Homebuying Blues!

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by roni, Aug 13, 2001.

  1. roni

    roni Well-Known Member

    Is it common for the mortgage company and builder to hold out on how much you might have to bring to settlement. I mean why dont they have a clue. The figures havent changed in the last 4 mos. I close in 8 days and they still cant tell me if and how much more I have to give them. They said to show up with a bank check or certified check. What kind of bunk is that? This just seems so pointless and unnecesarily painful.
     
  2. Momof3

    Momof3 Well-Known Member

    Roni, I didn't get my final figures until the night before closing!!!! I would wait until they day before closing and if they still don't have a clue, which believe does happen, then get a certified cashiers check from your bank in the amount of your GFE. Also bring your checkbook in case they under estimated.
     
  3. roni

    roni Well-Known Member

    GFE? My GFE doesnt say that I owe anything else. This is bullshit.
     
  4. the other

    the other Well-Known Member

    It is normal to find out the day before closing how much you need to bring. It is also advisable to bring your checkbook in case something unexpected does come up.

    For example, at my closing, I found out that I needed to pay 1 month of the home owner's association fee at the closing. Good thing I had my checkbook.
     
  5. greyfox

    greyfox Well-Known Member

    When we bought in '97, the title company fouled up their figures and overcharged us by $800. It was refunded, but we had to provide a certified check....also, they nearly didn't get around to getting the pay-off before closing date. It was a total mess. We did get the (incorrect) figure about 2 days before closing.
     
  6. Hope

    Hope Well-Known Member

    Calm down. I'm a Realtor and I can tell you that I didn't know the exact amount for the cashier's check until the afternoon of my own closing!

    I just ballparked it and got a cashier's check from my bank the day before and brought along my personal check book.

    I know it seems stressful but there are several pieces of the pie that have to go together in order for the title company to know the exact figure to tell you. Actuall, the title company is waiting for "closing inx" from your lender and the Binder info from you homeowners insurance, the survey bill, etc. and then they tally it based on interest per day.

    So it's pretty standard for them not to know until they're pretty certain that everything's going to come together on time. (Even one day off makes a difference in the amount, so they have to be diligent).

    It's NORMAL!!
     
  7. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    I GOT MINE THE NIGHT BEFORE...but they messed up...they tried to get $300.00 too much...so they cut me a check for $300.00.

    I found out that some banks don't do CERTIFIED CASHIERS CHECKS...mine didn't...so I had to do to another bank with the cash and get one.

    They ripped me off like $4.00, because at the time I was not a customer...
    Wasn't that nice...give them all that cash...and they want $4.00 more!!!
     
  8. supershawn

    supershawn Well-Known Member

    I had my 5k downpayment certified check ready but had to call on my cell phone on the way to closing to get the exact amount of closing costs, etc.

    I was actually late for my own closing as it was a Friday and the bank was slammed.

    Shawn
     
  9. CCMax

    CCMax Active Member

    Not trying to scare you...

    But I had a nightmare closing. My husband and I got a VA loan, and we were told we needed about $3500 to close. THE DAY OF CLOSING, we get a call to say we need more than $12,000!!!! We obviously didn't have that kind of money, and after screaming and yelling on the phone all day long, we straightened the matter out. (This is why I gave birth on the day we closed--a week early. I literally broke water in the middle of closing.) In general, there are certain costs that can't be known ahead of time. However, all these co's do audits of closings, and there is chance you could get a refund if something's amiss.

    CC
     
  10. G. Fisher

    G. Fisher Banned

    It may be normal, but it's illegal.

    "One business day before the settlement, you have the right to inspect the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. This statement itemizes the services provided to you and the fees charged to you."

    http://www.hud.gov/fha/sfh/res/sc2sectg.html
     
  11. GEORGE

    GEORGE Well-Known Member

    HUD-1 Settlement Statement. One business day before the settlement,
    you have the right to inspect the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. This
    statement itemizes the services provided to you and the fees charged to
    you. This form is filled out by the settlement agent who will conduct the
    settlement. Be sure you have the name, address, and telephone number
    of the settlement agent if you wish to inspect this form. The fully
    completed HUD-1 Settlement Statement generally must be delivered or
    mailed to you at or before the settlement. In cases where there is no
    settlement meeting, the escrow agent will mail you the HUD-1 after
    settlement, and you have no right to inspect it one day before settlement.
     
  12. Newcomer

    Newcomer Well-Known Member

    Roni,

    The Good Faith Estimate is probably going to hold out. I got a refund at closing, because my GFE didn't include the money that I put down to secure a contract. I know it's difficult, but you've come this far. You know you're not going to be a renter after next week:) I read an article on bankrate that the new secretary of housing is working on streamlining the homebuying process after having recently gone through it himself. He said that the red tape and "unknown" elements of buying a house were discouraging to him, so he could only imagine what it's like for a first time buyer. I kept calling the closing agent up until 5pm the day before I closed, because my closing was scheduled for 10am the next day. They knew all along that I would probably get money back, but they can't say anything until all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed. IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY!!!!!!! I promise:)
     
  13. Hope

    Hope Well-Known Member

    Not.

    Surely you do have the "one day before" right. And if that is what you'd like, the title agencyw ill simply push your closing back one after whatever day everyone else finally gets their information in. That keeps things legal and to the letter of the law.

    However, the reality is that nearly every buyer/seller does not want to push back one day.

    So perhaps I should rephrase what must have sounded flippant to you Mr. Fisher (although it was intended to sound reassuring to the original poster):

    "They're not picking on you specifically. Neither are they twindling their thumbs. It may be cut very closely and you may have to scramble to get the check -- but you also have the right to invoke the 1-day-before rule."
     
  14. G. Fisher

    G. Fisher Banned

    Who chose the title company (which didn't tell you the amount to bring until the afternoon of the closing) in your case?

    In the transactions in which you are involved, who, ultimately, has the power to dictate which title insurance company is used?
     
  15. Hope

    Hope Well-Known Member

    In my personal home purchase, the builder "pre-chose" the title company because they had done the preliminary work on the subdivision and thus could offer both of us a discounted price on some services. Although I could have moved it, I was familiar with the folks there, had no objections and so there it stood.

    But again, I believe you're missing the point. It isn't the title company who's "gumming up the works". In all but the rarest of instances, they are merely the repository of closing data and information just as the law requires them to be (a disinterested thrid party).

    Ultimately, it is the lender who must issue the final "closing instructions" which gives the dollar amount of the now infamous certified check. In the absence of a lender (as in the case of an all-cash transaction), it is the sundried other parties -- surveyor, appraiser, taxing authorities, inspection, homeowners associations, repair contractors, et. al. whose invoices must be coordinated by the closing agent/title/escrow company.
     
  16. G. Fisher

    G. Fisher Banned

    So, you're saying that the ultimate choice of the title insurance company rests with the agent, or with the homebuyer? Perhaps you represented yourself in your transaction, so I'm not sure.
     
  17. tom65432

    tom65432 Well-Known Member

    I bought and financed my home through Pulte. We scheduled the closing for 1:30 Friday. By 5 P.m. (three and one half hours after the scheduled closing), they still had not come up with an estimate. So I guessed and got a cashiers check and went to close. By 7, they were ready.

    There were others in the closing office that were scheduled that morning who were still there after I left.

    What you are seeing is not unusual at all. Just take your check book.
     
  18. Hope

    Hope Well-Known Member

    Perhaps I'm not understanding what you digging at?
     
  19. G. Fisher

    G. Fisher Banned

    Who has the overriding legal authority to choose the title insurer?

    a) the buyer
    b) the seller
    c) the lender
    d) none of the above
     
  20. Hope

    Hope Well-Known Member

    Excuse me, I believe I already made it clear that I made the decision ultimate decision.

    So your point now owuld be...?
     

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