Docs seem to show up late almost as a rule in the current crazy loan market. But then again, I was the “on-call” guy who would do signings anytime day or night within 75 miles…so maybe I got all the crazy jobs

I just closed on a new house that my family will be living with. At the outset I told the broker we didn’t want an escrow account. Took 3 months to find the place we wanted, and by that time she found another lender with a better rate, I didn’t get a new GFE ahead of time, and pow - escrow account. They want $1,500 to get us out of their escrow program, even though we put down 20% and have good credit, so I’m learning to live with it.

What I’m most concerned about is whether the piggback loan document contains any other surprises. I’m hoping that by now you’ve read the document and made sure everything else is kosher.

We had a really hard time buying the house we are in now. We were supposed to sign on a Monday and so we rushed *across the country* to get here on time. Meaning no stops for anything but eating, gas and sleeping. Then we get here and because of paperwork problems, we didn’t sign until Wednesday. Wednesday night at 8:30 because all day Wednesday was spent trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

The coup de grace being the atty’s asst telling my realtor she would have to come back the next day for her commission check. And the realtor slamming her hands on the table and saying “what, all the way back here”

Good customer service goes a long way, bad customer service gets talked about for years.

When we closed on our house we had to bring about 15k to closing. The reason that settlement companies want a cashier’s check is b/c a cashier’s check is guaranteed funds. It’s just like cash. You don’t have to wait for a cashier’s check to clear like you would a personal check. So- you could bring cash and it’s the same thing. When we went to get our cashiers check for our closing they tried to charge us a cashier’s check fee. I said, ok- in that case- I’d like the money in cash please. They didn’t want to have to take 15k in cash b/c it would leave them pretty dry for the rest of the week (especially on a thursday) so they waived the check fee. Like JD has said before- just ask- and you’ll be suprised at what you can get.

I hate it when I have to pay bank fees. It’s such a pain. I had $50 in fees one month. Yuck.

And for the record, our title company was very anal about including or leaving out the middle initial so it matched the typed version as well. That was the hardest part of signing, it changed on every page!

He met us at the settlement office and he was actually the only one in the room with us. He went over each sheet with us and explained what we were signing and where we needed to sign. He also checked through it and made sure it was all legit (he uses this company all the time and is familiar with their forms- as a real estate lawyer- he also is familiar with the language and what it should say– we also trusted him very much as he was the parent of a friend’s best friend. I know that’s a cousin’s uncle’s brother kind of thing- but hey- the connection doesn’t hurt).

Our agent gathered up the papers for us and made sure everything was all together and did all of the talking and finalizing with the settlement office and we were on our way.

Getting to the settlement office was also a breeze- I guess it really does all depend on your choice of agent and what they can do and what you let them do for you. We had a terrific experience!

We hadn’t been looking for a house. In fact, Kris had been adamant that we were not moving any time soon. But when our dream house fell into our laps, and our offer was accepted, we were faced with the challenge of getting our existing home ready for sale (and to close on it) in just a few weeks. We managed to do this with a couple days to spare.

After closing, we received a check for $20,000. But our bank had already closed for the night. Kris and I signed the check and deposited it into her checking account via ATM. We checked online the next day and it said it had gone through. We needed the money to write another big check very soon. (It may not have actually been for closing on the new house — it may have been to pay contractors.)

A few days later, we received a letter saying the check hadn’t cleared and was going to be sent back to us. Why? Because the check was to both of us and the account was in her name only. When Kris called to complain (and freak out), she explained that we had done this sort of deposit before (tax refunds) with no problem. She received several lame excuses, including: the amount of check was so big it flagged some alert, federal (tax refund) checks are guaranteed, escrow checks not, etc etc. They assured her that the check was arriving by certified mail in a day or two so we could re-deposit it at our bank.

Of course, we’re not home during the day, so we received a card saying that certified mail (which needs a signature) was waiting for us at the post office. We went to post office that day. They could not find envelope. They thought it may be still on truck. Now we were completely freaking out. We went back the next day and they actually had it. We went directly to bank to deposit it. The teller said that it should have cleared, no problem, people do that all the time.

Kris says: “I don’t think anyone at the bank actually knows their own rules.”

I think there may be some commercial value in this story (could John Hargrave have staged something like this any better himself?). At least enough to pay for the extra hair coloring costs incurred by early onset gray. And possibly make a dent in therapy sessions to treat the customerservlessitis.

Looking forward to next week’s story …

but you’re done. so really, congratulations are in order seriously! that’s a big step and you made it. whoo hoo.