Hey folks! Money is on sale! Get it while it lasts! Money in the form of mortgage loans for credit worthy homeowners and home buyers with equity in the deal, that is. Rates are great. Really great! People are rushing to refinance. Your chosen title company (and everyone else in the mortgage loan finance process) is probably dealing with a welcome but unforeseen three to four hundred percent increase in new title orders the last five weeks.
Make no mistake. This sudden increase will result in more last minute craziness for some real estate closings. Not because anyone is incompetent, just because everyone is suddenly swamped. If you want to minimize the chances of your next deal ending up like a Chinese fire drill, here's a few suggestions.
What to do.
There are steps you can take to ensure that your next deal doesn't accidently end up in a panic the day before closing. First, once your deal is ready to go, get the title order in and let the title company know up front exactly when you hope to close it. And if that time frame suddenly shortens, let everyone know ASAP. The more lead time afforded, the better the chance things will get done on time.
Second, do your usual follow ups with everyone in the transaction a few days earlier in your time-line. The entire system - loan underwriters, appraisers, title companies- are stressed managing through this sudden increase in business. Production times are bound to lengthen. You want to be in line early.
Third, encourage your clients to be timely. Don't wait to start the loan application process. It's going to take longer. They need to get their loan officers all their documentation as soon as possible. All through the process, incomplete deals will get moved to the bottom of the pile and inevitably incur delays. A deal without lose ends is more likely to be completed within everyone's expected time frame.
Fourth, avoid Friday closings -especially Friday afternoon. In this environment, everything that can be put off until tomorrow, will be. Tuesdays and Wednesday are good days. Those will be among the first deals worked on every Monday. You don't want your deal delayed because it took longer to get someone else's deal done.
Happy Endings
Follow this advice and you and your clients stand a much better chance of avoiding the referral killing last minute closing meltdowns. Most deals always close. To ensure a happy ending in this new environment though requires a little more active delegation than what you may have become accustomed to over the last couple of years.
I'm posting about 2009 changes to the Real Estate Closing and Title Insurance business. Monday, I'll be back with more about the Hoosier State's favorite pastime, and it's not basketball.
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In case you're wondering, the header picture on this page isn't sized correctly because the blogging platform changed, and I'm still at the low end of the learning curve. lol
nice points on make sur a loan goes through...everything is the agent's responsibility in the end
good points and closing used to be about the buyer and seller. Now they are about the buyer seller and lender. Times change
John: Thank you. It's always nice to hear about how we can make your job easier. Best wishes to you!
Happy New Year John, Good advice inyour post...We've found since the 1st of this year that increased # of REFI's are slowing down the process of loans somewhat and also taking up closing spots :0 ...Plan early and be flexible & THOUROUGH is the adjustment needed.
Have a great 20091
Sincerely,
Grace
John, timely information. No doubt capacity is stretched at the moment. Staffing was reduced in 2008 and now the explosion has occurred. It will be challenging, but a welcome one.
Jay