My $1 Million Mortgage Journey . . . Here We Go!

[youdontkillmoney]

5/10/16: I asked my Wells lender besides maintaining my file, and continuing to save cash for down payment/closing costs/reserves purposes, is there anything I can do now to plan and get it out of the way such as more paperwork or record collection?

His response was quick as usual via email:

I can’t think of anything to do outside of what you mentioned.  I think that’s a great idea to talk to your union rep to see if it makes sense or not.  If it’s only the $500 gift card you will get from us, then I would think it’s probably not worth paying the $1,700 annual member dues for that.

I will keep you posted on the preapproval process… it does take a little bit of time for underwriters to review, but in the meantime you are already approved and have the green light to buy.

Let me know if you have any questions.

This weekend (Saturday) our real estate broker will take us to look at some homes we selected. They are in West Hills, further out than Sherman Oaks/Encino but we wanted to see what we can get for $1M or less out there, then in the future we will see some in Sherman Oaks/Encino if something catches our interest.

[Anonymous]

Excellent.. It is moving along nicely and I am following.. Keep updating!

[RonM21]

Doing well. Following also just to learn some of the process

[youdontkillmoney]

5/11/16: My Wells lender transferred my financial documents to a Wells processor to review before being sent over to underwriting so a "commitment letter" can be issued; the processor called my wife to verify her identifty since she has an extended fraud alert on her Equifax file. My Wells lender said this about his processor when I asked who left a message on our home phone number for my wife: 

"She is my processor and she is the one that needs to clear your wife's fraud alert. I thought I was being proactive on that [by doing it myself] but it has to come from the processor. She is currently in a training class right now. She will probably call her back later today or tomorrow."

The fraud alert was cleared as my wife called the processor back and answered security questions.

[youdontkillmoney]

5/13/16: I am starting to think about the total cost of home ownership -- pre-mortgage, mortgage itself, and post mortgage with home improvements/operating and maintenance expenses.

I created a hypothetical Google spreadsheet to start tracking these costs (sorry, I am an economist by training and a finance guy by profession so I put everything on a spreadsheet)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Dtpigw1cf6cOgGkMYx2k9ko5l80cttS6dXDQvb_VZe8/edit?usp=sharing

[Anonymous]

Following very closely. Thanks for posting. I used to work for WF and wasn't considering applying with them when we go to buy our house later this year but might. Then again my credit scores and income situation arent as picture perfect as yours!

Good luck!!

[youdontkillmoney]

3/14/16: The US bank lender called me this morning to follow up. I didn't say I went ahead and got pre-approval with Wells already, but focused on the 4.5% 30-year fixed rate for a 10% down on $1M mortgage and I'm seeking something south of 4.5% based on Wall Street Journal average rates. The US Bank lender said based on the down payment and risk levels, I am not going to see a rate south of 4.5% without PMI and that including PMI with a lower rate would be worse off. In my head I am thinking I was able to get a 3.875% rate from Wells without PMI contrary to what the US Bank lender opined. The US Bank lender pushed for the 80-10-10 deal stating the rate for the 1st mortgage was 3.6%. I replied I'll continue to consider his offer while looking into others. I did not want to burn this bridge completely since if the Wells deal falls through for some reason, I'd like to have US bank as an option. In general, the US Bank lender did not seem to be as forthright than my Wells lender and I get the feeling his sell of the 80-10-10 product was more important to him then my needs as a first time home buyer. I do not completely have full trust the US Bank lender has my full interest in mind. Anyway, onwards with Wells and hope it goes smooth.

[Anonymous]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

3/14/16: The US bank lender called me this morning to follow up. I didn't say I went ahead and got pre-approval with Wells already, but focused on the 4.5% 30-year fixed rate for a 10% down on $1M mortgage and I'm seeking something south of 4.5% based on Wall Street Journal average rates. The US Bank lender said based on the down payment and risk levels, I am not going to see a rate south of 4.5% without PMI and that including PMI with a lower rate would be worse off. In my head I am thinking I was able to get a 3.875% rate from Wells without PMI contrary to what the US Bank lender opined. The US Bank lender pushed for the 80-10-10 deal stating the rate for the 1st mortgage was 3.6%. I replied I'll continue to consider his offer while looking into others. I did not want to burn this bridge completely since if the Wells deal falls through for some reason, I'd like to have US bank as an option. In general, the US Bank lender did not seem to be as forthright than my Wells lender and I get the feeling his sell of the 80-10-10 product was more important to him then my needs as a first time home buyer. I do not completely have full trust the US Bank lender has my full interest in mind. Anyway, onwards with Wells and hope it goes smooth.

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Very smart approach on not burning bridges.  Good decision continuing with Wells.  Carry on posting as I am following and hoping I get to see pics at the end if possible..

[Anonymous]

Wow I wish my process was as smooth as yours but I don't have your credit or salary lol.  I'm just praying to be approved to by a 65,000 dollar house and it's one problem after another.  And I have until the end of next month to be out of where I am.  I'm also worried that the bank will lower the price this week as it has typicall lowered it every 5 weeks and it's been on the market for 6 months.  My only saving grace is that most people have an FHA loan and they can't get it approved since it needs work.  Wells Fargo is the only one that recommended a conventional loan to me.  It is a stressful process.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Wow I wish my process was as smooth as yours but I don't have your credit or salary lol.  I'm just praying to be approved to by a 65,000 dollar house and it's one problem after another.  And I have until the end of next month to be out of where I am.  I'm also worried that the bank will lower the price this week as it has typicall lowered it every 5 weeks and it's been on the market for 6 months.  My only saving grace is that most people have an FHA loan and they can't get it approved since it needs work.  Wells Fargo is the only one that recommended a conventional loan to me.  It is a stressful process.

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@Anonymous,

Welcome to the board.  If you are having problems, why don't you start a thread in this section and post the problems you are having?.  I am sure the lovely people on here will be willing to offer advise /suggestions.