The 15-Day Quick Close

If you get Age In Place Mortgage Company  everything we need and manage to coordinate with all parties, you’re on the right track, but there are a few odds and ends to consider. First, make sure you have no blemishes on your credit history. You can request a free report from the three major credit bureaus at the government-sponsored website, annualcreditreport.com. If you see items that show a balance even though they’ve been closed or if you find questionable entries, such as judgments or liens, contact the credit agency and your loan officer immediately and prepare an explanation. Make sure all negotiations with the seller have been completed as even the most insignificant squabble can hold up a closing. Sign all disclosures and the commitment letter upon receipt. Make sure you read the commitment thoroughly and understand everything that is required to close the loan. Finally, set your appointment as soon as possible after you’ve been approved so that a scheduling conflict doesn’t ruin everything you’ve worked for.

Tricks for closing on time with a “quick closing” mortgage

Borrowers can speed up their closing dates by being more prepared for the home buying process.

For example, a prepared buyer has already made plans for the down payment — either by saving up the money or applying for down payment assistance programs.

Of all the moving pieces that affect your closing date, the mortgage loan itself can have the biggest impact.

Make sure you’re prepared for the loan process to ensure you close as quickly as possible. Know what documents you’ll need for a home loan and prepare them ahead of time. Always respond to your lender quickly. And work to resolve any conditions that might come with your initial approval.

Buyers who are already preapproved when they make an offer and who stay in close contact with their mortgage lender will have the best shot at closing fast on a house.

How to get your purchase loan approved quickly

The amount of time you’ll need to finalize your home sale depends, in part, on how quickly you respond to your loan officer’s requests for information.

You can speed up your response time by being prepared for your lender’s requests. You can ask ahead of time what’s needed, then gather the required documentation. Even scanning in documents before they’re requested can save time later.

There are other tricks for a quick closing, too, and most come back to being prepared.

1. Know your paperwork requirements

It’s no secret. Mortgage lenders like paperwork. When you’re buying a home, you’ll want to be prepared with the most commonly required verification documents.

Common paperwork includes W-2 statements and federal tax returns from the last two years, your two most recent pay stubs, and your last two bank statements.

You should also have a copy of your driver’s license handy, as well as the Social Security numbers of everyone whose name will be listed on the mortgage.

If you know you have a unique credit situation such as a recent short sale or foreclosure, child support or alimony payments, or gift funds from a relative, have the relevant, related documentation ready.

This “gathering paperwork” step can be the most time-consuming one in the mortgage process, and you know you’re going to need the documents. Consider scanning them somewhere and having them ready in advance. This can shave days off your approval time and help you reach your closing more quickly.

2. Always be honest with your lender

Be honest and open with your lender — even if you worry that you’ll harm your approval chances. There are two reasons for this.

The first reason is that withholding information from your mortgage application can constitute loan fraud, which is a far worse outcome than not getting your home loan approved.

The second reason is that your mortgage lender will typically uncover what you’re trying to hide anyway. This is because, as part of the mortgage approval process:

• A credit check is performed which lists your creditors, debts, and judgments, if any
• An occupancy test is conducted by an underwriter to determine whether you really live where you say you do
• An employment check is done to verify your job status and income

Public records are scoured, too, just in case the above checks fail to include information the lender would need as part of your approval.

Using all of this information, should a mortgage underwriter uncover inconsistencies between your home loan application and the supplemental data gathered, it will ask you to explain the discrepancy in detail and your loan may be denied as a result.

Just know that your lender will uncover whatever information you elect to withhold — and this can lead to delays if not denial — so share everything.

3. Use pre-approval to speed up closing time

Home buyers with a mortgage pre-approval in-hand when they make an offer will be signing final paperwork sooner. Often, a pre-approval can speed up closing by a week or more.

This is possible because of the role which a pre-approval plays to a lender. Mortgage pre-approvals are dry runs: approvals based on an expected set of loan criteria which will eventually go to closing.

During the pre-approval process, your loan officer will take a complete loan application which includes performing an income and asset verification.

The LO will account for specific loan traits which may affect your final approval such as your personal credit scores, any required child support payments, or the availability of a co-signer.

In fact, when a pre-approval is issued, about the only missing item is often the physical property address of the home being purchased.

To compensate for this lack of “real address,” lenders use dummy information based on probable loan data including sample purchase prices, sample real estate tax bills common for the area, and sample homeowners insurance policies and/or homeowners association assessments, where applicable.

When a loan is pre-approved, a buyer can move immediately from writing the contract to underwriting the loan.

You can do this, but you must give it your full attention and work with us!

Lynn Chase is a licensed Colorado Mortgage Loan Originator (number 100014632) and Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System number 1651156.

Lynn is the founder and broker-owner of The Commercial Loan Arranger, LLC,  licensed by the State of Colorado, and is doing business under the registered trade name of the Age In Place Mortgage Company. The company Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System number NMLS #1790945

The company headquarters is located at 913 Dancing Horse Drive, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80919, and Lynn can be reached at (719) 302-5508 or Lynn@AgeInPlaceMortgage.com

© Copywrite by Professor Lynn Chase