Mortgage refinancing

[goldmom]

It looks like there's light at the end of the tunnel for this process, which has been a total cluster on the part of Wells Fargo. I thought since they have been my mortgage company all along and know I have never missed or been late, it would be a breeze. WRONG.
Long story short, I finally got my commitment letter today after 9 weeks of hassle, and should close in the next two weeks.
When I bought my house in 2006, my monthly payment was just under $1,700 a month. I refi'd once with a HARP loan which brought it down, and this latest refi will bring my total payment - PITI - down to $1,014.
Anyone else done a refi this year?

 

[nynole1]

It looks like there's light at the end of the tunnel for this process, which has been a total cluster on the part of Wells Fargo. I thought since they have been my mortgage company all along and know I have never missed or been late, it would be a breeze. WRONG.
Long story short, I finally got my commitment letter today after 9 weeks of hassle, and should close in the next two weeks.
When I bought my house in 2006, my monthly payment was just under $1,700 a month. I refi'd once with a HARP loan which brought it down, and this latest refi will bring my total payment - PITI - down to $1,014.
Anyone else done a refi this year?

The big banks are a joke. None of the decisions are made by a human in your branch, just some entity in their "corporate office".
I have a mortgage, three business accounts, a business line of credit, three personal accounts and two credit cards with Chase. I have never missed a payment, have a zero balance on the LoC and they denied my application for a $7500 credit card!
I'll hopefully be looking for a new mortgage to move out of NY(God willing) in the near future, but I'll be exploring options outside of Chase.

 

[navyittech]

Goldmom,
We did a ReFi in July 2020, went from a 3.75 to a 2.50 rate. Wells was our lender and they denied us, no lates or anything as they were our initial lender when we closed in Sept of 2019. We used Clear Path Lending as they specialize in VA loans and we closed in 5 weeks. I hope to never do business with Wells again.

 

[squiffynole]

Fortunately our home is paid off but this discussion reminds me of my first house financed at over 9% interest in 1980!

The good news was an almost completed house, 3.5 beautiful acres and a barn cost $35k. The bad news was I lived for five years with no a/c and a wood stove for heat. Those were good days.

 

[Joeseminole83]

The big banks are a joke. None of the decisions are made by a human in your branch, just some entity in their "corporate office".
I have a mortgage, three business accounts, a business line of credit, three personal accounts and two credit cards with Chase. I have never missed a payment, have a zero balance on the LoC and they denied my application for a $7500 credit card!
I'll hopefully be looking for a new mortgage to move out of NY(God willing) in the near future, but I'll be exploring options outside of Chase.

Whoa whoa. As someone who is a mortgage underwriter for one of the "big banks" I can assure you that we make the decisions on mortgages and not some "entity in their corporate offices". All of the big banks are stuck underwriting to the same crappy Fannie/Freddie guidelines for the vast majority of their applications.

 

[Joeseminole83]

It looks like there's light at the end of the tunnel for this process, which has been a total cluster on the part of Wells Fargo. I thought since they have been my mortgage company all along and know I have never missed or been late, it would be a breeze. WRONG.
Long story short, I finally got my commitment letter today after 9 weeks of hassle, and should close in the next two weeks.
When I bought my house in 2006, my monthly payment was just under $1,700 a month. I refi'd once with a HARP loan which brought it down, and this latest refi will bring my total payment - PITI - down to $1,014.
Anyone else done a refi this year?

I don't work for Wells but I know most lenders are operating way above current capacity. Just curious - was the timeframe that long just because they were slow with everything, or were they harassing you for documentation?

 

[nynole1]

Whoa whoa. As someone who is a mortgage underwriter for one of the "big banks" I can assure you that we make the decisions on mortgages and not some "entity in their corporate offices". All of the big banks are stuck underwriting to the same crappy Fannie/Freddie guidelines for the vast majority of their applications.

Are you sitting in a local branch across the desk from me looking at my application and making approval/denial decisions? I can assure you that's not happening in my local Chase.

 

[Joeseminole83]

Are you sitting in a local branch across the desk from me looking at my application and making approval/denial decisions? I can assure you that's not happening in my local Chase.

Of course I'm not. We work based out of a fulfillment building with processors, call center folks, production support, closers, etc.

Why does an underwriter need to be based out of a local financial center to underwrite your file?

 

[goldmom]

I don't work for Wells but I know most lenders are operating way above current capacity. Just curious - was the timeframe that long just because they were slow with everything, or were they harassing you for documentation?

BOTH. I've been back and forth with them since January.

 

[nynole1]

Of course I'm not. We work based out of a fulfillment building with processors, call center folks, production support, closers, etc.

Why does an underwriter need to be based out of a local financial center to underwrite your file?

My point was that the person I'm talking to in my bank doesn't have the authority to approve my mortgage. Does anyone actually do underwriting anymore or is it mostly based on your credit score? Why wouldn't I get approved for a CC with my track record listed above and an 812 credit score?

 

[Joeseminole83]

My point was that the person I'm talking to in my bank doesn't have the authority to approve my mortgage. Does anyone actually do underwriting anymore or is it mostly based on your credit score? Why wouldn't I get approved for a CC with my track record listed above and an 812 credit score?

Well yes, folks in the financial centers don't do anything in terms of approvals for any products. A lot of older folks I would talk to would complain about not being able to go to their financial center to talk to their UW or processor in person. Unfortunately it just doesn't make business sense to set up UW's in financial centers - in fact most UW positions aren't customer facing....or even customer interacting.

Credit cards and auto loans are essentially 100% automated and driven off your FICO and disclosed income/debts. No idea why someone with a 812 FICO wouldn't qualify for a credit card unless you're overextended. You should have gotten an adverse action notice with the decline - what did it say?

My prior role was underwriting home equity lines of credit and that was a 100% full manual underwrite. I'm in first mortgage now and while we have an automated underwriting system that runs in the background using information we input, we are still responsible for a full review and we are the ones signing off on the approval.

 

[Joeseminole83]

BOTH. I've been back and forth with them since January.

I'm not surprised at all with the timeframe. We have started to lock rates for 90 days on some refi products because the volume is so crazy right now. At least it's almost over and you're saving a bunch of money!

 

[nynole1]

Well yes, folks in the financial centers don't do anything in terms of approvals for any products. A lot of older folks I would talk to would complain about not being able to go to their financial center to talk to their UW or processor in person. Unfortunately it just doesn't make business sense to set up UW's in financial centers - in fact most UW positions aren't customer facing....or even customer interacting.

Credit cards and auto loans are essentially 100% automated and driven off your FICO and disclosed income/debts. No idea why someone with a 812 FICO wouldn't qualify for a credit card unless you're overextended. You should have gotten an adverse action notice with the decline - what did it say?

My prior role was underwriting home equity lines of credit and that was a 100% full manual underwrite. I'm in first mortgage now and while we have an automated underwriting system that runs in the background using information we input, we are still responsible for a full review and we are the ones signing off on the approval.

A good look at how the process works, thank you.

It was an online rejection and said nothing other than "We cannot approve your application at this time". The funny thing is I wasn't looking for a CC, they repeatedly emailed me about it and asked me in my branch. I'm certainly not overextended, as a matter of fact my credit reporting service says I would need to open two additional accounts to increase my credit score lol

 

[Joeseminole83]

A good look at how the process works, thank you.

It was an online rejection and said nothing other than "We cannot approve your application at this time". The funny thing is I wasn't looking for a CC, they repeatedly emailed me about it and asked me in my branch. I'm certainly not overextended, as a matter of fact my credit reporting service says I would need to open two additional accounts to increase my credit score lol

You're welcome.

Anytime you apply for any "credit" product (mortgage, auto, card, etc) and are declined the lender is required to send you an adverse action notice explaining why they declined you. Maybe you got something in the mail but tossed it without reading it?

I've actually had to decline people who applied for a HELOC before due to not having a sufficient credit history (ie number of accounts). In the mortgage world it's called a "thin credit file" and is a requirement regardless of your FICO. Not sure your situation or if you fall into that category or not.

 

[booker20]

We refinanced, finally got done a month or so ago... Dropped nearly 2 points.

We've refi'd our home twice in the 12 years we've been here.

Still the same payment, but we've taken about 10 years off if the length of the loan.

We have a close friend who is a loan officer, and we never have a long wait. She does good work, but it's also through a small town bank.

 

[Cribbs]

We began the refi process with Suncoast at the end of September and closed in early March. Other than taking 5 months the process was fairly easy. We went from 4.25 to 3.25. Would’ve dropped to 2.5 but we also did a 25 k cash out.

 

[FisherWilcoxTaggart Survivor]

BOTH. I've been back and forth with them since January.

Call Bret Lindquist at The Mortgage Firm. Google him. Rock solid Nole and will get this done for you quickly and painlessly.

 

[goldmom]

Call Bret Lindquist at The Mortgage Firm. Google him. Rock solid Nole and will get this done for you quickly and painlessly.

LOL I’m dealing with a guy named Brett at Wells. FSU grad. 😉

 

[MagNoleA]

LOL I’m dealing with a guy named Brett at Wells. FSU grad. 😉

That is just fantastic to hear!

 

[swflnole]

Been doing loans for 30 plus years, if you're not closed in 30 days you're with the wrong lender. At least half of my refi's have appraisal waivers on them so we are closing them in around 2 weeks. Our rates are better than most banks as well as Suncoast credit. For those wondering why banks are taking so long.....They don't want to lend cheap money out for 30 years with little reward and a lot of risk.

 

[goldmom]

Been doing loans for 30 plus years, if you're not closed in 30 days you're with the wrong lender. At least half of my refi's have appraisal waivers on them so we are closing them in around 2 weeks. Our rates are better than most banks as well as Suncoast credit. For those wondering why banks are taking so long.....They don't want to lend cheap money out for 30 years with little reward and a lot of risk.

I knew it! I even said that to my mortgage guy. Drag your feet, hope I'll say never mind, or have rates climb before I get a rate lock.

 

[MagNoleA]

I knew it! I even said that to my mortgage guy. Drag your feet, hope I'll say never mind, or have rates climb before I get a rate lock.

After several weeks of hee hawing around, I just bailed from this scam in the making.
Roy Clark and Buck Owens

 

[nynole1]

May be jumping in again myself pretty soon if I can convince my wife to make the move...

 

[Joeseminole83]

Been doing loans for 30 plus years, if you're not closed in 30 days you're with the wrong lender. At least half of my refi's have appraisal waivers on them so we are closing them in around 2 weeks. Our rates are better than most banks as well as Suncoast credit. For those wondering why banks are taking so long.....They don't want to lend cheap money out for 30 years with little reward and a lot of risk.

That's just patently false. Big banks are governed by the OCC and we have to underwrite to Fannie/Freddie guidelines in order for mortgages to be sold on the market. This is why smaller lenders can get away with essentially doing whatever they want especially if they aren't re-selling the mortgages. Has nothing to do with not making enough money on interest.....rates have been low for 10 years at this point. Plus the vast majority of originated files are sold....so it's not a risk vs reward situation.

Big banks are taking over 30 days to close on loans because many of them have thousands upon thousands of unassigned files just sitting waiting for an ICD. Has nothing to do with lenders dragging their feet and everything to do with being insanely busy.

 

[goldmom]

Just closed. 👏 No payment until June.
Now I can afford to pay for a better grade of Roach Motel in Tally this fall! 😂

 

[FisherWilcoxTaggart Survivor]

Just closed. 👏 No payment until June.
Now I can afford to pay for a better grade of Roach Motel in Tally this fall! 😂

Really need Prince Murat to come back to town.

 

[Dr. Nole]

Any recommendations on who to use for a boat loan?

 

[FisherWilcoxTaggart Survivor]

Any recommendations on who to use for a boat loan?

What are you looking at (boat-wise)?

 

[Dr. Nole]

Trawler style

 

[FisherWilcoxTaggart Survivor]

Trawler style

That is a rig I don’t know much about. I have seen some pretty nice ones tooling up and down the ICW, although they lack the “chicks-faint-when-they-see-me” splendor of a big Whaler or Scout. 😀

 

[Dr. Nole]

That is a rig I don’t know much about. I have seen some pretty nice ones tooling up and down the ICW, although they lack the “chicks-faint-when-they-see-me” splendor of a big Whaler or Scout. 😀

Very true...I’m just shy of 60 so the Wife and I are thinking a Trawler is about our speed.

 

[FisherWilcoxTaggart Survivor]

Very true...I’m just shy of 60 so the Wife and I are thinking a Trawler is about our speed.

Peaceful Acres at Sea.....I get it.

 

[MagNoleA]

Any recommendations on who to use for a boat loan?

Captain Stubing. He's always had a thing for much older big luxury boats.
And Chief Brodie has always insisted on a bigger boat, too. I'm sure they would put in a good word for you.