Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Some homeowners have the luxury of buying a home, moving in and then selling their current home or close on the sale of their home afterwards. Wouldn’t that be nice?
The more common scenario is like the Johnson’s closing last month (note: I use generic names for privacy sake of my clients, I will never use their real names in this blog). Jim and Julie Johnson planned to use the money received from the sale of their current home to help buy a new home for their growing family; Four children and counting!!
We now have two options. First would have been to wait until they sell their house, find temporary housing and then buy a new home afterwards. Even if you’re single, this is a pain in the butt to say the least, unless you are that rare species of person who enjoys moving and all the packing and coordinating to go with it. For the rest of us, there really is only one good option. To coordinate the sale of your home and the purchase of your new home so they close on the same day and that is exactly what the Johnson’s intended to do.
To make sure that this process goes as seamlessly and stress free as possible, there is an added level of communication that needs to happen and simply put, you’re average loan officer does not take this as seriously as it needs to be taken.
This isn’t just about putting our purchase mortgage together for the Johnson’s now. It’s also ensuring that Title companies for both the sellers of the new home, our loan AND the loan of the buyers of the current home are all in consistent communication. The only way to ensure this is for me to make sure that everyone has the contact information for the other parties involved and to keep checking in for updates. This is simply step one, in addition we have buyers/sellers and Realtors that will need to be kept in the circle of communication so they can instruct their clients and keep everything moving on their end as smoothly as possible.
This isn’t a science, it’s simply empathy. When you care about someone, you think about what would be in their best interest and act accordingly. Jim and Julie Johnson are pulling their hair out trying to pack boxes, make sure the children understand how the move will go and why it’s happening as well as making sure the moving trucks are ready and just the right time per day.
That’s all they should be worrying about because they have entrusted me to keep my word and make certain that their new mortgage will be ready to close BEFORE the day occurs. Each of my clients is told from the very beginning how the loan will progress and the time frame I will need to ensure that moving day is the only thing to worry about.
When you’re out with your Realtor looking for homes, ask them about some of their closing ‘horror’ stories. Once you hear these, you may come to realize that obtaining a mortgage is not a commodity based on the best rate and fees, it’s about finding an expert professional so you can avoid ever being mentioned in the list of horror stories.
Jim and Julie Johnson sold their home at 9 in the morning, then bought their new home at 11 with the moving trucks scheduled to be on the doorstep at 1. With the babysitter (Grandma) coordinated for the kids, everything went as well as they could have hoped for….and that makes me smile.
-Matt
Mortgage Stories from Matt 