Oh MY!! It's going to take 3-4 months to close on a refi??

[wdwmom0f3]

So I set out last month to refinance our home from a 30 year to a 15 year fixed at a much lower interest rate. We just had our home appraised this week and it went very well. So I was thinking that since that went well, and we are refinancing with the same company, this will go fast. WRONG! I asked the lady today about when I can expect to close and she said sometime in January! That's a good 3 1/2 months!! She said that they are WAAYYYY backed up due to the low rates right now. Has anyone else had this to happen to them?

 

[jessrose18]

we started process in july had appraisal in august and closed in october. i was also getting very impatient! it was also with original company the crappy thing is that we locked rate right away and our 90 day rate lock was even almost up and rates would have been even lower but of course they made sure we closed in the nick of time so that it didnt lapse in thier favor of course. good luck to you. encourage them to let you close early in the month then you can skip two house payments we closed october 3rd so we didnt have to pay oct or nov payment

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I forgot about that! So I need to ask them to close early in the month? She just told me today that I will most likely have to pay my January payment. ?? Should I call her back and ask her to make sure it's the first week in January?

 

[JerseyGirl84]

So I set out last month to refinance our home from a 30 year to a 15 year fixed at a much lower interest rate. We just had our home appraised this week and it went very well. So I was thinking that since that went well, and we are refinancing with the same company, this will go fast. WRONG! I asked the lady today about when I can expect to close and she said sometime in January! That's a good 3 1/2 months!! She said that they are WAAYYYY backed up due to the low rates right now. Has anyone else had this to happen to them?

Wait and take a deep breath.... Now do the math again. Today is November 12th and in 2 months it will be the middle of January. See, it's not as bad as you thought.

 

[dfchelbay]

Wait and take a deep breath.... Now do the math again. Today is November 12th and in 2 months it will be the middle of January. See, it's not as bad as you thought.

I think she's talking from when she started the refi process some time back, to the closing date in January. That's probably the 3 1/2 months of time.

 

[dfchelbay]

So I set out last month to refinance our home from a 30 year to a 15 year fixed at a much lower interest rate. We just had our home appraised this week and it went very well. So I was thinking that since that went well, and we are refinancing with the same company, this will go fast. WRONG! I asked the lady today about when I can expect to close and she said sometime in January! That's a good 3 1/2 months!! She said that they are WAAYYYY backed up due to the low rates right now. Has anyone else had this to happen to them?

I remember way back when, a long time ago, long before the housing crisis/collapse, we refinanced to a lower rate. We started everything in early November and we didn't close until some time in January. So, even though they are running way behind now, it doesn't look like it's taking much longer than when the rates were higher and people weren't bogging down the refi system. Like a previous poster said, try to make it happen before your locked-in rate expires.

 

[jessrose18]

THis is how it worked for us. Since we closed in october we didnt have to pay november automatically since our first payment is due december 1st and that is standard with any refinance. However we knew our closing date was october 3rd and our loan was payed off by the october 8th so it technically wasnt a late payment since it was by the 15th (date in which we would have to pay a penalty). we had to pay interest from september 1st thru closing date that was rolled into our new loan since we didnt make that payment but we saved two months of payments. I have read elsewhere that this is the perk to closing early in the month. I am sure mortgage companys dont let you pick the date you close, however if it is close just keep in mind that this is an option.

 

[Brer Shay]

We just completed a refi two weeks ago. It closed 59 days from when we locked in the rate, would have expired on day 60. We got the same input, that things are sorely backed up right now, primarily in the underwriting department. Due to the mortgage "crisis" that's been created, they are being VERY thorough in the process. I had to provide documentation for a $425 deposit (a health insurance reimbursement) and make explanation for a $700 cash deposit (money I had saved in a drawer for our Disney trip). This is our 7th mortgage and/or refi in 15 years and I've NEVER gotten so many questions out of underwriting.

On the positive side, our broker said that 85% are meeting the 60 day rate lock deadline, even though it's coming down to the wire.

Hope things go smoothly for you. Try not to obsess too much.

 

[kehlyrsmom]

We started the refinance process towards the end of July and will be closing next week. We were supposed to close last Tuesday and they told us not to make our November payment and they were waiting on some approval that the bank did not get until Wednesday so our closing got put off until next week. They still told us not to make the payment. Our first payment with the new rate will be in January. We are also refinacing with a different company.

 

[jessrose18]

yes! underwriting was crazy. I had to go to the bank and get proof of a 150 check that i deposited. Also close to the end of the process we were told that underwriting required that we have 2 months worth of payments between our checking/savings in bank and the money couldnt just be borrowed and appear. They had some crazy demands.

 

[kldmom2000]

Things were going smoothly with our refi..... until yesterday We were doing a fasttrack loan w/ the same bank we were already established with (Bank of America). We have 14 years/7 months left on our mortgage, but we were going to refi for a 15 year and save $36,000 over the course of the loan/just over $200 a month With this particular type of loan, we were supposed to be able to avoid a bunch of the regular things that go w/ a refi such as an appraisal, etc....

We got a call yesterday that our city was declared a federal disaster area after the spring flooding that occurred in certain areas last March/April and that this was made official THE DAY BEFORE our application was processed We were one of the fortunate ones in our neighborhood that did not get a flooded basement, but now our closing at the end of this month has been put on hold and we have to dish out another $400 for the appraisal Grrrrr.....

I did not know that if you close at the start of the month you can skip 2 payments! I think we'll shoot for that then so we can put the $$$ towards braces for one of our 2 girls that need them in the early part of 2011!!! LOL!

 

[BillSears]

I just closed yesterday on my refinance. It took 5 1/2 weeks(40 days total) from my first phone call to my signing the closing papers. Mine was through my Credit Union but I've heard some major horror stories with BOA. BOA is way backed up in the refinance area.

 

[mom0299]

We started the process in July. We are (hopefully) going to sign the final papers on Friday. They told us the same thing. They were incredibly backed up because the rates were so low and they were very busy. It's been a bit ridiculous to wait this long. However, since we've made several payments in the meantime we are now borrowing more than we owe. We will get some cash back and our monthly payments are going to drop even more than we thought they would.

 

[DisneyTexan]

I refinanced with Bank of America early this year, and it took exactly four months. Our loan was previously with Countrywide (now BofA). My favorite question was when the processor asked for a copy of our home insurance policy! Hmmm...they are the lender, shouldn't they have a copy? But it was probably easier for the processor to ask for a copy and for me to send it, rather than have another processor who might be in another city hunt it down in their files. Overall the re-fi process was worth it. Sometimes small local lenders can do a much better job than the big companies, but the rate might be slightly higher. If you have anything unusual in your income pattern or payment history, a small lender that is completely located in one city can deal with these issues better. Just my two cents...I work in a closely related industry.

 

[Calliaz]

Wow! We did a "close at home" refi with Well's Fargo (current mortgage company). They didn't do an appraisal. We started the process, had the documents within a week and will close within a month.

 

[Swimalie]

We just closed yesterday on ours through BB&T. It took us just over 60 days to close from the day we turned in the official paperwork. I believe it was 68 days to be exact. From the time we called, it was over 90 days. Our rate lock-in date actually expired earlier this month but since it expired due to the backlog of the bank and not due to our error, they extended it at no extra cost to us. We're saving $268 a month now.

 

[kldmom2000]

I refinanced with Bank of America early this year, and it took exactly four months. Our loan was previously with Countrywide (now BofA). My favorite question was when the processor asked for a copy of our home insurance policy! Hmmm...they are the lender, shouldn't they have a copy? But it was probably easier for the processor to ask for a copy and for me to send it, rather than have another processor who might be in another city hunt it down in their files.

LOL! We had them ask us to get that for them too and we currently hold a mortgage with them (we too were formerly Countrywide until our mortgage was sold to BoA). I thought it was odd as well....

 

[wdwmom0f3]

We are finally closing next week!! Our rate expired this past week, but they are extending it at no cost because they took so darn long.

Anyway, we have already made this months payment, we will not have one for next month(DISNEY MONEY!!) so our first one will be due in March. There is a charge for interest only for part of this month that they will roll into the loan.

I will be so glad to have this behind us. It seems like it took forever!! Oct ?? until Jan 18th. That's a long time.

Thanks for all of the posts on here. It's good to know that we were not alone in this process.

 

[mamaLori05]

I think that is just crazy that it took you that long!! We refi'd in Oct with a local bank and closed about 2.5/3 weeks later, and we even had to do an appraisal. The appraiser came out about 3 days before we closed, her paperwork came in, and we closed the next day. It was super easy. I think I would have gone CRAZY if it took 3 months!!

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I think that is just crazy that it took you that long!! We refi'd in Oct with a local bank and closed about 2.5/3 weeks later, and we even had to do an appraisal. The appraiser came out about 3 days before we closed, her paperwork came in, and we closed the next day. It was super easy. I think I would have gone CRAZY if it took 3 months!!

I thought it was crazy too!! We had to have an appraisal too, and it was done in the first week or two of starting the process. I have NO idea what was going on, but I was told that they were flooded with loans because of the low rate.

Honestly, I think that the girl handling our loan was a little slow. She said she normally worked on loans for condos, and not residential homes, but they were covered up so she was doing them to help.

I am just glad that it's almost over.