Loan Adventures

The Dragoon Mountains

Recently, I went on a quick trip to Southern Arizona. My destination was a quiet little patch of the world where a delightful 80 year old woman lives. I had been invited to visit for a couple of days--which turned into a bit longer. And I had an absolute ball! But enough about my free time. There is a point to this post.

While I was visiting Mrs. Meadows (a widow), I discovered she was in the process of refinancing her home. She had asked her treasured nephew, a Phoenix real estate agent, for a "reliable" loan officer and had been working with Ted (loan officer) ever since. Ted, however, pretty much didn't do much other than take a loan application over the phone and send her a small rain forest of paperwork he wanted her to sign. There was no explanation. No directions. In fact, Ted, to "help her" actually asked her to electronically sign everything. Of course, the subtext was, there was no reason to read it first, just click on the "signature" tab and move along.

It turns out Mrs. Meadows was holding on to this for a week because she was overwhelmed and wasn't sure what to do. While I was there, I sat with her one evening and went through each and every paper. Twice.

Just a little patch of wonderfulness

I also called Bulldog (my loan officer of choice) and asked her if the closing costs were reasonable and the rate was good. Bulldog, predictably, begged me for a chance to match this loan and earn the business. However, I couldn't do that. I am not treasured nephew and was not asked to provide a loan officer name. Nor did I need Mrs. Meadows' children calling me wanting to know why I was interfering in the finances of their mother. I have a license and there could be serious perceived ethics infractions if I let Bulldog get hold of this. So, I told her no, but asked her for help anyway.

I sometimes wonder why Bulldog takes my calls.

Anyway, in the end, I found out the rate was good (great, according to Bulldog). The loan wasn't what Mrs. Meadows thought she was getting and--more to the point--she thought the amount was wrong. The closing costs were reasonable, with a few exceptions. There was a small issue of the outrageous fee for a credit report. Plus, Mrs. Meadows is refinancing about 40 percent of the value of her home. Why did she need an appraisal for an amount so low? Also, why on earth was Ted expecting an 80 year old woman, with little computer experience to electronically sign anything?

I took care of the last part and set her up with an electronic signature, that she can use if she wishes in the future. But for now, she signed everything by hand and instructed me to deliver it to her loan officer in Phoenix when I returned. She wasn't messing with the whole "computer signing thing."

A great view out the front window

That evening, I also called Ted, used my Big-Girl Broker voice and left a few messages. When he finally got around to calling me back the next morning, I had just left the Hacienda in the Middle of Nowhere and was heading home. While we saying hello, I turned back around and headed back to Mrs. Meadows. Ted wasn't a fool. He knew he had no business talking to me--I wasn't his client. What we were discussing was confidential to the two of them. However, he was polite enough to hang on while I drove over the dirt roads a mile or two back to the house.

The first part of our chat was where I confirmed: he had no idea Mrs. Meadows, his client, was confused about the zillions of papers he sent her. Seriously, did he not think to call her and walk her through everything ahead of time? By the time I got around to questioning the professionalism of someone who would just send someone a boatload of documents under the circumstances I was back in her driveway.

Before I got back out of the car, Ted referred to Mrs. Meadows by her first name. Windows still up and his client out of earshot, I said very matter of fact, "From this point forward, when you talk to her, her first name is 'Mrs.'." I heard Ted sigh, but he got the message. I just spent three days with her and I don't even use her first name--and I have known her 40+ years!

Sunrise at the Hacienda

So the three of us had a conference call, out in the middle of nowhere Arizona. Ted, in Phoenix me and Mrs. Meadows in her kitchen, overlooking the Dragoon Mountains. Ted called her "Mrs. Meadows," and that was fine by everyone else. I assured Mrs. M., that her loan was good and the interest rate was a dandy. Ted was doing everything right (Bulldog verified it). However, what was with an appraisal on a loan amount so low? Ted hemmed and hawed, and through a variety of calls and negotiations with me over the next two days, I managed to get him to drop this. I also told him the amount he is charging for a credit report is highway robbery. He didn't disagree, but I convinced to get him to remove the $600 appraisal so I am not sure I am going to have much luck on the credit report.

Mrs. Meadows said from this point forward Ted is to send everything to me first, and only then she will sign. Ted countered back, saying that was impossible. I told him I would be happy to show him how to use his own computer system where there is an option for someone else to review if he truly had a problem with this. And that took care of that.

The paperwork got back to Ted in time for him to process the loan. Additionally, because the property is in a trust, Ted is willing to use my escrow officer (nobody else in this party had one readily available so I suggested one). Also, I am willing to make the 3+ hour drive back South to sit with Mrs. M. when she signs her loan documents. I will probably get a thank you and a Wendy's lunch out of it. But I know she will be protected and more importantly, it will give her a piece of mind.

As for Ted, he and I have been chatting about Mrs. M's loan for the past few days. We are good. Ted even volunteered he will make sure his clients are educated in the future. Plus we have been talking shop about a few other items. He just happens to have a loan program Bulldog doesn't have. If he takes care of Mrs. Meadows right, I could see my way to sending him a potential buyer some time in the future. But he better explain all of the documents he wants my clients to sign FIRST and not charge them an outrageous amount for a credit report.