Ari's Sale

Ari's sale isn't going so hot. We are supposed to close next week. However the loan officer--I did not pick him, Ari's mom did--is not exactly Johnny on the spot. The dates in the purchase contract seem to be mere suggestions to him, which is unfortunate because I am one heartbeat away from an aneurysm.

Additionally, and I am no loan expert here, the underwriter is asking for things that I truly feel the loan officer should have anticipated. In fact, I recall having chats with this guy six weeks ago asking if the underwriter might have a problem or two with a few particulars in Ari's documents. "Why would he?" the loan officer asked.

Why indeed?

I have called the loan officer every day this week. After three days of him not replying, with my text, voice and e-mail messages saying things like, "I hope all is ok. It seems unusual that I haven't heard from you," I called his boss, just to make sure the loan officer was alive. It is simply miraculous how quickly a non-responsive loan officer can learn to communicate under those circumstances.

Anyway, here we are. We are supposed to close next week and we are nowhere near what I would comfortably say is a certain this is happening. I am loathe to tell the other agent because the house wasn't on MLS and I know the seller can get more money for the place. So, before I go begging the other side for grace, I want to have some concrete answers.

It is a source of general frustration when clients use loan officers I don't know. Loan officers aren't all cut from the same cloth. This guy is not terrible, but he doesn't handle unusual situations with any amount of creativity. Nor do I find him to be proactive, which is something I value in my business partners.

I believe Ari's home will close--provided the sellers don't decide to call us out and cancel. But it probably won't close on time. And that's a shame, because I think if this loan officer had been a little more attentive, it would have.