A Quick Refinance: The Lender

Do Your Homework Looking Into Perspective Lenders: Most mortgage companies will not hesitate to claim that they can get your loan closed unbelievably quickly, while few actually can. This means you need to research who you’re speaking to!

Many big banks can have a slower turn-around time because their sales, processing and underwriting offices are not directly connected.  Oftentimes, the mortgage advisor at your local big bank will not be handling your file directly; their job is to take your information and to send it off to another branch of the company that processes mortgages, and then just wait to hear back.  Similarly, it is quite common for smaller banking institutions to need to outsource the job of processing and underwriting your loan, so this can add a considerable amount of time to the refinance, as well.

So big banks can be slow and small banks can be slow. Both for similar reasons; they don’t handle the processing and underwriting of your loan directly.  How do you know which business you can trust to get your mortgage done quickly?  The first thing you can do is ask them.

When you’re shopping for a lender, find out the following:

• Who will handle the processing of your loan? Who will handle the underwriting? And, are those services completed in-house?
• Does your Loan Advisor know their colleagues who handle your loan and will they will be able to collaborate help push it through the process quickly?
• What is the average loan turn-time for your Loan Advisor and does your Loan Advisor even has a federal license to originate loans

Additionally, there are many platforms you can use to do an online search for the company that you’re considering to work with in order to get a feel for what previous customers have to say about them, so spend a bit of time getting to know your future mortgage company.  It’s crucial for you to read the companies’ reviews and to find out their rating with the Better Business Bureau. Know what percentage of previous customers would recommend doing business with that lender. Doing a little research ahead of time is truly the best way to get a feel for how quickly your loan will be handled and smart borrowers do it before ever having their credit ran or paying for an appraisal.

Don’t be afraid to trust your instincts on this decision, either; if something feels off, just keep on looking. There are many companies in the mortgage market looking for your business, so you are under no obligation to work with the first company you speak with. All of your questioning and research will help you determine whether or not you want to entrust one of your largest assets to that specific company, and if you believe they will be able to finalize your loan in a timely fashion.

Written by: Julia Davenport-Drake, Loan Advisor at Royal United Mortgage LLC
Published: 2/18/2016