What is your loan officer bringing to the table?

I love to dine...what that means is I am pretty darn picky about the food I partake of and I enjoy sharing the dining experience with friends and family through a leisurely and satiating experience.  I am quite certain in one of my former lives I must have been French, Italian, Greek, Russian, Indian.......anything but tried and true born in the U.S.A.  Don't misunderstand, I am a very loyal American...except when it comes to food.  I don't "do" fast food.....left to me there would be no Golden Arches, no Whoppers and no deep fried "what ever that thing is".......they wouldn't exist because they would be bankrupt for the lack of my money.

Give me quality....or give me nothing.  Send me to bed without my supper......that's okay by me.  And, I am not talking high brow, five star dining experiences.....a local diner who produces the best corned beef hash in history is fine by me.  I just don't want "canned", "processed" and poorly cooked food....and avoid it at all costs.

Now, lest you think I have gone off the deep end into some fixation with food...let me explain that my current fascination with the topic of food was brought on by Karen Fiddler's post on saving her transaction.  It is a great post and Karen's intuition kicked into high gear to inspire her to sit down with her clients and get to the bottom of what they "weren't" saying......and what they weren't saying is that they were confused and frightened by the repeated questions and additional documentation required from their loan officer.

So confused and frightened, in fact, that they were ready to withdraw their offer.  Karen soothed their fears and assured them all was okay, talked with the loan officer and established the communication and flow of information to alleviate her clients fears and save the transaction from almost certain failure.  Kudos to Karen for listening to that still small voice...all to often we humans think our own loud voice is more intelligent than that little small glimmer Providence has given us.

Now, the point of my love of good food and the intimate and romantic nature of exquisite dining is this (yes, she is finally going to draw a connection between food and finance...thanks for hanging in there):  I question what the loan officer is question is "bringing to the table"....clearly, the borrowers are being fed only when the loan officer feels like feeding them and only what this loan officer thinks they should be allowed to eat.  The quality of the ingredients, the preparation and the presentation are of no consequence to this "drive through" fast food junkie.

As consumers and as agents, I think it is your right to have your financing served "your way" (okay, I just could not resist)......and, there is absolutely no excuse for the uncertainty and insecurity Karen's clients experienced because their loan officer could not find the time, or presence of mind, to serve them (and their agents, for that matter) quality "food", prepared with thoughtfulness and compassion and served with humility for the opportunity to represent them with the purchase of their home.

Now, I have to rush off to make steamed mussels and clams in a white wine reduction infused with shallots, fennel, garlic and fresh herbs from the garden, finished off with a splash of cream and fresh tomatoes....and freshly made bruschetta!  Bon appetit!!!!