So, after a derailing that nearly knocked our home purchase plans off the tracks all together, we finally closed on our dream house in the country this afternoon.
I had a loan approval from a small local bank at terms that I was not happy with back in late March/early April (when the going rate was in the low 3's). I went shopping for a better mortgage and trusted a lender/broker who was clearly NOT worthy of trust. I should have known when the rate and terms were sooooo much better...... I should have known when he asked me to back-date forms because he didn't get them to us in the required timeline...... I should have known when the first bait/switch was discovered and suddenly the terms were changed..... I should have known when we had to change the contract the first time because of the lenders bait/switch tactics (could no longer get the 5% seller credit for closing costs I had negotiated in the original contract due to a 3% limit)...... I should have known when we had to change the contract the second time (delay close - and he still had not submitted my loan to underwriting because of the second bait/switch tactic)....... but finally - thanks to my realtor talking some sense into me - I went back to the original lender and they were willing to take on the challenge of getting it done IN A HURRY to meet our second close date and honor our contract with the seller.
Folks - I changed lenders slightly over a week before close and they got it done! We bought a new house today!!! So after nearly having a stroke from blood pressure out of control for weeks...... my humble advice to you: if it sounds too good to be true = IT IS, if the lender/broker asks you to back date any documents because he didn't get them done in time = RUN, HE WON'T GET YOUR LOAN DONE ON TIME EITHER, if your gut tells you something isn't right = IT'S NOT RIGHT - FIND ANOTHER LENDER. Lesson learned - a bird in the hand is worth MORE THAN two in the bush!
