Here’s a recent experience I had with a client… may the tale help you avoid the same troubles. 

The buyer interviewed several lenders of his own choosing and settled on one that had appeared competent and had the lowest fees/interest rate and was supposed to close at 1pm on Wednesday.  At 3:45pm on Tuesday, I got an email from my buyer saying that the loan officer could not get the loan closed because of further documentation he needed to provide that was never asked for up until now.  This documentation would have taken approximately 2 weeks to procure.  His email was one of desperation… he thought he was dead in the water!  He said to me: “Aaron, can Edina Realty Mortgage help?”

Cheryl Stuntebeck and I conferenced in with him and they got to working on an application for him, with Cheryl working late into the night on Tuesday.  Wednesday morning came and we find out the original loan officer was refusing to reassign the appraisal, had instructed the appraiser not to assist my buyer, and had cancelled the 2nd mortgage as well.  She told me that she wouldn’t let this file go and that she was going to do everything she could to keep him, though she couldn’t get him closed for approximately two weeks!

Throughout the day Cheryl worked with the underwriter, loan processor, closer, operations manager, site manager and appraiser to see that my client got through the whole process quickly.  Our original closing was scheduled for 1pm on Wednesday… we closed at 5pm that day… barely 24 hours after all of this drama had started.

While I very regularly work with Cheryl on my clients’ purchases, I’ve also had great success with other loan officers that the buyer has selected or that I have recommended.  What has been driven home for me here though is that the relationship with the loan officer (and closer too!) is critical.  In the future if my buyers do not have a previous relationship with a loan officer, I am going to more ardently encourage them to consult one of the loan officers that I have worked with.

The steps to buying a home involves many people throughout the process, any one of whom can either make your purchase a success, drive you nuts during the process, or outright ruin it for you.  I am very happy to have a team that was able to swoop in and save the day with such amazing results.