The Lender You Choose Matters More Than You Think

~ The Lender You Choose Matters More Than You Think! ~

 

I have been selling real estate for 19 years.  (Sometimes it doesn't seem like it, I mean, I must have started when I was 12!)  I help folks buy and sell real estate all over the Denver metro area.  Most of my business is either referral or past clients.  When you have been in this industry that long, if you do a good job, that is where most of your business should come from, if you know what you are doing and you make people happy with their choices; choices of whom they choose to to represent them,

When I work with a buyer, I have them get prequaled first, making sure we are looking in the right price range.  I work with a lender that is fantastic.  She is knowledgeable, has killer customer service skills and this is important, the loans are processed and underwritten locally.  The listing agent can call and get an update from a real person, without going through some automated phone center.  The agent doesn't have to call some 1-800 number and get routed through a crazy help desk and never talk to the same person twice.

I have a short sale property listed for sale.  It was on the market for just 3 days when I received 3 offers to present to the sellers.  Each agent was notified of the multiple offer situation and to give me their highest and best offer to present to the sellers.  All 3 offers were full price or higher.  The offers were relatively the same on paper.  The same, that is, except for one major difference on one of the offers.  That potential buyer had prequaled through a national company that does more than just mortgages.  These buyers had called in on a toll free 1-800 number and had gotten pre-qualed by a help desk.  The loan package,processing and underwriting would be done in another state.  The pre-qualification letter had one paragraph about the buyers qualifications to purchase a home.  But the rest of the letter (the remainder of 2/3 of the first page and half of a second page) was advertisement about this company and how great they were.  ( I thought a pre-qualification letter from a lender was supposed to be about the buyers qualifications, not an advertisement about their company...I guess nobody told them this!)

The other 2 offers were accompanied by lender letter solely going over the buyers' qualifications.  They were also using local lenders.  Needless to say, that first offer was quickly rejected.  The sellers wanted to know why a lender advertised on a pre-qualification letter, but I didn't have an answer for them.  (Do you have an answer I could pass along to them?)

When I called up that agent to tell him that his buyer's offer had not been accepted and the reason why.  He stated that the buyer decided to use this national company because they had used them before for other things and they felt comfortable with their previous business dealings.  I explained that the sellers wanted to work with a lender that could be contacted for updates on the loan process by dialing one number and getting an answer, not by dialing a toll free number and getting transferred multiple times or pressing 1 for this department and press 2 for that department.

The bottom line is, our market here in Denver is changing quickly.  The inventory is lower.  I am experiencing multiple offers on many listings.  I want my buyers' offer to stand out (for good reasons) and be accepted by the sellers, and for my sellers to feel confident with the offer they accept.  The lender that a buyer chooses can make or break a deal...during a transaction by not getting the loan done, or before the offer even gets accepted by the seller because the company isn't local or the pre-qual letter is an advertisement about the company.

Buyers need to do their research.  Choose a very qualified lender to do your loan.  Choose a lender that is recommended by your agent or by close friends.  Don't choose a lender from a phone book or an Internet site.  You won't be doing yourself a favor if you do.

If you are a buyer or a seller in the Arapahoe county area and need a good REALTOR(R) to help you make sound real estate decisions, Dawn Fabiszak has the experience you need.  Give her a call today at 303-332-8025 or visit her website  www.DownHomeInDenver.com.  You'll be glad you did.

 

 

 

 

Keller Williams Real Estate, LLC

Broker Associate, CNE, CRS, GRI, SFR

Servicing buyers and sellers in the Denver metro area since 1993

Three easy ways to contact me:

email me directly Dawn@downhomeindenver.com

visit my website to search for homes or find the value of what your home is currently worth visit: www.DownHomeInDenver.com

call or text me directly on my cell: 303-332-8025

The choice is yours.  Let my expertise work for you!  Servicing the Denver Metro area/ Aurora, Centennial, Denver, Englewood, Greenwood Village, Littleton, Lonetree and Parker

*** Voted one of Denver's 2011 "FIVE STAR REAL ESTATE AGENTS" by an independent survey of recent homebuyers to find the best in client satisfaction.***