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Avoiding TRID delays in your home loan closing

New government mandated lending rules, commonly known in the industry as TRID, have been reeking havoc across many home loan closings since they started in Oct 2015. The new rules essentially deal with mortgage lenders requirements to be accurate in their numbers and to provide accurate and timely disclosure to the client priot to the loan closing.

So how do homebuyers avoid last minute closing delays

TRID delays may be very real but, the bulk of the issues can be avoided by simply choosing the right Loan Officer.  If your you’re Loan Officer is accurate with the documents from the start, you can avoid many of the delay issues,” says Joe Metzler, a Senior Loan officer with Cambria Mortgage in St Paul, MN.

A large percentage of Bank and Credit Union Loan Officers are not personally licensed, and should be considered more of a glorified application clerk versus a professional Loan Officer. This is because the rules do not require Loan officers at banks, credit unions, or mortgage companies affiliated with banks or credit unions to be licensed.

On the other hand, Loan Officers who work for non-bank mortgage companies, and for mortgage brokers are required to be personally licensed.  On average, the difference between a licensed and unlicensed Loan Officer can be dramatic.

Home Mortgage Loans in WI, MN, SDWhen working with a clerk, odds are the initial application will have disclosure errors that follow the file all the way to closing, ultimately resulting in a delayed closing.

Add  that to the TILA-RESPA disclosure rule change to be one of the biggest changes the industry has faced in years, and many companies are slow to be prepared to deal with the changes. This is especially true the larger the lender is. Software companies, lenders, mortgage industry vendors, and everybody else working on a deal are trying to figure out just what the CFPB now requires, which results in the delays.

Data from Ellie Mae, who provides mortgage loan software to a large portion of the mortgage industry has indicated the average time to close a home loan is clearly longer today than prior to the new rules, averaging 50 days to close a home loan.  This is an average of 10-days longer than it took one year ago.

Other data also shows the average home loan closing costs have gone up too, as lenders have had to hire more support personal to deal with the new rules.

Danger of automated mortgage pre-approval sites

It’s 2015.  I understand the daily advancements on computers, technology, and convenience. Popping up all over are sites that that claim the ability to “allows home shoppers to get pre-approved quickly and easily.” Instant pre-approval sounds cool.

But when it comes to home buying, potential home owners should be extremely wary of trusting any web site offering automated mortgage pre-approval tools.

The Traditional Mortgage Loan Process

The traditional process is you complete a loan application. ffA real live person reviews the information, talks to you about your situation, uses knowledge and expertise to explore all avenues and issues.  Then your file is run through one of the major AUS (automated underwriting system) of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, etc.

This AUS process only takes a few minutes, and the lender is provided with an answer to your loan application.  So if the computer says YES, you are good right?  NO, not even close.  This is just the first step.

The first major issue is simple. Garbage in equals garbage out.

Next, just because the AUS indicates ACCEPT (yes), there are still pages of information and requested items that need to be received and reviewed for accuracy. Common items are W2’s, pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns. Depending on your situation, you may need further items, like bankruptcy papers, divorce decrees, and more.

But it is the little nuances that even trip up less experienced Loan Officers, who unknowingly issue worthless pre-approval letters.

I was recently contacted by a client who had one of these instant pre-approval letters.  They had bought a home, and there application was now being fully underwritten by the lender. Just days before closing, underwriting was denying the file. The buyers big question, is “How can that be?  I was Pre-Approved?”

The issue in this case, was the income number the buyer input into the system was 100% correct. But the buyer was a 1099 contractor, not aW2 employee, who had only been with this company about 6 months. In the mortgage world, short-term contractor income is not allowed as qualifying income.

Did you know this? This is just one example. Could you be running around with an invalid pre-approval letter based off of income not allowed? You you make an offer, give notice on your apartment, and then possibly be homeless?

Your largest financial transaction of your life is too important to trust to just anyone, let alone a computer, without wisdom and input from a licensed, experienced, and professional Loan Officer.

Zillows New Pre-Approval Tool

Zillow recently announced a semi automated tool where potential home buyers enter very basic information. If they like the results, you continue by entering your name, email, and phone number. Your information is then sent immediately to the lenders in Zillows Mortgage Marketplace, who will get your information, pull your credit, and send you a pre-approval letter.

I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do is have my information shared with 5, 10, 20 lenders, who all pull my credit, and have my personal information. I don’t want that floating around with a bunch of unknown people.  I also don’t want to be contacted by a bunch of meal time calling aggressive lenders who just paid money for my “hot lead.” And I haven’t even started about potential identity theft.

The Best Move When Getting Mortgage Pre-Approved?

When buying a home, your best move is to always work with a local lender the traditional way. The guy located in your geographic area, with a local reputation to protect. There is nothing anyone on the internet on the other side of the country can offer that you can’t get down the street.  More often than not, it is just the opposite… Especially when it comes to down payment assistance programs for first time buyers. These programs are always only available from the local lender.

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 Joe Metzler is a Senior Mortgage Loan Officer for Minneapolis Minnesota based Cambria Mortgage. He was named the 2014 Minnesota Loan Officer of the Year by the MN Mortgage Association, and was ranked #98 of the Top 100 Loan Officers in the Nation in 2015 by Origination News. He provides Home Mortgage Loans in MN, WI, IA, ND, SD. He can be reached at (651) 552-3681

As rates rise, should Real Estate agents worry?

Minneapolis, MN:  Yesterday the Federal Reserve “clarified” to everyone when it will likely end its economic stimulus program.  This ended weeks of speculation that has caused mortgage rates to surge to the highest levels since 2011, and up over 1/2% in physical rate in the past two months.

house_new_constructionBased on the news, it appears mortgage rates have a new bottom, which is about where they are at today. There is plenty of room for rates to move higher.  Express this to your clients, and get the fence sitters moving.

Loan Officers and Real Estate Agents have great fear for future purchase activity.  Is it founded?  “There should be some concern, but overall, I only expect a minor slowdown in purchase activity. People always buy homes, regardless of rate.” said Eric Metzler, a Senior Loan Officer with Cambria Mortgage in St Paul, MN.

Will home sales fall as rates rise?  Sure… But most people will still buy, just maybe a little less home. As for the future?? If you are a full time experienced agent with a good past client based, I wouldn’t worry about it.

Desperate Loan Officers

Today, a huge number of Loan Officers have been living largely on refinance activity.  This business will drop dramatically as rates creep up.  Many of these Loan Officers have little, if any, purchase business experience.  We would expect to start seeing layoff’s from many of the larger banks, and online refinance powerhouses.  We should also start seeing Loan Officers back again hitting the streets, trying to drum up Realtor referral business.

My world of advice is to pass on refinance specialists trying to turn into purchase loan hopefuls.  While basic loan requirements are similar, purchase loans have a whole new world of requirements for these Loan officers, and you don’t want them experimenting on you and your clients. Stick with licensed, and experience purchase loan specialists like myself.

 

Federal Reserve Bank Conspiracy Explained

The Federal Reserve has been busted in a major scandal.

St Paul, MN: On April 1, 2011 – sweeping new mortgage broker and mortgage lender changes go into effect which will stifle competition, reduce loan options, extend the housing market recover time, and increase interest rates and closing costs to home owners everywhere.

The rules made no sense to anyone, yet the Federal Reserve marches on with a cocky attitude, completely unwilling to listen to trade groups and those in the mortgage business explaining how damaging these new rules will be.

NOW WE KNOW WHY! People who previously did studies which produced positive outlooks towards brokers and small lenders NOW WORK FOR THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD and magically have a different attitude AND have have their voices silenced – WOW!

Another great video from Frank and Brian over at www.tbwsdailyshow.com

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