Hello Friends & Notaries:

Today's topic involves an unfortunate trend that has borrowers experiencing a difficult time qualifying for loans. Although the country is experiencing some of the lowest interest rates in decades, lenders have been very hesitant to loan money in today's economic climate. And when they do they are only lending to customers who pose the least amount of risk. Over the last several months I have been hearing more and more borrowers express their "horror" stories of what they had to do just to get their loan.

Mortgage applications and housing sales have risen in the last month spurring much needed activity. However, lenders are taking months to process loans, where the same process 6 months ago would have taken just a few weeks. More borrowers are forced to deal with timely and sometimes costly delays as lenders have cut their staffs and are retooling for the future. Lost documentation and phone calls not being returned are a few of the things borrowers have had to deal with. Add the immense stress a refinance transaction can cause and you soon have a recipe for disaster.

A recent couple in the Alameda area whom I signed with this evening said they had been working on their loan process for the last six months. Another client in the East Bay mentioned they began their process over five months ago. Both clients had nationally recognized lenders they were working with, but the process seem to go on and on. The most consistent complaint borrowers have had, is being asked to provide paper work that has previously been sent in. Copies of paystubs and insurance information are some of the more common items that a lender needs to properly rate and approve a potential borrower. But because of the multiple people involved within the processing of a single loan this paperwork can often be misplaced or even lost.

From my point of view, it seems as if lenders are trying to process a full contingent of loans using fewer employees to do it. This obvious cost cutting measure has caused a very clear lack in quality of service. If lenders want to pull out of this economic downturn, they are going to have to realize that they cannot do it with out the help of their number one asset: their customers!

The Notary Guy

Matthew D. Valera
www.bayareanotary.com