How many of you have been disappointed when a sales person tells you one thing, to find out later on that not only were they wrong, but way off base. Possibly later on, finding out from others that you were basically lied to. This brings me to a consumer's expectations on how a certain job should be done. This is not magic. The consumer shouldn't be asking for miracles, flying carpets, or any other type of magic tricks.
What should the consumer want when speaking to a mortgage professional, or in the basic concept of business, should expect period, from any sales person.
- Reality
- Honesty
- Professionalism
- To be treated as they would want to be treated
- To be sincere and genuine
A wise man once told me, "keep your client's expectations to a certain level". Meaning, keep their expectations in check. Under promise and over deliver. Makes sense, right? A lot of common sense. But so many over promise which means they will under deliver.
Now, why is this? The sales person is usually afraid to lose that consumer. Am I in sales? Yes. But do I consider myself a sales person? Not really. I would prefer the term, 'true professional'. Because I do hold myself to a higher standard.
It comes down to pride in who I am and what I do. Which brings me to my next point and why I wanted to shed some light on this. People, I am not god nor am I perfect. And yes, people make mistakes. I consider myself very good at what I do. I love to explain things, educate people, and to actually get it right the first time. The sales person, as I call them : They can sometimes not care, just hoping to possibly impress their manager with numbers now, not real numbers later. Meaning, I can write 10 loans this month, but maybe only 2 might close. Well, it looks good on the board now. It allows the below average sales person to pass time 'now'. This is to the average consumer out there. We don't get paid until your loan closes. So why do some people just drag you through the mud? Prolong the agony of your defeat? I probably can't honestly answer that one, because I don't operate that way. But I do understand part of it after being in the mortgage business for over 15 years.
In conclusion, I would like to give some of my thoughts on this. If you inquire about a mortgage or actually apply for a mortgage, you should receive a Good Faith Estimate. The loan officer should be volunteering this to their client. If you have to ask for it and it's been 48 hours since you requested it, red flag. And 48 hours is being very, very generous. It really shouldn't be longer than a full day, because these can be e-mailed.
What are some other red flags?
- Poor follow up -- If you have to keep after your loan officer. They hardly return your phone calls or e-mails. Yes, people can get busy, but if this is reoccurring or they seem to come up with good excuses each time, red flag.
- Making promises -- If the person that you are dealing with always use words of encouragement such as "I promise", "no problem", "I guarantee", "don't worry"; then these might be of some concern. Now, I am not saying, if they use this once, then run away. But these words or phrases are used throughout their daily conversations, then in my opinion, there is some cause for concern.
- Always searching for an answer -- If you ask your loan officer questions and they seem to never have a question and need to get back to you, this is usually not a good sign. Hey, once or twice? Depending on the question and level of difficulty. But you wouldn't usually know this as being the consumer and not in the business. But you can Google so many things nowadays. Do some research. I have had many clients research things that I tell them. How do you sometimes know who is telling you the truth.
- Excuses -- This is kind of a summary of making promises and always searching for an answer. If you have a closing date and it's canceled last minute, question them about it. Drill them and just don't take the loan officers answer at face value. I could give you at least 8 reasons to why a closing/settlement might not close on time. But these would only be excuses if I only had a week or less to work on your deal. For the most part, you don't know what is a real excuse or not. And don't hesitate to call that person's manager. It's one thing to give the benefit of the doubt, but how many times are you willing to bend. Especially if it happens a second time.
Overall, I could give examples, many examples. I have 3 out of 5 clients just in the last 1 1/2 weeks that have had this happen to them in the last 4 to 6 months. Some have lost their faith in the system now and even question me. Do you blame them? I don't. When shopping for a mortgage, I would pay attention to this the most :
- The Good Faith Estimate -- Again, if it takes more than a day for them to get it to you, not a good answer. If they don't offer a good faith estimate to you even when you are inquiring, not usually a good sign. If they tell you reasons to why they can't give you one, not a good answer. (I had a client recently who was told that they couldn't receive a good faith estimate until contracts were signed) Ask yourself this, how would you know if you could afford it without looking at all of the costs and the payment? Common sense, use it.
Here are some more food for thought.....
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Copyright © 2008 by Jeff Belonger
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