topic Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........ in Mortgage Loans

Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Sat, 17 Oct 2020 14:42:25 GMT

APPROVED!

Been waiting to be able to write this post.... Following divorce, had to file Chapter 7 BK. Discharged in October 4 years ago. I've been prepping for applying for a mortgage since then and last night, finally filled out my first two applications. The third will have to wait because there was a glitch with setting up an account that I cant resolve until Monday. All three are credit unions and my middle score is 726.

1. Completed app - they said at the beginning it could result in an immediate approval dependent upon credit and product. I wasn't expecting anything given the BK. Hit SUBMIT and ta-da! Approved at 2.6% (2.76% APR)- their best rate. I keep looking at the pre-approval letter thinking it can't be real. Although I knew I'd get approved given my score and downpayment (20-25%), I wasn't sure where my rate would land. Pretty happy since I'm actually buying the house I'm in and will save almost $200 a month with a larger mortagage (long story but need to do some updates and want to get the full appraised value, or close). Between the interest rate and paying primary residence taxes, I'll be saving some money AND getting the house updated.

2. Completed the app, they do not do immediate approvals and have not pulled my credit. Their best rate is slightly better than the first CU (2.5%) and I'll have to see what the APR is. Their "A Tier" credit score is 680. I have called them twice to confirm this and talked to two different people.

3. Have to wait for account set-up snafu to get resolved. Their best rate is 2.375% (2.43% APR). Not sure what their score cutoff is for that rate but I'm going to apply and see where it goes.

Pretty darned happy right now!

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

toi34 — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 20:53:22 GMT

Fantastic! I'm really happy for you. I'm in the same boat, but I will going the FHA route (24 mos. post-BK7) and refinancing after 2 years. The housing market in CA is nuts so 20% down is almost impossible, 3.5% is doable; and the rents are MORE than a mortgage payment. I can't pay $3300 rent for a 1 bedroom/1 bath for another 2 years.

Congrats to you tho!

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 23:18:34 GMT

Feels good, doesn't it?! Congratulations! It's a great time to buy, for sure.

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

sxa001 — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 02:18:15 GMT

Congratulations! Those interest rates are just amazing! Good luck in your home buying journey.

If you don't mind sharing what banks/Credit Unions you app'd with. I am creating my list right now, those rates look way better than I am seeing at the traditional banks.

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 08:24:01 GMT

Sure, but they're all in Michigan and require living or working in either the state or specific counties. I work all over the state from multiple offices so that works out well for me.

I'll pm you if by chance you're in MI. I googled "credit unions near me" then checked if they do mortgages, their rates if published, and membership requirements. They all only require keeping $5-10 in an account to maintain membership.

The few bank and mortgage companies I checked were not as good rate wise and the CUs had quite a variance. I'm not even applying to my own because of their meh rate. While I certainly didn't check them all, the smaller CUs in rural areas had better rates than larger ones in more populated areas. Not sure if that's typical but worth searching beyond the bigger guys.

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 15:25:17 GMT

An update: CU #2 sent me an email saying the home I wish to purchase has to be in certain counties (mine is not). Another question to ask if you're calling around. I did remember to ask some of them but not all Lesson learned: have a list of questions ready before contacting anyone. I started a spreadsheet but it was after calls had been made.

Playing phone tag with the mortgage person at #3 but they did get my account going and I started the app for them. Waiting to continue that until I hear from her that the location of my home is doable.

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 16:51:04 GMT

CU #1 called and asked a couple questions and he said he was changing my app from Freddie Mac to Fannie Mae (or the other way around? IDK) which would lower the rate to 2.5% ! I also confirmed with him that location of the home I'm buying is in a location they service and it is. Whew!

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 17:42:24 GMT

CU #3 called today and said I am preapproved at their best rate (2.375%/ 2.43% APR). I don't know closing costs from them and she said they are mailing the preapproval to me. I asked "emailing or actually mailing?". Mailing. They do not have any option to lock a rate and do so when the appraisal is done, which is likely 5-7 weeks out according to her.

I need to call CU #1 and get a little more info and make a decision. They do everything electronically which seems way more efficient and obviously faster. Hmmmm.....

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 19:45:20 GMT

@sxa001 , did you get some mortgage rates from CU's?

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

sxa001 — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 20:25:50 GMT

@kberly69 wrote:
@sxa001 , did you get some mortgage rates from CU's?

I am about a month away from app'ing, but I do plan to app with some local lenders. Thanks for sharing your experiences, they are helpful to everyone.

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 17:27:33 GMT

Going with CU #3. They have the best rate and comparable closing costs (maybe less?). The disclosure I got from #1 was a little confusing and although they are way more advanced technologically speaking, I emailed him and told him I was waiting for info on CU #3 and gave him a little of the details. He said to go for the better rate and that the process from here on out would require "wet" signatures anyway so there was no advantage to using his CU. Refreshing honesty, probably fueled by being too busy but appreciated nonetheless.

I know I like to hear the stories of other members so I think I will post the process as it goes for me. It will also be nice to reminisce later

I am actually living in the home I'm buying and buying it from my parents. They are gifting me the equity, thankfully and I've been paying the mortgage now for 7 years. We're working with their tax guy to make sure I cover whatever taxes they may incur and I'm doing all the paperwork (at least for now and up to the point if it gets too hairy).

I called title companies today and chose one based on how helpful and nice the lady was answering the phone. Costs were all similar so the decision was easy. I was fretting over the purchase agreement but she sent me a template they use and it is simple. Getting that signed by the 'rents tomorrow and sending that over the mortgage company and off we go!

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 17:11:25 GMT

Deposited funds for appraisal; submitted two months' worth of credit union statements and home insurance quote; got student loan off COVID forbearance so I could get a recent statement (I've been paying so it really didn't make any difference) and sent that; and was asked about inquiries. The only ones I have for the last two years are for these two mortgage apps and for some reason the other CU pulled it twice. I just had to tell her that and it was fine. She mentioned something about not going through the loan process with the other CU and I told her I wasn't and that was that.

She told me the appraisers are very behind so hopefully that doesn't take so long this is pushed out to after Christmas :0 I'm afraid to spend any money on anything other than gas and groceries so my family's been warned we might be celebrating the holiday in January!

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 16:07:07 GMT

The appraiser just left. It reminded me of Thanksgiving dinner: all the planning, cleaning, stressing and it's over in a matter of minutes. My LO was pretty annoyed with how long things were taking and said she ordered the appraisal on the 5th of November.

Now I wait for the report to come back..... tick, tick, tick.....

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 14:11:29 GMT

..... and still waiting for the appraisal. So frustrating. 7 weeks since it was ordered and two weeks since he came out. LO has contacted him more than once but given the holidays, I am beginning to realize I have a long road to go yet to close.

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 19:59:37 GMT

Well, putting my whining out there to the universe must have worked. Appraisal delivered and my file has been sent to UW. She said she'll let me know when I'm clear to close. I've entered the next nail-biting phase of waiting. On one hand, I can look at my numbers and situation and feel pretty confident it will all end well BUT on the other hand my little inner worrier is thinking something has to go wrong.

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

newmomnewme — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 21:15:56 GMT

@kberly69 Congrats and thanks for the DPs!!!! I was waiting to see a couple top tier approvals for <740+ scores. I'm sitting at 680 now so this gives me hope!

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

newmomnewme — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 21:21:27 GMT

I am loving this thread!!! Keep it going!!! So happy for you 🤗🤗🤗

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 11:42:16 GMT

@newmomnewme wrote:
I am loving this thread!!! Keep it going!!! So happy for you 🤗🤗🤗

Thanks! I love reading a story from start to finish in these forums and thought I'd share mine.

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 14:57:51 GMT

Yesterday was a flurry of emails- requests to sign an updated Loan Estimate and a packet of mostly repetitive stuff.

My LO also asked for updated bank statements. I asked her if she needed mine or my parents since they were going to be paying the closing costs (to be returned to them after close). I had included this in the purchase agreement and learned yesterday that the escrow costs are not considered closing costs. Not a huge deal- I have it, but I was a little worried if after that my reserves are too depleted to move forward. I told her I can drive to my parents today and update the purchase agreement or go ahead and send my statements, whichever gets this done faster and without hiccups.

Waiting for the answer now.

Incidentally, although she seems very nice and the major hold-up was the 7 week wait for the appraisal, this CU seems behind in technology and she struggles with what they have. Everything she sends me, even a "yes" is in an encrytped email and she has trouble sending attachments. Every email looks the same so when there's a string of them it gets really obnoxious trying to determine what I've read and what I haven't. She prefers email and it's hard to get her on the phone. She wanted me to fax everything yesterday which would have involved a complicated mess of me printing docs, signing, scanning to my BF's office and him faxing them back to her. She relented on that and figured out how to attach stuff. I keep telling myself it's worth the good rate and this is a short-term fling, not a marriage. Looking forward to break up day!

Re: Conventional, 4 Years Post BK7, Applied and........

kberly69 — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 21:45:11 GMT

Mortgage lady didn't get back with me so I asked her again. She said I didn't have to do anything - no statements needed and no need to redo the purchase agreement. The title company is going to have a revised one for my parents to sign along with other docs that will be sent via UPS and returned the same way.

She told me I needed to get the homeowner's insurance paid for a year and have them send it to her. Done.

Talked to the title company and have a close date!!! January 14 it's all going down. My parents just need to have the bank send her the payoff amount and everything else seems in order.

Emailed my LO again and asked if she needed anything else from me. She said when she gets whatever she needs from the title company she'll send the closing disclosure and she'll know if she needs something else then.

I see the light! It's still a ways off and I know lots can happen in two weeks but things are moving along.

I'm kind of amazed that so far all they've asked for from me is two months of bank statements, W2s, tax returns and a couple paystubs. With a Chapter 7 in my past I thought it would be a lot more complicated. I guess I should be quiet until I leave the titel compnay's office