Let’s Start Again

Over the weekend, I got an email from my mortgage agent asking me to confirm that I still wanted to go ahead with the pre-approval application.  This confused me because I thought we completed pre-approval.  I mean, I got the email with the letter attached saying they approved me.  I had also emailed him saying the property was off the market and we’d have to wait to go forward.  So yesterday, I emailed him and reiterated all that.

When I got home from work, I had the bank’s welcome packet in my mailbox.  One letter was all about my credit score and credit agencies and getting more information on that.  The other letter had a whole raft of stuff in it:

• a copy of my pre-approval letter
• a copy of the mortgage application, prefilled with my information (some of it I can already see isn’t correct)
• a list of documents I need to provide (8 items)
• a breakdown of closing costs
• a list of 10 nearby housing counseling agencies so I can get a second set of eyes on my application to be sure I’m not being taken advantage of.  Times sure have changed.
• a disclosure that the title company Citibank is using is significantly owned by them, which may mean they are getting preferential treatment, maybe?

The last three items are new to me since I last remember going through the mortgage process.  They have to be a result of the “predatory” practices from the last housing bust.  I appreciate the cost breakdown, and I like the reminder that I am allowed to shop for and choose my own title company if I want, but the counseling thing?  That’s scary.  That says to me that there’s still people who are getting into the homeowner game without proper preparation and knowledge.

So, I have all this stuff but I can’t do much with it because the house is off the market.  I checked the saved search my realtor sent to me and there was nothing new on it.  I put the link in my bookmarks and spent the rest of the night prepping for Christmas.

As I was getting ready for bed, I tested out the bookmark link for the saved search to make sure it still worked.  The property I’ve been looking at is back on the list with a status of “back on market”!  I fired off an email immediately to my agent to get going on the sales contract and get it in.  I guess I will need to work on that mortgage application after all.

Now, I wonder why the house came back on the market.  Did the potential buyers find a dealbreaker during inspection?  I would assume they secured the financing first, but maybe it didn’t go through?  Maybe I’ll get my chance to find out.