costs the following month, in addition to any penalty for the delay. Although sellers may work with buyers if the transaction does not close on time, failure to close opens the door to the seller canceling the sale. This happens when it’s a seller’s market, and the seller may have taken backup offers that are potentially better. Closing can be held in any agreed location. Most happen at an attorney’s office, or at the lender’s or title company’s offices.
REAL ESTATE AGENT'S LENDER RECOMMENDATION
You’ve just read the loan process from beginning to end. You know what the process entails and hopefully are thinking of ways to better navigate the treacherous waters of the four lending phases. Often, your real estate agent will offer to help you obtain a mortgage or recommend a specific loan officer, lender, mortgage broker, or settlement/closing agent. In an article appearing in Mortgage News Daily in 2012, it was reported that real estate agents have “a significant role in determining who writes their customers’ mortgages.” This was based on the results of a study, Key Factors in the Referral of Homebuyers to Mortgage Originators, conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance that showed homebuyers rely on their real estate agent’s recommendation of a specific lender in ~33% of mortgage-financed home purchases in the U.S. The study arrived at this calculation through a survey of 1,800 real estate agents. Agents surveyed reported recommending a mortgage provider in ~60% of buyer-side transactions. The survey showed that their recommendations were accepted by homebuyers in about ~58%
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