Speeding Up the Close: Five Tips on How to Close Your Mortgage Loan ON TIME

When a Seller accepts an Offer from a Buyer, the process of obtaining the property has only just begun. The Buyer now has to perform detailed due diligence including all inspections, survey, appraisal, approval (Title search, pay-offs from seller) from an attorney and obtain a mortgage – all of which can be time consuming. Here are a few ways that you can speed up the mortgage process and close the deal ON TIME.

Get Conditional Approval Before You Tour Your First Home
If you have not been conditionally approved for a loan before making an Offer, you can be fairly confident that a lender will give you a loan for the amount of the purchase price. In addition, starting the process from scratch (after going under Contract) could push back the Closing timeline considerably; sellers are just not willing to wait – especially in the ‘hot’ market that we’re currently experiencing. Having your mortgage conditionally approved means the mortgage process is already underway when you make your Offer, which not only saves you time but, makes your Offer a strong one that the sellers of your dream home WILL consider.

Make Sure That You Have The Money For Closing Costs

Before you even tour your first home, you’ll want to have the finances in order – FIRST. Do you have the money needed for a down payment and to pay other Closing and prepaid costs? If not, you won’t be able to Close until you find the funds to pay those costs – and this could delay the closing on your home indefinitely. Before you proceed with a mortgage, make sure you have enough cash on hand to pay Closing costs.
Gather Your Documents

Get your bank statements, pay stubs and other documents together before the Seller accepts your Offer. Having everything that the lender needs right away decreases the time needed for a lender to assess your application before extending the loan to you.

Work With A PREFERRED Mortgage Lender

Of all of the points in this article, this one is a NECESSITY! Many before you have begun the home-shopping process with a lender from their personal bank, a family friend in another state, the dreaded online lending company or maybe even someone related to the buyer. We are finding ourselves in more and more bidding wars and not being able to provide a pre-approval letter from a preferred lender is the cause of many broken hearted buyers. If a lender can’t Close the loan on time, the snowball effect begins – buyers and sellers are stuck storing already packed furniture, increasing moving expenses; parties from both sides of the transaction are stuck paying for overnight lodging and dining expenses that they otherwise would not have had. Buyers and sellers often have to rearrange flights, work, utilities and so many moving-related activities because of unnecessary delays when a lender fails to perform.

This is UNACCEPTABLE to all parties and increases anxiety in the already-stressful moving experience. It is a MUST to use your agent’s preferred lenders – simply a must. A good real estate agent has a list of lenders who offer a variety of programs to suit your needs and competitive rates which more often than not, beat the rates of the buyers previous lender.

Your mortgage lender should be able to move the process along by staying on top of the loan approval process and Closing in a TIMELY fashion.
Create A Timeline For Repairs The Seller Is Obligated To Make

On occasion and with certain types of loans (FHA & VA specifically), a Seller is obligated to make certain repairs on the house before the new owner takes possession. It is important to set a mandatory completion date in order to proceed with a timely Closing. Your real estate agent should stay in close contact with the listing agent to ascertain that this work is being completed on time and re-inspections are made as quickly as possible.

Closing on a home loan can take anywhere from 30 to 45 days depending on work that needs to be done on the home, how well prepared a Buyer is and how qualified the lender is. Contacting and working closely with your mortgage lender or broker can result in a speedy and painless Close. Your primary responsibility is to communicate and to expeditiously provide documents to your lender as they are requested.