As we are seeing firsthand, there can be many trickle down impacts of what a government shutdown does to purchasing power, wages and overall economic security for many community members. Specifically, many licensed realtors like myself saw the shutdown’s impact on the real estate market in a tangible way. Whether you’re a buyer or seller in today’s market, you should be aware of how a shutdown impacts your community.
With a shutdown, all “non-essential” departments of the government are not operating, including those that work on government funded loan programs. Even if you aren’t applying for a government loan, there is a chance your loan application can be impacted. The reason for this is because most lenders today need to verify income and identity and this is often done through the IRS or Social Security Administration, which could result in delays of your application. In addition to loan commitments and approvals, other impacts to buyers can be rate locks and ultimately their closings.
For buyers who are applying for USDA, FHA or VA loans, you should be especially aware of what a shutdown can do to your application. From what we have learned, these departments still continued during the shutdown, but were operating with skeleton crews and were likely getting very backed up. In Garfield County, we heavily depend on these loan programs and a large portion of our transactions close with one of these loan programs funding the deal.
Shawn Manwaring is a Broker Associate with Roaring Fork Sotheby’s International Realty in Glenwood Springs. Shawn services Western Garfield County and the lower Roaring Fork Valley. He can be reached at 970-389-6069,Shawn.Manwaring@SIR.com or http://www.ManwaringProperties.com