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Attention Loan Officers... 5 Realtor Pet Peeves about YOU!

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Ambassador

In our industry, there are great agents, good agents, and lousy agents. I have found in my twenty five years as a Realtor that is certainly true of loan officers as well.

I am CERTAIN that you loan officers have plenty of pet peeves about us Realtors. I have seen my fellow agents abusing lenders a lot over the years but this post is about turning your Realtors into Raving Fans by eliminating as much aggravation as possible.

AngryHere goes my "5 Pet Peeves about Loan Officers"

  1. When we give you a lead, please please please contact us after you've spoken to them to keep us posted. I can't tell you how much it bugs us agents to give you a name and number and then not know whether or not you've called them, met with them, or even tried. 
  2. Don't take the lazy way out!!! If all you do with my clients is call or email them and direct them to your online application website, you are doing yourself and your agent an extreme disservice. I think every agent knows that the odds of gaining buyer loyalty skyrockets when you meet face to face. That is absolutely true in the lending arena as well. Of course there are exceptions... If a buyer specifically TELLS you that they would like to apply online then great! But too often I see loan officers steering them to the online app from the start.
  3. Don't take me and my clients for granted. I don't expect EVERY client I give you to be called 30 seconds after you get the info but please, don't call me the next day and say "Oops I'm sorry, I had the closing from Hell going on and I didn't get your client called. I'll try tomorrow." Most calls take less than a minute to introduce yourself to the client and make whatever arrangements you need to for a formal application, not necessarily right then. Most of the time, you've been presold by your agent.
  4. NEVER sell your house or buy a house 'For Sale By Owner'. How much of your income do you get from Realtors? Is it 50%? 75%? maybe 100%? At all costs, use a Realtor for any and all real estate transactions. Trust me, it will be worth it in the long run. I once had a lender who said "But Bill, How do I choose? I don't want the agents mad at me for not using them!" I would have had much more respect for him EVEN if he didn't use me to list his house as long as he picked one of his loyal agents. If you're selling and buying, then list with one and buy with another. USE us, we support you and your family!
  5. NEVER steer a buyer into a loan that's better for your bottom line and worse for them. I'm sure I speak for most Realtors in the fact that if that happens, it'll probably be the last loan we send you.

Okay, now that I've gotten that off my chest. I do love and appreciate the great loan officers in my town. They work tirelessly in making sure that their buyers get taken care of properly. There have been many times that they've taken 'hits' on their bottom line to keep a buyer happy. I AM a Raving Fan of some great lenders but I've had my share of these top five issues over the years.

Given the fact that I'm normally very happy with my lenders there is certainly a future post in the works. Maybe... "Keep up the good work: 5 GREAT things you do for your agents and clients".

Bill Swanson is an agent with CBSHome Real Estatewith over 25 years experience of helping buyers and sellers in the Omaha area. CBSHome is an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway.

Ten Recent Posts about Real Estate or the Marketing of Real Estate:

•1.       The "Sharktopus" effect

•2.       Thinking of selling? Is the security of your listing worth 50 bucks to your agent?

•3.       How to put your buyers and sellers to work for you!

•4.       PLEASE!! Spend the six bucks to look a little more professional!

•5.       How do you market a house... When no one is watching???

•6.       But my Grandma's cousin's neighbor's hairdresser's Uncle Joe got HIS offer accepted!

•7.       Yes, I said it with a Straight Face!

•8.       How to be the 'WORLD's GREATEST LANDLORD'!

•9.      Theory of Sustenance of a Positive Attitude Through the Assumption of a Negative Result.

•10.   Don't take a fake wife to a Real Estate closing!

 

Comments (3)

Jeana Cowie
RE/MAX Real Estate Limited - Paramus, NJ
Broker Associate, ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES

Bill, I especially agree with #5. Part of why we are having problems in the world today is because of some loan officers steering customers to wrong products.

Oct 12, 2010 01:58 PM
Bill Swanson
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Ambassador - Omaha, NE

Absolutely Jeana, Thanks for reading!!!

Oct 12, 2010 02:01 PM
Margaret C. Taylor
Century 21 New Millennium MD - Mechanicsville, MD
St Marys/Calvert/Charles MD Real Estate Agent

Great blog.  We need each other and should be working together for our client.  Margaret C.

Oct 12, 2010 02:52 PM