Loan officers/underwriters/attorneys? Please help - LO screwed up

Loan officers/underwriters/attorneys? Please help - LO screwed up

Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 72 posts · 13 votes

Any underwriters, or loan officers or attorneys that can chime in?

Please help - need some expert advice. I am three months in to looking at properties, finding one, negotiating the deal, getting under contract, clearing inspection items and seller credit, getting the lender appraisal, etc etc. Closing date it this coming Tuesday with the walk through scheduled Tuesday morning. Everything was set and I got the loan officer every last piece of information requested and needed from the underwriters. I get a call last night at 8pm from the loan officer. She stated that she screwed up, and is terribly sorry, and not sure how this happened or how it was not caught by anyone....but that the loan product (Freddie Mac home possible) that they are using...went through everyone, passed underwriting, and then was selected for quality control and was noted that one of the home possible policies stipulates that:

Ownership of other residential property

The Borrower must not have an ownership interest in any other residential property as of the Note Date, or the Effective Date of Permanent Financing for Construction Conversion and Renovation Mortgages, except as stated below.

Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 4501 As of 11/15/17 Page 4501-7

The Borrower may have an ownership interest in a residential property other than the Mortgaged Premises if the Borrower does not occupy the property, and the Seller documents the following in the Mortgage file:

  • The Borrower inherited their ownership interest in the property and shares ownership with another party, or
  • The Borrower owns the property with another party and the debt associated with the property was assigned to the other party by a court order (e.g., a divorce decree), or
  • The Borrower is a cosigner/guarantor on the related Mortgage debt and someone other than the Borrower has made payments on the debt associated with the property for the most recent 12 months, as documented with copies of canceled checks or a statement from the lender

    See Section 5401.2(b)(i) for requirements for excluding liabilities, including Mortgage debt, from the monthly debt payment-to-income ratio.

    Well - this is my third property that I am acquiring. I have a first property (two flat), and then a second property (three flat) and then this one, which I would be moving into - which would be my third.

    This is a basic policy that should have been caught right up front. I am not $3000 in, five showings on my current apartment where I live set for tomorrow, and a closing date set for this Tuesday.

    Any thoughts on how to make this deal happen? I am scouring the Freddie Mac guidelines, and I can only think of four possibilities right now, two of which make the deal happen, one of which would take a while if the seller is willing to wait and IF the numbers work.

    1. I put my two properties into an LLC on Monday morning, and therefore I do not technically have any direct residential real estate interest in my name at closing. I will be out of the apartment when I sign the note.

    2. I quit claim my two properties, and disclose of course, over to my parents. Thus eliminating any interest in them at closing.

    3. From what I can tell right now (I still have more reading to do) the Home Possible guideline above states: "or the Effective Date of Permanent Financing for Construction Conversion and Renovation Mortgages" - the key terms being for Construction Conversion and Renovation Mortgages - well, this is a straight purchase....so??? Can it maybe not be applicable?

    4. I refinance my current loan, an FHA, into conventional (my FHA is at a 3.35 APR...hard to beat) at a higher rate, PMI will come off, and then the loan payment may be the same or slightly lower by $50-$100, and then immediately use FHA again to buy the new property, which is a four unit property.

    Please - any advice or thoughts on the above is truly appreciated. I am staying surprisingly calm considering how crazy it is that this is happening.

    Thanks so much.

0Reply
20 views

Most Popular Reply

Harjeet BhattiPro Member
Lender · Glenview IL- CDLP NMLS#230554 · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 747 votes
8y

#4 would be good option. There are some exceptions to get 2nd FHA loan. Ask your lender if your loan scenario fit anyone of those exceptions before your refinance current home into conventional.

See this reply in the discussion

13 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Harjeet BhattiPro Member
    Lender · Glenview IL- CDLP NMLS#230554 · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 747 votes
    8y

    #4 would be good option. There are some exceptions to get 2nd FHA loan. Ask your lender if your loan scenario fit anyone of those exceptions before your refinance current home into conventional.

  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 72 posts · 13 votes
    8y

    Thanks for the input. Any reason to think #2 wouldn't work? The way I see it, and I will have to wait until I get an answer from the lender and my attorney, but I would be transferring all ownership interest out of my name. This would satisfy the underwriting requirement of not having any residential real estate ownership interest in my name at closing. I would still retain the security interest, which is completely different than ownership interest. Financially I would still qualify for the loan, and the underwriting guideline would be met. Any thoughts on why this will/will not work?

  • Harjeet BhattiPro Member
    Lender · Glenview IL- CDLP NMLS#230554 · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 747 votes
    8y

    @Benjamin E.  You still have liability for both properties because  you sign the note. 

  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 72 posts · 13 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Harjeet Bhatti:

    @Benjamin E.  You still have liability for both properties because  you sign the note. 

    Right, but liability in the form of the payments and paying the mortgage, which is "security interest" is by legal definition completely seperate from "ownership interest", which is what the guideline calls for. The guideline states that at closing the buyer cannot have any "ownership interest" in any residential real estate. My understanding is that when done, a quit claim deed will transfer 100% (or however defined when transferred) of ownership interest. 

  • Tom GimerBusiness Member
    DMV · Member since 2017 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Benjamin E.:

    Thanks for the input. Any reason to think #2 wouldn't work? The way I see it, and I will have to wait until I get an answer from the lender and my attorney, but I would be transferring all ownership interest out of my name. This would satisfy the underwriting requirement of not having any residential real estate ownership interest in my name at closing. I would still retain the security interest, which is completely different than ownership interest. Financially I would still qualify for the loan, and the underwriting guideline would be met. Any thoughts on why this will/will not work?

    #2 won't work because by transferring the properties you would be violating the terms of your current mortgages. The loans show on credit, so they are aware of their existence. Telling them you no longer own those properties wouldn't be smart. (Also, the lenders have the security interest in your properties, not you.) 

    Sounds like your lender screwed up royally... and unfortunately you hired them so pointing fingers won't fix much other than perhaps buying you time. Your lender should be working hard to help you out of this predicament.

    Gimer Law516 Reviews
  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 72 posts · 13 votes
    8y

    @tom_gimer yeah the LO really, really screwed up. Fully admitted it, but that doesn't make me feel better or the situation any better. At this point I am just trying to help them in finding a solution. 

    Not trying to hide a thing. Was thinking the guideline could be satisfied this way. This would also assume the other lenders don't diasallow this, which I find hard to believe they would allow. I will need to look at my terms.

    Any other thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Can't believe this is happening through no fault of my own or the seller. 

  • Melvin ListBusiness Member
    Lender · Tampa, FL · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 381 votes
    8y

    @Benjamin E. Sorry to hear the issues you are having because of some rookie Loan Officer and the entire processing and underwriting staff. None of the solutions are going to work based on this being a Home Possible loan. Have the rookie loan officer switch the loan to a conventional mortgage and that should solve your problem as long as the property is a SFR. Your rate and mortgage insurance will be higher under a conventional deal but this is the only fix I can see with out getting more detail.

    C2 Financial
  • Melvin ListBusiness Member
    Lender · Tampa, FL · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 381 votes
    8y

    @Benjamin E. option 4 will not work because you will still have ownership in the property!

    C2 Financial
  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 72 posts · 13 votes
    8y

    Thanks Melvin. Going conventional throws off all the numbers and breaks the deal. It is a muti-unit. Maybe it was never meant to be and a blessing in disguise. Will just regroup I guess. This LO has been doing lending for close to 15 years now. I'm out close to four months of work looking, putting in offers, taking a lot of days off work to go see properties, and anout 3k. Brutal. 

  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 72 posts · 13 votes
    8y

    Will just have to wait until tomorrow and see if they were able to fix the mess they made.

  • Upen PatelPro Member
    Lender · Nationwide Lender · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 814 votes
    8y

    @Benjamin E. Sorry to hear the mess you are in.

    1. There is no "fixing" this mess. You do not qualify for the Freddie HomePossible loan. Period.

    2. #2 will not work, because you will violate due upon sale clause AND since the debt is still in your name, you technically still own it. The agencies are there to support home ownership. Not to help you skirt around the guidelines.

    3 #4 might work, as long as you can qualify for the new loan without ANY rental income credit from ANY of the unit of the property you are exiting. Even if you do qualify, you will need to convince the underwriter that you are "moving up" i.e. moving into a better/bigger property. Since you are moving from a 3-unit to a 4-unit, good luck convincing the underwriter.

    Your option is to walk away OR put down the required 20% down as a standard Freddie loan.

  • Anthony GaydenPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Omaha, NE · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y

    @Benjamin E.

    You stated that you own two other properties right?

    What I am suggesting is that you use the equity in one of your other properties by getting a HELOC. You use that equity as a down payment on a conventional mortgage for the new property. I have heard of others using this method to get into a property with little money down.

  • Christi HawkinsPro Member
    Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 239 posts · 142 votes
    8y

    I'm so sorry! There is no way to fix this and having been a Loan Originator for 10 years I can appreciate how hard that phone call was to make. The truth is you never qualified for a Freddie Mac Home Possible loan in the first place and yes you should have been told that at your first meeting. I know its awful and you're taking a beating but you have to believe there's a reason for it, you just don't know what it is yet. Move on to the next one as soon as you can and don't look back

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.