Hold your breath
Not much to report. Since all this bad news conspired on Friday, no one's been able to do anything serious about it until today. We're talking with three lenders right now.
Mr. Creative -- He's been in the industry for a while and worked many "difficult" cases. He's prone to see lenders as people, not machines spitting out answers you can't press or challenge. He's a mortgage broker, and he's got lots of unusual connections. He's recommended doing all kinds of things to get this loan through, including having us write a letter to a lender in which we talk about us as people, our situation, and try to persuade the lender to lend us money despite the fact that there are no other A-frames within a ten mile radius of this one.
Mr. Nice Guy -- He was our second choice way back when the mantle of the earth was hardening. Oh? That was just a month and a half ago? Anyhow, he's a mortgage broker who's really, really nice and seems trustworthy. Nevertheless, he doesn't have many connections. BONUS: He brokered a loan for an A-frame in the Austin area only two months ago. So, he can research where that was and what its appraisal used as "acceptable comparison" properties and give us the scoop that might help us "improve" our appraisal.
Mr. Banker -- He's the mortgage banker from our bank, and he's the only one quoting us loans right now. He seems to think the appraisal won't be a problem, even if we don't "improve" it by adding other A-frames to it. I don't know how he can say that, given that our (recently fired) mortgage broker sent the loan out to FIVE lenders and ALL FIVE OF THEM REJECTED THE LOAN BECAUSE OF THE APPRAISAL not having any A-frames to compare ours against. Perhaps he knows his underwriting department or has a good relationship with one of the underwriters and plans on submitting it to them. Nevertheless, he's asking us to shell out $$$ for another appraisal and survey, and he has yet to answer the question of WHY he thinks the appraisal not having other A-frame comparisons on it won't be a problem. I'd hate to pay an extra $1000 to end up hitting our heads against the same wall. BONUS: Wells Fargo allows the seller to contribute 6% towards closing costs, whereas most other lenders only allow him to contribute 3%. That means that we can raise the sales price by another $3000 or so (assuming that the new appraisal comes in at that much) and have the seller agree to put that extra $3000 towards closing costs, thus eliminating the extra costs associated with this last-minute loan.
I don't know if it's the anemia, or the stress, or what, but I'm having a rough past couple of days. Steve's had a thousand things to do, so I've been responsible for watching Isaac alone. I've got almost no patience for the little guy right now, and I think that only perpetuates his crying, whining, and disobedience. I haven't been getting good sleep, and EVERY TIME I've tried to take a nap I've fallen asleep just TEN MINUTES before Isaac wakes up from his. So, I'm feeling exhausted and moody, even a bit pissy.
Mr. Creative -- He's been in the industry for a while and worked many "difficult" cases. He's prone to see lenders as people, not machines spitting out answers you can't press or challenge. He's a mortgage broker, and he's got lots of unusual connections. He's recommended doing all kinds of things to get this loan through, including having us write a letter to a lender in which we talk about us as people, our situation, and try to persuade the lender to lend us money despite the fact that there are no other A-frames within a ten mile radius of this one.
Mr. Nice Guy -- He was our second choice way back when the mantle of the earth was hardening. Oh? That was just a month and a half ago? Anyhow, he's a mortgage broker who's really, really nice and seems trustworthy. Nevertheless, he doesn't have many connections. BONUS: He brokered a loan for an A-frame in the Austin area only two months ago. So, he can research where that was and what its appraisal used as "acceptable comparison" properties and give us the scoop that might help us "improve" our appraisal.
Mr. Banker -- He's the mortgage banker from our bank, and he's the only one quoting us loans right now. He seems to think the appraisal won't be a problem, even if we don't "improve" it by adding other A-frames to it. I don't know how he can say that, given that our (recently fired) mortgage broker sent the loan out to FIVE lenders and ALL FIVE OF THEM REJECTED THE LOAN BECAUSE OF THE APPRAISAL not having any A-frames to compare ours against. Perhaps he knows his underwriting department or has a good relationship with one of the underwriters and plans on submitting it to them. Nevertheless, he's asking us to shell out $$$ for another appraisal and survey, and he has yet to answer the question of WHY he thinks the appraisal not having other A-frame comparisons on it won't be a problem. I'd hate to pay an extra $1000 to end up hitting our heads against the same wall. BONUS: Wells Fargo allows the seller to contribute 6% towards closing costs, whereas most other lenders only allow him to contribute 3%. That means that we can raise the sales price by another $3000 or so (assuming that the new appraisal comes in at that much) and have the seller agree to put that extra $3000 towards closing costs, thus eliminating the extra costs associated with this last-minute loan.
I don't know if it's the anemia, or the stress, or what, but I'm having a rough past couple of days. Steve's had a thousand things to do, so I've been responsible for watching Isaac alone. I've got almost no patience for the little guy right now, and I think that only perpetuates his crying, whining, and disobedience. I haven't been getting good sleep, and EVERY TIME I've tried to take a nap I've fallen asleep just TEN MINUTES before Isaac wakes up from his. So, I'm feeling exhausted and moody, even a bit pissy.