It’s perfectly natural for people to avoid changes. We get in our own lane and stay there mainly because it’s comfortable. We know the lane we’re in and quite frankly disturbing that route means making other adjustments which of course takes some effort. Changes interrupt our daily pattern and get in our way when all we’re doing is just going about with our daily routine. However, sometimes change is required. And even in the mortgage industry, there are changes that can happen in different ways.

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One type of change might involve your loan officer. When selecting your loan officer, many just decide to take the easy route and call their bank and get assigned to someone. That’s not automatically a bad thing, not by any stretch. But what if your chosen loan officer is, well, not exactly up to par? What if phone calls or emails aren’t being returned? What if you still have questions that haven’t been answered? Especially if you’re in the middle of an escrow, the clock is ticking. And even if you’re in the middle of a refinance, or at least thinking about one, the clock also ticks as it relates to the movement of interest rates.

But if you finally decide to make a change, be prepared for the move. Some lenders will be more than happy to transfer your entire file while others might be a bit reluctant to transfer some stuff. After all, the lender did spend some time and talent to generate the needed documents to include in your file. Either way, make sure that whatever documentation you sent to your lender, make sure you keep copies. Also, contact your newly selected lender and let the lender know what’s going on and you might need a little TLC to get your application across the goal post. One other thing, if you are in fact thinking of changing midstream, do it early to give you and your new lender enough breathing room to get to closing.

Changing loan programs? While this might seem somewhat of an easy move, if you do change programs, that may very well add some processing time to your file. If, for example, you selected a 30 year loan and a couple of weeks later a 15 year sounds more attractive, your loan file stops and will need to go back to the underwriter for a new approval.

Finally, don’t make any changes to your employment. If you're thinking of taking on a new position with a new firm, know in advance it will take even more time for the lender to re-verify your new employment. For anyone thinking of making a change, perhaps this one is the most important.