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You May Need a Mortgage Loan Officer if…

The final in this series designed to lighten it up a little. Here is a short list of things to watch out for when working with a loan officer.

If your loan officer has any or all of these attributes you may need a loan officer:

The name of their company is ABC Mortgage & Hair Cutting Emporium.
Or the name of the company starts with Bob or Lefty.
They promise you $100,000 cash back on all transactions.
Says your 100% loan requires a large down payment.
They ask you to fudge you income or employment information.
Tell you if they can also be your real estate agent they will get you a cheaper loan.
They put you on hold while they take a drive-thru order.
When you ask the name of their company they say they have to get back to you on that.
When you get their voice mail, the greeting is for their real job.
When you ask for a VA loan they say nobody gets those. (Code for they don't have them available).
You see their name in the newspaper under bankruptcies.
Your real estate agent never heard of them or their company.
They are unable to be at the signing because they live 7 states away.
Their business card has the name of the company scratched out three times and a new one written in.
No website or e-mail address.
They arrive at the signing table with a body guard.
You get a discount on your loan for ordering new cell phone service or floor cleaner.
They are either the real estate agent or a spouse of the agent. (You may want to replace both)

I am sure you can think of several others. Have fun with this list.

Other posts in this series:

Posted by Randy L. Prothero - Hawaii REALTOR® on 12/07/2007 03:05 PM

Comments (17)

real estate etchics, real estate, hawaii, mortgage, loan officer, lenders

Originally posted at: Hawaii Randy's Real Estate Opinions: You May Need a Mortgage Loan Officer if…

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17 Comments on You May Need a Mortgage Loan Officer if…

DEC

2007

I always advise my buyers to go to a FDIC recognized band. Avoid Private Mortgage companies at all costs. If you find one banker you work well with keep them. I have used the same one on all of my deals and recomend him to every buyer I have. His name is Rich Tompkins with Orion Bank. 305-289-5806.

Gary - I have more than one, but the list is quite small.

Thanks for the list. Some are obvious but its amazing how many buyers will not check their Lender's credentials more closely. Do you think that all Mortgage Lenders/Officers/Home Loan Consultant should be licensed?

Lloyd - Absolutely, they need to all be licensed and held top a high standard.

Randy-Isn't everyones name under Bankruptcies right now :) :) I love the list (s) :)

All I've got to say is Dumde dum dum DUM!:)

DEC

2007

Kathy - I hope not. At least they aren't here.

Neal - :)

Although there is a little sarcasm in your list, it does ring true in many cases! Just because some calls themselves a loan officer doesn't make'em one...."go ahead on pump three!"

Randy, Don't you just love when people say never go to a mortgage company? I can give you stories of L/O from banks that have'nt seen the ball since kickoff. I am not saying that this never happines with mortgage companies. We have good and bad in every side.

Randy, I think when looking for good people as loan officers or whomever, you really have to trust that "spidey sense" of yours often, and validate their credentials.

Gary Waters - You picked up on it. All of them were based on folks I met in the industry.

Matthew - It may be different in your market, but in our's all of the fraud and most of the incompetence I run into is from the brokers side or from out of state lenders. Our primary lenders generally have higher standards and only hire experienced professionals.

Gary Woltal - If you are new and don't now a good loan officer an experienced real estate agent is a good place to look for referrals. The reverse is true also.

Randy- Great post.. LOL.. What is sad is that too many buyers have one of these guys.. usually a brother-in-law or cousin who is going to get them the best deal..

Kaye - Great point! The absolute worst loans I have seen came from family and friends.

DEC

2007

Great list - I just can't understand why we can't get the $100K at closing?

Now Have a Blessed Day,

John Occhi, Hemet REALTOR®
Mission Grove Realty

John - Unfortunately there are many in the industry that really think that is OK.

DEC

2007

Randy.... I give 100k at all of my closings. Doesn't everyone? And as much as your list is suppose to be lite, but with lots of truth, I will argue these two.

Your real estate agent never heard of them or their company.
They are unable to be at the signing because they live 7 states away.

One main reason is because 60% of my business is out of state. And they still close on time, no changes to fees or rates, and they are happy. It comes down to trust and basically just treating those the same way that you want to be treated.

But overall, I know what problems that you and many other realtors have gone through in the past. I just picked up a loan that another loan officer, locally, has dropped the ball on twice. Basically meaning that it can happen in your own backyard also. anyhoo... happy holidays

DEC

2007

Jeff - This is an area we will have to agree to disagree. These buyers are about to sign the biggest check in most of their lives. I want the loan officer at the table to explain what they are signing to them and to address concerns. I am there to address transaction concerns and expect no less from the loan officer.

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