As a listing agent it is so frustrating to be at the mercy of the lender that the buyer has selected in a transaction. Lately, the number of escrows that have had delayed closings is steadily rising because the buyer's lender does not have the loan documents to title in time. I wish that lenders had late document delivery tracked like the airline industry. I think if the public could see the track records of the mortgage loan industry, they would make wiser selections.
I think the processors, underwriters, loan officers should call the sellers and buyers directly if they realize loan docs are going to be delivered to title late. If they could hear and feel the angst they cause the buyers and sellers, the mortgage employees would try harder and work to anticipate any processing problems. In almost every case, the late documents cause the seller to lose money on the sale and the poor seller does not even have a say in who the buyer selects as the lender. In my 13 years of real estate, I do not recall any loan officer calling my seller to apologize for their inefficient service and for the extra costs incurred by the seller due to loan docs being delivered late to title.
The mortgage industry's reputation took quite a hit over the past 5 years. At this point, they should be trying to build up buyer and seller confidence. However, I am afraid that the frequent late closings caused by the lenders are a sign that they are once again sliding into the great abyss.
