Since we specialize in mortgage purchases and refinances in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia; I wanted to give a bit of advice to lenders and borrowers in these states.Tornado occurrences peak in southern states between Mid-March through early June and seriously affect our real estate.

Over the last few years we've seen tornado's reach 100's of miles through multiple state lines and want to inform everyone and remind some of possible secondary appraisal inspections required for damage. Unfortunately these storms cause millions of dollars of damage to homes so it is in the lenders best interest to avoid financing a damaged dwelling. The downfall is that if a borrowers home was undamaged, but close by a hit area that they may still be required to provide 3rd party proof their home was not damaged. This could hold up your loan closing, cause frustrations, and possibly cost extra time and money.

Loan officers may want to also work with a sense of urgency in the next few weeks to ensure they don't lose a client due to the possibility that storm damage can postpone their pipeline. In the case that a borrowers home is damaged, simple repairs like minor shingle damage, missing siding, or uprooted trees can take longer because the man power is focused on bigger jobs. Utilize F.E.M.A's disaster declaration site, weather reports, and simply ask your borrowers about previous storm seasons. I wish you all the best!