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How to be a stupid loan officer

By
Real Estate Agent with Real Estate One 6501304423

Yes I know we all do stupid things at one time or another, but I am going to tell you a story of how to be a stupid loan officer.  This is about explaining things to your client.  Do you explain things as they benefit the client or how they benefit your company?

 

?

I got a call from my loan officer who I trust and respect and have used for several years.  Over the last month I noticed some changes in his companies procedures.  He called me about my nieces loan.  Now this loan had a pre-approval from another company and I had asked him if he could do it.  He took it to an underwriter or his boss (the CEO) of the company to have them check it out.  He said they could do the loan so my niece's husband to the loan to him.  I went to him because he was trustworthy.

Well yesterday on this call he starts off saying that "I know the business, meaning me....I had been a successful loan officer years ago.  My friend continued on.  My company recently got a eagle rating which is a high rating for the low number of loans bought back (from what I am told).  So now they are becoming more conservative.  You niece's husband has a high debt ratio and the appraisal is no good so there may be a higher chance of buyback.  My boss doesn't like the look of the loan and he is denying the loan.....

What?   

Unfortunately this loan officer has become the dumbest loan officer I know!!!! Sure I understand that lenders want good loans.  But DO NOT TELL me that because your company just got a new rating that our loan is no longer good.  Just because it has a higher probability of a buyback.   Don't tell me that you don't want the borderline FHA loans and you really only want the creampuff easy to close $200,000 loans!!!

Breaking bad news is tough is any circumstancce but tell us a valid reason not how it may affect you and your company.  As a Realtor our goal is to help get our clients homes closed.  Our client interest is our interest.  I hate to tell you I really do not care about your new "Eagle"rating.  I care about that you looked at the income docs with higher ups and you said you can do the loan.  

As Realtors we depend on our loan officers to be trustworthy all the time.   Not part of the time.  We can not afford to send our clients to mortgage lenders that can't do what they say.  It affects our reputation in the industry.  When I tell a listing agent that this is a solid mortgage lender that does what they say and gets it done in the time periond, it's MY REPUTATION too.

We work together as a team, I care about my client more than an Eagle rating.  So if you want to be stupid explain to me how it protects your company and hurts my client.   

 

This is going to be a multi-part story as there is much to explain.  I couldn't explain it all in one blog.  So leave your comments and questions below because I want to answer them in the next installments of this saga.  It gets mighty intereting!

 

 

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Russ Ravary

Real Estate One

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Steven Cook
No Longer Processing Mortgages. - Tacoma, WA

Russ -- as a Loan officer, I would agree with you on this one.  Why they would have said they could do the loan in the first place if they didn't properly review it?  If they had reviewed it and said they could do it, then they should stand by their original approach and not change it in the middle of the process. 

Apr 19, 2012 02:31 AM
Russ Ravary ~ Metro Detroit Realtor call (248) 310-6239
Real Estate One - Commerce, MI
Michigan homes for sale ~ yesmyrealtor@gmail.com

Steven,

The loan officer and I were worried about the debt ratios.  So that is why we made sure and he went up the chain of command to verify it could be done.  The phone conversation was so much about the new "Eagle rating" and the company wanting to be more conservative.  Shouldn't have taken the loan is my response.

Apr 19, 2012 02:39 AM
Kevin A. Guttman-Author, ReverseMortgageSpecialist
NMLS #384936 - Colorado Springs, CO
877-251-9709

Russ,

There are a lot of companies concerned about buy backs. Investers look for the littlest thing to get a company to buy back a loan.

Sorry to hear this news.

Apr 19, 2012 03:57 AM
Russ Ravary ~ Metro Detroit Realtor call (248) 310-6239
Real Estate One - Commerce, MI
Michigan homes for sale ~ yesmyrealtor@gmail.com

As a owner I would be concerned about buybacks too.  I do not dispute that.  But as a realtor and in the best interest of all our clients I can't work with a mortgage that just wants my "cherry deals" with high loan amounts and excellent credit.  We have all types of clients that come to us to buy homes.  I want to help the new immigrant buy their first home.  The divorced spouse or person starting over from a job layoff.  They are many reasons why we can blackball the average buyer, but sometimes the hard ones bring the greatest rewards.

It is easy to want to be snobby and be the Neiman Marcus of the mortgage field, but I an many others shop at Target, Meijer, Wal-Mart, and Kohls.  Qualifying a client right should be done at the begining not at the end while we are waiting for the clear to close.

  

Apr 19, 2012 04:20 AM
Mark Loewenberg
KW of the Palm Beaches - Palm Beach Gardens, FL
KW 561-214-0370

how about a mortgage broker (not recommened by me) called me the day before closing and asks me to call the buyer to tell him he could not do the loan... then calls me a few months later to see if there is any business I could get for him?  lol, yes I found a better broker that saved the day, but give me a break on asking for more business..haha

Apr 19, 2012 04:35 AM
Russ Ravary ~ Metro Detroit Realtor call (248) 310-6239
Real Estate One - Commerce, MI
Michigan homes for sale ~ yesmyrealtor@gmail.com

Mark.   That is funny.  I would have reminded him about the last deal.  My loan officer knows where I stand.  I fight for all my clients and a lit a few fires yesterday.  I told my loan officer I would not support his company and send them a dime of business their way.  If he left I would send him more business because he is a good loan officer.  The CEO reviews the files prior to close and he was the one that turned it down.  Why put money in his pocket? 

The CEO actually told me had never received an email like mine in 20 billion dollars of loans.  I don't believe him there either.  Somehow I know they turned other borrowers down and have mad other borrowers and realtors very mad.   Every loan officer gets them.  So don't tell me that it's new to you.  I didn't want to call him a liar too.   

Apr 19, 2012 04:48 AM
Mike Warfel
Mike & Rita Warfel Real Estate LLC - Avoca, MI
Associate Broker

Promises are meant to be kept, dosn't the definition count for anything? The issue I have found lately with all the re-fie work going on is: What happened to the loan agent helping to strengthen the Realtor--Client bond. I send clients to be qualified and some other agent writes the offer, that is wrong.

thanks

Apr 19, 2012 05:07 AM
Russ Ravary ~ Metro Detroit Realtor call (248) 310-6239
Real Estate One - Commerce, MI
Michigan homes for sale ~ yesmyrealtor@gmail.com

Mike it is weird you say that.  I ended up in the real estate field because I got tired of real estate agents sending the buyer to a different mortgage company.  I got tired of being cut out.  I value my mortgage relationships.  A good mortgage person is hard to come by.  I stand by mine.  Where my issue is when the company changes which is very common nowdays.  I used Met Life mortgage for a while, then they changed several monthes before they closed up for good.  Several loans closed but it was a struggle and a hassle.  I couldn't stomach that so now that guy is at a new bank.  I've tried him once and I'll work with him again.  I have to feel comfortable that my clients loans will close 

Apr 19, 2012 05:16 AM
Anonymous
Liam

Hello,

Sorry I am pretty new to this commenting system, I just wanted to leave my two cents, (I am based out of california and have no connection to either parties). But anyone that has been a loan officer for a while can tell you that Ratios can change, maybe your nephew in law incurred more debt, and killed the deal, or maybe the credit agency had not reported a new trade line yet. But when he pulled credit again it may have registered the new tradeline. Also, no offense but I do not think that telling the internet what a bad job he did will solve anything, since we cant hear his side of the story it is a little bit one sided,  for all I know he may not have made the call, his boss might have forced him under the bus. I will conclude with this, I would be more frustrated at the company, seeing as he intially went up the management chain in the beginning, they intially gave him the go ahead, I hope I made sense haha, and hope the market is doing good out there in Michigan.

 

Cheers,

Sep 19, 2012 09:25 AM
#9
Wayne L. Brown
Franklin Advantage Inc. - Alpine, CA

Russ

This is a tough situation for all parties. Yet, I have to agree that his reason for coming back with his company's new rating as a cope out is out of line.

Without knowing all of the minute particulars, it is difficult to make any other specific judgements.  Based upon my past experience, I do know that from time of discussion to actually having a complete file in front of you, things unfortunately sometimes change.  If you submitted him a complete file that would be different.

While not defending your LO, I can tell you that in my 40 plus years in the business, I have never seen such as challenging, skitishish industry, and constant changing investor overlays.  It is indeed making both ours and your business more challenging.

All that being said, once you have a complete application with credit, income, and assets in front of you, a good loan officer should know where things stand.......and if there are challenges that need to be addressed.......ensure that all parties concerned are aware of those items which will need to be addressed and overcome.

Let's hope that you can find some resolution somewhere and soon.

Best Regards

Nov 21, 2012 06:08 AM