Find the Right Bank

Whitney Houston once sang a song called “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”. I can tell you where: broken hearts go to the wrong bank.

Working with lenders and their underwriting departments has become one of the more challenging parts of the buying process in the last few years. You might look in the mirror and smile, thinking those problems are just for the folks who don’t pay their bills on time and are in debt up to their eyeballs. Plus, you have a friend who’s in the lending business who has assured you that when the time comes, they’ll take good care of you. That’s all well and good, but there are a few other factors to consider that might have you singing a different tune.

Much like yourself, most people shopping for a cabin or second home have done quite well for themselves. So for the most part, we work with very well qualified buyers. The rub comes from a couple of other directions. Many of the properties we represent have unique features that can cause troubles in underwriting. It’s hard to make a laundry list of the specific things that raise red flags. You just never know what’s going to come into question from one time to the next. But one thing you can be sure of…you’ll find out at the eleventh hour when emotions are high and time is short. Ouch! Using a lender from out of the area can also bring a non-local appraiser to the party, who isn’t familiar with what is “typical” for properties here and once the appraiser has rung the bell, it’s hard to un-ring it.

Rest assured, we don’t get any financial benefit from recommending lenders. We just get to sleep at night, knowing our clients and customers are going to have a smooth ride toward a happy closing day. Once you’ve found “the right agent”, please listen to them about who “the right bank” might be for the property you’d like to buy. – Wanda Boldon