Thursday, November 29, 2007
The End of the Month
Another post for today? Yes, I won't be posting tomorrow...
An open plea to Realtors/Loan Officers: For all the time and headaches it takes to settle at the end of the month, WHY DO YOU PERSIST ON WRITING SALES CONTRACTS FOR A SETTLEMENT DATE AT THE END OF THE MONTH!? If it simply boils down to the Realtor solely considering Line 901 of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, a/k/a the prepaid interest, then the Realtor or Loan officer is very foolish.
Let me explain, their rationale seems logical - close at the end of the month, so that the prepaid interest you pay on your new mortgage would be minimal (e.g, settle on 11/30 and just pay interest on your new loan from 11/30-12/1, for on day of interest for about $50-$120 on Line 901 of the HUD-1).
Okay, fine. But here are the problems - and every month Realtors seems appalled and shocked that this happens (maybe these pitfalls weren't covered in their 60-hour training course):
1. Everyone wants to close at the end of the month, because some (not all) loan officers and Realtors were just cruising at the beginning of the month and it just dawned on them that they had to get paid for the month.
2. The settlement companies' conference rooms are booked solid from about noon-5pm, so the loan officers and Realtors get desperate (i.e., "this HAS to close today"), and there are delays in starting and finishing settlements during the end of the month - so rather than having a 30-45 minute refinance or an hour purchase, refi's can take an hour and purchases can take 2 1/2 hours.
3. The borrower really does not save that much, if any, by settling at the end of the month (see below).
Listen, I bought my home on October 2nd a few years ago - I paid the prepaid interest from 10/2 to 11/1 - about $1200 in interest. But you know what? THE SETTLEMENT WENT SMOOTHLY, THERE WERE NO DELAYS, I DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE A MORTGAGE PAYMENT UNTIL 12/1, AND EVERYONE WAS HAPPY! I know I am barking at the moon here, but if one realtor reads this and takes the time to consider that by settling on the 4th of the month vs. the 30th or 31st of the month, that it may not be such a bad thing, then I will have done my job.
An open plea to Realtors/Loan Officers: For all the time and headaches it takes to settle at the end of the month, WHY DO YOU PERSIST ON WRITING SALES CONTRACTS FOR A SETTLEMENT DATE AT THE END OF THE MONTH!? If it simply boils down to the Realtor solely considering Line 901 of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, a/k/a the prepaid interest, then the Realtor or Loan officer is very foolish.
Let me explain, their rationale seems logical - close at the end of the month, so that the prepaid interest you pay on your new mortgage would be minimal (e.g, settle on 11/30 and just pay interest on your new loan from 11/30-12/1, for on day of interest for about $50-$120 on Line 901 of the HUD-1).
Okay, fine. But here are the problems - and every month Realtors seems appalled and shocked that this happens (maybe these pitfalls weren't covered in their 60-hour training course):
1. Everyone wants to close at the end of the month, because some (not all) loan officers and Realtors were just cruising at the beginning of the month and it just dawned on them that they had to get paid for the month.
2. The settlement companies' conference rooms are booked solid from about noon-5pm, so the loan officers and Realtors get desperate (i.e., "this HAS to close today"), and there are delays in starting and finishing settlements during the end of the month - so rather than having a 30-45 minute refinance or an hour purchase, refi's can take an hour and purchases can take 2 1/2 hours.
3. The borrower really does not save that much, if any, by settling at the end of the month (see below).
Listen, I bought my home on October 2nd a few years ago - I paid the prepaid interest from 10/2 to 11/1 - about $1200 in interest. But you know what? THE SETTLEMENT WENT SMOOTHLY, THERE WERE NO DELAYS, I DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE A MORTGAGE PAYMENT UNTIL 12/1, AND EVERYONE WAS HAPPY! I know I am barking at the moon here, but if one realtor reads this and takes the time to consider that by settling on the 4th of the month vs. the 30th or 31st of the month, that it may not be such a bad thing, then I will have done my job.
Day 2 - Up and moving
Okay, so here it is the end of the month. As way of background, I have been a real estate attorney for the last 5-10 years (I don't want to pinpoint my exact number years in the business, to help retain my anonymity...for now). I get up at 5-6am each weekday, leave my home at 7:30-7:45am, commute to my office and arrive around 8:45-9:00am (If I am lucky), work until 6:30-7:30pm, then arrive home around 7:30pm-8:30pm each night. I really don't mind the "long" hours, but the commute can be a pain. I would love to be working from home, but it's not really an option at this time. Even as I type this right now, I am listening to a "multiple streams of income" .mp3 to try to encourage me to pull away from the job. But I am digressing a little bit.
Anyway, here is my rant for the day. I spend 8-10 hours working and 2-3 hours commuting. Unfortunately, my clients, the loan officers, seem to love placing phone calls to us starting a 3-4pm in the afternoon, after coming into their office at 11am-noon. Where were they when I was in my office at 8:30am? They were asleep.
Yes, (1) I know they usually work solely on commission, (2) I know that they work long hours with not a large guarantee of a stable monthly income, (3) I know that we at the escrow company are lucky to even get business during this mortgage downturn.
But, if you are a hotshot young gentleman loan officer, or realtor that just loves (a) to roll in your office at noon, (b) call me at 3pm, 3:02pm, 3:12pm, and 3:15pm to try to force a loan closing at 5pm - at my office and to let me know that the loan documents will be delivered to our office at 4:45pm, (c) knowing that I am working on client's files: Refi file A, Purchase file B, Refi file C, Jacked Up foreclosure file D - (d) and then email me at 7pm to ask "where are we on File Z"?, (e) be chatting it up with clients at home at 9pm, (f) then hitting the bars or clubs until 2-3am, and (g) texting a hot girl (all while your own wife and kids are home asleep - more on that later...) at 5am, then (h) rolling into bed at 6am, then I have very little sympathy or tolerance for you and your files.
In the next day or so, probably tomorrow, the last day of the month, I will cover ... THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH. Other blogs will cover Common Courtesy & My Holiday Wish List 2007. Thanks again - let me know how I'm doing.
Anyway, here is my rant for the day. I spend 8-10 hours working and 2-3 hours commuting. Unfortunately, my clients, the loan officers, seem to love placing phone calls to us starting a 3-4pm in the afternoon, after coming into their office at 11am-noon. Where were they when I was in my office at 8:30am? They were asleep.
Yes, (1) I know they usually work solely on commission, (2) I know that they work long hours with not a large guarantee of a stable monthly income, (3) I know that we at the escrow company are lucky to even get business during this mortgage downturn.
But, if you are a hotshot young gentleman loan officer, or realtor that just loves (a) to roll in your office at noon, (b) call me at 3pm, 3:02pm, 3:12pm, and 3:15pm to try to force a loan closing at 5pm - at my office and to let me know that the loan documents will be delivered to our office at 4:45pm, (c) knowing that I am working on client's files: Refi file A, Purchase file B, Refi file C, Jacked Up foreclosure file D - (d) and then email me at 7pm to ask "where are we on File Z"?, (e) be chatting it up with clients at home at 9pm, (f) then hitting the bars or clubs until 2-3am, and (g) texting a hot girl (all while your own wife and kids are home asleep - more on that later...) at 5am, then (h) rolling into bed at 6am, then I have very little sympathy or tolerance for you and your files.
In the next day or so, probably tomorrow, the last day of the month, I will cover ... THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH. Other blogs will cover Common Courtesy & My Holiday Wish List 2007. Thanks again - let me know how I'm doing.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Good morning
Welcome to Title Boy's Thoughts! I appreciate you taking the time to read my first blog. I have many thoughts to share about my experience in the business. I promise that it will not be all ranting and raving, but I can tell you that there is a lot that I am sick about. Future posts will include: settling at the end of the month (WHY WHY WHY!? Because you want the buyer/borrower to save a little prepaid interest on the new loan?), the negative am loans and the foreclosure mess we are in (I am actually glad that mortgage companies are "imploding"), my current and former employees and co-workers, and so much more. Thanks again, and Happy Holidays from Title Boy!
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