It is getting more and more common that my company is asked to save a real estate transaction at the 11th hour. I got three calls in the last two days from listing agents that have had their sales put in jeopardy by pure incompetence from the lender handling the transaction for the buyer. Two of the loan officers that work for me have also rescued deals this week! It is worth a few minutes to analyze what is happening.
Often, these transactions were originated by either mortgage brokers or credit unions. Brokers are at a real disadvantage because their chain of communication to underwriting is usually filtered by a wholesale loan rep who may or may not have a good relationship with the underwriter decisioning the loan. In the past, the communication problems that are inherent in the wholesale lending world were often masked by the endless supply product options (both Alt A and Subprime) available to brokers. Since those product offerings, for the most part, have been eliminated, these loans that were not packaged correctly in the beginning turn into failed sales.
Credit Unions are wonderful institutions to get a car loan or use in lieu of a bank for a checking or savings account. Some even do a great job of making home equity loans but, for the most part, they are not experts at mortgage lending. Credit Unions often outsource their mortgage lending to brokerage or banking operations that are more capable of handling origination volume. This in turn just adds another layer of communication to an already challenging process. Add to this the problem of cross training in most CU operations. The same loan officer that is working on a mortgage loan was standing in a teller line that morning or working in collections that afternoon. They often don't have the experience or the knowledge to handle a difficult loan transaction.
I am always ready and willing to step in and save a deal. I only wish consumers would save themselves the grief and come to me first. 4,869 registered loan originators are all that are left on Oregons registary from nearly 20,000 that have been registered at some point. Many of those are from out of state. The numbers have declined significantly over the last couple of years. I can only hope the quality goes up as the quantity goes down.
Art Marine
Branch Manager
10220 SW Greenburg Road, Suite 250
Portland, OR 97223
503-764-4005 direct
503-799-7085 cell
1-866-510-4716 fax
art.marine@academymortgage.com
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