Is anyone else having buyers balk at the Countrywide lender pre-qual letter requirement in states that are now suing Countrywide?

not with countrywide but I have had buyers balk at other lenders required Pre qual. The lender still ended up accepting the offer.

One of my investors who pays cash will not look at those that require pre approval

I've never seen any in my area that require the pre-approval letter for cash buyers, just proof of funds.

I've always wondered if Countrywide requiring buyers to pre-qual with them has cost them business. I would imagine they lose buyers all the time as people are already pre-qual'd before they make an offer.

I think someone needs a class in reo 101.

I am a Countrywide listing agent.Pre approval is only required with offers that are subject to financing.I can submit offers that are subject to financing with a pre approval from another lender(or proof of funds). The earnest money however is non refundable if the buyer is unable to close.

I just went thru it with my client. We made an offer on a CW property. It wasn't too bad but some people wouldn't want their credit to get run again. I think it must suck for the loan agents that have to do it and most likely don't have a chance at getting the business...

I have been told that if you run your credit for a home loan within a 30 day period it DOES NOT ding your credit. However I cannot be certain about that. That may be something you may want to run by a trusted lender to ensure that is the truth and at least that 1 opposition can be overcome.

It will not hurt your credit score.

In a 2 week period counts as 1 inquiry for car loan or home loan rates without affecting score.

Inquires make up about 15 percent of your total credit score. Late payments,bankruptcies,repossesions,foreclosure,high debt to available credit ratios is what really kills your scores. The other items have alot smaller impact.

The computer scoring model will ding you after so many credit card,car loan,home loan inquiries spread out because it figures you are applying but NOT getting approved so you must be high risk.

They expect people to shop rates within a REASONABLE amount of time.

Seeing as Countrywide no longer exists as we know it, being prequal'd by them probably is academic?

Not true.I just closed on a property Thursday with a new Countrywide loan.

Some areas seem to be handling the CW preapproval differently. I find it amusing that something being handled differently makes another agent decide who needs REO lessons.

Golden Girl, you closed with a loan that was already in the works, I did not say that CW wouldn't honor their obligations; what I did say is that they no longer exist as we know them, perhaps I'm wrong but I didn't think they would be writing new business.

This pre-qual requirement DOES lose them sales and results in lower sale prices, in some cases. I have seen buyers who have an agent representing them refuse to do the CW pre-qual, as that gives the seller the upper hand in the deal. Say the house is priced at $90k, the buyer easily qualifies for $100k, but they offer $80k... The seller knows the seller can pay full price, so they don't negotiate off the list price as much. Any good buyers rep would not let their buyers give the other side all their financial info!
On the other hand, because many people refuse to jump through CW hoops, the homes often sit longer and get reduced more than they should have to, and the bank gets less for them...

OHAgent - There is one in grove city at the moment that is requiring the pre-qual.

It seems like they're pricing them to reflect the lost value for the letter. The house seems underpriced by about $20k even in poor shape.

I just had someone prequal through them just the other day and they were almost in tears when the buyer decided to go with Wells Fargo, so it does appear they are still writing new loans.