Financing and Closing

[WhoDat]

We are looking at new construction in TV. Can anyone tell me if you must use TV for financing and/or closing? I am pre-qualified for a VA loan with Quicken. If you don't have to use TV for closing, can anyone recommend a closing attorney. TV closing costs seem kind of high.

[JoMar]

We did not finance through TV and while they tried to scare us that our choice would not be able to meet their 30 day requirement we went to Wells Fargo anyway. We did use TV attorney's because they did make it easier and the difference in closing costs in the whole scheme of things was insignificant.

[WhoDat]

I have been told that TV does not allow VA loans for new construction. Can anyone confirm that?

[OpusX1]

They do not accept VA financing. Also note that they do not accept any contingencies at all, no financing or any other contingencies.

[Jayhawk]

VA loans are pretty much a nightmare for all sellers of new construction. Not just in The Villages.

Between costs, appraisals, and lag times it isn't worth the effort. It ends up costing sellers considerable time and money.

[Challenger]

We are looking at new construction in TV. Can anyone tell me if you must use TV for financing and/or closing? I am pre-qualified for a VA loan with Quicken. If you don't have to use TV for closing, can anyone recommend a closing attorney. TV closing costs seem kind of high.

I was a community banker in Md and Va for 40 years. We have bought two homes in TV and both times we used Citizens and the Developers attys.

In my 40 years of experience in financing I have never seen a smother or more transparent process. I was not concerned about minor differences about charges and never felt threatened in making the choice. The banks that I worked for and ultimately ran could not have handeled the transactions any better. " Those who make a decisions based on price alone, deserve what they get'.

[graciegirl]

The Developer has a right to not use VA or FHA on selling new construction.

If you use another lender and fail to be ready for closing when THEY set closing, you will be fined $250. That is what they require. You don't have to buy here and you don't have to use Citizens. It is your choice.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/ask-expert-about-villages-florida-real-estate-300/va-loans-new-home-purchase-85571/

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/new-homes-cant-close-fha-71543/#post635217

[Jake82]

Just an FYI, if you concerned you can't close in 30 days you can "buy" extra days at the rate of $ 50.00 a day. Very reasonable if you think of daily interest costs to them. Takes the pressure off if you use your own financing or have any other reasons you may need more time and don't want to be under the gun to close in 30 days. Only caveat is you have to buy these days in advance at time of Contract. There are also limits on how many days you can buy, I believe it's capped at 60 extra days beyond the initial 30.

[JoMar]

Just an FYI, if you concerned you can't close in 30 days you can "buy" extra days at the rate of $ 50.00 a day. Very reasonable if you think of daily interest costs to them. Takes the pressure off if you use your own financing or have any other reasons you may need more time and don't want to be under the gun to close in 30 days. Only caveat is you have to buy these days in advance at time of Contract. There are also limits on how many days you can buy, I believe it's capped at 60 extra days beyond the initial 30.

Also that is why Citizens is best choice if you aren't partial to another source. Since they have, as I understand it, a very close relationship :024: with the Developer they always make it within 30 days and no hassle.

[FlamingoFlo]

I agree with Challenger. I also worked for a bank when we moved down here....in the lending department. Citizens made the whole process so easy and the costs were reasonable. I did not have faith in the bank I worked for to deliver in 30 days.

[alanmcdonald]

One more vote for Citizens. We closed from Georgia by FedEx and wired the funds to an account we opened at Citizens the day we signed the contract. On the appointed morning we got a phone call from The Villages Closing Department saying "Congratulations, your home is closed". Could not have been smoother.

This was in the summer of 2013 and The Villages needed to extend the 30 day closing time by a couple of weeks because they could not keep up with sales.

Having just sold a house to complete my mother's estate in New Jersey that had THREE contracts fall through before closing before the forth one closed I know about closing hassles big time.

[Packer Fan]

I agree with Challenger. I also worked for a bank when we moved down here....in the lending department. Citizens made the whole process so easy and the costs were reasonable. I did not have faith in the bank I worked for to deliver in 30 days.

I have to disagree - my closing costs were over $3000 cheaper using Quicken loans than they would have been with Citizens... Sorry -my villages home was number 9 for me, and a few refis too... the Closing costs at Citizens were the highest I have seen EVER BY FAR... I would steer clear.

Also, Quicken loans was a bit slow (it was over the holidays) but they got me closed on time. The people at the closing office said a few days late is not a big deal and there would not have been any extra fees as long as you were not holding things up intentionally....

Ed

[wudda1955]

The people at the closing office said a few days late is not a big deal and there would not have been any extra fees as long as you were not holding things up intentionally....

I'm surprised by this. The document we signed when we purchased was very explicit about additional charges if we missed the closing date. They even told us about them and made sure we understood the consequences. Granted, it was only $50.00 a day, but they seemed pretty strict about it. We went through Citizens and closed on time, so it was not an issue. I'm just surprised to hear they aren't as strict as they led us to believe they would be.

[Challenger]

I have to disagree - my closing costs were over $3000 cheaper using Quicken loans than they would have been with Citizens... Sorry -my villages home was number 9 for me, and a few refis too... the Closing costs at Citizens were the highest I have seen EVER BY FAR... I would steer clear.

Also, Quicken loans was a bit slow (it was over the holidays) but they got me closed on time. The people at the closing office said a few days late is not a big deal and there would not have been any extra fees as long as you were not holding things up intentionally....

Ed

$3000 more is quite a difference. That's amazing . Can you itemize the main differences. I'm very shocked and have never heard uch a large dicrepency

[dewilson58]

Citizens is/was easy, but there is a price for that.

Other financial institutions can provide cheaper rates (fully loaded) than Citizens.

TV Closing process is very quick, simple and easy...........tough to beat.......very friendly too.

[alanmcdonald]

I have to disagree - my closing costs were over $3000 cheaper using Quicken loans than they would have been with Citizens... Sorry -my villages home was number 9 for me, and a few refis too... the Closing costs at Citizens were the highest I have seen EVER BY FAR... I would steer clear.

Also, Quicken loans was a bit slow (it was over the holidays) but they got me closed on time. The people at the closing office said a few days late is not a big deal and there would not have been any extra fees as long as you were not holding things up intentionally....

Ed

I think we may be talking apples and oranges here. Some of us (and me in particular) who have had great experiences with Citizens for closing did all cash deals. Others who did not feel great about Citizens appear to be trying to finance through them and may have higher closing costs than cash closings.