Because I am a firm believer that the bill will always be more than the estimate, I had Jesse email our mortgage lender to see what our closing costs would be on their side of things (lawyer fees are a different kettle of fish). They gave us a list of four fees that, although higher than all my estimates, were still doable. But I was skeptical of that list. Our previous house purchase had a page full of itemized closing costs from the lender. I wrote down the fees that hadn't been accounted for and had Jesse write back. The answer was, "Yes, those too." The increase in cost was $975 over the original quote.
How is being this evasive in answering a borrower's question beneficial to a lender? If we don't have enough cash to close, this whole thing falls apart. And if it falls apart, they lose out on a ton of money from a borrower they have a solid history with. It just makes no sense to me. Maybe they don't think a $975 difference is a big deal? If that's the case, surely they won't mind if I don't pay it!
Actually, when you consider that people pay that much for an iphone, the amount could be "pocket change" to some folks. Not you, not me, but some. My friend Karen paid that much for her last iphone and I was stunned. What we paid for this house back in 1989 is what people pay for USED CARS now. Contemplate that for a moment. All that said, it does not excuse such poor business practices. It is so hard to find excellence in the work place these days. I hope that this does not hamper you efforts to buy the house.
ReplyDeleteUnless we're talking about food or utilities, I am out of touch with modern costs.
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