Client Wins

Every week we share stories about homebuyers and homeowners who are achieving their goals with RPM as their partner. Click below to read more.

A couple was on day 45 of a 60 day escrow with another lender, and saw their $1.5 million dream home slowly slipping away. Four other lenders had failed to get the deal done and couldn’t overcome issues around their complicated self-employed income, business losses, and debt ratios 5% over the typically accepted max. With a contingent offer requiring the sale of the client’s departing home and two other transactions hinging on this one, sellers had a backup offer waiting and gave the buyers one last chance to perform. We only had 12 days to close, but after studying their profile, we knew we had a jumbo loan product to fit their situation, plus we could offer a fixed-rate 1% lower than the adjustable loans they were quoted. We kept their dream alive, closed in 12 days, and proved that not all lenders are created equal when it comes to complex clients.

A client came to us for help buying his first rental property in an extremely competitive market where bidding wars were the norm and sellers preferred cash offers. He owned the home he lived in, and wrote a 15-day-close cash offer with plans to fund it with his Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)—a HELOC is a loan that allows you to use a checkbook to draw on the balance as needed, but has an adjustable rate, and our client wanted a stable 30-year fixed. He asked if we could close a new 30-year fixed in 15 days. Our response: Of course! He revised his offer, we rushed the appraisal in just three days, and finished his approval with days to spare before the 15-day deadline, proving that home financing can be just as fast as cash for sellers while preserving cash for buyers.

A couple looking for a cash out refinance for a home improvement project had been working with other lenders unsuccessfully. Their credit scores were too low and they needed to clear up various collections to qualify. They tried for months and thought all hope was lost until they met us. After analyzing their credit, we told them we could use their cash out refi to repair their credit. The deal resulted in their credit scores increasing by 30 points each, and $50,000 cash out to do their project plus pay off collections, car loans, and credit cards. With their credit and hope restored and project money in hand, they were reenergized and inspired to achieve their home improvement vision.

A client we’d pre-approved a few months back made an offer on a for-sale-by-owner property that she loved. After reading our client’s offer, the seller texted to ask how fast we could close. Our answer: two weeks. Both seller’s and buyer’s realtors were skeptical about our timeframe, but the offer was accepted and we jumped into action. We received the appraisal in a few days, approved the loan, and only had minimal conditions to draw final documents to sign and meet our two-week-close promise. All parties wanted to know the secret to our speed and precision. No secret. Just a thorough pre-approval that we kept updated all those months during the home shopping process, and good old fashioned execution.

A self-employed client came to us hopeful but doubtful he could buy a home. He earned decent income and had money saved, but was paid through K1s without any distributions, and wanted to use multiple sources of funds from stocks, IRA and retirement for his 25% down payment. After reviewing his tax returns and financial documents, we reached out to his accountant for proper documentation to paint a clear picture for our underwriter up front. We wrote a clear description of how he was paid, and included a year-to-date profit and loss statement from his CPA to verify he had access to his funds in his account, and that it wouldn’t affect his business. Our underwriter was able to digest the profile and approve the loan the first time without asking for multiple rounds of new information, enabling our client to close in 25 days instead of the 45 days his contract called for.

Clients who were selling their home to buy their parent’s home needed timing to be just right to get their purchase down payment from their sale. No lender could meet their tight timeline until they met us. We had them jump into our Home On Time App to apply, direct-connect their bank statements, and upload other critical documents within minutes. This simplified the rest of the process, centralized all communication, and eliminated the need to fax, scan or email separately. We ensured their sale proceeds were immediately available for the down payment on the purchase, and the transition to their new family home closed on time with zero surprises.

A couple working with another lender on their home purchase had a crisis situation arise when the home appraisal- and therefore the entire loan- was declined after they'd already moved into the home early as previously agreed to with the sellers. After their realtors introduced us, we stepped in and explained why our appraisal process would be different: we only use certified local market specialist appraisers with more than 10 years of experience. As promised, it took just a couple days for us to receive a new appraisal back with no issues. Crisis averted, early move-in maintained, deal saved and closed in 12 days.

In a hot market, a client needed her offer to stand out from competing buyers who'd fallen in love with the same home. She wanted to preserve cash using a 3.5% down FHA loan and a down payment assistance grant from one of the many state programs we partner with. Great for her, but normally perceived by sellers as a weaker offer compared to larger down or cash offers. The solution? Our Advance Approval® which is a fully underwritten and approved loan instead of a mere pre-approval. Advance Approval® enabled her to write a cash-like offer even with her low down strategy, win the bidding war, close in 25 days, and preserve her savings.

Two busy teachers who we'd helped on past purchase and refinance transactions reconnected with us to prepare for a new home purchase before a new school year started. They wanted to get approved for a jumbo loan in the mid $600,000 range, but still had six figure student loan debt. We reduced their overall qualifying ratios by utilizing the actual payments on their student loans as opposed to a standard percentage rate most lenders use. In just 15 days, they closed and moved into their new home just before the new school year began. After closing, the teachers gave us an A, saying: "thanks to you, we can be more present for our students."

New U.S. residents were told by another lender that, due to their limited work history and credit, they couldn’t qualify for more than the conforming max of $636,150 with 30% down. In a tough high-priced market, they knew this wouldn’t be enough. After our initial consultation, we recommended a first and second mortgage combo. Since they hadn’t established any U.S. credit yet, we were able to use their credit report from Canada to satisfy credit history requirements, and Advance Approve them for $100,000 more than the other lender. So they could borrow $750,000, and only needed to put 20%, which preserved about $85,000 in cash. This option fit their budget and got them into the price range they were looking for. When they found a home, our Advance Approval enabled them to write a cash-like offer to win the bidding war and close in 23 days. The latest proof that the American dream of homeownership is alive and well!

A recently divorced client was working with another lender on a new home purchase when they denied her loan just one week before closing. When her realtor referred her, we dug in immediately to find out what went wrong, and found a provision of the divorce decree saying if the husband refinanced or sold their former home, she was owed 20% of those funds. The other lender denied her because they misinterpreted this and included her ex-husband’s mortgage expense in her qualifying calculations. We had the client obtain a copy of the signed deed showing her as removed from the former property, therefore excluding this debt from her liabilities. Because we did this analysis and documentation right out of the gate, we were able to finalize the loan in 8 days, taking the borrower from state of high anxiety to sheer exhilaration.

Two years ago we helped a couple obtain a low down FHA loan for their first home. More recently, we spent months working with them to execute their long-term family plan to purchase a much larger full-family home with the husband’s mother. The couple and the mom each needed to sell their departing residences so they could use those funds for their down payment on the new home. In addition, the mom’s credit profile needed to be rebuilt. For months, we worked with her to connect with the credit bureaus to remove past mortgages from her previous foreclosure and bankruptcies, and advised her to open a new card to re-establish her credit. During this time, she went from not having any active credit accounts or even a credit score to a top-tier 721 score! This was the final puzzle piece we needed to complete pre-approval for all family members for their new $1 million home in a much nicer school district and better community.

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