How many of you know the difference from right and wrong? Know the difference between telling the truth or telling a lie? I will say this, I am not God nor am I perfect. I know when I have lied, when growing up. And I was punished for it. But what about as a professional? Or do we even call these people professionals?

I had the pleasure of meeting a couple today from Sheri Smith. This couple was pre-qualified by another loan officer about 3 months ago. The loan officer told Sheri and her clients, no problems and happy house hunting. One month later, they are ready to settle on their first house together. But wait!! The loan officer calls and says something came up last minute on title. Last minute?  It was a day before closing. Okay, everyone accepts this for now. The long and short of it, this went on 2 more times and the buyers lost their house because the sellers couldn't wait any longer. 

Part 2.....  The original loan officer makes excuses after excuses. He tells the clients that the wife's credit scores had dropped, hence why it fell apart at the end, besides the title excuse. But he tells them that he will get them approved. He originally had them approved for a $300,000 house. They now find a house of $224,900 because Sheri, the realtor, mentioned to them that they might be buying too much. And she wasn't getting a good feeling about this loan officer. A realtor really can't tell a client what to do, but they can advise a client. She gave them my name and asked if it is okay if I called. They said yes.

I spoke to Mr. Buyer and gathered his and his wife's information. This actually took place a week ago. After pulling his credit, I reviewed everything that I thought needed to be addressed. I then immediately called Sheri because not only was this going to be a tough deal to close, but she had handed me the agreement of sale that same day with a  commitment date that said 12/17. Gee, this was in 11 days. I normally wouldn't have a problem if it was an easy deal. But I wanted to make everyone aware of this. Is the commitment date just as important as the settlement date? Luckily this is an estate sale. 

As mentioned, I did get to meet the clients today to finish up the paperwork and to gather some of their documents. I also explained that I didn't feel comfortable with a January 15th, 2008 settlement date either. I said possibly the 22nd and if anything, by the end of January. The main reason is because I need time to clear up about 5 collection accounts that still show open and to get his wifes credit scores above 500.

As it stands now, the wife was starting to express her feelings and emotions. Not only did they just get married in the last year, that she lost her mother in the last year, but that they were trying to buy their own house together. Just a FYI, they do own a house now, but it was previously owned by her current husband and his ex-wife. They wanted a new start. She expressed to me that she has been striped of her dignity. She is emotionally drained and can't understand why someone would drag them through the mud like this. I then had to comfort her and explain to her how people act, especially in this industry. My heart just went out to this couple. And what's sad is that they are a barely qualified for anything over $230,000.

Moral of this story......   I totally believe in giving people a 2nd chance, but more so depending on the situation. And I know buying a house can be emotional. But if someone keeps dragging something out?  Run away....  please. In my opinion, this loan officer abused not only his title, his power of helping people with one of their biggest investments of their lives, but most of all he out right lied to everyone. We could be here for years, explaining why he probably did this. But here is what I wanted to point out.           IF....

• your loan officer delays your settlement a few days prior to settlement, the day of, or that day....seriously evaluate what took place and the loan officer's excuses. If their excuse is related to income or credit, this could be a major red flag. Unless this was a rush job, those items are verified early in the stages when applying for a mortgage.

• your loan officer is hard to reach throughout the process or when you have a problem at settlement.

• your loan officer changes your rate and or fees last minute, especially at closing.

• your loan officer doesn't give you a good faith estimate when you are first getting quotes. Or, they tell you that they can't give you one right now. Or, it takes them more than 2 days to get you one, no matter when you asked. Good Faith Estimates can be e-mailed to you in less than a day.

• you catch your loan officer in a few lies, don't accept fake apologies. Run away.... 

Overall, just don't go with someone because they gave you the best deal. Hey, I get some of my leads from blogging and clients reaching my web site. But be careful of online predators per se and those that advertise a lot with these so-called great deals. Especially deals that nobody else seems to be offering. Do your homework, but don't shop yourself right out of the market!! Remember, we all get our money from the same place when it's all said and done.

For those of you that this has happened to or that it is happing to, please read this very important message.  As a Consumer or a Realtor, should you complain?

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Copyright  © 2007   by Jeff Belonger