Loan Officers, What's in your Utility Belt?

Holy Pop-Culture Reference Batman!  Growing up in the 80's and 90's I grew up watching many different versions of the Dark Knight (aka Batman).  From Saturday morning cartoons, to the movies of the Caped Crusader in the 90's to his recent emergence thanks to Christian Bale and the Kids WB, I've had my fair share of watching this billionaire by day, crime fighter by night in his many incarnations.  The funniest was, and forever will be, the Adam West version (Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel) that I got to watch via-reruns on the now defunct Family Channel many years ago.

One of my favorite things was, as Jack Nicholson's Joker put it, "those wonderful toys".  Batman had no super powers, but somehow had some of the coolest gadgets and weapons I have ever seen.  Thought not the coolest piece in his arsenal, his Utility Belt was the center of it all.  He had everything in there!  One of the funniest contents of his Utility Belt was Shark Repellent!  Seriously, does this really exist, and if it does, why in the world do you carry with you?  Why not market it to surfers and make a billion or so.  Oh, yeah, he was rich already so it didn't make a difference did it?  I digress, but the list of things he had in that Utility Belt were normally useful when he or a victim was in peril:  Batarang, Smoke Pellets, Grapple Gun, Bat-Cuffs (no, not the fuzzy kind), Flashlight, Camera, are just a few of the many items he used in different episodes and movies.  Bottom-line was this, he was always ready to get the job done and always had the tools he needed (no mattered how far fetched) to get it done.

The question is what's in your Utility Belt?  Depending on your field, it's going to be different.  Since this post is geared toward originators, let's take a look at your Utility Belt.  Your phone (whether it be a land-line or a wireless) is most likely your number one followed by the computer as your number 2.  Faxes, printers, and copy machines are your number definitely must haves.  Office supplies (folders, brads, sticky notes, etc.) need to be in there too.  And of course your lenders and their loan programs are quite important as well.  Now, especially with the decline of sub-prime mortgages and increased usage of government programs, DPA (Down Payment Assistance) companies are probably part of your Utility Belt as well.  But what about Credit Repair Companies?  Do they have a slot in your belt?  If not, why not?  I'm sure when the sub-prime boom was going on, anytime you were denied by company A, you just sent in a pre-qual to company B.  If you were like most originators I know, you probably sent the pre-qual to 3 different lenders (if not more) and ran a couple yourself through the on-line pre-qual generators most of them already had.  Bottom-line was, you did everything you could to get the loan closed, correct?  So why don't you do that anymore?  Just because a client doesn't meet the tougher guidelines of most of the lenders and doesn't qualify for a VA/FHA loan, doesn't mean you have to stop there.  You have an option.  How many loans are you denying and eventually missing out on because you are not utilizing every means available to you?  I rest my case.  You owe it to yourself, your company, and especially your clients to do what ever you can to make that loan close!  And we can help you with that.  You can even call us Shark-Repellent if it makes you feel good.

You might not be saving the world, but for the clients you have that know you are doing everything you can to help them, you're giving them an opportunity that they never thought possible.  Soon you'll be saying, "Holy Referrals Batman!" and closing more loans and making more money, just by using everything on your Utility Belt!  So, until next time, happy selling and remember that Good Credit is Good Life!