Invasive Procedure!

Since last I left you, I have gotten a lot accomplished. Chiefly, I have met with the loan officer that is handling my mortgage and down payment assistance. I have also scheduled my home inspections (General, Wood-destroying insects, and Radon) for this Wednesday.

The loan application process is a very intrusive process, the depths of which I had no understanding going into this. I've joked with friends that had I known how much personal information they require, I may well have just signed another year on the lease! That's a stretch - it will definitely be worth it in the end, but it's very trying on my already fragile nerves to go through this process which feels like a witch-hunt.

It started with: "You'll need to bring the following to your appointment: Tax Returns and W2s for the three most recent years, bank statements for two most recent months, and pay stubs covering the last 30 days."

This all seemed reasonable to me - but for the life of me [and my mom], I could not find my 2007 tax return. This was the last year that I had my mom do my taxes for me, and was right around the time I was moving full time to Akron. Neither of us was sure who had it, and it wasn't where either of us thought we would have it. Luckily, ol' Trusty McGee (aka mom) found it on a final check through unlikely places.

Once I got to the appointment, I was pleased to meet my loan officer - a very friendly and knowledgeable woman. Things started rolling along smoothly as I had all the necessary paperwork (thanks again mom!). Then we got down to the nitty gritty. Verifying funds. After doing the math the first time, she tried to tell me I needed over $2000 dollars. I almost cried. HELLO?! This is why I'm doing the down payment assistance program - because I don't have thousands of dollars lying about the place! "Remain calm, rely on knowledge" was the message I was repeating to myself. After we sorted things out and got on the same page, it turned out that I was going to have to ask a family member for a small loan of $400 that I didn't really need. They have to verify funds for a specific set of needs, but at time of closing I will have already paid most of these, or won't have to pay them based on the date of the month (i.e. end of month = only a couple days worth of taxes). Luckily - I could count on my Aunt with the understanding that she would get it right back after I close on the house. However, there's 5 hoops to jump through to receive a 'gift' for closing costs. These include but are not limited to having a teller-stamped-and-signed copy of the withdrawal slip, cashier's check, deposit slip, and bank printout showing available funds. "Hey, could you loan me money, and while you're at it, I need copies of 85 documents." Tacky. Nonetheless, a huge thanks to the aunty.

Next came the sticky situation of explaining and proving any non-payroll deposits into my bank accounts. This includes a 'To Whom it May Concern' explaining what each transfer and deposit into my accounts was for/from, and proof (i.e. copies of the front and back of each check). Shoot me. Now I have to try to remember what each little thing was, and get the bank to come up with copies of the checks. Luckily one of my sisters works for my bank, and was able to get the copies I needed (Shout out to the sis. Noticing a theme here?)

Finally I had to fax the info for the house over to my insurance agent to bill the first year's insurance to time of closing. No sweat.

All-in-all it's not that bad, and not all that unreasonable, but entirely unexpected and exhausting. Will it be worth it? I think it will. I am hugely thankful to my family and friends for their seemingly bottomless pit of support for me.

Stay tuned later this week for a detailed account of the home-inspections. I know, I know... you'll be "washing your hair" that day right? Or is it some previous commitment you'll need to attend? OH WELL! READ IT ANYWAY :)