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

[Anonymous]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

5/17/16 (8:55AM): Wells lender responded to my letter of explanation on not having more liquid cash given our income levels stating "Thanks.  Looks great!  I have sent it to our system for review.  Please stay tuned." 

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Sent to their system for review?  Definately staying tuned!

[youdontkillmoney]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

5/17/16 (8:55AM): Wells lender responded to my letter of explanation on not having more liquid cash given our income levels stating "Thanks.  Looks great!  I have sent it to our system for review.  Please stay tuned." 

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Sent to their system for review?  Defiantely staying tuned!

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^^^^^

I think the Wells lender meant he uploaded it into the queue / "system" so the 2nd underwriter can review the letter of explanation as the 2nd underwriter asked that question in the first place. I like the stringent review, so when it comes time to make the offer I have more confidence that Wells will follow through on the loan. It's 9:44PM and I heard nothing since emailing it 8AM or so. I suppose no news is good news so far. I'll keep everyone updated.

[youdontkillmoney]

5/19/16 (1:26PM): I emailed my Wells lender "Any update on if the 2nd underwriter needs anything else from me at the moment since sending in the explanation letter?"

5/19/16 (1:34PM): My Wells lender replied in short order "Nothing yet.  It’s still in review.  As soon as I know anything I will be in touch."

[Anonymous]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

5/19/16 (1:26PM): I emailed my Wells lender "Any update on if the 2nd underwriter needs anything else from me at the moment since sending in the explanation letter?"

5/19/16 (1:34PM): My Wells lender replied in short order "Nothing yet.  It’s still in review.  As soon as I know anything I will be in touch."

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Keeping fingers crossed for you.... 

[youdontkillmoney]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

5/19/16 (1:26PM): I emailed my Wells lender "Any update on if the 2nd underwriter needs anything else from me at the moment since sending in the explanation letter?"

5/19/16 (1:34PM): My Wells lender replied in short order "Nothing yet.  It’s still in review.  As soon as I know anything I will be in touch."

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Keeping fingers crossed for you.... 

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^^^^^^

5/19/16 (4:47PM): I have dissapointing news. My wells lender said he fought tooth and nail with the underwriter and he was not able to get an exception for me, the underwriter thought we should have more cash liquidity given our incomes. They wanted to see more liquid cash than $100K, which is just enough for the downpayment. 

He offered an 85% program and will email details; I will also have to consider my back up lenders, or just save for the rest of the year a more liquid cash position.

Anyway, that's the update. I'm glad though the Wells lender sent it to underwriting sooner than later to avoid this dissapoint after making an offer and having it accepted by the seller.

[Anonymous]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

5/19/16 (1:26PM): I emailed my Wells lender "Any update on if the 2nd underwriter needs anything else from me at the moment since sending in the explanation letter?"

5/19/16 (1:34PM): My Wells lender replied in short order "Nothing yet.  It’s still in review.  As soon as I know anything I will be in touch."

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Keeping fingers crossed for you.... 

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^^^^^^

5/19/16 (4:47PM): I have dissapointing news. My wells lender said he fought tooth and nail with the underwriter and he was not able to get an exception for me, the underwriter thought we should have more cash liquidity given our incomes. They wanted to see more liquid cash than $100K, which is just enough for the downpayment. 

He offered an 85% program and will email details; I will also have to consider my back up lenders, or just save for the rest of the year a more liquid cash position.

Anyway, that's the update. I'm glad though the Wells lender sent it to underwriting sooner than later to avoid this dissapoint after making an offer and having it accepted by the seller.

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Oh no... That is very bad news.  How much liquid cash do you need to have if you don't mind me asking?  I am surprised with the amount in retirement accounts, they are not willing to make an exception.

Glad you found this out early though...

[youdontkillmoney]

I have $100k, but them there's closing costs and reserves at 1 year. I think they are looking for $150K in liquid.

[Anonymous]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

I have $100k, but them there's closing costs and reserves at 1 year. I think they are looking for $150K in liquid.

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Oh Ok... I admire your patience to wait if the back-up lenders don't come through.  I hope something works out for you instead of waiting.

[youdontkillmoney]

5/21/16 (12:17PM): Yesterday I emailed a two mortgage broker lenders and US Bank to let them know I am interested in getting pre-qualified/pre-approved and would like to get as stringent as a commitment review as possible. Being the weekend, I have not heard back from these emails I sent.

Just now I called Capital One and got a pre-qualification letter emailed to me for $1M with a 10% down payment. Capital One won't do a full vetting he said until I have a home I want to close on but based on the info. and credit reports he ran, he did not see an issue; so my worry of course when it comes time to make an offer and close, the deal may fall through. They are using the wife's 806 Equifax middle score as the lowest since my middle is 816 with Equifax.

5/21/16 (3:52PM): I just got a $1.1 million pre-approval letter from a private mortgage broker--Instant Capital-- (he ran our credit and I gave him our financials and job info.), with 10% down. he said "Thanks, nothing else is needed until you get an offer accepted. Thanks and good luck!" Our target range despite the $1.1M pre-approval purchase price is between $850K-$950K.

I will call SoFi Monday since my online attempt to get a pre-qual via soft pull froze and upon calling in right now, no supervisors are in until Monday to correct the website glitch. The great thing about SoFi the rep said, unlike other lenders, they do a underwriting review and vet the package ahead of time upfront rather than wait at closing, so it is a firmer commitment to lend.

But I have prequalification in hand so I guess I'll continue to look for homes and hope for the best when it comes time to go through the actual loan process.

QUESTION: By the way, Wells did a mortgage credit pull on 5/4/16 or so, Capital One today 5/21/16 and perhaps next week by May 27 the other lenders above (US Bank and 2 mortgage broker lenders and SoFi) will do pulls also, it will all be within a month, so all these hard pulls will count as "one" for mortgage purposes? I heard various time frames, 14 days, 30 days, 45 days for mortgage inquiries to count as one?

[tacpoly]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

5/19/16 (4:47PM): I have dissapointing news. My wells lender said he fought tooth and nail with the underwriter and he was not able to get an exception for me, the underwriter thought we should have more cash liquidity given our incomes. They wanted to see more liquid cash than $100K, which is just enough for the downpayment. 

He offered an 85% program and will email details; I will also have to consider my back up lenders, or just save for the rest of the year a more liquid cash position.

Anyway, that's the update. I'm glad though the Wells lender sent it to underwriting sooner than later to avoid this dissapoint after making an offer and having it accepted by the seller.

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I just finished reading your thread and I wanted to wish you luck with the home buying process.  It's stressful at times but I hope you have fun with it as well. 

I do have to say that until this post I was very surprised at Wells Fargo's willingness to lend $1M, preferred rates, and no PMI, with only 10% down.  We ended up going with them as well; we put 25% down and showed 2 years of reserve so you might want to budget for more cash.  If you really want a house now, have you considered liquidating some non-retirement investments?