Loan Depot .. refinance??

[albireo13]

We are trying to rfinance. Anyone use Loan Depot?
They are quoting lowest.

[rayvt]

I have used AIM loan and amerisave several times. Never heard of Loan Depot.


But I could not find out their interest rates. Both the other two will show you the range of rates, points, fees, etc.

[cyber888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by albireo13 We are trying to rfinance. Anyone use Loan Depot? They are quoting lowest.

They are no good. Run away. I used them, and all I did was pay fees and they lowballed my appraisal. They did some guarantees but did not follow thru their promises

[jazz4cash]

I thought they were a broker like lending tree. Do you know the actual lender quoting the low rate?

[albireo13]

No. They are brokers. Just don't know that I trust them.

[Teacher Terry]

We used them and they were so incompetent it was laughable.

[Homebrew]

In the middle of refi with them now. So far, so good.

As for the low ball appraisal, they hire independent appraisers, so not sure how much control they have there. In my experience there can be huge variations in valuations between different appraisers.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homebrew ... they hire independent appraisers, so not sure how much control they have there. ...

The appraisers know what kind of appraisals the customer wants, so if they want to get hired again they will naturally be tempted to shade the results in the desired way. The same kind of thing happens with professional arbitrators where it's a big company against an individual. The individual has no idea who the arbitrators on the candidate list might be, where the big company knows and will select ones that they feel are favorable. The arbitrator, in turn, knows that the individual is not a repeat customer.

It's really more human nature than anything evil.

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homebrew In the middle of refi with them now. So far, so good. As for the low ball appraisal, they hire independent appraisers, so not sure how much control they have there. In my experience there can be huge variations in valuations between different appraisers.

Is loan depot the lender or have they forwarded you to someone else?

[Homebrew]

My understanding is that they are the lender. The loan officer told me that they don’t sell their loans. I’m fairly confident I understood that correctly.

So far, the communication has been great, and the interface for uploading and digitally signing documents has been a breeze. This first part of the process has moved along quite fast. My loan is now with the underwriters and the appraisal has been scheduled. The loan officer told me to expect about a 30 day period where I wouldn’t hear anything as they are very busy and the underwriting process might take that long. I’m not in a hurry, so this didn’t bother me.

Edit: Checked the Loan Estimate. The lender is listed as LoanDepot.com, LLC

[jazz4cash]

Thanks for the additional detail.

[albireo13]

I am going with Loan Depot. We just locked in on a rate 2.625%.
Submitting all the docs now.

[troutnut1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter The appraisers know what kind of appraisals the customer wants, so if they want to get hired again they will naturally be tempted to shade the results in the desired way. The same kind of thing happens with professional arbitrators where it's a big company against an individual. The individual has no idea who the arbitrators on the candidate list might be, where the big company knows and will select ones that they feel are favorable. The arbitrator, in turn, knows that the individual is not a repeat customer. It's really more human nature than anything evil.

Those days are long gone. Several inches of Federal law (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice or USPAP) make sure appraisers are assigned at random by an outside organization and appraisers are no longer able to be influenced in the manner you have suggested. Appraisers are probably more regulated now than any other profession.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutnut1 Those days are long gone. Several inches of Federal law (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice or USPAP) make sure appraisers are assigned at random by an outside organization and appraisers are no longer able to be influenced in the manner you have suggested. Appraisers are probably more regulated now than any other profession.

Interesting. Is this regulation specific to mortgages? My only recent contact with appraisers involved finding one and ordering the appraisal. Just like hiring a plumber or a CPA. In fact we are in the middle of one of those right now involving a piece of lakeshore.

[troutnut1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter Interesting. Is this regulation specific to mortgages? My only recent contact with appraisers involved finding one and ordering the appraisal. Just like hiring a plumber or a CPA. In fact we are in the middle of one of those right now involving a piece of lakeshore.

Yes. You can still choose an appraiser for other purposes. But the appraisal would not be acceptable for mortgage purposes.

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutnut1 Those days are long gone. Several inches of Federal law (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice or USPAP) make sure appraisers are assigned at random by an outside organization and appraisers are no longer able to be influenced in the manner you have suggested. Appraisers are probably more regulated now than any other profession.

The topic of appraisal never came up on my last 2 Refi’s but one was a HARP and now we have so much equity it wouldn’t matter what process was bring used. Before that the automated appraisals were marvels of inconsistency and there was a lot of inaccurate info in the databases being used. Hopefully these new standards will address those issues.