My first mortgage

My wife and I are looking around at homes in a desultory fashion. We figure that the market is taking a pause, we have a little money, we may as well check out the market.

We've been reminiscing about our first mortgage loan back in Michigan. We walked into a branch of the local bank and sat down with a real sleazeball who made us feel special. He basically said, "Look, you are students so you really shouldn't be approved for a loan. Buuut...I am such a great loan officer that I might be able to get it done. Let's see what I can do."

Needless to say, we were pre-approved (probably at a higher rate than we could have gotten elsewhere), but the loan itself was dependent on a cash gift to me from my father. My father was a good man who never denied me anything he could give me. He told me he'd send me a personal checks in the mail. No need for me to get a slimy payday loan.

Needless to say, this was a bit of a disaster. When the check finally arrived, I deposited it to my money market account, which takes 11 business days (11 business days!) to make funds that come from personal checks available. Meanwhile, the closing date inched closer.

But it all ended happily. We got the loan, the housing market took off like a rocket, and all is well. The question is: how would it all have ended if the market was in a slump, like it is now? I think there are going to be a lot of unhappy students out there in the coming years.

Link: personal checks