Heard a client say they lost a house because the lender's 'fast closing' was just a bait-and-switch

They got a pre-approval letter in 24 hours, but the actual underwriting took over 30 days and the seller walked. The lender just rushed the first step to get them locked in. How do you spot a lender that's actually fast versus one that just talks fast?

3 comments

3 Comments

terrybennett1mo ago

Ask for their average closing time from contract to close (not just pre-approval). A real fast lender has the back-end process to match the front-end speed.

victorb7426d ago

That "average can be misleading" bit from carr.brooke hit me. I remember this one time I had a borrower, guy owned a pizza shop and his taxes were a mess. First lender I called bragged about 21 day average closings. Took them 47 days on his file because their underwriting couldn't handle self employment docs. Meanwhile the smaller lender down the street, they quoted 30 days but closed it in 26. So yeah, averages are like a dirty windshield. They look clean from far away, but you can't really see through them when you get close.

carr.brooke1mo ago

That's a solid point from @terrybennett, but average closing time alone can be misleading. A lender could have a fast average by only taking easy deals. The better question is their average for a complex file, like with self employment or a tricky appraisal. A lender's real speed shows when things get hard, not just on the simple ones. You need to know if their process is built for every situation, not just the best cases.