Monday, October 15, 2012

You're Approved!

We've finally gotten our Approval letter from NVR...apparently they were perfectly confident that there wouldn't be any problems, because Ryan Homes got the go-ahead quite awhile ago!  There aren't any real surprises in the letter, but I thought I'd point out a couple of things that might help someone down the road.

The cover letter has some frequently asked questions, and rather than paraphrase I'm just going to copy a couple of them verbatim:

This letter states my approval expires on a certain date, and I must close by that same date.  My closing is scheduled after that date, will this be a problem?
No.  The date that is listed on your approval is the day that your previously provided asset, income, and/or credit documents will expire.  We will just need updated documents from you at that point.

Why do you need coinciding bank statements for the Earnest Money that I give to Ryan Homes?
We use your bank statements to prove that the money you have used to purchase this loan is your own.  We review the statements to make sure that you have not borrowed money or obtained additional debt.

The letter is asking us to do a couple of things, one of which is documenting the Earnest Money.  Another is "consecutive monthly bank statements showing deposits in accordance with budget letter."  This is something that I haven't seen mentioned in any of the blogs, so let me esplain. (no no, there is too much, let me sum up - ha!).  Part of the documentation that we were asked for was a Budget Letter.



The LO sent the form to my husband, and gave him the very bad advice that "You only need to fill out the income and expenses section. You don’t need to fill out the assets available section. In the expense section you don’t need to make an entry for each expense. You just need to input costs that apply to you."  My husband followed those instructions, only to have the LP send it back to him asking for the rest of it to be filled out.  At this point he asked me to finish it off and send it back, as he was swamped with work stuff and couldn't spend more time on it.  I take a look at it, and the way he had it filled out makes it look like we should be able to save $4000 a month.  Um, NO!  Not likely!  But down at the bottom, where he must not have read, is the fine print:  "I/We understand that I/We are saving the balance of the down payment, closing costs and reserves.  I/We agree to deposit the amount indicated on a weekly basis.  A condition of our loan will be to provide verification of the systematic savings plan as outlined above."  So, conceivably, our loan could get un-approved down the road if we weren't saving that imaginary $4000 every month, because we sign our names at the bottom.  Something to take note of if they ask for this form!

Needless to say, this bad advice is going to get a mention on that coveted Survey.  Not that NVR cares much about those!

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In other news, I've added more panorama pics to those pages.  Mostly I just added (the other three bedrooms, the bathrooms, hallways, the loft), but there are a couple that I replaced because the newer ones were better.  And it's funny...I told a couple people that both the models down here are decorated pretty much identically...which is 98% true, but where it's different is that the same item will be rotated.  So a frame that's oriented as a diamond in one model is oriented as a square at the other, things of that nature.  It felt like a "find the differences" game!

Also, if you're at all confused about the differences in the floorplans of the various elevations, check out the last picture on the Elevations tab.  Hopefully that will help esplain.  :)

12 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Amanda on your loan approval!

    Thanks for adding the pictures of the different rooms, it's helping me with my planning!!

    Did they mention when you will be able to lock your rate?
    Don't forget there is the initial approval and the final approval?
    Keep all your documents on a thumb drive and in your email to access from your computer or iPhone should they call you for additional documents. You will have everything at your finger tips. Knowing you, you may have already done this. lol smiley face.

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    1. They didn't say, but I believe I've read on a couple blogs that you can usually do it when you have your drywall meeting. They generally say it's 60 days (for Rome, at least) from drywall to closing.

      And yes, I'm prepared to send them just about everything except my children closer to settlement. ;)

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  2. Thanks for posting this. I will def. ask the hubby if he did this or not. What a grueling process that was though...so glad it's over! ( at least for now!)

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    1. I have a feeling it's never over until NVR sells our mortagage to someone else. :D

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  3. Very interesting. Glad they are doing FAQs. I know that the "where are you getting the money?" is a huge mortgage issue right now. And do be warned that you will have to provide new documentation (new bank statements, pay stubs, etc) to be re-approved before closing. Frankly, I found that to be the more intense process as the underwriters ask for a lot of stuff.

    Also, I hadn't seen the Budget Letter before. We didn't get one of those. Wonder if it's a regional thing?

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    1. Not sure if the FAQs are just this branch, or if it's now company-wide, but I appreciate it! They were very clear that we'd need more paperwork down the road, so that's fine.

      I have a feeling that the budget letter has more to do with amount of down payment or type of mortgage, rather than region. But I could be wrong.

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  4. Hi Amanda! Though we are a bit further behind in the process, they did warn us as well about all the paperwork that would be needed...including updates on paperwork or documentation (bank statements, earnings, etc.) I think that we have the same loan officer...Anyway, I wonder right now how people did this stuff without being able to copy images of checks and attach PDF files as proof. So far, its been pretty simple to send the needed documents via email with attachments. Our LO did mention the Budget sheet, but said that in our particular situation we wouldn't need it. But it is good to know about all the fine prints just in case NVR changes their minds about that and we end up having to fill out yet another piece of paperwork!

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    1. Yes, I believe all the Richmond builders have the same LO (CM?). When we switched from West division to East we still kept the same LO. Which I guess kind of explains why he doesn't really reply to emails quickly! But I'd be willing to bet that we all have a different LP.

      I remember when we bought our first house, before the crash, that we didn't have to do nearly as much...but even then we needed copies of checks, which we could get online. So I kinda wonder how they used to do it, too! Didn't checks used to be returned to you, or something? Back in the day...lol

      As far as the budget letter, I would guess that's tied to how much of a down payment you're making. Ours is pretty much the minimum, because we're in a situation where we can certainly afford the mortgage, but cash to actually get the house PURCHASED was pretty low. We'll be paying for that with the mortgage insurance, unfortunately, but now is definitely the time to be buying so we went ahead. So they probably want to be sure that we'll be able to cover our closing costs. That's my theory, anyways.

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  5. Congratulations for getting your loan approved! It’s great that you didn’t go through too much trouble securing all the needed documents for the closing process as much as I did. What the letter says is right; the bank statement is used to verify if the money deposited in your account legitimately comes from the sources you have mentioned in your application.


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  7. Congratulations! If your loan was approved that fast, then it’s really meant for you! Now that you have your it, use it wisely!

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