Letters: Why is my refi on hold?
Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, a real estate software company, joins us this week to discuss listeners’ letters.
Rita from Jones Creek, Texas, made a refinance request back in October, but is still waiting for it to close and cannot get a striaght answer from her mortgage holder. Should she forget about the deal and seek out another lender since no funds have been released yet?
“I think there are two factors militating against a speedy approval. No. 1, you’re in Texas and you’re trying to take cash out. For whatever reason in that state, cash-out loans require a special kind of voodoo. It’s very difficult to do. The other is that you tried to get the money in October. That’s when rates were at an absolute historic low and every loan officer was inundated across the country. But having said all that, it’s unacceptable. You should not have to wait four months. The typical amount of time required is two months. If you’re buying a house, it’s usually one month. So I would try to talk to the folks who work with that loan officer, his boss, her boss, someone in management in that office to try to understand exactly what’s taking so long. Just have them document everything that they need to close the loan,” says Kelman.
Kelman says it may make sense to go to another bank at this point.
For more advice — including the risks of refinancing with smaller banking institutions — click play on the audio player above.
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