He has been pushing me to do the financing locally. Okay, clearly there are some benefits to this -- I get it. But the background concern I feel like this addresses more than anything is that it will just make his life easier. Yes, it could potentially make our lives easier too, but it feels like more than that. Just a gut feeling based on a variety of other small and potentially inconsequential things that have happened throughout this process.
Locally there are a few options. The realtor gave me several people to contact, and we had already been in contact with Chase Bank back in the beginning when we wanted to get a feel for how much we could spend to build. For a big monolithic banking company they were reasonably helpful then so I've kept them in mind, but hadn't expected than when the rubber hit the road they'd be able to be competitive. Meanwhile I've heard some terrible, terrible stories about Chase dropping the ball and causing all kinds of turmoil on deals a few friends were trying to use them for. One of my friends -- a realtor himself -- told me it has gotten so bad with Chase that some of his realtor buddies refrain from accepting pre-approval letters from them. When pushed on the issue Chris (my realtor) admitted he'd heard some things. Yikes!
And why did I have to push to get this? Presumably he doesn't think it's that bad of a problem, or he feels confident he can overcome it. But when we talk about any remotely located mortgager he gets very skittish.
By far the most helpful and informative person I've talked to has been my guy at Bank of America, which is where my current mortgage is held. Chris is not keen on that. If I deal with BOA he'd much rather me talk to the local office. When pushed he finally came back with the right and helpful answer that he'll make it work, and if there are problems he'll deal with them. Yay.
I had been intrigued by one of the leads he gave me to a person who is a sort of broker, with a local processing office. Brokers are where I've had the best results (in terms of rates) before. She had promised to get back with me by 10:30 AM the next day. I finally got an e-mail from her in the late afternoon. And it pretty much just said she could do the 5%, which I had previously told her I could get through BOA. So, hours late, and not really a better deal. I don't see the value.
After talking to a bunch of them it appears that the differences are still pretty subtle -- maybe a few hundred dollars in closing costs is all. This may be due to increased regulations and increasingly conservative practices after the banking meltdown of recent years.
So my current mortgage is through BOA, but the vast majority of my day to day banking is through Chase. Chase will give me the same rate as the lowest offers I've had. I feel like they should give me a better one due to all of the business I do with them, but even at the same level it still seems like it could be more convenient to have it all in one place like that.
Meanwhile Liane, who has been talking to Chase while I've been running with and researching all the others, got swindled into locking the rate with them. Oh, Liane. She just didn't know better. All sings point to us leaning that way anyway, so maybe no big deal.
And why did I have to push to get this? Presumably he doesn't think it's that bad of a problem, or he feels confident he can overcome it. But when we talk about any remotely located mortgager he gets very skittish.
By far the most helpful and informative person I've talked to has been my guy at Bank of America, which is where my current mortgage is held. Chris is not keen on that. If I deal with BOA he'd much rather me talk to the local office. When pushed he finally came back with the right and helpful answer that he'll make it work, and if there are problems he'll deal with them. Yay.
I had been intrigued by one of the leads he gave me to a person who is a sort of broker, with a local processing office. Brokers are where I've had the best results (in terms of rates) before. She had promised to get back with me by 10:30 AM the next day. I finally got an e-mail from her in the late afternoon. And it pretty much just said she could do the 5%, which I had previously told her I could get through BOA. So, hours late, and not really a better deal. I don't see the value.
After talking to a bunch of them it appears that the differences are still pretty subtle -- maybe a few hundred dollars in closing costs is all. This may be due to increased regulations and increasingly conservative practices after the banking meltdown of recent years.
So my current mortgage is through BOA, but the vast majority of my day to day banking is through Chase. Chase will give me the same rate as the lowest offers I've had. I feel like they should give me a better one due to all of the business I do with them, but even at the same level it still seems like it could be more convenient to have it all in one place like that.
Meanwhile Liane, who has been talking to Chase while I've been running with and researching all the others, got swindled into locking the rate with them. Oh, Liane. She just didn't know better. All sings point to us leaning that way anyway, so maybe no big deal.
Working at Citigroup in the Real Estate Lending and Consumer Lending sides of the business for 10 years - I'd be happy to share some of my stories with you... At least what's happening with Broker's, local, and national sales "consultants"... And what happens before, during, and after you're a customer...
ReplyDeleteI've already heard a few good ones Dave, but feel free to share more. I know there are some agents who refer customers to this blog so they can see the real world of experiences, so who knows, you might help someone.
ReplyDelete