So we applied for preapproval for an FHA loan almost 3 weeks ago at our credit union, BECU. We applied online, and immediately received a message that said it was being forwarded for review, and to fax pay stubs and W2's for the last year. That took a few days to get together, and we faxed them about a week later (we're pretty ignorant of the process and weren't sure what we needed to have on hand just for preapproval). I waited several more days and no response and finally called, when they told me I also needed to print, sign and fax some disclosures... they weren't clear as to whether those were required for preapproval itself, but we got those in that day. I also got the loan officer's email and contacted her. After 2 days, still no response. I was pretty frustrated at this point so I emailed again saying I was disappointed with the lack of communication, and after almost 2 weeks we had no idea what was going on, whether we were in a waiting period, whether we needed to provide more info, or what. That got an immediate response from the loan officer saying they had a high volume and she'd get to my loan on Monday (this was Friday). She finally responded at 6 pm on Monday that our loan couldn't be approved automatically and would go to manual underwriting.
Is this normal? Taking over 2 weeks just to go through the "automatic" system??
She asked for a bunch more documentation and gave us copies of the actual application, which had numerous errors on it. I sent everything except the actual application, because I didn't want to sign it until it was corrected (my income was inputted incorrectly and I believe several accounts were also incorrectly included in our debt, which lead to a very high DTI, which is why it went to manual underwriting in the first place). I've had no response regarding these errors, which I emailed her about on Tuesday, and now it's Friday. I still have no idea whether that needs to be signed and faxed in order for preapproval... based on her current pattern, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to get an email from her at 6pm tonight saying she needs more documentation, forcing me to wait until Monday to make any progress.
I've already asked her a million questions so I'm trying to not annoy her, but I still don't really know where we are. Does this all sound typical, or should I expect better customer service?
Hopefully the next loan officer will give your loan the attention needed so that you can start looking for a home.
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