MUST HAVES IN A LOAN ORIGINATOR
1. Face to face accountability mixed with online capabilities – you don’t want a loan originator who hides behind a phone in Iowa. They are trained sales people and you need to be able to hold sales people accountable or they will tell you whatever they need to in order to get you on the hook. With this said you can’t be in the stone ages. You need to have e-signatures, e-upload, and digital progress trackers; but these should complement your face to face access, not replace it.
2. While you’re shopping rates– take note at how quickly you’re responded to, if they take the time to call you versus email only, and if you actually ENJOY talking to the person. This is going to be a 30 day process from contract to close so you better like the person. Again, these are a sales people. If they can’t fake it hard enough for you to like them during the sales process, imagine how they’ll be to work with after they already have your commitment. They better be lightening-quick to your responses while selling you because turn time on those responses will probably slow during the underwriting process.
3. DO NOT make pricing your sole deciding point. Getting a competitive rate is important, but that doesn’t mean selling your soul for $9/mo. The most important thing is getting the job done within the required timeframe as pain-free as possible. If the job isn’t done right you can lose due diligence money, appraisal and inspection costs, and potentially your dream home. Referrals from non compensated, non affiliated people you trust is the best way to know if the company you choose can accomplish the task.
I hope as many people as possible take my advice and save themselves a horrible experience. People can be naive and think that everyone they work with is out to help them when in reality, most people are only out to help themselves. Your loan originator, lender, loan officer, mortgage originator, home loan consultant, mortgage consultant, whatever you want to call them, they are all really the same exact thing no matter what company they are at. Their real title is ‘sales person.’ An average loan transaction can bank the person who sells it to you about $2,000. Imagine the things that you would tell someone for that amount of money. Guard yourself.