In getting into the mood for Halloween, recently an agent in our office had a ghoulish experience with an out-of-area lender who represented buyers with whom she was working in a transaction. The home was new construction, meaning that the buyers were waiting as the builder completed the home. As the house was being built, lending became more and more difficult as banks tightened up their requirements. Sound familiar?!
At the 11th hour before closing, the bank in Portland that was providing the financing ordered a "field review" to verify that the appraisal was accurate. That is an independent appraiser to review the home and the sales in the area of the home. The Field Reviewer drove over to Bend from Portland, did a drive-by appraisal (never entered the home) and came back with a value of $16,000 less than the original appraiser, who has an excellent reputation in Bend and is familiar with the Bend market. And the Field Reviewer did not prioritize the several other closings in the same subdivision that had recently occurred.
After a rebuttal from the builder and the original appraiser, the Portland bank would not budge on their willingness to loan the amount necessary for closing, thereby nearly killing the deal. Fortunately, the mortgage broker was able to present the transaction to a large bank with which she deals regularly and got the loan closed in less than two weeks -- which is unheard of these days! Whew! Getting loans closed on time is getting to be more and more of a challenge due to last-minute requirements by underwriters. It reminds me of Columbo as he leaves a room turning around to ask the suspects, "Oh, I just thought of one more thing."
Several years ago I personally had a challenge with an out-of-area mortgage broker who the buyers wanted to work with. The buyers had driven in town with two small children, Grandma and the family dog only to find out that the broker was not licensed in the state of Oregon! A local Countrywide broker scrambled to put the loan together, which meant two weeks crammed in a hotel with a baby, Grandma and a dog, and we finally closed. And that was several years ago. Today the loan would take much longer. Better hope it's a very comfortable hotel!
So when buying real estate in Central Oregon, use a local mortgage broker. Please contact me and I am happy to refer you to mortgage brokers and banks who do a great job of putting together and keeping together local transactions.