This past friday, I finally received my clear to close!! We're walking to the closing table on Tomorrow morning. Me and my fiancé are first time home buyers, and we have never felt more excited than ever before! I wanted to share my story and allow those that are in the stress zone to finally relieve yourself. Our journey started in early May. I went to a referred mortgage broker and told him that I was interested in purchasing a 3 flat building. Currently, I make low income. So, he knew for certain that rental income would help us qualify. We got pre-approved and thought the process would fall into place. To say the least, the process fell all over the place. The seller was motivated to sell the property because he lived out of state and he was tired of the responsibilities. Yet, he was pretty stern with closing in 30 days or less. So, our main worry was that he'll pull out of the deal if UW took any longer. There were days that I would cringe because little stuff like missing paper work or faded pages were holding us back from the process running smoothly. I would lay in my bed night after night with my thoughts racing. But that energy manifested my fears. I called my lawyer one day and asked her if she received any updates from the broker (he was soo hard to communicate with at first). She told me that the first lender denied me because I had several jobs within the past two years. (I've held my current job for 6 months during this time). I thought my degree would legitimize my short employment. I was devastated and I worried if the seller would be willing to stick in there. Gratefully, he did. The second lender was the most stressful experience (we went through 4 lenders.....yes, 4 lenders). This lender approved me without approving me. The processor expressed that I had a great credit score (700+), I saved more than enough money for the downpayment, and I had a job within my degree field. However, they were concerned that I was an "employee" for Uber. I drove with the ride sharing service as an independent contractor. Thus, meaning that I wasn't an employee. This was an issue because my car expenses were counted against my income. Another concern was that the seller provided outdated leases. Our paperwork was so messy with them that they started to stray away from giving us the conditional approval. So, we unfortunately had to move on to the 3rd lender. The seller stuck with us during the process because I finally reached out to me via social media. Me and him were optimistic about the 3rd lender because my bank statements no longer showed that I drove for Uber. Plus, the package was more carefully managed to submit to UW. The 3rd lender was the first to give us a conditional approval. I was happy, then. Every time, they wanted docs, I provided them within a hours time. Nothing was challenged or needed extra explanation. As the weeks went by, the broker was slacking on communicating with me. I started to be concerned. Then, 2 days before my birthday, the lender pulled away. There reason was that I didn't have any landlord experience and I was on my job for long enough. Was I upset? No, I went insane!! Why was I given the conditional approval then?! They knew this information in the very beginning. I was pissed. So, my broker said, let's try one last time. My initial reaction was to give up. I was over it. My lawyer suggested I continue, as well as my agent and the broker's Secretary . Yet, the only people that convinced me to try again was the seller and my fiancé. By this point, me and the seller had build a solid relationship by talking and texting. I was more relaxed this time around because of our relationship and because I've been through the storm already. It wasn't until I became carefree that the blessing was slowly but surely arriving our way. The conditional approval came within 4 days of applying to the lender. Within a month, we finally received our clear to close! Now, it's a couple days before Christmas and I'm going to surprise my family with the great news! :-)
So, I'm sending this long message to suggest that you DON'T GIVE UP!! Please do not. The difference between the initial process and the end was that we were more diligent with the paperwork, and more detailed oriented with the LOX. Last, but not least, my carefree approach had allowed my blessing to come to us. I pray that my story helps you become fearless. Trust me. It'll be all worth it!
