St Louis Real Estate

Finally!  It's time to make application.  Yeah!  What should you expect?

Well, the first thing to expect is NOT to be intimidated!  One of my pet peeves with the mortgage industry is that too many loan officers try to get their bluff in and to intimidate the borrower into thinking that they are in some kind of position of authority.  While it's natural to be a bit nervous going into a loan application and a good loan officer can make a world of difference in how your application proceeds, a good loan officer won't make you feel uncomfortable or intimidated.

If you don't feel comfortable with your loan officer or with how things are proceeding, stop!  Gather your things and get another lender.

After meeting your loan officer and feeling comfortable with him or her you should expect your LO to ask a lot of questions.  They should be trying to figure out which program best suits your particular situation.  You shouldn't be afraid to ask questions.  You are about to make some big decisions here.  The LO shouldn't be rushing to get through with the application.  They should be gathering the information that they need to be able to make the best recommendations that they can.  If the LO seems to be trying to push you into a particular program that is a RED FLAG!   Until he or she has ALL of the information, they don't know enough to be pushing you into anything.

All in all, the application can take as little as 30 minutes to as long as several hours depending upon how complicated your transaction is and how many questions you or your agent asks.  Again, don't feel rushed.  The loan officer is getting paid to be there. 

The Loan Officer will take the application and have you sign a number of disclosures. The particular disclosures vary depending upon the loan program that you are applying for, however, two disclosures that you should be particularly aware of are the Good Faith Estimate and The Federal Truth-In-Lending Disclosure.  Most lenders give these to you at application, particularly if the application is taken on a computer.  Some lenders however, will mail these disclosures to you within 3 days of application.  THEY ARE IMPORTANT!  READ THEM! Particularly the Good Faith Estimate. 

The Good Faith Estimate outlines the fee and charges that you are going to incur in originating your mortgage.  Different lenders charge different fees.  One lender may charge one fee that another doesn't.  The important thing to remember is to take the total closing costs that are charged by one lender and to compare it to the closing costs that are charged by another lender.  When you compare them side by side, you also need to take into account what rate they are going to charge you. 

I could charge you a higher rate, but have lower closing costs than another lender.  The closing costs are a one time thing, the rate goes on for the life of the loan.  Which would you rather pay?

The other thing to remember is that we are talking about a very large purchase here.  If the lender that you feel comfortable with is $300.00 more expensive, rates being equal, will it really matter all that much when you are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a home and even more for the loan itself?  While it's important not to get over-charged, it's more important not to lose sight of the big picture.

All that said, ValueList is very competitive with our closing costs and the rates that we charge.  ValueList will give you an honest quote with a lock-in period long enough to get your transaction closed.  We don't play games with the rate. 

Sometimes another lender will quote you a rate that is lower than ValueList and every once in a while they might actually be beating us (especially if it's a niche product that isn't widely available).  Usually if they are beating us, it's not by much and you can always be comfortable that ValueList is only making a fair profit for your transaction. 

While we're all about making money, we don't have to make all of our money on you!  I'd rather give you a fair deal and have you come back again and feel happy enough to refer your friends and family to us, than make a few hundred extra dollars on this transaction and never hear from you again!

Getting Your Cash Together

Now that you've made application you will need to start pulling your money together.  Even if you are paying cash for the property, you need to call the financial institution where your money is to see how long it will take them to make the money available to you.

If the money is coming out of a 401K or other investment accounts, this time period might be several weeks.  Regardless of how long it is, be sure to keep a paper trail of where the money came from.

If your money is coming in the form of a gift be sure to let your loan officer know this.  He/she will give you a gift affidavit for the donor to sign and they will also give you several choices of how to verify that the donor has the ability to give you the gift.

If your money is coming out of the proceeds from the sale of a property, be prepared to give the LO a copy of the contract and a copy of the HUD - 1 if it is available.  If the transaction hasn't closed yet, the lender can predicate a copy of the HUD -1 as a funding condition on your mortgage.

Getting Ready To Close And Closing (Next)

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