Tip 114 The Right Lender Could be the Difference between Closing and…

365 Tips to Becoming a Successful Realtor - Tip 114 The Right Lender Could be the Difference between Closing on Time and…

One of the benefits of reading this series is that you get to learn from other people’s mistakes and hopefully not make the same mistake yourself. As I look back at some of the posts that I have written over the past 2 years I see several mistakes that I wish that I didn’t lean the hard way. (Tip #24 - Negotiations. Seek First to Understand - 365 Tips To Becoming A Successful Realtor®)

I have recently re-learned a lesson when it comes to lenders. Unfortunately, I have re-learned this lesson 3 times in the past 3 months. (I guess I am thick headed that way!)

The lesson?

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS GO WITH A LENDER WHO YOU KNOW AND TRUST because The Right Lender Could be the Difference between Closing on Time and Not Closing at All!

Two months ago I was working with a client who already had a relationship with a local lender. At the beginning of the transaction everything seemed to be in line but red flags began to raise within days of getting the contract signed around. First she informed me that we needed an extension and we were only 5 days into the transaction. When I asked how long she needed, she couldn’t tell me. Uhhh…

I should have demanded that we switch lenders right there and then but my client seemed to like her. She didn’t like her so well after the second extension and barely closing in 75 days. The $375 fee for closing late didn’t help.

I am currently involved in two other deals with different lenders who came as the buyers’ baggage. Both (not related to each other) seem to have mystery problems getting the deals through underwriting. We are down to the wire (both closing this week), each transaction is on its first extension, and the lenders can’t tell me when docs will be out. Really?

I won’t go into the details but I will suggest that you find a good lender and stick with them. Recommend that all of your buyer clients be pre approved with them. You will be amazed at how much easier your life will be in the long run.