Notes From The Mortgage Insider

Note: This article is reprinted from Margie Hofberg's Newsletter dated May 23, 2011.

The mortgage process is tough enough so don't make it worse!

Every week it seems like the wholesale lenders come up with some new requirement or rule that ends up being a trap for the unwary borrower (and originator). A few are insurmountable, but most would have been easy to avoid had we known about them in advance. Sadly, we rarely receive any advance notice of new or revised requirements, so the best we can do is make sure the next client is prepared for them. So I will use the next few newsletters to go over some things that borrowers need to watch out for when preparing to submit a mortgage application.

Last week's problem was an old water stain on the ceiling of my client's house. The appraiser observed the water stain but noted that it was dry even though it had been raining for several days prior to his inspection. My client informed him that the roof had been replaced 18 months ago but she had not gotten around to repainting the ceiling. Based on those facts the appraiser should not have noted the stain in the report but he did anyway. And based upon the appraiser's recommendation the wholesale lender conditioned loan approval on a roof inspection. So my client had to pay $250.00 for a roof inspection by the guy that replaced the roof just 18 months ago.

The moral of this story for a borrower is that after you fix your roof, don't delay repainting the ceiling! The moral of this story for me is to ask my clients if they have any old water stains on their ceilings, and if they do, tell them to repaint them before the appraisal is done.

I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather last weekend. Oops, excuse me, I have some repainting to do in my house!

Margie Hofberg, President, Residential Mortgage Center Inc

To contact Margie Hofberg email her at margie@rmcenter.com. If you wish to be notified when she posts her weekly Newsletter simply click on the Subscribe button below. To be added to her weekly Newsletter email distribution list email Renee Bourassa at renee@rmcenter.com.