I started the search for a home back in Oct. 2016. Rates were low and I knew that rates would only be going up and I figured it was time to be a first time home buyer. Brightwire Loans was introduced to me by my real estate agent and I owe her a debt of gratitude for that introduction.
From the beginning Todd has been helpful, informative, and pro-active in everything to help me buy my first home. We started over a phone call where I asked questions about the process and he patiently explained everything that would be taking place. He's been in the business for many years so he's aware of pretty much everything that could happen during the process.
As my family started visiting open houses and visits to homes w/ our agents, when we saw a possible, we'd call Todd to prepare an offer letter w/ a pre-approval. And every time he'd have the PDF sent to the agent within a few hours. Even during the weekends!!
When I had questions, I would call him in the evenings and he'd be on the line answering the questions.
We made offers on 4 houses but for one reason or another, the first three fell through and the last house was the one we finally bought.
Now you will need a home inspector, I used the one recommended by Todd, Paul Lang from http://www.teamworksinspections.4t.com/ .
You will also need a Real Estate Lawyer, I used the one recommended by Todd, Julio Cengarle from http://www.ncd-law.com/ . Both of them were great!
Now the last home happened to be a REO and we made the offer on Jan 15, 2017. They counter offered but added the closing needed to be on Feb, 27, 2017. No problem, that was more then a month away. But after finally agreeing on the purchase price and attorney review, it was now Feb. 14, 2016. We asked for an extension on the closing date and they said no!!! We had 2 weeks to get all our ducks in a row!!! I didn't want to lose this house, rates which were climbing up at the beginning of the year had come down some - but who knew for how long. So time was of essence. So we went full steam ahead. We scheduled the home inspection for the 15th, which didn't find anything too bad. So we scheduled the home appraisal and started the title search.
All this time, Todd was working diligently with the lenders and myself to make sure all the necessary documents were available and checked.
The title search took a week and came back ok. The home appraisal also took about a week and came back ok. It was now Feb. 24th and the final documents for the mortgages were getting ready - I had to move money around to show that it was available for closing - and I was waiting for funds to clear, it was all down to the wire. We received the Clear-To-Close on Feb. 27th!!! the day the seller requested to close. So we had to now finally set the actual date for closing.
That all fell on the seller side and they took time and we were able to close on Mar. 3rd.
Todd appeared on the closing and we finally got to meet. He really went above and beyond. One example, my RE agent had sent my earnest money cashier's check to the seller's attorney but the seller's attorney SAID THEY NEVER RECEIVED IT. But our tracking number showed it had arrived at their office while it was closed. Todd was on the phone w/ the seller's attorney about 10 times on Mar. 1st, asking about the check. Asking them to go through their dead piles or to ask their neighboring offices. He even volunteered to go help in the search. Finally around 3PM, the seller attorney had found the check!!
The rate I got would have been amazing if I had extra money to spend on the points. I mean they were around what was being offered before the election. The rate I did get was still great and lower then I expected considering that rates were going back up.
Now this is of course not normal. A normal close would take about 30 to 45 days, but if anyone is able to move mountains or cross oceans to get the deals done, Todd Harrington from Brightwire Loans would be person I would want on my side for pretty much anything!
I can not stress how helpful he was. How informative. How pro-active. How on-top-of-things. How amazing. I recommend Todd and Brightwire Loans 1000%.
Now - disclaimer - if the home inspection had gone bad, I would have walked away. ( which I did on our 3rd offered house ). Also 11 Days to close is NOT the NORM. Please do not expect that this will work for you. Each deal is different and there are so many factors involved in the pre-approval and mortgage process, that I was not aware of. Todd explained everything. We worked well together to make sure everything was in order to help expedite processes.
I recommend Todd very highly, just do not expect the 11 days to close like I had. read more