Ten Day Close

What Makes The Ten Day Close Impossible

by Justin McHood on April 20, 2010
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Most of the time, when talking with someone in the real estate field about the Ten Day Close I always seem to get the same question:

It isn’t really possible to close loans consistently in ten days… is it?

And I tell them that for most loan officers that work at either brokers, mortgage bankers or the large lenders — the Ten Day Close is probably close to impossible to pull off on a consistent basis.  Even home builders will tell you that a ten
day close is unreasonable to expect.

And that makes them fee a little better.

It makes them smile and think quietly “ok, good — I knew it was impossible” — right up until I tell them:

But the guys at Academy Mortgage and behind TenDayClose.com are different.

Why The Ten Day Close Is Impossible For Brokers

If you are a mortgage broker, there is no possible way that you can close loans in ten days on a consistent basis. Why? Because you have to rely on the wholesale lender to underwrite your loan, close your loan and fund your loan in less than 10 days. I have two words for this group who want to try to close loans on a consistent basis…

No. Chance.

Why The Ten Day Close Is Impossible For Mortgage Bankers

If you are a mortgage bank and have the authority to underwrite and close loans in your name – chances are that the Ten Day Close is also impossible for you. Why? Because most mortgage banks have centralized the underwriting and closing function in-house for their remote sales branches. So the hub and spoke business model makes one big operations center where decisions are made by someone totally insulated from the customer and at best indirectly influenced by the loan officer on what needs to get done when.

Why The Ten Day Close Is Impossible For The Big Banks

Bank of America. Wells Fargo. Chase. Citibank. These are some of the biggest lenders in America and the Ten Day Close is something that they simply scoff at. Why is it impossible for them? I don’t even know where to begin. I have had customers tell me that it took ten days just for a loan officer to call them back from these places.

So if the Ten Day Close is impossible everywhere, how can it be done?

In my experience, there is only one recipie for success when it comes to getting loans closed in ten days on a consistent basis — work with a mortgage banker who has:

  • In house processing
  • In house underwriting
  • In house closing
  • In house doc drawing
  • In house funding
  • An operations manager who is on-site in the branch office and not in the hub-and-spoke model

In order to get a loan closed in ten days, if your loan officer has all of this behind him — chances are that it is not only possible… but likely that they can deliver.

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Ten Day Close: What It Takes To Make It Happen

by Justin McHood on April 1, 2010
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Back before I came to work at Academy Mortgage, I was in awe their ability make the Ten Day Close happen. In the world I was living in at the time, it just didn’t seem possible that a mortgage company could close loans in ten days or less on a regular basis.

It probably felt very similar to what people thought the human body was capable of before someone ran the first 4-minute mile.  They just believed that it couldn’t be done.

But I gave them the benefit of the doubt and said this exact thing on one of the Best Damn Real Estate Blogs On The Planet:

So if you are planning on buying a home in Arizona and find yourself in this situation – who do you call?

Not me.

Call these guys.

They promise with their checkbook that they can get your loan closed in 10 days or less.

Which in my opinion is absolutely-eye-popping-remarkable for today’s lending environment. They have managed to put all of the pieces together under that are required to do this and if it were up to me, I would put them on the Today Show for being able to pull it off on a consistent basis.

But they haven’t asked me to write on their blog.

Yet.

And it wasn’t long after I wrote this that I got a call to bring my Mortgage Commentator gig to Academy and comment on the things I saw.

And I can tell you that the Ten Day Close is real.

And it isn’t all that difficult to understand what it takes to make it happen once you have seen it done a few times.

These are the things that Academy does in order to make the Ten Day Close possible:

  • They have in-house processing.
  • They have in-house underwriting.
  • They have an in-house doc drawing and closing department.
  • They have an in-house funding department.
  • They have a great operations manager who makes it all happen.

And that is pretty much it.

It really isn’t all that difficult to understand… it is just very, very, very difficult to get all of those things in one place.

Lucky me.

And anyone else who needs their loan closed in the fastest, easiest way possible.

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What It Takes To Close Loans In 10 Days

by Justin McHood on January 26, 2010
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Are you a loan officer wandering around out there wondering why it takes so long to close a loan?

Are you a Realtors frustrated at how long it takes to close a loan?

Are you doing real estate investing and wondering what programs are actually done in-house?

Are you someone who is trying to get a home loan and feeling frustrated with how long it takes to get a loan closed?

I feel your pain.

I have been working in the mortgage business for about 6 or 7 years now and it was always amazing to me how long things took to get done. It seemed that every little step was another hurry up and wait step in the miles-long process of getting a loan done.

But I am happy to report that it isn’t that way everywhere.

Academy Mortgage in Mesa can get your loan closed in ten days and they back it up with their ten day close guarantee.

What does it take to get a loan closed in 10 days?

  • You must first start with a clean loan application. This means that everything must be in the file such as supporting income documentation, bank statements, tax returns, etc.
  • You must have in-house processing that sits close to the loan officer.
  • You must have in-house underwriting that sits close to the processor.
  • You must have the ability to draw closing documents in house – usually a full time closer.

And last but not least, you must have an operations management team that is dedicated to an abnormally high level of customer service.

Don’t have all of these where you currently work?

You probably don’t stand a chance at getting a loan closed in 10 days and it is my personal mission to alert your customer that they don’t have to wait on your slow turn times and that there are better options available.

So if your management team isn’t dedicated to the high level of customer service, this is my formal invitation to join us.

But only if you are up to the task.

Closing loans this fast ain’t easy you know.

Still need more proof?

See you soon.

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