Yesterday I had a closing for a Lakeview condo that wouldn’t have happened for a few more days, if it weren’t for the extraordinary efforts of the buyer’s mortgage consultant, Michael Polera, and real estate attorney, Rachell Horbenko. Condo financing is challenging in this market and even more so when a jumbo loan is involved. […]
Know What a Mortgage Preapproval is, Your Agent & Loan Officer May Not!
Want to maximize the strength of your offer and minimize the time it will take to get it accepted? Make sure you have a mortgage preapproval, not a mortgage prequalification with your offer. Years ago after one of my sellers got burned by a bad mortgage preapproval, I started having the loan consultant in my […]
How Your Mortgage Company Can Put Your Offer at Risk
Mortgages are not commodities. The service your mortgage company provides is just as important as the interest rate. I hope the following story illustrates this point. Last Thursday evening I received an offer on one of my listings. There was no mortgage pre-approval, so I called the buyer’s agent first thing on Friday. She didn’t […]
Pick Your Real Estate Professionals Carefully
Last Friday after a disconcerting phone conversation with a buyer’s mortgage broker, I wrote “A Mortgage Pre-qualification is Worthless as Part of an Offer“. The mortgage broker tried to get me to accept a mortgage pre-qualification for inclusion with my buyer’s offer. I insisted on a mortgage pre-approval. Any good listing agent receiving an offer […]