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Agents....Do your Mortgage Broker a Favor!!!

I'm gonna make this short. It's not a rant against any agent. I love the agents that I work with and they generally do their homework when they start working with a buyer. Now, maybe you can help me out. I don't know what sort of questions you usually ask your clients the first time that you meet with them, but let me make one quick suggestion. Please ask them if they think they are in a position to buy a house. That's it. Some people will be mistaken and misinform you, but maybe this will help sift through some of the clients I've been getting. I had an agent send me a buyer this week that was looking to buy that particular agent's home. So, I understand that he was really hoping the best for his buyer. But after lots of calls and voicemails and emails, etc, I pulled the buyer's credit and found that the buyer has NO CREDIT SCORES. And, to make things worse, the buyer has 8 COLLECTIONS in the last 3 years (2 of which are less than 2 months old). Clearly, this person cannot buy a home. It would have saved us all a lot of time and energy if the agent had maybe deduced some of this info ahead of time.

I can already see some of you getting upset and telling me that it's MY job to find this info out and that it's not the agent's responsibility. I fully agree. I don't want you to think that I'm implying that this is a must. It's just a request...as the title of the blog implies...it's a favor. What do you all think about the predicament? Let me know, I'm excited to hear.

Thanks everyone.

Abe

Posted by Abe Loper on 05/16/2007 11:11 AM

Comments (7)

agents, financing, buying, mortgage, qualifying

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7 Comments on Agents....Do your Mortgage Broker a Favor!!!

MAY

2007

Abe- think you hit your own nail right on the head. One of the perks of having your job is making friends with Realtors and getting business handed to you-- if you have to sift out some bad customers to get to the good ones; so be it. People who contact us think they CAN buy a house- it's implied by speaking with a Realtor about buying a house....you are our fall-back- you're the one who lets us know if they REALLY can or cannot. Can you imagine the response if instead of asking, "Have you been in contact with a lender for a pre-approval?" we asked, "Do you REALLY think YOU can buy a house?"

I always stress getting a pre-approval. I want the expert to ask the questions. In AZ a Loan Status Report is a required part of the offer. It has saved us all a lot of heartache. I want to know early on if the prospect qualifies and if so for how much. Questions best answered by a loan pro. We all know there are many kinds of loans available, even now. Only a pro can help the buyers determine which is best, if any.

Abe - Jim Ludes is right. When buyers come to us they do THINK they are in a position to buy a house. We are depending on you to confirm that. Jim Little is right about getting the pre-approval. We know it doesn't guarantee anything, but at least it weeds out the ones like you were talking about, who could definitely not get a loan.

We spend a of time and effort (not to mention gas) when finding the perfect home for a buyer. Without help from our mortgage friends we might be totally wasting our time. We really appreciate what you do.

As Elizabeth eluded and I mistakenly forgot: We DO APPRECIATE all that our preferred lenders do for us...

You all have great insight. It seems like common sense as I read your comments, but it's less clear when you're standing on the other side. Thanks you all,

JUN

2007

Abe:

I've had the same thing happen to me. The buyer had no credit score and no rental history - living with mom & dad.

I think the solution is more eduction to the real estate agents however, with so many real estate companies aligning themselves with in house mortgage lenders it's becoming virtually impossible to receive invitations from brokers to speak to their agents. And when they do agree it's not unusual for them to want something from you. I had one broker that wanted to charge me $500.00 monthly for the privilege! One can only imagine the limited information his agents receive from the lending community under such circumstances.

As it always has, restraint of trade & monopolies never help the consumer (or individual real estate agents) for that matter. Just look what happened to the price of a gallon of gas after Amoco merged with BP & Exxon with Mobile. The state of IL is spending lots of time auditing mortgage companies these days. Perhaps they should be looking more closely at the arrangements between in house mortgage companies & real estate brokers? Then perhaps natural competition can be restored, agents & buyers will receive more information (education) from lenders anxious to earn their business.

Greg Zaccagni - Loan Originator

APR

2008

Abe-

I hate to say it, but it seems that it might be your task to discern who is capable of buying and who is not. If the buyer knew that they couldn't buy a house, don't you think they wouldn't even bother trying? Or are they trying to beat the system by sneaking around the rules. I think in some instance if an agent were to say "Are you in a position to buy a house," many would say "yes," because they don't know whether or not this is the case. However, it would be easy for an agent to ask a few questions and find out if the potential buyer is really a viable client. But sometimes, the answer might not be found without a ilttle digging from the mortgage broker.

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