Waiting for Pre-Approval Letter

[MEE2Too]

I was wondering if anyone could provide me with some information about my  situation. I submitted my documents to my lender (Wells Fargo) on Wednesday April 27,2011 for a pre-approval and she reviewed the file and sent to underwriting to check everything before she can issue me a pre-approval letter to take to my realtor, it is now May 4,2011 and I still haven't here anything back from underwriting about my pre-approval!!! I'm just getting so nervous because I meet with my realtor on Saturday May 7,2011 and I wanted to take my pre-approval with me so we can begin reviewing homes as quickly as possible and if I see something I dont have to wait to be pre-approved. I emailed my lender yesterday and she stated that she will contact underwriting today to follow-up with them about my pre-approval but I still haven't heard anything yet. My question is, is this normal for a pre-approval to take this long? Maybe I'm just getting to anixous but I dont understand why some lenders will issue you a pre-approval letter with in 24 hours and others will want to sent it to be maually underwritten. I was approval via the automated underwriting and I'm applying for a FHA Loan if that makes any difference. Is anyone dealing with Wells Fargo and in the same situation; if so how long did it take for you to go through underwriting to get your pre-approval letter?

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Each persons situation may be different, which is why the pre-approval process isn't the exact same for everyone.  Someone may have a tricky income or employment situation, or some questionable credit history, etc.  Did the loan officer say anything specifically about your situation was of concern?

[MEE2Too]

She didn't mention anything at all, she said there was nothing else that I needed to do or to send in we are just waiting on underwriting to get back to her. I submitted all of my taxes, letters of explantion, W2's ,pay stubs, bank statements, DL and copy of my SS card. I have had a sable soild employment for the last 8 years and my middle credit score was 640 so I'm just confused as to what's taking so long. I understand that underwriters get so many applications a day but I was already auto-approved so shouldn't that make the underwriters process faster.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Being approved through the automated underwriting system does make the review easier/quicker, however with 640 scores there may have been some questions about what is on your credit and that is why the loan officer wanted an underwriter to review.  Also it was the end of the month last week, and normally underwriting is concentrating on loans they already have approvals for, reviewing & signing off on items to make sure they close in time... so someone who isn't under contract is going to be a lower priority.  I'm sure you'll hear back this week.

[cgreer72]

Im a bit confused. A pre-approval is just that, it not a final approval. Its a the letter you get before you begin the loan process to show what loan amount you are approved for. I had my PA letter within three hours of speaking with my lender. The only info she needed was my income, which I verbally gave her, and a copy of my credit report.  My credit score was 605 at the time and I still got the PA letter even though my score was below what I needed to qualify for a loan. My score is up now and Im actively house shopping.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

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@cgreer72 wrote:

Im a bit confused. A pre-approval is just that, it not a final approval. Its a the letter you get before you begin the loan process to show what loan amount you are approved for. I had my PA letter within three hours of speaking with my lender. The only info she needed was my income, which I verbally gave her, and a copy of my credit report.  My credit score was 605 at the time and I still got the PA letter even though my score was below what I needed to qualify for a loan. My score is up now and Im actively house shopping.

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Each lenders idea of the proper pre-approval process can be different.  Read The mortgage pre-approval process - that isn't to say you are not pre-approved., but take into consideration all that has to be done in the loan approval process and ask yourself how much of that do you want to be done ahead of time.

[Anonymous]

I actually got Pre-Approved in 10 minutes after my lender plugged all the information onto the computer. I went to Wells Fargo on Feb., 28,2011.  Got my Priority letter on the spot. I believe your Automated underwriter was approved but with maybe a refer or a caution. Im getting a short sale home and took me 2 months for their bank to accept my offer and lender needed to refresh all my docs again. As of 4-28-2011 IM still in underwriting and I don't know when its going to be approved since my closing date is scheduled for May 27. I believe your situation could of been through something in your Credit report. Maybe your FICO was low and for FHA I believe you need a 620, I heard 680 but my score was 674 on February. Today its 696. Check your credit report and see that everything is correct and that it has no errors, which could happen with the Credit Bureaus.  Also if you have a great lender he will follow up with you all the time. My lender at wells fargo follows up with me all the time and.

[MEE2Too]

Thank you guys for all of the advise,no there was nothing wrong with my credit report at all. My credit score was 640 middle at the time she pulled my credit report and I never had a BK or any judgements and the three items in collections were paid, I never been late with my car payment or the pervious car that I had that is now paid off, and never been late on my capitol one credit card so I'm still just confused by I can't have my pre-approval letter or why it taking this long and I still haven't heard anything from them and it's now 4/5.  If I dont hear anything from them by Tuesday I think that I'm going to move to another lender.

Thanks so much for all of your help.

[bryersm]

It seems like it takes forever now to get a pre-approval letter. I remember when I was house hunting for my 1st home in '08 that I could get a pre-approval letter w/in an hour via email and phone to the LO. Now I talk w/ LO and I get my credit checked (a hard credit check too!!!) and talk about my finances and all I get is some ballpark guidelines on what I can afford, what my payments and interest rate will be. Then I don't hear from them again. I can use online mortgage calculators just like everyone else..I don't see any difference here besides the credit check (and I can do that myself w/o hurting my credit!). I've done this three times now w/ different lenders and still each the same. How long does it take to get a pre-approval letter these days? How much time do I give them before I poke them along? Or do I have to do this the old-fashioned way, in person, nowadays due to the whole financial woes a few years ago.