Month after month, we refer our buyers to a a few lenders because they have proven to be good people to work with. What makes them good? This is our list. It’s not an all or nothing list. I would think of it more like a point system. The more points, the more likely we will use them again in the future.

Keep promises
If I look with someone for a month, and it turns out they can’t get a loan, ugh. We have a lender that says no to a lot of people. But if she say yes, she always follows through. Every single time for years, we can count on her. There is nothing worse than looking with someone for a month or two and then finding out they can’t get a loan. Not just for us as the realtor, but it’s a huge let down for the buyers. Also, if you say you can close in two weeks, be able to close in two weeks.

Smooth closings
We almost got a closing coordinator until we found some good lenders a few years ago. It’s not that the lender does extra work. We just don’t have to keep calling to ask for a status report because we know the lender is on top of it. It’s great getting a call from the listing agent 4 days before closing asking if we are going to close on time, and I can just say “Yes”. I know that this lender always closes on time, and if something happened, I would have heard about it already.

Don’t point fingers
I remember one of the first meetings I had with a lender before we had done any deals together. He said he didn’t like to point fingers. “That’s not how I like to run my business. If we run into problems in a transaction, let’s figure out what we need to do to fix it. And then present a unified plan to our client”. I don’t remember anything else he said at the meeting because that was so powerful. If everyone is pointing fingers, it makes the client uneasy and makes everyone involved look like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off running around in different directions. Working together to fix whatever happens is a much better plan. And sure enough, we ran into a problem with that lender on a transaction. He called me, and we discussed the different solutions. Then we called the client together and ran through the problem and the different possible solutions.

Don’t talk about other realtors
This is not such a huge deal, but is just a little awkward and confusing. This has not actually happened with any lenders yet, but it applies to any real estate related field. I had a foundation company come out to look at a property. And it was a pricey property. Somehow before I knew it, the guy’s wife, who was a realtor, came to the house and talked up my client. Fortunately, my client completely loved me so it was not threatening but just totally weird. In short, I found another company to call about foundations. There are a lot of realtors around, so I know it is tempting to talk about your brother or mother who is a realtor but just assume there is one realtor in the known universe and that is who gave you the lead.

Availability on weekends
This is a hard one. I realize people need a work-life balance. But if someone finds their dream home on Saturday, I obviously need to have them call a lender who I know will pick up the phone. And I’m not going to say, call this lender to get a pre-qualification letter, but you should really use this other guy who will be back on Monday. I don’t expect the lender to be at the office on Saturday, but if they talk to the buyer and can fax over a pre-qualification letter, we will put a note on that lender’s card that says “Calls back on Saturday”

Able to fund weird loans
Even if they don’t have other qualities listed here, if lenders can make the weird loans happen, I will keep them in the rolodex.

Being helpful to new real estate agents
Yes, they are new. And they are not doing a ton of volume right now. And they keep calling with newbie questions. But I sent them to you hoping you could take care of them. Lenders that are helpful to our new agents are certainly more likely to get more business from us. And if these new agents start to do more business, you will probably be the lender they refer as well.

Go to closings
This is one point among many but I like lenders who go to closings. Most of the documents signed at closing are from the lender, so it’s helpful to have that support.

Posted By: Ki Gray Escapeso Austin Real Estate