One of my favorite questions clients ask me is "what is the difference between you and a credit union / bank?"

To help answer the question, I'll share some recent wins we've had with clients to tell the story:

1. Low Appraisal: Just this last week we had a client with a $380,000 purchase receive a low appraisal. The value came back at $353,000, which is obviously significantly lower than the contract price. Both realtors (buying and listing agents) felt the sales price was supported, and so we gathered comps to help support the value. The appraiser on Monday (4/15) was unwilling to change their value. We notified underwriting that the appraisal report should be flawed, because the appraiser did not use the best available comparable sales, and some of other internal notes were also incorrect. The appraisal was officially flawed on Tuesday (4/16). We ordered a replacement appraisal with a rush on Wednesday (4/17) and received a report back SAME DAY! We closed on Friday with an appraisal at a $385,000 value, above the contract price. How did we pull this off? Fairway owns our own appraisal management company, and so we are able to have a high level of input / feedback on the process and ensure things are done properly. We CANNOT influence the final appraisal value, but we can certainly share feedback if something isn't right. Most lenders hire a 3rd party appraisal management company, and so they are not able to as easily flaw a low appraisal or order a same-day rush appraisal if needed.

2. Quick Closings: Sometimes a seller needs to sell their home as quickly as possible. Maybe the home is vacant, or they have already moved to another state. We have recently closed a number of "barn-burner" quick closings. Examples: WHEDA first time homebuyer with 10% down, we closed in 9 days. Conventional 11% down we closed in 13 days. Conventional 3% down, we closed in 14 days. All within the last 8 weeks.

3. Nights and Weekends: Sometimes there are last-minute questions, clarifications, or collaboration required in a competitive offer scenario to ensure an accepted offer. We have an on-call service that is available for any nights and weekends questions, to ensure deals keep on moving!

4. Rate Locks: In an incredibly volatile market like the one we have, a little-known trick has come in handy for my clients very often. We have the ability to lock in clients rates after-hours, in the evenings and weekends. This is unusual as most lenders require locks during business hours only. Here is why this is handy: last weekend I was seeing news updates about Geopolitical tensions brewing, that would likely affect future oil prices. If the cost of oil goes up, so does gasoline, which is very inflationary. If American consumers see the cost of gas going up, they will believe inflation in general is rising, which causes them to, for example, as for raises at work, and then business owners increase the cost of their goods to cover their rising employee costs. I had four clients get accepted offers last weekend, and I was able to lock in their rates ahead of mortgage rates rising on Monday (they did, and so we won ;) ).

5. In-House Underwriting: If we have any concerns about a clients' file, namely employment history, income, or credit concerns, we have the ability to pre-underwrite a loan to ensure we can have utmost confidence in their upcoming closing. As a result, we can offer confident, quick closings even on files we may otherwise have concerns about. This has been invaluable so that every household can have the best chance possible of getting an accepted offer in this dynamic market. 

What a fun time to be in the business! I love what I do, and I do believe it is still a great time to invest in real estate!

As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to text/call me at 414-488-0438!