(updated October, 2011) Below are the most frequently asked questions, sprinkled with humor, including the last which is best:
Why do Banks (yes, even Banks), Brokers, loan processors, Title companies, Attorneys and other closing agents hire Nationwide Subordinations?
Mostly, they can’t stomach the idea of processing a subordination and having to call Banks to process, collaborate with (or lack thereof) and track the status. It comes down to the value of your time. Anyone with experience can certainly process their own subordination. But, processing is a time intensive exercise and, frankly, most people prefer to work on more productive tasks than dealing with Banks and being on hold for long periods of time. We are on the phone ALL DAY LONG. Most processors know that it can be a grind to track, collaborate, send and receive documents and negotiate with lenders .
How long does it take to receive the subordination?
Our record is one business day. No, that’s a flat out fib. It depends upon several factors but mostly it is due to the volume of the requests for a specific lender. Turn times vary wildly per lender. We do admit that having good working relationships with a few lenders does help for quicker turn times–and that is a testimony to our staff. Working with some of the same staff at the lenders does foster long term relationships that are cordial and professional. There is an art to receiving quick assistance when the need is high.
Is your parent company Wells Fargo, Bank of America, US Bank , PNC Bank, or CHASE Bank?
No. We have no parents! All kidding aside~ we are a stand alone private company, not affiliated or owned by any Bank, real estate broker, lender, title insurance mega company or escrow firm.
I have all the documents needed in the checklist/guidelines you provided. Where do I send them?
Three options: secure file sharing (we send you a secure link) to upload docs or 2) overnight delivery to our office or 3) fax to 425-337-7005. We highly prefer fax or secure file sharing to reduce overnight delivery costs passed on to the borrower.
How do I get started?
We thought you’d never ask! Just fill out the brief form by clicking on the “Order Checklist/Subordination” button. During business hours (6:30am – 5pm PST) you will receive the guidelines specific to you lender. If you surf the web at 2am and stumble upon us and submit an order, you just might get a response back a few moments later. Our daughter thinks that’s creepy–like we are stalking you, just waiting for an order at crazy hours of the night. We happen to think it is great service!
Once the lender has the documents what can I expect?
Depending upon the lender and when the documents are received it can take anywhere from 5 days to several weeks to receive a decision. It varies tremendously from lender to lender. If additional documentation is required by the lender your time-line is extended by how quickly they receive the additional docs.
I have an interest rate lock expiring in two one week. Is that enough time to get a subordination?
It is possible but highly unlikely.
How do you keep sane with handling subordinations and working with all the parties involved with a subordination such as loan officers, the lender, processors and closing agents such as Attorney offices or title/escrow companies?
It is demanding, no question about it. But, fortunately for our customers, we have extensive experience to draw on by being in the escrow industry.
The key to our success has been making each customer who contacts us feel as if we are working on no other transaction but their own.
What do you charge?
Millions. Actually, we wish. It ranges from $149 to $399 and it includes all lender fees including overnight delivery of documents to and from the lender, unless otherwise stated. We accept ONLINE PAYMENT.
How does the lender receive their payment?
We have accounts with most of the lenders we work with and they debit/charge our account or we produce a Cashiers Check that must be accompanied with the Subordination document package we process. Some lenders require us to wire funds.
We understand that you cannot process and submit the subordination for underwriting without up-front payment. How do we pay Nationwide Subordinations?
Two ways: Online or by Cashiers Check made out to Nationwide Subordinations
You can pay online with Visa/MC or if you are a Bank, Attorneys Office, Escrow Firm or Title Insurance Company, most normally overnight a check to our office. Make the check out to Nationwide Subordinations, referencing the borrower and send to our office at: 1910 120th Place SE, Ste 101, Everett, WA. 98208
Refund policy: NO REFUNDS (however, in rare instances where the subordinating lender does not charge or refunds the lender fee, we will refund the portion that is returned, less any overnight fees incurred.)
I’m an Attorney, Title Company or Escrow Company and can’t pay with a Visa/MC. How do we send payment?
You can remit payment by Check. Most overnight the check to reduce delays in waiting for a check to clear and for the subordination to be processed. The overnight fee is commonly passed on to the customer by the closing firm as part of the borrowers closing costs.
How do I get started?
Um, we covered that above. We’re you not paying attention! (with the tone of your 6th grade teacher. You remember back then don’t you. Yep, we all had that one teacher that we feared.)
What is your phone number? (And no, we’re not asking for a date. Seriously.)
That is a top secret, classified number. Can you imagine the amount of work that would not get done if we just gave out our phone number—with all the files we have in the pipeline? You’ll receive it only after your subordination has been paid for. Otherwise, we mostly communicate by e-mail. And yes, we recognize that e-mail is an imperfect way of communicating and sometimes it is difficult to ascertain the “tone” in e-mails. Many of our customers talk personally with us daily and we look forward to speaking with you too!
Do you have a stressful job?
Work in any field can be stressful. Subordinations are very time sensitive and from about 3pm and later it is absolute crunch time to get subordination packages out to UPS and FedEx with Cashiers Checks that we have to personally generate at our Bank.
Best for Last: How can you get packages overnighted with such a late deadline of 5:30PM PST. That is unheard of!
We take our training from the Zen master himself- (former) LA Lakers Coach Phil Jackson- who can make things happen with huge success. Ok, that’s’ not quite true; the part about us taking our training from Phil. But, we are located just a stone’s throw from the major UPS terminal hub and we have friends there that take our packages very late in the day. Because of this, we have even had east coast customers who can’t get a package out on their own, send a request with all the docs e-mailed and we expedite the package. Because of the time zone difference of 3-hours, some smart east coast customers use this to their advantage when it is impossible to get their package out. We think that’s cool and smart business.
