How can I help you to help our client? There have been times in my real estate career where I have felt like I was on a different team than the mortgage guy was on. Were we both working for the best interests of our client?
But hey, he may very well have been on the other side of the transactions asking himself what the heck he had to do to get the REALTOR to cooperate. As usual, I always think I’m right. 
But I also realize I’m human and that can’t possibly be the case.
So I thought we might have a little fun here. I’m really looking for your comments and input on this one. I’d like to take those comments and move them over to my BBQCapital blog to share with other real estate agents, and quite frankly, my clients.
Here are 5 things I, as a professional real estate agent working in the Kansas City area, am looking for from my clients’ mortgage provider;
- Excellent communication.
- Promises made, promises kept.
- GFE’s that closely resemble Settlement Statements.
- Settlement Statements 48 hours in advance.
- “Situations” dealt with swiftly and professionally.
Alright, now it’s your turn. What are you expecting from your real estate agent?
Great Idea Chris. I’ll get it started.
1. I wish more RE agents would acknowledge that the relationship is symbiotic. All agents want their LO’s to respond in a timely manner, but it’s amazing how many don’t act in the same manner to me. Agents who don’t get the two way street will generally see my interest in serving their needs diminish.
2. I wish more RE Agents would stop asking for kickbacks. Any LO who’s willing to pay a kickback to an RE Agent is also dishonest enough to jack up the borrowers closing costs to cover it. When you take a kickback, you are getting over on your clients.
3. I wish RE Agents would stop asking for settlement statements 48 hours before closing! :p Sorry Chris. I understand where you are coming from, just realize that in many cases, the Loan Originator has almost no pull in making this happen. The Lender’s closers and the title closers decide what to do and when. The best an LO can do is make sure the loan is fully approved more than a week before closing. That’s not always possible.
Todd – thanks for the response.
1. Amen.
2. Wow. I didn’t realize this was a common problem. Can’t they just make money through their commission earned?
3. I’m still going to hold fast to this. Let me give you a reason why:
I once got a HUD-1 at closing. A quick review seemed alright. Later that night I looked it over one last time before closing the file out and realized that my buyer had not been given credit for the home warranty like they should have.
I placed a call to the listing agent who seemed quite pleased that they had pulled one over on me. Wasn’t going to assist in getting it corrected.
All this without the knowledge of my buyer I went ahead and wrote them a check for the $415. It was my job to be sure they got what they contracted for. (The other agent is still on my blackball list.)
But there is an example of last minute HUDs costing me money. Sure I could have gone after the title company or pressed harder on the LA. But ultimately, it’s my responsibility to be sure my client is represented and gets what they contracted for.
Now I also realize that LOs don’t have all the power. It happens more with brokers than bankers. They should pick their end lenders more carefully?
Chris – Great questions. I wish both Realtor and Loan Originator have to appreciate that is can be a symbiotic relationship. However, it’s kind of like a good marriage and there must be give and take by both parties. Unfortunately, most Realtors and LO’s want to lead and neither want to give, only take. In 1992 I made a decision to only work with referral partners that I like and respected and they also accorded me the same. It was scary, however that decision enabled me to go from funding 5 – 10 loans a month to 20 – 40 loans (432 funded units top year) a month with less headache.
Another point…many time both Realtor and customer push for the lowest rate and fees, however in order to meet that demand, many LO’s broker their loan to wholesalers with low rates, but subsequently horrible service. This in turn prevents many a loan offiver to meet the 48 hour request you spoke of. Many times it cannot be both rate and service. I always ask full service Realtors why their clients wouldn’t be better served going to a discount real estate firm and I get many answers and it boils down to basically – You get what you pay for. It has always dumbfounded me why Realtors don’t apply the same logic to their mortgage partners.
Again, I would only work with a lender that provides excellent service to me, which subsequently allows me to provide excellent service to my referral partners and clients. With this service I know I won’t get the cheapest rate/fees, I only want competive. There is generally a trade-off.
Todd is right about many potential referral partner requesting kickbacks or to make it legal a marketing agreement for the opportunity to work with their clients.
I think your requests are reasonable, however it’s important to remember it’s a two way street. Respect and cooperation is good for both parties.
Chris, Loan Officers get a bad rap, but there’s no shortage of crooked RE agents either. Please make no mistake, there’s far more professional, upstanding agents. I surely don’t wish to paint everyone with a broad brush.
Still, I once had five RE Agents in a row (from different offices) all ask me. That was a rough day. Based on my experience, I doubt most LO’s could call on more than 25 agents before one asked for a kickback.
I also have to agree with Tony about the pricing & service trade off. The cheapest lenders are the busiest, and service always languishes with them. It’s also difficult because different lenders move in and out of the market depending on their pipeline. You never really know if they are going to be swamped or not.
Crooked real estate agents? I could name names. And will in private, but not in print.
The worst combination is crooked agent with crooked LO with crooked title person. That’s a recipe for someone getting screwed!
Tony & Todd – Thanks for the input. It is valued!