** This is part four of a longer story. If you want to understand what’s going on I recommend starting with PART ONE (which is packed full of intensely awesome action), but if understanding isn’t a priority… by all means… read on!**
You can’t beat the drama of a 24 hour deadline.
It’s an immense amount of time to wait. If it were longer you could relax, if it were shorter the waiting would… well… be shorter. But when you have 24 hours it feels like the call could come at any time. However, you can’t just let yourself not do anything and spend the day staring at your phone.
So we went about our day.
To make matters a little more interesting, the seller was out of country and so there was a time difference to factor in. All of a sudden the chances of an early morning call were much higher than they’d normally be, and as the clock ticked over to noon the tension was mounting.
The call came at 2:30.
We were expecting a counter offer, but it was not to be.
Our offer had been accepted.
After all that waiting now there were concrete things to do;
- Give the green light to the broker (who can’t really act without a signed deal)
- Get 90 day histories of all of Mimi’s bank accounts
- Get a bank draft in to the agent to secure the deal (which we also had 24 HOURS to get in… another clock begins to tick)
Tangerine, you’re breaking my heart
I’m a big fan of my bank. Banking with Tangerine has been a joy. If you’re interested you can read about HOW WE MET, but it’s enough context to simply know that I’m super pro Tangerine (I’m even warming up to the name).
But when the clock started ticking, Tangerine did not perform well in the clutch.
One of the cool things you can do with Tangerine is open multiple savings accounts (with no extra fees), that way you can have an account for taxes, a SALARY BUFFER, an EMERGENCY FUND, or what ever you need to keep your finances well ordered. But it turns out what I think is well ordered can be a little confusing for a lender when you start moving things around between so many accounts.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. Our relationship really took a hit when it came to trying to get a bank draft. Turns out that with a non ‘brick and mortar’ bank that’s a trickier prospect.
You have to order them. And they’ll have them to you in 2 −3 business days.
MORTGAGE MATH: 2 − 3 business days > 24 hours
Trouble.
The only option that they offered on the phone was to go and pick it up at the head office (one long cab ride away), but even then it wouldn’t be ready until 2 pm the next day.
Our deadline was 2:30.
The clock was indeed ticking.
It pays to have options
Luckily all of our money wasn’t sitting at Tangerine. Mimi has some accounts with TD (which has some pretty cool cross border features: US/Canada). So we were hoping that it wouldn’t be a problem to just have the bank draft come from there.
But it’s never really that simple is it? The answer is NO. It seems that when you’re living in mortgage land it is NEVER that simple.
Where your money comes from matters, and what money you’re using matters, and whether it’s from a joint account or a private account matters. Money is not always ‘just’ money in the eyes of the lender.
So we sent a note to our agent to see what the plan would be…
Money from a different account or a mad dash across town between Tangerine headquarters and the real estate office.
*Tick tock*
Next time on the Mortgage Files: dizzying highs always lead to the lowest of lows. Don’t miss I CLAIM THIS POTHOLE IN THE NAME OF….
***Just for the record let me make clear that this is a story of OUR experiences with ONE MORTGAGE SITUATION. If there’s anything that I’ve learned about this crazy world is that every person and property brings up a whole new set of circumstances. If you have questions talk to a broker (I know a great one). ***
