Calendaring a client’s move can be a challenge. Moving vans need to be reserved, and house cleaners scheduled. Escrow closing delays can wreak havoc for both home buyers and sellers. There are many moving pieces: lender, escrow, title, buyer, and seller. What has further complicated matters is TRID. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule to integrate disclosures and regulations required by RESPA and the Truth in Lending Act. The final rule, called TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID), integrates existing disclosures with new requirements from the Dodd-Frank Act. This is supposed to improve consumer understanding of their mortgage terms and prevent surprises at closing.
Translation: There is a new closing disclosure (CD). It is issued late in the application process, typically just before loan documents are prepared. This new law requires two business days to pass before the buyer can sign loan documents. Last-minute escrow closing delays due to TRID have become common.
Sadly, one of the most difficult aspects of my business is often the other real estate agent. There are a variety of reasons. Realtors create problems, but it typically results from them not working full time. I recently represented a La Crescenta home seller, and the buyer’s agent went MIA because he was opening a restaurant. Fortunately, the buyer’s lender picked up that Realtor’s slack.
Recently I worked with a Pasadena Realtor who was reluctant to return phone calls or emails. I would have to ask the same simple questions four and five times before getting an answer. Another recent sale was with a very aloof Glendale real estate agent; each time we spoke, I could hear the annoyance in her voice… to this day, I am still not sure if she was annoyed with me or her difficult client or just the fact that closing takes some planning, follow up and attention to detail.
In the last several months, I have had the pleasure of working with some exceptional Realtors who were a delight to be in escrow with. Here’s a shout-out to Kenny Kim, Doug Drummond, Hasmik Demirjian, and my brother-in-law Joe Harb.
The National Association of Realtors recently released the Danger Report. The findings are simple: The real estate industry is saddled with a large number of part-time, untrained, unethical, and/or incompetent agents. This knowledge gap threatens the credibility of the industry. Read the report here:
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