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USAA Mortgage Review.

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Anonymous
Not applicable

USAA Mortgage Review.

 

Hello all.

 

I told you that I would post my experience with USAA be it good or bad.

 

I have to tell you it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I was going for a VA No-No. For those who don't know what that is

it is a loan where the seller pays the closing costs, and I have no down payment. I decided if I got a good rate, and I plan on staying

in the house for more then 15 years, why worry about equity right now in a shaky market, so I decided this was the best for me.

 

It all started out really well. I am a very organized person, and really anal about my credit and finances. I applied for a mortgage through USAA's

website early December 2010. I was preapproved through desktop underwriting, however I had a back ratio of about 60%. USAA DU still approved me because

of the amount of money I made and FICO's in the 750's. I knew that this high ratio would cause some concern in UW so I decided to save  myself the hassle

and go ahead and get rid of some debt dropping my back ration to 49%. I knew that getting a lower back ratio would make UW easier so I did that, and you may want to as well. Another idea I had is I have a lot of money going in and out of my account like we change clothes, so I stopped the radical spending through my bank account and put everything on a credit card. I paid the credit card off before the statement cut to avoid having revolving debt on my credit report. Let me say that I used my credit cards and external accounts to my advantage to beat the mortgage process, and I was very successful. (Please don't say what I did was illegal or unethical because you have no idea what I did, and its pure speculation on your part, so please, save the typing).

 

So from day one the preapproval process was smooth, I had a letter sent to me two days after applying. They used DU for my VA loan. I was approved/accepted the first time. However, after things changed on my side to include the county, and amount, my file had to go back to DU and was still approved a few times after that.

 

I found a house, submitted a contract and the seller accepted the same day. My realtor played a huge part, and I suggest that you use a realtor that will work for you, and not looking to make a quick buck. My realtor told the listing agent that we had picked 4 houses, and his was one of them and we would like for him to hold it until we made a decision, well we made a decision and we wanted this house, and told them we must know if the seller will accept within in 24 hours or we will withdraw or offer. The listing agent called the seller on Sunday, and told them our offer, and was accepted. We signed the contract on Monday, and had an inspection on Monday. Yes, we got an inspection within 15 hours of making an offer and being accepted. Told you my agent was great!

 

The fun part started. The contract was sent to USAA on Monday, and I received a call on Tuesday from USAA. They received my contract and wanted to talk loan details. I picked my terms, and locked the rate. The loan officer reran my loan through DU again, and approved on this property. My loan package was then sent out to me on Friday. I received the docs, and conditions, just a W2, and to show that I actually paid my debt to lower my back ratio from 60% to 49%. That was all I needed to submit at this time.

 

I turned the loan package in the next Monday. They received the package the next day. They started to go through the package, and told me that they would let me know when they needed anything else. The appraisal was then ordered, as was the title report. The title report took only one day to come back, and the appraisal took 5 business days. The appraisal came out to be the exact figure of the purchase price, so I have no equity in the property, but this was acceptable to me.

 

My loan package then went to a processor. She was a nightmare. I am glad I did my homework, because she was requesting things to be done that didn't need to be done such as random inspections that didn't pertain to me. Luckily I am anal, and tight with my money that I questioned every charge to make sure I was not paying for something that I shouldn't. My agent also played a big part in that. The loan processor never returned calls, only with an email.

 

I had deadlines the processor failed to acknowledge, and I am glad my agent and I stayed on top of it, and demanded an answer from whoever it was we needed it from.

I had a commitment 4 days prior to closing, but it should have came much much sooner with my loan. They were lagging, and had bad information that needed to be corrected. I am glad that I read everything, about 30 times!!!

 

The worst thing about this process was closing. USAA approved a HUD statement that wasn't correct. The should have reviewed the doc better, I am the one that noticed it because I was about to be jipped some money. So please read everything!!!!!!

Also USAA would not fund my loan until they received a survey from me telling them about the service. I felt that they had me sign this under duress, to be able to get great feedback. This should be fraud, and I bet you I will have my lawyer look into it. (Which happens to be my uncle.) They should not hold funds because of this, it is forcing you to give them good reviews even when they don't deserve them because they will not fund your loan if they choose. I thought this was very very dirty, I expect that from BOA or Chase, not USAA!

 

For me the process was not terrible, but that is because I am very precise, and I questioned everything. I also had a realtor who is licensed in 10 different states, and has been in business for 20 years. This made the biggest impact on my success. I also had a great credit profile, and was very organized. I closed in 40 days, but that is because I picked the date, not the lender or the seller. It should have only been about 25 days if USAA hadn't screwed with my doc's. They do close fast, and they are good for people who have Excellent credit. For those who have shaky credit, or a few blemishes, I wouldn't use USAA for a mortgage. USAA loan products cater to people with the highest scores, and the best credit profiles, not the average Joe. The only reason I used them was for convience and I was sure that I would be approved, with no questions asked because of my history with USAA, and my credit history.

 

Hope this helps! So in my opinion, do not use USAA for a mortgage, they have been terrible to me even with perfect credit, I could only imagine what they would do with someone with a rocky past, so please stay away from them!!!!

 

Yesme

Message 1 of 7
6 REPLIES 6
JagerBombs89
Established Contributor

Re: USAA Mortgage Review.

Solid review.  What rate did you end up getting ?

Message 2 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: USAA Mortgage Review.

 


@JagerBombs89 wrote:

Solid review.  What rate did you end up getting ?


 

Hi and thank you.

 

I feel that USAA has great products, just not the mortgage side. I used them because I have every account with them that they offer now, and had little documentation that needed to be requested.

 

I ended up getting a 4.375 with 1.50 points. Seller paid concessions so I was only out my 1500 earnest money. I actually got money back at closing becuase of the goof on the HUD.

 

 

Yesme

Message 3 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: USAA Mortgage Review.

Don't go near USAA bank for any reason. These folks are a fine insurance ompany; but a lousy bank. Their mortgage processing dept is understaffed and overwhelmed. Their underwriters are arbitrary and capricious. Their bank customer service borders on customer abuse.
Message 4 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: USAA Mortgage Review.

I think you need to differentiate between USAA banking and mortgage services. USAA banking is incredible, with the best customer service I have ever experienced (their insurance and investment services have also been great to deal with over the last decade). The mortgage side of the house, however, SUCKS...because you aren't really dealing with USAA. Their mortgage division is completely outsourced (and last I heard loan processing was being done remotely in another country). I will never, ever deal with them again, ever. They were unresponsive, their rates weren't competitive, their appraisal was waaaay off and they acted like they were doing us a favor by talking to us. For loan products I don't even bother with USAA any more; since our credit is great I get better service and rates from local lenders. For banking, insurance and investment services, however, USAA is still number one and the personal attention and service they provide is unmatched.
Message 5 of 7
Gray
Regular Contributor

Re: USAA Mortgage Review.

Indeed, USAA's banking, credit card, and insurance businesses are top of the top. Their mortgage businesses are out-sourced, and I understand now intermingled to some extent with PenFed.
Message 6 of 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: USAA Mortgage Review.

They were great for me, I close in 2 days and have everything lined up and ready to sign / hand over.

 

Only hiccup was when my file was turned over to another processor when my initial had to leave for reserve training.

 

And I'm not that well organized (only somewhat) with just a 650 from very recently cleaned up credit file with several bumps that required letters of explanation.

 

Apparently they (USAA) are very hit-or-miss.

Message 7 of 7
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