Chris

Some of you may have noticed my extremely low profile on Lenderama the last couple of months.  Some may have welcomed it!  But business has been very good and keeping up with the tasks of my daily blog along with the busiest time of year for me can prove daunting.  Especially when still trying to maintain a marriage and kids.

What I have noticed from a real estate agent’s perspective is how mortgages being marketed to me has changed.  Big time changed.  A few observations;

• I no longer receive, on an almost daily basis, solicitations from mortgage generators looking for more business.
• A couple of the loan officers I know say business is still good.  But that the drop off is noticeable.  Sure enough, they stay in close contact with me.  (Seems like a good idea.  Personal marketing is still the best.)
• A few loan officers I know have simply disappeared.  While KC isn’t tanking it’s still not a market for the feint of heart. 
• The investment loan portfolio I can choose from (well, more-rather my client’s choice) is getting smaller and more homogenized all the time.

I know many an agent that has backed off, disappeared and a few that have taken jobs.  So the shakedown has left it’s mark all over real estate.  Including some inspectors I know that are no longer “full time”. 

To those that are surviving I say “hats off”.  To those that are thriving I say “congratulations!”  And to both I say keep your nose to the grindstone.  I expect more of the same before any kind of turn-around comes.  Just my opinion. 

First, and let’s make this very clear, this is a post intended for fun.  But underneath the fun there is definitely some truth.  And I’m posting this to get the loan officer’s side of the story. 

I was reading Jeff Brown’s post Beware - Time Is Not Always Your Friend - Tick Tock and even left a comment the other day.  In my email I saw a follow up comment that made me laugh out loud.  It is from Sean Purcell:

I work with a Realtor that believes every real estate agent should be given two tags (renewable yearly) which allows them a “two lender” limit per year. (Yes, he means hunt them down and kill them!)

Now, obviously, this is more figuratively than literally… or so I hope.   But once again we are faced with that dynamic where both the loan officer and the REALTOR  are supposed to be working for the good of the client and yet somehow find themselves in contest with one another.

I want to tell you, from my perspective as a real estate agent, that the problem almost always starts with a lack of communication.  It’s not interest rates or points or credit scores.  It’s almost always me wondering what the hell is going on because neither myself nor my client can get an answer from the loan officer or the mythical underwriter.

Chris Johnson wrote a piece called Set Expectations for Your Clients and Realtors all the way to Closing right here on Lenderama.  I thought it was an excellent post and I even commented that I wasn’t so sure he was setting expectations at all.  He was just communicating with people in need of current information! 

There is no doubt in my mind that Todd asked me to be a part of Lenderama because he wants the perspective of a real estate agent.  You need to know what I think, what I hear and what I experience.  Please learn from it.  As I have learned much from you. 

Real estate is a tough business to make a living in.  And I don’t care if you are the agent, the loan officer or the title person.  But I have empathy for the loan officers more than the other participants.  Theirs (yours) is a far more cut-throat business than mine.

I drive around with my clients.  Or I meet them at several houses.  I spend hours with them on the phone or in my office or at their kitchen table.  At some point loyalty begins to set in.  Sure, I’ve had a few jump ship in 6 years.  But amazingly few.  Most will stay loyal to me and my services because they realize the value that I bring.

But for loan officers the road seems much tougher.  There isn’t, seemingly, the time to develop a “loyal” client.  Let me give you an example. 

I have a client that just finished negotiating on an investment purchase.  All through the negotiation period he spoke with and received numbers from Loan Officer “A”.  And Loan Officer “A” did everything expected of a professional.  Even went the extra mile a time or two.  But as luck would have it rates jumped over the weekend.  Nobody’s fault.  They just did.  So the buyer decides to check out the rates a couple other places. 

And wouldn’t you know it he found one 3/8 of a point lower than Loan Officer “A”s current rate.  And with mortgages creeping back up decided to lock in with Loan Officer “B”. 

Now to be clear, I probably would have done the same thing.  And when it comes to that kind of savings many of you would do the same, as well.  But wow.  All that work by Loan Officer “A” down the tubes.

I guess you could say “Win some.  Lose some.” 

I’d love to hear the thoughts of the loan officers out there. 

The whole shake-out of lenders is something that I believe we’ve needed for quite some time. Same is true for real estate agents. And have you noticed that banks are no longer clamoring to get into the real estate sales side of things?

I’ve written before about how the real estate shake-out was real and that it was hitting close to home. But yesterday it went beyond the mortgage officers and real estate agents. It hit one of my clients.

Mike Mueller wrote A slightly different approach about IndyMac Bank’s reorganization. You can read about it from Mike. The thing that hurts for me is that several years ago I sold a half duplex to a single mom who works at one of IndyMac Bank’s service centers here in Kansas City. She’s admin. Like every other admin person she goes to work, moves her paper and tries to do the best job she can do.

And now I believe her job is being eliminated. I hope and pray that she finds work quickly. I’ve called her twice but as of yet have not heard back. To know the shake-out is necessary doesn’t lessen the pain of change that so many are going through right now.