Hello there, it’s Bruce Woodburn with CrossCountry Mortgage, and these are your three big things you need to know. This is great information for anyone, whether you are in Real Estate or you are selling or buying real estate, even if you are somebody that’s looking to refinance or purchase new construction or maybe you’re a builder’s representative. I strive to give you some things that will help you understand what is going on in the lending industry when it pertains to purchasing or refinancing homes. I’ve been in the business for 31 years and I am a co-host of the Loveland Report on Saturdays on WDBO 107.3FM|580AM from noon to one. Please feel free to tune in or call in at any time. I love helping my Real Estate Agents and I love helping my clients, but I also want you to be well informed. Our industry is a moving target right now, so a lot of things are changing, even guidelines are changing. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, and even VA are really imposing some hard and fast guidelines that are making it a little bit more challenging for us to navigate. With that being said, here are your 3 BIG Things!

1. First of all, you’ve heard me say this before, but I think it warrants saying again: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac imposed a half a point increase on all refinances, and they did this about three weeks ago before anybody could see what was happening. They’ve since recanted that. However, they have promised us that it’s going back into play on December 1st. That means, if you don’t have your refinance closed and funded by the first day of December, you have to pay an extra half point. So, I’m encouraging you if you haven’t refinanced or you’re considering refinancing to call me as soon as possible. I actually tell about 50% of the folks who call me to refinance, not to refinance. So, if you want an honest opinion and not someone that just wants to put another loan in their pipeline, but will truly give you trusted advice, please call me. Let’s analyze your situation,  determine what your break even period is, discuss the benefits of paying off debt, consolidating debt, refinancing to a 15 year to pay off your loans faster; there could be a multiple of reasons.
2. Another challenge right now in our industry is that lenders are really struggling with turn times, not only in underwriting, but also in other areas. I got a report the other day that listed several major lending institutions and how far they were out on underwriting. Typically, our underwriting at CrossCountry is 24 to 48 hours. I’m about 72 hours in underwriting right now, which is still one of the best in the industry that I’ve seen. I’m seeing major companies that are between 16 and 60 days in underwriting. That’s right! You want your client to go to a major bank, like BOA or Wells Fargo, you can expect some very, very long turn times. So, if you’re purchasing a home with these institutions, you’ll likely miss your closing and they will ask you for an extension. Credit Unions are the same, they’re also way backed up right now. So, don’t wait or delay if you are looking at purchasing or refinancing.
3. The third thing that you need to know is that appraisals are backed up and appraisers are busier than they’ve ever been. Right now, they are about two weeks out on most appraisals. Lenders don’t have control of appraisers and can’t control their timeframe. They are a third party that is there to protect the best interest of the transaction and make sure that you have a fair and unbiased appraisal value, but they are way behind right now. So, if you’re purchasing a home, and you want to wait for an inspection to come in before you have an appraisal done, go ahead and have the lender order the appraisal. Just make sure, if the appraisal is accepted by the appraiser, to go ahead and hold off and postpone it. Don’t wait to order it, get it in now, because by the time your inspections are done, you should know if the inspections are going to blow up your deal, then you just cancel the appraisal. And you should not have to have paid for it.

So those are the three things you need to know. I hope that is valuable to you. It is a great time to purchase and refinance, I locked a jumbo refi in yesterday at 2.75%, incredible! So, feel free to give me a call. We’ll make sure that you and your clients are well taken care of. We still have super-fast underwriting turn times that guarantee our close time. Matter of fact, if I don’t close your transaction in 21 days on most purchases, I will pay for your appraisal. I’ll also reimburse the seller up to $100 a day for every day I miss their closing. Not going to happen! All right, so call the Loan Arranger at CrossCountry Mortgage. Have a great day and enjoy your Labor Day weekend.