IF YOU WERE MY LO, YOU WOULD ...

[foofighter74]

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@shawneet wrote:

The last time I heard from the LO was on 3/25.  We talked briefly on the phone and she told me that everything was going well and no to worry about that 10% because what we needed to concentrate on was getting the letter over to the builder because of the 45 day deadline.  (We signed the contract on 3/17).  On 4/8, the contract administrator from the builder emailed all parties involved (including the LO) the latest pricing addendum which included all of our options and upgrades, which also updated the bottom line on our purchase price.  I called the LO on Monday, 4/15 just to touch base and no response yet.  I'm getting a little ticked but a lot worried ... trying to not let my mind go crazy with speculations, but really, what's going on?

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I would definitely call again. It has been nearly a month since you heard from the LO. That's far too long. 

I harass our LO every few days. lol.  I'm exaggerating, but the fact is, this is your loan, your future, and you have a right to regular updates...even if the only update is "there is no update. They are working on your file."

[shawneet]

The lender is SunTrust.  And Yes, it is one of the builder's "preferred lenders" ... using one of their preferred lenders will allow them to pay 6K in our closing costs.  I was thnking the same thing, Foofighter74, that perhaps she has already given the builder a commitment.  (I thought about that when I saw the SOLD sign on our lot the other day, which hadn't been there since we signed the contract).  But shouldn't we also be getting a copy of the commitment letter as well as the builder.  It has been for this reason, and only this reason, that I haven't wanted to "hound" the LO because I'm thinking that maybe she's already handled the commitment letter to the builder, but I think that we are entitled to know that.  This LO is not a "newbie".  She has been in the business for some time now and she was very down to earth, professional, and seemingly very straightforward when my husband and I have dealt with/spoken with her.  But all this not knowing stuff is driving me bananas.  When we did the app, we gave her copies of W2's, bank statements, pay stubs, etc.  So, she did have documentation of ours to get the ball rolling.  Of course, we know that those things will have to be updated later on but you would think that we would be more in the "know" about what's going on.  I'm tempted to even call the builder and speak with our New Home Consultant that we've been working with to see if maybe she has some info ... but if she doesn't, I don't want my inquiry to send up any "red flags" either.  Oh, I'm just so over all of this right about now!! (but I'm so appreciative and grateful for all of your helpful information.  I really do need your insight and reassurance right now!)

[foofighter74]

Well, if Suntrust is a preferred lender, not necessarily an inhouse lender, but someone that's done a lot of deals with the builder...then they may have an internal process that is familiar...and ultimately, yes, you should get a copy of any commitment letter.  Someone may have forgotten to include you.  Who knows.

I can tell you that in my situation, the day we signed our contract with our builder...our sales rep gave us the "SOLD" sticker because she said people like to put the sticker on the lot sign themselves...

We were essentially denied a loan by their inhouse lender, but a local mortgage banking company that i was familiar with and comfortable going to approved us easily.  We got a conditional approval letter in the mail, and even though, at the time, we just thought it was a pre-qualification thing (we hadn't actually applied for the loan yet - that was one of the conditions, we had to wait until my wife's 2 year bankruptcy discharge date to apply), it was actually the commitment the builder needed to begin construction a couple months after that. But nobody told us, for two entire months, that we were fine and they would start building once late March arrived...

The day after the builder excavated and began construction, a letter arrived from them congratulating us on our mortgage "approval." Which was news to us, but did finally allow us to figure out that our pre-approval letter was a conditional approval, and that all we needed to do was have the information we gave them verified, and get my wife's credit scores up before closing.

[shawneet]

I really am praying that that is the case with us.  Because it seems like from the start after doing our application, that she sounded like we were pretty well set.  Just having the condition of getting that mtg late to be a year old (July) and I will be two years on my present job in July.  Other than that, our situation seemed to be A-OK.  So, perhaps she has already communicated this information to the builder/seller that we were pre-approved.  When I last spoke with the new home consultant after selecting all of our upgrades, etc. and the last addendum was sent to us, she asked us when were we planning to move because there were just a few houses on course for construction before ours.  Although our tentative construction completion is Aug - October, I told her that we're looking more towards mid Sept, October for move in.  She says that's good because it usually takes about 120 days to complete construction once the builder gets the permits, plans, etc.  That would be great for us because that would set us up somewhere in that Sept/October time frame.  I still think that I'm going to give the LO a call just to touch base with her. 

[foofighter74]

Oh, i would absolutely call.  It's been nearly a month, you deserve to know what is going on.  My guess is that if there was a huge issue preventing you from being pre-approved, you would have heard about it by now. you never know, but i'm guessing someone just forgot to pass along some information to you.

[violetsmom]

I haven't read through all the replies, but we are closing on our new construction home in 10 days and went through the builder's preferred lender.  I am fairly certain that their rules state that they HAVE to get an automated approval to move forward.  We ran into some hiccups early on and I had the same question, can't we just send the file to a real underwriter and she said that at this point in the process it has to get through the Fannie/Freddie DU system before anyone will look at it.  Maybe that was her way to get you automated approval for now?

[shawneet]

Violetsmom, I'm sure hoping that what she's doing is her way to get us approved.  That's the bottom line.  I just want an approval and my home built!  Of course, being told what's happening from points A to B would be nice as well.  How long did you have to wait to get the actual "commitment" from the lender (to the builder) so building could proceed? Did you have a 45 day clause in your contract? That's the only thing I'm sweating right now ... meeting that 45 day deadline and meeting it with an "approved" commitment!

[ABuckNow]

I don't get it, what's the big deal in calling them again?

Your LO works for YOU.  Don't put him/her on some sort of pedestal of reverence - there's a lot of bad ones out there that just know how to type in an SSN to pull a fico and push paperwork on to an UW.  LO's are a dime a dozen - if yours isn't responsive, fire them and hire a new one.

I don't mean to sound flippant, but my wife and I have been in a similar situation...got fed up and hit the web and phones and got a new LO - and his cell number.

Call or fire!

[violetsmom]

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@shawneet wrote:

Violetsmom, I'm sure hoping that what she's doing is her way to get us approved.  That's the bottom line.  I just want an approval and my home built!  Of course, being told what's happening from points A to B would be nice as well.  How long did you have to wait to get the actual "commitment" from the lender (to the builder) so building could proceed? Did you have a 45 day clause in your contract? That's the only thing I'm sweating right now ... meeting that 45 day deadline and meeting it with an "approved" commitment!

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You sound so much just like I did while going through all this.  Everyone seems to take their sweet time but I want to know what is going on and what I can possibly do to avoid any problems.  We signed contract on 11/3 with a 30 day financing contingency, we were told the norm is 15 days but our LO wanted to wait for new statements to post.  When we had a surprise late show up on day 30 they gave us another 10 days.  Long story very short, we got automated approval on 12/21 which is all the builder required to break ground and move on with the contract.  We had a solid approval (not with a letter or anything, just an email from LO saying "loan approved and through underwriting" the day after Christmas maybe?  They started on our home on 12/28 and I didn't get any kind of communication as far as conditions go until late January maybe.  I went through several months where I would email my LO a question every few weeks and never hear a peep from her.  It drove me absolutely crazy.  I kind of gave up and decided if there was a problem they would know, and they would let me know.  I have spent lots of time reading stuff on here and other websites to know what I could possibly be up against. 

Sure enough, as soon as they started needing stuff from me they were all over it.  I had all my documentation ready to go and super organized.  All they needed was statements showing earnest cleared, proof of funds to close, and lots and lots of paper trail stuff.  It was actually pretty easy.  It is not easy to do, but my best advice is to try to relax and listen to your LO.  They will tell you if you need to be worried.

Also, I am fairly positive I never got a "real" commitment letter.  I got a somewhat unofficial looking document saying we were approved pending the following conditions are met, maybe that was it?

[shawneet]

Wow! I thank you so, so much Violetsmom! You've put me at ease. Thank you (and everyone else, as well) for taking the time to share your experiences and let me know that everything should be fine. i guess no news is good news and I should just sit still and wait to be "called on." I just got back in from "stalking" my lot and new neighborhood! LOL I dont even have a house in progress yet and I'm there nearly every other day. Can you imagine when my house gets started? I wont be able to sleep a wink! But for the time being, I'm just going to find me a crossword puzzle to do or play some Candy Crush Saga to try and keep my mind occupied. I cant let this process drive me bananas!