I did it again last night: I wrote a loan application to save a purchase where the Buyers had gone to two other mortgage companies. Those companies couldn’t find a way to approve their loan request.
The mortgage biz ain’t rocket science. Why is it so difficult for mortgage people to get their act together?
I met a couple last night who are purchasing their first home. They have good credit, they work hard and they are receiving a gift of $40,000 from her Mom to buy the home. Her aunt attended our meeting too because she is cosigning on the loan with them.
When this situation was first presented to me by the Realtor the day before, I kept thinking there must be something I’m missing or something really bad about this loan application that the other companies can’t get it done.
I knew the fundamentals for mortgage prequalification were in place. I had spoken briefly to one of the clients on the phone; the rest of the information had been provided by the Realtor. I saw a potential “save” of this loan application using an FHA Insured mortgage. FHA is known as “the story loan” and, if you know your guidelines, you can help a lot of folks achieve their dreams of homeownership.
I came to our meeting at the real estate office warily and with an exit strategy so I wouldn’t look too foolish. I had told the Realtor the night before that all looked good and that I could find a loan approval. Now my reputation was on the line, and I hadn’t even met the clients yet.
I continued my wary thoughts last night. I grilled the clients with lots of extra underwriting-type questions just to get to the root of the problem. After two hours of this and a call to my Ops Manager (the smartest man I’ve ever worked with in the mortgage biz), I had the clients sign the loan applications and we were on our way to obtaining a loan approval and a closing.
The issue at hand was the husband’s employment history. At first blush it seemed awfully spotty. But, when the time was taken to sit there with a blank sheet of paper and note the dates and the continuity of same, well, then the puzzle was solved. The rest of the qualifications were fairly straightforward.
I’m still scratching my head wondering why the other mortgage “professionals” couldn’t get this done. But, then, a lot of the people remaining in the biz grew up during the fantasy boom when all you had to do was take someone’s pulse to approve a mortgage loan. A loan officer didn’t have to actually “think.”
I must confess, too, that as I wrapped up the paperwork, photocopied the ID’s and asked the clients for referrals, I had a nagging suspicion that I was missing something. In the end, I realized my experience of having sat through thousands of interviews like this had served me well. The “detective work” was rigorous, leading me to solve the problem; the rest was automatic.
I guess experience really does count for something. That and a thorough knowledge of FHA underwriting guidelines got me through to a successful conclusion.