As a multiple property owner, I’ve done a lot of refinances over the last twenty years. So just how long does it take to refinance a mortgage loan nowadays? The short answer is: 2-3 months on average. This is up from one month on average before the global financial crisis.
With rising mortgage rates in 2022, it’s getting harder to qualify for the best mortgage rate. More people are priced out and lending standards are very high. Banks are also bracing for an economic slowdown, which many result in more mortgage defaults.
How Long Does It Take To Refinance?
The average time it takes to refinance in 2022 is 60 – 75 days. If you’re unlucky it can take much, much longer. Man it can feel like forever. But the slog is worth every dollar you can save. Why pay more money for your mortgage if you don’t have to?
The 2007-2008 financial crisis is long behind us. Yet, it still takes brutally long to qualify for a new mortgage or refinance a mortgage via the bricks and mortars banks.
Why? You need to gather a lot of documents and patience even before starting the underwriting process. Banks want to see a healthy W2 income or at least two years of 1099 income.
In addition, major lenders with great rates like Wells Fargo and Citibank are struggling to keep up with demand.
A Mortgage Refinance Example
If you’re wondering how long does it take to refinance a mortgage, let me give you an example. Here is a true story about one of my previous mortgage refinances. I can’t believe how long it took to refinance! It was one of the hardest mortgage refinances ever.
* * *
At long last, my principal residence mortgage refinance is done! Things were looking very dicey towards the end. PG&E threw a couple grenades my way that hit my credit score by ~100 points.
Stupidly this was due to an $8 non-payment I was unaware of from three years prior by my tenants. Alas, the Humvee was able to withstand the blast from corporate evil and make it back to home base!
The mortgage loan refinance started on January 20th when I heard a friend say he just locked a 5/1 ARM for only 2.75%. Ehh? I had just refinanced my own 5/1 ARM in the fall of 2014 to 3.125% from 3.625% and I wanted to dance the mambo too!
I incredulously gave Citibank a call to see if I could get the same offer as my friend with all fees baked into the price and they said absolutely! In fact, the very next day, my banker called me to say that they could give me 2.625% with all fees included. Yeah baby, yeah!
The Mortgage Loan Refinance Saga
Having been a Citibank Gold client for over a decade, I had absolute faith my mortgage refinance would go through. After all, just three months earlier, I had closed on my mortgage refinance with them.
They had all my documents and access to all my accounts. Easy peasy right? What could go wrong? Ha! Here are all the documents you need to complete a successful mortgage refinance.
Mortgage Loan Saga: The First 30 Days
30 days had passed since locking the loan before I got any requests for documents. The usual suspects were requested:
- W2 form
- Latest 2 pay stubs
- Printout of assets from bank accounts or only one if it had over $250,000
- Home insurance policy
I actually thought they didn’t need any of this since they waited 30 days to contact me for this information. Not a problem, I sent over all the documents via their interoffice mail since my fax machine was broken.
During this time period, I received three Good Faith Estimates (GFE’s) that reviewed the terms of the loan, and two credit score reports that showed me in the 790-800 range, as expected since that’s what it was now 4.5 months ago during my last refinance.
Mortgage Loan Saga: Days 30-60 – A Bullish Datapoint
After sending in all my documents, I heard nothing from Citibank for the next two weeks. Not in a rush, I went about doing my own thing until I realized, wait a minute. Don’t we need to do yet another appraisal since an appraisal report is only good for 90 days after?
I shot my Citibank representatives an e-mail asking about the appraisal, and they said I would need one, and that they’d get back to me. I asked them why they were taking so long, and they said they were backed up due to all the purchases going on.
Bullish indicator! If you are putting in an offer to buy a home, you generally want to make it quick and painless for the seller to accept. That usually means a 30-45 day close maximum. I can certainly understand Citibank prioritizing purchase loans over refinances.
Citibank finally got back to me around day 55 and confirmed that an appraisal is needed. Great, another $750 $860 out the window, but good thing Citibank was handling the cost.
The appraisal is always the tricky part because nowadays, a bank will only loan up to 80% the value of the house e.g. 80% LTV = $800,000 loan for a $1,000,000 house.
Home Appraisal For Refinance
I wasn’t too worried since the refinance before. My LTV was at 60%, but one never knows. Earlier, I wrote a post entitled, “Sweet Talking Your Home Appraiser Pays Off“, which provides some tips for those who are worried.
It turns out that the home appraiser didn’t even have to come to my house this time! The appraiser just sent in an electronic report to Citibank, appraising it coincidentally at the same amount from 4.5 months ago!
What an easy, great job to have! If you want to make bank, become a home appraiser. You’ll at least make multiple six figures no problem, so no complaining all of you who make less!
Mortgage Loan Saga: Day 60-75 – Nothing Is Happening!
Although Citibank is paying the $860 home appraisal fee, I am really paying the fee indirectly through a higher rate. There is no free lunch in mortgage refinancing.
When they say all fees are included, the bank has already baked in their own margins. Hence, those people who feel guilty about collecting unemployment insurance even if they have the means, don’t feel guilty!
Just know that your employer already baked in your salary to account for the unemployment insurance they have to pay. Collect, and collect with pride!
Another two weeks went by, and I was getting worried. It’s day 75 and in this time, I get three more Good Faith Estimate reports and another credit score update.
The process is killing trees inefficiently! I guess sending the GFE’s is a good way to protect the client, but during these past 75 days, the rate and the loan amount did not change, so I don’t know why they kept on sending me these papers. By deduction, I realize that it was their fees that kept on changing. Interesting.
Mortgage Loan Saga: Days 75-85 – Shit Is Hitting The Fan And Splattering!
By day 76, I am totally miffed at WTF is going on with my mortgage refinance. The 10-year yield moved up from 1.85% when I locked, to 2.3% and I was getting worried.
Is my mortgage refinance really not going to go through? I began to wonder. I kept on thinking what a waste of time this all was, and started preparing for the worst, continuing with my 3.125% rate.
My mortgage loan officer contacts me and says I need the following additional papers for the underwriter:
- Home insurance statement with contact person and loan number
Fair enough, but why didn’t you ask me for this in the first 45 days?
Refinance Underwriting Inefficiency
At around day 80, I finally got an urgent call from my mortgage officer on my work line. I so happened to be golfing that day, and my assistant said that I wasn’t working (that day).
My mortgage officer took it to mean that I was no longer working at my job and e-mailed me with a title, “URGENT: Please Respond Immediately!” Funny, alas, they were feeling the sense of urgency because there was only 10 days left until we’d lose the incredible 2.625% lock!
My mortgage officer picked up the phone and said, “We can’t go through your mortgage refinance if you are no longer working!”
I replied, “What the hell? Just because I take the afternoon off to go play golf doesn’t mean I’m no longer working. I’m working on my 2-iron stinger, lady!“
She calmed down, and brought up the news of my devastating 100 point credit score hit. This was due to a highly delinquent payment from PG&E that my tenants forgot to pay, which I mentioned earlier.
You can read about the entire story in “Corporate Greed By PG&E Killed My Friend’s Family And My Credit Score“.
Don’t Let Stupid Errors Ruin Your Chance To Refinance
After 80 days, I was now pissed off for them waiting so long to get going. Amanda implied in our conversation that the mortgage refi was all but dead.
I wrote her a long e-mail back saying that this was wrong of them to do. I’d been a good client for over 10 years. In addition, I’d never been late, have referred over 30 customers, and have enough cash in the bank to pay off the entire principal loan for goodness sakes!
How could that stupid $7 PG&E snafu surface now, and not during my last refinance?
Alas, a senior mortgage officer stepped in and assured me that the mortgage refinance would go through. I spoke to PG&E and told them this delinquent payment penalty was egregious.
They agreed to send me and my bank a “Clear Credit Letter” stating that the delinquency is removed and they contacted all credit agencies to remove the penalty. The senior mortgage officer even called PG&E to expedite the process. Phew. Good job Citibank!
Mortgage Loan Saga: Day 85-90 – Aloha Emancipation
Mortgage Loan Saga: Day 85-90 – Aloha EmancipationEven though I knew we were closing in on the 90 day limit for closing, I decided to take advantage of a Hawaiian Airlines three-day sale and buy a round trip ticket to Honolulu for $328, including tax and fees. Was this irresponsible of me? No. A little stubborn and risky? Yes.
I wasn’t about to let this mortgage refinance saga derail my plans for having fun. Remember, making money and saving money are a means to a better lifestyle. Sitting around twiddling my thumbs in San Francisco waiting for Citibank, while I could be in Hawaii playing golf and surfing doesn’t make sense.
I told my mortgage officer and her boss that I was off to Hawaii, and that if they want me to sign the papers, I would do so when I return in a week. Alternatively, they could send a notary to my place of residence in Hawaii to get the process done.
They elected not to wait another week and hired a notary for $175 at their expense to meet me at my place! Now that is service!
Mortgage Loan Saga: Day 90-97 – Head-fake Coco Head
When the notary showed up, she showed me my settlement statement and asked for a cashier’s check for the interest due for the rest of the month.
What? Nobody from Citibank informed me about needing a cashier’s check and this amount of money. Well guess what? There are no Citibanks in all of Hawaii!
There are also no Bank of America’s or any other bank for that matter. Only Hawaiian banks for protectionist reasons. Augh.
I couldn’t easily wire transfer online (figured out how to later), or get my private banker to do it because I’d need to fax them (not e-mail) a signed letter with all instructions. I was not about to spend another hour of my time going to Kinko’s or somewhere to do this.
Instead, I told Citibank and the title company they’d have to wait another 5 days until I got back to San Francisco before they could officially close the loan.
Devil Is In The Details
The closing officer at Citibank dropped the ball by failing to review my final statement with me over the phone or on e-mail, and indicate the necessary cashier’s check I had to bring. Details people, details!
By this time, I was just laughing. What’s another 5 days? I thought to myself. Time to make them sweat given the wait and fear of things not going through starts messing with your head after three months for the borrower.
In the end, it took 97 days to get my mortgage loan refinance completed. I should be getting some checks back from Citibank due to overage charges. I’ll then need to set up the account online to do auto-transfer so I never have to think about paying.
Takeaways From Refinancing A Mortgage Loan
We’ve come a long way since the credit freeze of 2008-2009. Here’s a recap of where we are, and where we’re going.
Banks Are Lending Again
Banks are lending again. But they are being encumbered by new government rules and regulations which are there to protect the borrower. The 10 Good Faith Estimate documents is the most obvious example where things have changed.
In the past, I only got one. Speaking to the notary, it turns out that our magnificent government instituted this GFE rule in 2011, so that anytime even a penny of fees is changed, they must send a new multi-page document via FedEx/UPS.
This is good for consumers, as hopefully we consumers read the GFE’s and point out discrepancies.
30-40 Days To Refinance Is Fast
Before the 2008 financial crisis, a mortgage refinance would take 30-40 days on average. Soon after the financial crisis in 2010, mortgage refinances were taking 50-65 days.
After speaking to several friends who are also refinancing, and going through my own experience, it looks like mortgage refinancing is taking 80-90 days +++.
Amanda, my mortgage officer said they are super backed up. A large portion of their refinances are taking well over 90 days! One friend, who is refinancing with Citibank said he’s in month 7 of his mortgage refinance!
LTV Standards For Refinance
A loan-to-value of 80% is industry standard now. I don’t know any banks who are lending more than 80% of the value of your property.
This is good for all of us in the long run. It weeds out donkey’s who over leverage, blame other people for not being able to pay their debt, and end up hurting all of us in the process.
The problem for some is that they need to come up with a cash-in refinance to get their LTV ratio to 80%.
Cheap Money Is Getting More Scarce
When I refinanced in the fall of 2014, the 10-year yield was at the same level as when I locked in my refinance on January 20, 2015, around 1.88%. However, in 2022, the 10-year bond yield is closer to 3.5% and average mortgage rates have climbed.
The cheap and easy money from 2020 and 2021 is over! As a result, it’s more important than ever to prepare your finances to qualify for a lower mortgage rate.
People Who Don’t Need To Refinance Get To Refinance
People who do not need to refinance get to refinance. This is the law of unintended consequences. Only if you have excellent credit (760+) and a LTV of 80% are you able to refinance.
If you don’t have a job, are struggling to make your monthly payments, have an underwater home mortgage loan, and have poor credit, banks will not lend to you. In fact, well-qualified borrowers are getting quoted much lower mortgage rates than headline averages.
Now, if only I could get the same rate as new borrowers nowadays, I could much readily pay my monthly mortgage, you think to yourself. Since you can’t, you might as well default and tell the bank and the government, Up yours! Now the cycle begins.
The Rich Will Get Richer
The rich will get richer. From individuals to private real estate funds, those with capital are buying properties in droves right now. They understand that a rental yield of 8% vs. a borrowing rate of 3% is a great return to earn while they wait for capital appreciation.
The very same mega-landlords will write great propaganda why renting is better than buying to keep people out of the purchase market (less competition), and keep people happy to keep paying rent.
Banks Hate The Government Too
Banks hate the government as much as people. Before you go blasting your mortgage officers for dragging their feet, know that they are waiting on the underwriter just as much as you are waiting on the mortgage officer to get back to you.
It’s because of new government regulations that have made the underwriting process significantly more difficult to pass, that has created a 100% increase in the time it takes to refinance a mortgage loan.
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How Long Does It Take To Refinance A Mortgage Now is a FS original post.
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Sent my paperwork to citi bank for a refi on March 30th 2020…
Today is November 2nd and I am still waiting for a closing date.
Wow! What’s the hold up? And what rate and terms are you getting?
I’m in a strange spot and want out of my current refi with a new mortgage company. Had the appraisel done and just this week I’m on disability. They told me the process has stopped until I go back to work. Which at this point I won’t be cleared for who knows how long. I want out of this not so great of deal anyway. Can I get out (haven’t notarized) or is it fully up to them? Thank you
I’m not sure I believe that government regulations are the real reason for underwriting going slowly. I changed banked mid refinance because I came to the conclusion that the underwriting department at my current lender really didn’t care one way or another if the refi happened. I was asked for a copy of my divorce decree three times. When a cosigner was suggested, the underwriters ran the original numbers without the cosigner and then denied the cosigner based on my information, whithout ever asking for the potential cosigner’s name, let alone financial information.
I switched to another bank and was approved within two weeks.
I have been trying to close on our Refi that started on July 14, 2016 with Global Equity Finance. We have provided all documents they have asked for, paid $650 for the appraisal and paid out of pocket money to repair some things that needed repairing based on the appraisal. I was getting phone calls and emails on a regular bases when we started. Now that we are at closing I fell like I have lost a good friend…No more calls or emails, were did they go. :) I know there is a process to this and that it takes time, but this makes no sense. I will be happy to let the world know that GEF can do the job…if it gets done….but will not hesitate to tell others what I had to experience.
Currently trying to refinance with Freedom Mortgage and it’s taking over 3 months. My husband and I have great credit, make very good money, have twice the necessary equity in our home, have never been late for a single payment and yet they are giving us the hardest time, looking for anything to nit pick at. There is clearly an issue with this company. I wish we had gone with a local bank who could have had this loan done 2 months ago, but we’ve already paid $500.00 for the appraisal. They have been saying just 1 more week, every week for the past several months. I fear it will never end! Dont walk, RUN away from this company! Ugh!
I started refinancing our home back in October 2015, it’s now at the end of April 2016, 7 months! Ugh, you thought you waited to long. They nit pick everything, check stubs for back in January, really isn’t 1 or 2 months good enough? Apparently not. Basically, anything you can think of to do with a home, they ask for. I’m surprised they aren’t out here scraping the paint off the walls, to determine what kind we used and if it passed codes, ha ha. Pretty soon folks, they will want DNA samples to prove you’re human. I am at my witts end and ready for a major nervous breakdown. Everytime the phone rings I get depressed because i know…! It’s for an FHA loan, this is our third home, and second refinance we ever did, seeing we are at a 7% rate, and want to get a better rate. When will it end, the world may never know.
I bought my home three years ago and paid cash for it.
even states it on my deed. ” full sum paid in cash ”
now you would think that would be easy. lol it took over 10 hrs. just to get the bank to agree to take the money. the acted as if it was the plague or something.
and now three years later I found something I wanted to do and looked to borrow only 50% of the home value and it has been 3 months and not looking good. lol
there was a comment the money you have in your annuity cant be accessed till February 2014 and I said ok?????? so if I wanted to wait a few months I wouldn’t need a loan, and the only one with any risk here is me as I own the house outright and only looking for half the appraised value.
the loan advisor said ” it doesn’t make sense, I agree with you, thank your government for the excess crap we have to go thru.”
So as not to give credit to the powers that be……. THANKS OBAMA, CONGRESS,HOUSE.
just more of the same .
until you people in Washington can run your own finances, you damn sure should not be involved with anything involving mine!!!!!!!!
I agree completely!
Disappointing to hear the bank won’t let you pull money out easily.
I’m working on month 18 !
Wow. That is ridiculous! Rates have shot through the rough from 18 months ago. Is the bank promising the same rate?
Do I have any recourse if after 3 delays on new home being built due to labor problem my mortgage lock in expires and the rates go up
You should certainly ask for concessions and a discount.
Question – my refi is finally going through & I am supposed to sign tomorrow. There are a little over $4,000 in fees to do so. Would I be better off just paying it down those fees? It seems kind of ridiculous.
Reading this article about the exasperating time to close a mortgage refinance makes me think your tagline should be changed to “Slicing through Money’s Miseries”!
Note to Self: If I ever decide to retire, I’ll apply for a refinance before my income can no longer be verified.
Ha! Good one!
Actually, you definitely need to refi before retiring. Please read!
https://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/09/13/refinance-your-mortgage-before-leaving-your-job-or-retiring-please/
“Only if you have excellent credit (720 to 740+) and a LTV of 80% are you able to refinance.” This statement is not true.
My refinance with Citibank started November 2012. It is now June 2013 and I am still waiting. This company is pathetic. The only hold up is there lack of effort. My credit’s fine. I provided all of the documents they needed. After providing them with the initial documents I heard nothing for months. When I asked to be provided with updates, they sent me the same email on a regular basis stating it was pending review. Over the past two months I’ve gotten various requests for updated documents, all of which I promptly provided. They just don’t care. They have offered me numerous excuses about the overload of refis, then the restructuring of their company. It is pathetic. I was advised a month ago that it is approved and now they just don’t respond to my emails. I am at my end. I would have gone with a private broker had I known they were going to treat me like this. The sickening part is that they charge any fees at all, with all of the money I am losing every month because of their incompetency and indifference.
Wow… that’s a long time. Why not march right down to the offices and demand to speak to the manager and push things through?
Would that work? They tell me that they have no control and that it is all the processing department in Las Vegas. Any other suggestions? I am at my end. Unfortunately the rates have gone up and they claim that they can keep extending my loan lock so they literraly have me hanging. As others have stated, I wish I knew back then what I know now. I would never again voluntarily do business with this bank.
Can’t hurt. Better than sitting back.
Start date: July 12, 2012
Closing date: April 22, 2013
Yes, we did refinance two properties at once. Initially we were told that the process would take about 3-4 months with Citibank/Citimortgage. Finally answer: 284 days.
p.s. We’re still waiting for the cash out…
Wow! That’s the longest refi I ever heard of so far!
What was the main hold up?
At least it got done!
I am refining with quicken loan via a mortgage broker. i am also experiencing long wait time since jan,2013. They have asked for many paper works and given the fact that we have good credits and long mortgage history, quicken still try to find some odd excuse for more papers. I do not agree with saying ‘what to lose to wait’. This kind of attitude only encourages the lender to abuse the system. People lose their their privacy with these lenders. Where is the customer service? If client does not have the history of any sign of bad credit with large equity. Why all these craps?
I think lenders are screw-up and something needs to be done. If consumers cannot refinance, how is the financial market gain? I believe full documents are necessary but not to the extend we are seeing now a day. We will not continue to be abuse by the lender and we can also choose not to refinance as well. What is the big deal? We can do it later… I do not know why consumer has to take all these from the lender especially if the customers have good credit and qualify for the loan. Something needs to be done for this situation. ….
I’m now approaching day 210 what could I loose if I bail out I’m soooo tired.
Thanks Anne
Hang in there! Like you say, what’s there to lose? 10-year yield is now at 1.79% as of 4/4/2013. Rates could even be lower than when you first started. Call and ask!
I read the article in the LA times this morning that mentions your loan experience and something doesn’t seem right with the loan you were reporting to Scott Reckard.
Either the loan officer doesn’t know what he is doing or the article didn’t give you the whole story.
Lenders use the middle score when it comes to credit scores.
If your scores were 680 and 790 and 790 your middle score is 790 and the 680 doesn’t matter.
If there is a co-borrower than it is the lower of the two borrowers middle scores.
If the co-borrowers scores were 680, 720,760 the score the lender would use is 720 (middle scores 790 and 720 lower of the two being 720).
Also most loans are approved by automated underwriting DU for Fannie Mae and LP for Freddie Mac and these automated underwriting systems are programed to pick up the middle score so I think the loan officer dropped the ball somewhere.
How a lender looks at credit scores seems like information you should know if you are going to blog about personal finance and Scott Reckard should probably know for writing that article.
Getting a mortgage these days is not an easy process anymore the concern about having to buy back a loan that the investor doesn’t like for any reason if such a big issue.
Matt, I placed your comment here instead of where you wrote it in my About page.
Do you speak for all lenders when you say “lenders use the middle score” when it comes to credit scores? If so, please feel free to give Citibank a call.
If I’m a lender and I see 680, 790, and 790, I am DEFINITELY going to inquire about what’s up with the 680. Perhaps your lax attitude is the reason why we got into this mortgage mess in the first place.
Check whether most jumbo loans are approved by automated underwriting for Fannie and Freddie. Jumbo loans have a much more stringent underwriting requirement given most are not purchased by Fannie and Freddie.
Are you a mortgage lender? Share with us your background because I am concerned with your lack of knowledge. But, if you want to lend me some money, let me know! Thx
I am almost 120 days in to a refinance with Wells Fargo. We already passed our original lock in date in Feb. They said it would be extended. I had hope 2 weeks ago when they called for our new loan number on the 19th of Feb. (mortgage was sold to another company) and I saw that they had checked or credit on the 20th of Feb. Everytime I would call before that they said they were backed up and waiting. The last time I talked to someone around the first of Feb she told me it was fixing to go to underwriting. Now we are back to not hearing anything. I have had to make every call to find out where the process is on our loan unless they have needed something (which has been twice). Very frustrating!!!
I have been working with citibank since July of last year to refinance and I really thought that I was just being difficult – not understanding why this would take so long to process. And as state above, every other week I receive a new request for some document that either exprire or need more current informtion. I have a bag full of doucment than I don’t know what to do with. This process has cost me so much money that my hope is that I have some remance to use for closing… when that time eventually comes around. I too feel like telling them to forget it, but support of others I keep holding on and hoping evertime I open my mail box I will find the closing document. My coop manager is not too helpful either. every document I request from them cost me hundred of dollars. I can’t believe that this process cannot be handed in a more speedier fashion.
i have been refinancing for 9 months, what can i do.
Why not check with Quicken Loans online for a no obligation, free quote based on your scenario? Given they are online, their rates are very competitive due to low overhead costs and they are the largest online mortgage retailer in America. I always check w/ them when I’m doing my refi to make sure I’m getting the best rate. They are also much more streamlined than traditional bricks and mortars banks based on experience.
Wow – I’m in the same situation as everyone else. 4 months and still haven’t closed on my refinancing with Citibank. I’m thinking of just pulling the application and giving up – what a waste of time and money it has been but I can’t bear to drag this process on any more. Has anyone figured out where to file a complaint? I guess there’s no way they’ll refund me the application fee or appraisal fees, right?
Sorry to hear Lola. I would keep pressing and ask every week what is going on. At 4 months, I can’t imagine you not getting back your application fee. I’d just stick w/ it if they say they are still working through things though.
It’s not just Citibank. I am at 108 days and counting with Chase. What is the most frustrating is that they had my first loan, and then my loan the first time I refinanced and both those went quickly. They are the current owner of my loan, but are taking forever. Everyone is pointing fingers at everone else….mortgage broker, condo association checking wrong box, chase…. I just want to stop losing 300 dollars in equity for each month it takes them longer.
I am at day 90 with Citibank–they told me 60-90 days but my local bank told me 45-60 I really wish I went with them. At least I would have a name and face and feel like they cared if I was unhappy or not. It appears Citibank is the longest of them all. They too tell me it is because they have so many to do. If I pulled that on my customers, they would tell me a thing or two and go somewhere else! We already had our mortgage with Citibank so we thought it would be faster and easier (we have a 10 year perfect history with them and a 770+ credit score. I wish I would’ve read this blog before!
It took me a long time with Citibank as well for one of my mortgages. Ever since then, I’ve always checked online first with Quicken Loans to see if they can match or beat the rate, b/c usually they can at least match, and it’s quicker.
Good luck and hang in there!
I consider myself to still be a newbie to home ownership which has been since 2009. My original loan is an FHA 30 yr fixed rate of 5.5% and BOA has been my lender since.
Last week I received a letter from BOA that my loan was being transferred to a new servicer which I am not happy about but I heard this happens a lot. I’ve never been late on my mtg payments or any creditor payments for that matter so I was bummed to hear this news which takes effect December 1st.
Because of this change I thought I would try for a refinance with BOA, so this past Monday 11/26, I applied for a refinance with BOA. I asked about a conventional refi loan but was told I would have to come up with a large sum of cash and have a higher FICO. My current FICO came in at 696.
So I was given two options for a refinance. I could apply for a FHA Streamline 30 yr at a 3.875%, which would require no appraisal, or income verification, or I could try for a new 15 FHA at a 3.375% instead, which requires income verification, other documentation and an appraisal which I pay upfront and get it back. I submitted all required documents yesterday and paid $535 for credit run and appraisal which is supposedly going to be scheduled next week after I receive my Good Faith Document. I was told by the BOA loan officer that I should expect to wait at least 90 days or longer for a response, but he said I would find out right away if they would not approve the loan like in a few days, but if I didn’t hear back from them in next two weeks it was a good sign/indication that my loan is being thoroughly reviewed and considered.
Its only been a few days and I am already stressed out and moreso after reading what many of you have gone/going through.
I guess its a waiting game at this point.
We started the refinance process in July. Needless to say, we are still waiting. Never, ever again will I deal with this particular bank. Ever.
I applied in ending of Jul, beginning of Aug, 2012 and still waiting (now Nov. 14, 2012!) They have checked my credit three times already (lost 100 pts bc of them) and every time I talk to my loan officer, she tells me they have to verify my documents because its expired…. She tells me she will call to update us but never does, it all comes down to my husband and I to contact her. When we call within two weeks, she tells us there are other people in front of us. I am ready to give up…
I don’t think your credit score can go down 100 points b/c the bank checked three times. I would check your credit score for free here to make sure it’s not identity theft or something more sinister like a bill you had no idea you owed, which is now in collection agency. A 100 point drop in credit WILL hurt your mortgage refinance chances.
I’d just hang in there, b/c really at the end of the day, it’s just waiting. Stick through it!
I had friends refi and the bank checked them five times resulting in a reduced FICO of 80 points. They had excellent scores (780+) before and are considering litigation. That can be an issue with large banks. Numerous people touch the file and people are always being hired, leaving, transferrred to new positions, etc. And they don’t care how many times they give you a hit to ensure the person before them did things correctly.
Hello
I m so frustrated with Citibank who purchased my previous mortgage company. We applied HARP in March 2012. In 5 weeks, we were told not qualified due to our second mortgage with a different bank which is Credit Union. So we switched to Citibank Refinance program instead of HARP. We had to pay upfront for appriaisal about 450 dollars in May 2012. Today we got another Good Faith Estimate report. We are tired of waiting as they claim it was underwriter group s lengthy waiting period. The question is should we seek another new mortgage company to refinance with lower interest? Our current refinance application is locked at 3.75. Thanks
My 100 day refinance ended up having around 10 Good Faith Estimates! This is due to government regulation, and not b/c of Citibank, where I also refinance.
What I recommend you do is utilize the internet and check for a free, no obligation quote via Quicken Loans. They’ve been much quicker, and much more streamlined in the process that traditional bricks and mortar banks which are seriously bogged down by the gov’t. The bigger you are, the more paper work you need to do and Citibank is one of the biggest! Just make sure you ask the tough questions with Quicken Loans and ask if there is an application fee and what the refund policy is if you come to that.
Sam