Real estate agents have every right to feel the way they do because of our industry's carelessness in putting out these pre-approval letters. This is a waste of people's time. Real estate agents are working late hours trying to put a sale together based on the letter that you have provided to your borrower. And then, thirty days down the road, the deal falls apart, and the real estate agent finds out that you didn't properly verify the information.
The other main reason that real estate agents really dislike loan officers is because they do not give true and accurate statuses on files. So if you just do these two things, which is provide a solid pre-approval letter and give proper and accurate statuses on the files, you're going to earn the respect of the agent you're working with in that transaction.
If you have pre-approved a customer, and there is a unique aspect to the structure of that transaction (for example, the borrower needs $5,000 in closing costs from the seller), make sure that you convey this to the agent who will be submitting that offer so that the contract can be drawn up correctly. Here's a tip that I've found great success with over the years in writing up pre-approval letters. At the bottom of your pre-approval letter, handwrite a note to the listing agent and seller to give them a sense of confidence that the transaction will close successfully.
If the loan is structured with a down-payment assistance program or a seller contribution, make sure that the real estate agent who is writing up the offer has this noted in the contract. As soon as that offer is accepted, your first call should be to the listing agent. Call them up and introduce yourself. Let them know that the loan is being processed in an efficient manner and that it will close on time, provided that everything goes according to plan. As soon as the real estate agents have that contract drawn up and fully executed by both parties, the ball is now in your court. It's your time to shine and show those real estate agents what you can do in processing the loan.
The most important thing you can do, to make yourself look good and rise above all the other loan officers out there, is to give weekly updates. Find out how the real estate agent would like to be updated, whether by fax, email, or voice mail messages. Note this in the file, and make sure that you provide an update once a week. It's a very easy way that you can set yourself apart from the service that other loan officers give.
If you have a bad experience with FHA loans is was more likely the loan officer you dealt with rather than the actually FHA loan or process. Working with an experience mortgage bank/loan officer FHA are rather easy and most of the time the best loan for the consumer. If you are working with a lender that does not utilize this product or has little knowledge you are doing a disadvantage to not only your success but to your clients financial future. FHA loans are typically much lower rates and less money down than conventional loans.
GOT FHA?
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