I found myself in a unique situation: Two days before the bank's mandated closing date on my short sale offer, the mortgage lender I was working with denied my loan application. Luckily, I somehow stumbled upon Guaranteed Rate. Sam Sharp is the mortgage initiator I worked with. His team was absolutely amazing and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a mortgage loan. As a happy new condo owner, I am very glad I called Sam's team and a bad situation turned into a blessing in disguise.
Since I was a first time home buyer and spent quite a bit of energy through this whole process, I made the timeline below that details the experience I had with Guaranteed Rate and the lender I worked with prior to GR for comparison.
11/15/11 - Bank of America approved my short sale offer. I had already started working with a lender, PennyMac, because my agent warned me that short sales are notorious for demanding quick closings. BofA set the closing date for 12/15 (30 days out) and the standard turnaround time for mortgage loan applications is 45 days. By 11/15, all my documentations were in. Once the BofA approval was received, the appraiser could be sent and then the loan application would be turned over to underwriting. The representatives I was working with at PennyMac told me closing by 12/15 wouldn't be a problem.
11/30/11 - Appraiser sent out to look at property.
12/07/11 - After multiple followups, appraisal report received.
12/12/11 - Three days before closing, PennyMac notified me that underwriting may have a problem with my loan application. They have an eligibility requirement that will not allow them to give loans for condos that were converted after May 1999 and my unit was converted in 2000. They were previously not aware of this issue and will try to see if they can grant me an exception. PennyMac said they "will try" to be ready by 12/15. To be on the safe side, my attorney sent a request to the seller attorney that the closing date be extended to 12/23.
12/13/11 - In the morning, PennyMac told me that the underwriting exception had been denied. I made calls to other lenders I thought might be able to close quickly (small companies). Most told me they will try their best but will still need 4 weeks. In the afternoon, I called Sam Sharp, loan initiator at Guaranteed Rate. He said that if I do my part and send him all the documents he needs promptly, his team will be able to close by the new 12/23 closing date in two weeks. He couldn't use the appraisal done by PennyMac, else he said he would've been able to close even quicker. On top of that, he offered me a better rate than all the other lenders I've talked to so far. The GR underwriting fee is also on the low end of what I've seen. I sent him my documents that evening.
12/14/11 - Appraiser sent.
12/15/11 - Guaranteed Rate requested some additional information for their underwriting department.
12/16/11 - Underwriting approved loan, but needed me to explain and sign a few more things.
12/21/11 - Guaranteed Rate sent a confirmation to my attorney to close on 12/23, sent me the closing documents and suggested I bring a little more cash to close just in case something happens.
12/23/11 - Because the closing date changed from the original contract, the amount that Bank of America was to receive changed by about $50. I needed a final sign off from BofA. BofA was closed on 12/23 for the holidays and we couldn't get a hold of them to get the final approval. I offered to add $50 to the condo sale price to cover the $ difference but was told no by my attorney. I was heading out of town for the rest of the year and really wanted to close by year end. I worked with my attorney and Guaranteed Rate to draft a "power of attorney" document that would allow my attorney to close for me while I was gone. Most lenders won't accept power of attorney.
12/29/11 - CLOSED! No hidden fees. I officially own a condo. read more
