July 2021 Closers Thread

[Anonymous]

I am about a month behind what the builder initially projected, but I anticipated this.  Delays were getting materials (specifically the lumber), keeping the framers crew roster full (the PM noted they normally have more guys but are trying to backfill positions and hire more), and weather.  To give you a rough timeline, I signed November 1 at $250k base and was able to lock in my upgrades December 1 ($110k upgrades + $250k base = $360k).  They broke ground January 13, and I did the pre-drywall inspection May 21 (framing, rough electrical, and rough plumbing).

Between November 1 and today, the base price for the model has increased $60k and all of the lots have a $10k+ lot premium, so assuming someone signed today, they would pay $430k for the exact same house I am paying $360k.

[JGGM]

Well, I closed on the house I was selling last Friday. Selling was lots of fun - 17 showings and 3 offers in 12 hours, LOL. Now I'm on the buying end. I know the neighborhood I am buying in quite well, so I put in an offer for $15k over asking price on the first house I saw that checked off every box. It's a bit larger than I wanted, but it has everything else. I signed a partial appraisal waiver (for the $15k over asking price), so if it doesn't fully appraise I might have to part with an extra $15k.

I'm planning on financing with NFCU, though I did not particularly care for their quoted rate. The lady at NFCU told me they will rate match, so I also applied with Better Mortgage and hope to get my NFCU rate down some. My middle mortgage score was 803, and I have $150 in debt to my name (dang Amex annual fee).

Location: Texas

Purchase price - $360,000
$ Down - $36,000
Product - Conventional
Mid score - 803

Sellers Credit - $0
Rate - 3.625%  is what NFCU has right now, which seems high to me. We'll see what Better Mortgage comes up with.

Estimated Close Date -  July 30, 2021 - sellers needed this much time
Possible issues - Appraisal - but I'll put down the difference, I want the house. Hoping to get a better rate - my credit is good, same employer for 8 years, investments, savings, and no debt - seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Harvey26]

@JGGM You have excellent scores and you deserve a way better rate than what Navy is quoting. 

[Anonymous]

Location: Texas

Purchase price - $409,000
$ Down - $0
Product - Conventional
Mid score - 680

Sellers Credit - $0
Rate - 5%  - NFCU homebuyers choice option with 0 down which is why rate is so high. I plan to refi in a year to something in the 2.9-3.2 range when my scores hit over 720

Estimated Close Date -  July 09, 2021 - sellers needed this much time
Possible issues - HOA is complaining about the driveway not meeting standards. Apparently Lennar did 4 driveways in the neighborhood wrong as part of warranty claims and the house we have under contract is one of them. Hopefully Lennar will do the right thing and we will not have to come out of pocket. Seller has already said they will not adjust price since the problem was not their fault. Already got our C2C from NFCU .

[Anonymous]

Location: North Carolina

Purchase price - $475,000
$ Down - $25,000
Product - VA
Mid score - 687

Sellers Credit - $0
Rate - 3.0  

Estimated Close Date -  July 12, 2021, 3 PM
Possible issues -  Have paid down DTI pretty significantly, hoping can re-run credit around July 2 for a lower interest rate.  The buyer's septic inspection on the home I am selling is not until 7/2 but don't expect anything much.  Still waiting on the results of the appraisal/home inspection on the house I am selling which were both done on 6/23. 

[Anonymous]

We got our CTC today. Closing on 7/6. Whew, this has been a ride! I'm too excited!!

[WenW]

@Anonymous How long was it since your pre-drywall meeting to closing date? 

[Michizane]

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@JGGM wrote:

Well, I closed on the house I was selling last Friday. Selling was lots of fun - 17 showings and 3 offers in 12 hours, LOL. Now I'm on the buying end. I know the neighborhood I am buying in quite well, so I put in an offer for $15k over asking price on the first house I saw that checked off every box. It's a bit larger than I wanted, but it has everything else. I signed a partial appraisal waiver (for the $15k over asking price), so if it doesn't fully appraise I might have to part with an extra $15k.

I'm planning on financing with NFCU, though I did not particularly care for their quoted rate. The lady at NFCU told me they will rate match, so I also applied with Better Mortgage and hope to get my NFCU rate down some. My middle mortgage score was 803, and I have $150 in debt to my name (dang Amex annual fee).

Location: Texas

Purchase price - $360,000
$ Down - $36,000
Product - Conventional
Mid score - 803

Sellers Credit - $0
Rate - 3.625%  is what NFCU has right now, which seems high to me. We'll see what Better Mortgage comes up with.

Estimated Close Date -  July 30, 2021 - sellers needed this much time
Possible issues - Appraisal - but I'll put down the difference, I want the house. Hoping to get a better rate - my credit is good, same employer for 8 years, investments, savings, and no debt - seems like a no-brainer to me.

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Way too high for your score. My mid score was a 666 (wife had a 802) and I was able to get 3.25% from Wells Fargo on a conventional loan. 

[Michizane]

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@Michizane wrote:

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Purchase price - $270000
$ Down - $13,500 (5%)
Product - Conventional
Mid score - Mine (666) My Wife (802)

Sellers Credit - $0, Paying all closing costs ($9899 from current loan estimate)
Rate - 3.25% rate lock (Wells Fargo)

Estimated Close Date -  July 9, 2021 - This was listed on our contract, and our loan officer said he could still meet it even though it will be tight (as long as no days are waster any further).
Possible issues - My biggest concern is the appraisal. We had to pick a house that was on the other side of town since the areas we were looking at initially were insanely overpriced. Although this house could fetch a $325K+ asking price in the initial area I looked at, I'm worried about how it will comp in the area (still think it should be fine though).

We offered $5K over asking price, and they agreed to fix 4 items out of the 11 we called out after inspection (the rest were kinda petty stuff, but our realtor thought it would be good to ask so it looks like we are making concessions). That said, the listing agent called our loan officer and asked what will happen if the appraisal is low (she also asked our realtor)...and they still took the deal even though we didn't offer an appraisal gap. 

The loan processor sent an email last Friday saying they will do a final review before sending to UW, and will reach out if they find anything that we might need to provide. Our loan officer was very thorough, so I feel like we should be good with the documentation until we get to UW. I will be calling her this week to check in and see when the appraisal will happen (we paid for it last week). 

Update: Just got conditional approval this morning, and they are only asking for a contact for my Home Insurance Quote, verify an address (the address is wrong/typo but on my Equifax), and a letter of explanation for my wife's decreased income from 2019 to 2020 (due to the pandemic). Just waiting on appraisal at this point.

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Got the appraisal paperwork in the mail on Tuesday, and the house appraised for $270K (the purchase price). Our closing/settlement agent with the title company called on Tuesday as well to confirm the closing date of 7/9, the location and time. Yesterday, our loan officer called to say that UW has fully approved the loan and said that their closing agent will send our disclosures and cash to close by next Tuesday. Our realtor also called and said that he will schedule the final walk on the night before. I think we're good to go!

[JGGM]

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@Michizane wrote:

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@JGGM wrote:

Well, I closed on the house I was selling last Friday. Selling was lots of fun - 17 showings and 3 offers in 12 hours, LOL. Now I'm on the buying end. I know the neighborhood I am buying in quite well, so I put in an offer for $15k over asking price on the first house I saw that checked off every box. It's a bit larger than I wanted, but it has everything else. I signed a partial appraisal waiver (for the $15k over asking price), so if it doesn't fully appraise I might have to part with an extra $15k.

I'm planning on financing with NFCU, though I did not particularly care for their quoted rate. The lady at NFCU told me they will rate match, so I also applied with Better Mortgage and hope to get my NFCU rate down some. My middle mortgage score was 803, and I have $150 in debt to my name (dang Amex annual fee).

Location: Texas

Purchase price - $360,000
$ Down - $36,000
Product - Conventional
Mid score - 803

Sellers Credit - $0
Rate - 3.625%  is what NFCU has right now, which seems high to me. We'll see what Better Mortgage comes up with.

Estimated Close Date -  July 30, 2021 - sellers needed this much time
Possible issues - Appraisal - but I'll put down the difference, I want the house. Hoping to get a better rate - my credit is good, same employer for 8 years, investments, savings, and no debt - seems like a no-brainer to me.

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Way too high for your score. My mid score was a 666 (wife had a 802) and I was able to get 3.25% from Wells Fargo on a conventional loan. 

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Thanks - I didn't update my original post - but NFCU matched the rate and cost I got from another lender. So, I am locked at 2.875%, 0 loan origination, and a $500 lender credit. I'm not really sure if I could have got much better than that, and frankly I'm a little too lazy to try, LOL. It's about a point less than my last mortgage....and about 4 points less than my first mortgage (years ago). At this point, I'm waiting on my appraisal to come back. Once NFCU receives it, I should get a CTC in 2-3 days, and then hopefully can close a few weeks early.