellevue, Washington as one of our VERY best Mortgage Bankers. You know Warren Buffet owns them right? He's no slouch! Perhaps you know that the succes or failure of your sale transaction depends on so many factors that to blame the lender for that failure would be extremely unfair. There are no 'typical home purchases'. Every property, every contract, every person in the transaction can throw a wrench in the works at the precisely wrong moment. As the Realtor you are not privvy to the privacy particulars of much of this. I doubt very seriously that M&T Bank has received Bailout funds but you can go the the Federal Reserve site and find out just which banks have: Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, add Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, i.e., all the really big boys who contributed LARGE to certain politcal campaigns are getting the big cuts. Even if M&T Bank did receive bailout funds that would not I repeat not be handed out to the underwriting staff to party on. My contacts at M&T are honest hardworking people who deserve our respect.
While I appreciate that you may be very frustrated by something taking so long, why now try to work things out and help rather than whine? Yes you can!
Susan,
The loan officer and I have helped numerous times. Sixty days in underwriting, however, is uncalled for. Every other lender I have dealt with reviewed the file, delivered any stipulations, we resolved them, and the file cleared to close. This idiot was out sick for a week and instead of someone taking over the file it sat there. The underwriter doesn't even return calls. The stipulations have come out one at a time over the last 60 days as if she never sat down to review the whole file at once. This is unprofessional. I have closed deals in 18 days with financing in this market so I make sure things get done and my clients are taken care of. After all, that is where MY fiduciary duty is, not to M&T. Finally, just because Warren Buffett owns shares in the company doesn't mean that they have great customer service. They might be great at pinching pennies and crunching numbers but you still have to deliver customer service to be successful longterm.
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