3 weeks waiting for Wells Fargo reply - reasonable?

yes, reasonable. lenders are quite busy these days.

you said "their 30 fixed rate" had risen. frankly, everone's rate has risen. that has nothing to do with wells, but everything to do with the economy and the mortgage marketplace.

I'm aware that preavailing rates have risen for all lenders and understand the root causes for the rate fluctuation.

My frustration is with a lender (if not industry) that isn't responsive enough to allow me to quickly apply a couple of hundred thousand to the loan and adjust this particular loan to market rates (of 3 weeks ago).

I don't think it's reasonable.

With the rates changing it is very important to have good contact with your lender/mortgage broker.

Wells is one of my lenders here in CA and they have been slammed by the number of re-fi's. So much that I actually started sending files to other institutions.

i am not an apologist for wells fargo or anyone else out there, but it's a most difficult thing to keep everyone's rates in mind when busy. if you, as a borrower, wish to guarantee yourself the best of rates at all times, you'll need to be on top of things more so than your loan officer.

yes, the mortgage industry has been less than helpful in these times - there are a lot of forces that cause this. guidelines continue to evolve with changes sometimes daily. what worked yesterday won't necessarily work today.

frankly, three weeks is not an eternity - i think the criticism of timing is misplaced.

three weeks is not reasonable for someone to tell you what your options are. up to three weeks could be understandable for processing a loan for approval after all the documents are submitted becasue the underwriters are truthfully backed up. for a loan officer (or, replacement loan officer) to not get back to you within 24 hours with options is not reasonable.
if you purchased at $900,000 and down payment was $200,000, your mortgage started at $700,000 at 6.25%. your monthly principal and interest is $4,310.
after 36 months your balance would be about $673,775.
if you put $200,000 towards principal when you refinance, your new mortgage wopuld be $473,775.
while rates have risen (everybody has risen--all mortgages come from the same few money sources), you do not note what the rate was before or after they rose .75%. if it was 4.75% and now it is 5.50% you are still in good shape, but, i'm doubting that that is where jumbo rates were or are.
the sedcondary market for jumbo rates disappeared in august, 2007 and has not returned. tyhe same invetors who provideed money for subprime mortgages also provideed money for jumbo mortgages. they have not yet reurned to investing in subprime nor jumbo mortgages. jumbo mortgage money from the jumbo secondary market does exist, but, those rates ar 7.50% to 8.50% and that is not good for anyone.
that leaves two sources for jumbo mortgages:
1. bank portfolio loans
some banks, not too many, use their own money and here in nj those jumbo rates are presently ramging from 5.625% to 6.125%, much lower than the secondary market jumbo mortgages and higher than conforming mortgages ate $417,000 or less. two weeks ago they ranged from 5.625% to 5.75%, so some has stood fast and some have risen.

2. high balance conforming loans
this are only available over $417,000 in counties designated as high cost counties. i do not what state or county the propoerty is in. these rates are higher than conforming rates and sometimes, not always, less than the bank portfolio loans. the way theses are priced, you would not lock for 30 or 45 days and guarantee your rate, you would process and get everything cleared to close so you can lock for 15 days and close. it is a bet that rates stay the same or drop (as predicted). first you must be in a high cost county that covers a loan amount of $475,000 and secondly, you must be willing to gamble.

Richard,

If you did not pay any fees to Wells Fargo yet, then call a mortgage broker. A broker will shop your loan and will find the best deal for you whether it is with Wells or anyone else. If you are not happy with the service you are receiving, then you need to take control over the situation.

One other thing, from what you described, you are expecting the assistant to call you with options while he is out. Let me paint a picture for you...
Loan officer is so busy that he has an assistant to handle his paperwork. He goes away and now his assistant has to continue to do her job PLUS handle his responsibilities as well. There is a good chance that your request has fellen through the cracks unintentionally.

Best to shop around at loans and see what best offers are out there

rkmcmanus,

3 weeks with no response? No. This is not reasonable. Yes, underwriting times are a little lengthy lately b/c there are so many people refi'ing, but not hearing something shouldn't be acceptable. Rates are EXTREMELY low right now. Good luck!

[Promotional text deleted as per forum rules. Thanks.]

We signed a contract on a house on March 3 and it took almost 3 weeks to get the contract back from the original bank. Then we submitted the paperwork to Wells Fargo on April 8. The house was supposed to close by April 30 and didn't we are living in a hotel and no one has offered to cover the costs. The only answer we keep getting is that the underwriter has approved it but the jr underwriter needs to do employment verification. This has been the reply for a week now. I will never do business with Wells Fargo or any Broker who deals with them again.

Hi loveapit,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I can understand that you are facing a tough time dealing with them. I hope you can close the deal soon.

Thanks