In my business I can and often do arrange a loan without ever meeting my clients face to face. I was on the phone with a client earlier this week and after having talked with her about how to structure her loans to get them approved, she thanked me and said “you’re old-school” – it was a compliment and just the kind that keeps me doing business the way I do.
A little background:
My Client – we’ll call her Ms. Smith – was referred to me by her son who I helped with his investment property and primary residence. It seems that she’d tried to refinance her primary residence and income property and was turned down.
We reviewed her situation and she agreed to let me complete a credit application. I ran her credit report and understood how, at first glance, a lender might believe that she is not a good candidate for a refinance. However, I like a challenge and love the analytical exercise associated with figuring out “how can we get this done.” Additionally there were elements of her loan file that could be used to compensate for the reasons her loan might have been turned away by others.
I modeled out her numbers lots of different ways and finally hit on a solution! It’ll be tight and doesn’t offer her everything she could want in an ideal world…however, I can help her take advantage of current low interest rates provided she follows my pre-planning instructions.
I called her to let her know I’d figured out a solution and we talked for a while just getting to know each other. At the end of our conversation, she remarked that her son and daughter in law had loved working with me and she understood why...her words were “you’re old school” when it comes to dealing with your clients.
Yes…yes I am...and proud of it!
Got me to thinking about technology and how, in the lending business, it has transformed much of the culture into a business designed to fill in the blanks, collect the documentation, pass the file to processing and move on to the next one. When a client is looking you in the eye, the dynamic becomes very different then looking at a computer screen and filling in the blanks.
I love technology…I’m eager to learn all the new stuff that comes along and figure out how to use it to make me more efficient. However, technology is just a tool in the resources that help me service my clients who are real human beings, not computer screens.
So, old school? In this case…You Bet! Proud of it!
For more information and a no-pressure conversation about your ability to qualify for a loan (purchase or refinance), give me a call at (714) 403-2603 or send an email message to Linda@LindaOnLending.com.
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