What is the # 1 one piece of advice for Mortgage professionals?
I was recently speaking with a real estate agent and asked for their thoughts on a mortgage broker (I was refinancing my house conventionally) and he responded he would never use them again. I had worked with this mortgage broker in the past so was confused as to why such a resounding no?
This mortgage broker had violated the unwritten “golden rule” in real estate lending! What is it? What are 3 steps you can take to ensure you never violate this rule?
What is the Golden Rule in real estate lending? In essence you have one “bite at the apple”. As a mortgage professional there typically are not second chances when working with realtors. If a transaction falls out and it is the mortgage professionals fault that is typically the end of the relationship with the realtor.
As we all know, realtors rely on closed transactions for their income so when a transaction that should close doesn’t close they don’t look to fondly on the mortgage professional. Many realtors I have spoken with have a “one strike rule” where if a mortgage professional fails to perform (due to their fault for whatever reason) they will not use that mortgage professional again.
So as a mortgage professional (broker, lender, etc..) what can you do to ensure you are successful with your “one bit at the apple”?
- Get your facts straight: before going too far down the road, ensure you know what you are working with and have done your homework. Now is not the time to “wing it”. Make certain you have done your homework and understand the parameters you are operating under.
- Set proper expectations: It is critical when the process starts to set appropriate expectations that are reasonable, if it is going to take X days to close, don’t promise Y if you aren’t 100% certain you can perform. I’m a big believer in under committing and over performing as nobody likes surprises.
- Perform: Actually do what you said you were going to do in the time you agreed to. If you can’t and/or don’t execute and actually perform on your commitments step one and two were for naught.
By following the three steps above you will set yourself on the path to success by closing more transactions along with earning repeat referrals.
Written by Glen Weinberg, COO/ VP Fairview Commercial Lending. Glen has been published as an expert in hard money lending, real estate valuation, financing, and various other real estate topics in the Colorado Real Estate Journal, the CO Biz Magazine, The Denver Post, The Scotsman mortgage broker guide, Mortgage Professional America and various other national publications.
Fairview is a hard money lender specializing in private money loans / non-bank real estate loans in Georgia, Colorado, Illinois, and Florida. They are recognized in the industry as the leader in hard money lending with no upfront fees or any other games. Learn more about Hard Money Lending through our free Hard Money Guide. To get started on a loan all they need is their simple one page application (no upfront fees or other games).