The same bad news goes for sellers these days as well so don’t worry you won’t be alone if it happens to you. I’m waiting for a late closing due to loan issues at this very moment. In fact, all but a couple of my closings this quarter have been late (30, 60 and 90 days late).

“So, what’s the deal?” my clients ask.

Well, if we subtract any lost time the buyer contributes to the process we are left with:

1. rookie loan officers (lenders are cutting expensive people to be more profitable)
2. rookie processors (again more expense cutting)
3. new federal regulations (they mean well but they slow the process down with more hoops for loan officers and processors to jump through)

“So, what do we do?” my clients ask.

A. Shop for a lender early. This is not a new piece of advice, it’s just much more important these days because of all the new changes. Not all lenders have sent their studs packing. You can still find a good loan officer, but you have to look. Chances are if you can find a good loan officer you will find a good processor or a loan officer who has a good relationship with the processor.

B. Start a file right away with all your important docs. Ask your lender for a check list and keep your file up to date as you shop. Getting your docs scanned to your self as an e-mail for easy access is also a good idea especially if you work a tight schedule. I can not tell you how many times we needed a docs to be resubmitted because it got misplaced at the lender office. Doing this will make it easier for you to forward any docs to the processor from work via e-mail right away.

C. Finally be as patient as possible. If you start early enough and keep organized this will be much easier. Remember that everyone else wants your deal to close too. I know I do.