Mortgages April 2, 2018

Please Follow This Advice On Using A Lender

Please Follow This Advice On Using A Lender.Use a lender that works closely with your (or on a refi with) real estate agent.

I worked with a loan officer that took pride in charging too much, even on her sister. I have seen loans messed up by fresh loan officers that were neighbors or friends. I have had to step and help people with loans going south from the internet companies. For example, the biggie you hear on the radio was not honoring a rate they had promised. I looked at the paperwork and after threatening to help the client go to the Attorney General they miraculously honored their commitment.

A loan officer from a major bank lied to his borrower about today’s rate, it was so low it was unbelievable. That loan officer didn’t tell the client clearly they were getting a five year adjustable rate.

These types gave the industry such a bad rap that the FEDs stepped in and crunched much of what was going on. Even considering this, much can go wrong to mess up  your closing. In fact, the new rules has made it even trickier regarding closing on time. So much goes into properly completing a loan that you just do not want to mess around.

Think about this: who has the most to lose by poor performance, the person doing your loan who found you from an advertisement or the one who got you from an real estate agent that brings them 4 or many more loans per year?

You cannot assume it will be a slam dunk, under any conditions. Today I was told my a lender I recommend and trust that a borrower/buyer on a real estate purchase I am the agent on probably won’t qualify. This buyers situation is so complicated that for sure it is doubtful that he will be able to be approved within the timelines he is committed to. This on the ball loan officer took the tax returns directly to the underwriter for an opinion. I needed to know this immediately not days down the road. We could  have assumed this would be a slam dunk as the buyer at first was talking about paying cash. Often, and all too often, a sloppy loan officer gets you close to closing before you find out the scary news. Like a manager of John L Scott real estate once told me about lenders, “I hate that so often it’s they qualify, they qualify, they qualify and just before  we are supposed to close it’s oops they really don’t qualify”.

I feel so strongly about this that as a sellers agent I look very closely at this issue. For example, I was informed yesterday that one of my listings has an offer coming in from an out of state buyer. My first question was is she using a local lender that you are familiar with? The buyers agent said no, she is using one from her state, her bank. My response was plan on a counter offer as we likely won’t accept that. We will expect her to use a lender that you have a repeat business relationship and because of the new federal rules we also want to make sure that lender has an approved by them relationship with the title company.

How can I effectively persuade you that you become the priority when you work with a lender that is getting repeat business from the real estate agent? I ask you again, please take my advice. Please recognize my experience in your behalf.