This is precisely why I pay no attention to mortgage folks who try to market directly to me.  I have no idea of their success rate for closing loans. 

Many buyers come to us already connected at the hip to a mortgage person.  Fine.  I'm not going to interfere with a relationship.  However, if the buyers need a mortage referral, I go to the same people I've gone to for the past 15 years.  They have NEVER let me down.  If they take a loan application, they will close it. 

Cold calling me is a waste of time. 

Lenn: would a mortgage broker EVER be able to win your confidence? If they could not cold call, what could they do? You know I have always wanted to ask you this question, but the opportunity never came up.

Janet.....I'm with you all the way.  Same thing with Realtors, they need to know their stuff to succeed, or better yet, to write a sensible offer.  You have to guide your Buyers, not let them run over you. 

In a booming market, a successful realtor does not have to cold call or advertise, though many of us do advertise to please our sellers.  In an adjusting market, such as now, why would you want to spend your time and money on cold calling or advertising.  When it comes down to the bottom line, if you are successful and diligent, you can succeed in any market.

Roxanne Schilling, Realtor at Lake Tulloch.

Roxanne, very well said. Thank you for contributing a perspective from the Realtor's point of view. Somewhere we lost faith that there is a set of skills required to do the job....the best marketing in the world does not make up for lack of skills.

It is what they are buying and you want to be the best thing sitting there on the shelf. I happen to know you are that in your market! Thanks for a great comment

Speaking of romancing.... are you romancing that little gold star again Janet? EXCELLENT POST!

This is precisely the issue we RE brokers deal with every day. I tell my clients that it's not just about rate shopping anymore. I KNOW who will give a great rate, competitive fees and most importantly... close the loan with minimal run-around. Those with the SKILLS!

btw... thinking that ring might be 'the one' for me!! 

Thanks for the great post!

Such a great blog, I enjoyed reading it and it kept my attention till the end. I am impressed by your writing skills but what really impressed me was the fact that you are SOOO right. Knowledge is power and you need to know your job in todays market. It gets frustrating working with someone who does not "KNOW" what they are doing. Again though great post, keep it up - two thumbs up

Jennifer, that rock would look very nice on you, I must confess. I did not write this even thinking about Realtors so I am happy it struck a chord with you as well. As Realtors, I guess it didn't take much to list a house that would have 3 offers on it within the hour.

Now we all have to grow up and be professionals. I say, Thank, God, its about time. You need to earn respect, and that is what those of us left around are doing.

Hi Dione! Thank you so much! I thought this might not go over very well because so much around the Rain is about marketing. I am not against marketing, I am only saying it should not be the meat of your business. SKILLS should be.

Great, fun read!  Many thanks for the info too! 

Janet.  Are you talking about loan officers in general or mortgage brokers specifically?

I enjoyed your post and am looking forward to Lenn's reply to your question.  In this market, I am finding that realtors are open to business with new lenders.

Yep! i knew it! There it is... that little gold star :) Nice going Janet!

btw... I WAS talking about loan officers. We need them to be clever more than ever before. 

Great post!  I hope you get a lot of comments on this one.  I am anxious to see what everyone says.

Make It A Great Day!

Janet,

 Another well written blog.  I love reading you stuff!  I tend to agree with you, the strong will survive and the weak will fall.  Learn something new everyday!

Lenn: I guess I was using the term interchangably. What I should have said is what would need to happen in your mind for you to take a new mortgage partner on? What would cause you to trust enough? You have already said no one would get there by marketing to you.

Your audience is waiting....

I get annoyed by cold calls. what're these people thinking? It's too easy to get trapped by a snake these days.

Having a great lending side on your side is key.  I have a loan right now through an unknown and it is a nightmare, hopefully closing Tuesday, I love when I have people on my clients side and really are true professionals instead of the cowboys in the industry.

Janet - I totally agree with you very true. Great Post.

For me it is a trust factor that has to be devloped between the realtor and loan oficer/mortgage broker. Anyone can promise you the moon - but what counts is who can deliver it.

Great Post!  I am new to the mortgage industry, my previous experience being buying and selling properties, and I agree with you 100%.  I started as a Front End Processor to learn the details of mortgages and what it really takes to get them done.  I am so glad that I started from the ground up in this industry after hearing many stories from clients and colleagues.  My approach to mortgages is doing what is best for the customer, given their overall financial picture and goals.  It is much better to be in the right product with a slightly higher rate, than in the wrong product with a lower rate.  This is where knowing your customers and also knowing your products will make you or break you!  I look forward to your next post.

What a great post! Very well written and I loved it. So true about lenders and Realtors alike. The time has come in this industry for more professionalism all the way around.

At our company breakfast this morning, a local lender spoke and quoted: FHA no longer does loans for buyers with a FICO score of less than 580. He said the loans that were closed previously with scores lower than that are now at a 50% default rate. Yikes!

Signing up as a subscriber! You are an excellant writer. Thanks!

Elizabeth, Thank you so much for the compliment. Your lender is correct, at least in California, I have no lender that will accept less than a 580 score on an FHA loan. Jeff Belonger, who is an FHA expert has told me that in other states, a less than 580 for FHA is acceptable.

I think every Realtor and every mortgage professional that survives this downturn will be better respected by the outside world. Those that refuse to move forward and learn skills are just going to fall by the wayside. There isn't enough room in the industry for them.

The more difficult the task, the greater the respect that goes to those that can accomplish that task. Maybe a new resect for our business is just around the corner.

I hope so.

Wil: Well what do you know? There are NEW people getting into this crazy business. You are a brave soul, Wil, but someday you will look back and think it was good to get in when times are this tough. It trains you well because you must work your butt off. I wish you much success.

The top producer in our office that I mentioned? Until he came to our office he always processed his own loans. This has given him a huge advantage in the current market, and maybe this will help you as well.

I agree with you that lowest rate in wrong product is not good. You should write a post about this statement. It could be expanded upon and your perspective as someone new would be fresh and intersting. Think about it.

Rick...don't tell me about the labor pains...show me the baby. LOL

Alan..get trapped by a snake? You mean mortgage brokers are cold calling you? And they are snakes...meaning no good at what they do? I am sorry I am having a tough time replying to your comment, please forgive me for not being clear on what you have written.

Lenn...where are you?

Janet, I particularly enjoyed your linguistic skills aside from your message.  Thank you for being so literate; it raises you up in my estimation.  I agree with your sentiment and work with a small time mortgage broker with a big company behind him.  He knows his stuff and works primarily from referral - that says a lot - particularly in our Michigan market these days!  I'd put his contact information right here but I think that is AR politically incorrect, so contact me if you want to know who can get you the best mortgage deal in the Ann Arbor, MI area, and even across the nation since his company can do deals in most states in the nation.  He closed my brother's deal in Minneapolis from Ann Arbor! 

I had two local mortgage brokers cold call this week. It's a waste of their time. I have been using one guy almost all the time I've been in this business with no problems. I did give someone else a try once. And that loan failed to fund. I lost a client and a sale. I'm not changing! If a client shows up with their own mortgage broker, fine. I make them aware I am not responsible for their performance and then I follow up and document everything that has to do with the loan.

Susan: I always beam when I hear someone talk about a mortgage broker this way. I actually did send someone this week to a mortgage broker in Florida by picking up her name off a Realtor post. So go on back to your blog and post about him. Put the address in there.

Heck, why don't you invite him into the Rain?

This is so true! I'm afraid to let my buyers choose their own lender. I do everything I can to get them connected with a loan officer who knows what they're doing!

Wow. another nice post. I have really been busy of late but I leave the loans up to my loan person. She has more time for me which is great. It is much harder to get sales these days but they still come my way. My blog is starting to kick in. Hope to see you in the next class. I can get 75% to chose my lender since it almost always works. She is like 99/100 for me. 

Lisa, at the risk of hijacking Janet's blog entry here, the only time I was ever asked to be released from a buyer agency agreement was when the lender was far out of town, unknown to me, recommended by a family member, and I had to explain to the buyers key issues about borrowing.  What is wrong with that picture?  Particularly when my favorite expression regarding lending is, "That is a question for the lender; it is not my specialty."  There were many, many reasons the deal failed for me but lack of communication and too many cooks in the kitchen were among the reasons.

Ah....the old too many cooks in the kitchen. I love that expression, but even more I love your other expression " That is a question for the lender."

I have been on the other side of that often when borrowers ask me to help them negotiate with sellers, if the house is priced "correctly" , if house is in the right school district, etc, etc.

Often I am tempted to answer because honestly? I can easily fall back into being a Realtor because that is how I started in the business. I have to bite my tongue and say, "that is a question for your Realtor"

I'm surprised to hear so many salespeople so roundly reject cold calling & advertising. Of course most established realtors have long-time relationships with experienced mortgage reps; those realtors are a major challenge. But what about the not-so-established agents? For the past year, I've pushed all of our loan officers to step up their realtor marketing....in my opinion, this is the best climate for it. How many of you realtors have seen a closing go bad due to financing recently? What better time for a new loan rep to get their foot in the door?

When I started this business as a loan officer, it was really tough to pick up new realtors -- everyone had access to the same easy loans, so why would they need to give me a shot? At least now loan reps with legimimate skill & experience have a well-deserved advantage to advertise.

Maybe we're just playing a different game here in Houston?

I love the title of the post. I like getting out and meeting with the people I will work with or having a chance meeting. 

I'm parked to read Lenn's answer.

Another amazing post Janet!

True, True and, yes True! I can't tell you how long I have waited for the day that truly being knowledgeable and 'up on your stuff' would count for something. I think your right, that day is here! I don't hear alot about cell phone bills and car payments being made for many of the local refferal sources in trade for business being given to our valleys largest mortgage originator. In fact, theres alot of whining about the loss of such spiffs. The playing field has been leveled by the market. Now if the government can just keep their fingers out of the pie, we'll be in good shape. Well done Janet - Congrats on the feature!

Janet.  Busy, busy.  I was in CE for 8 hours yesterday, meaning 12 hours out of my home office, meaning little time for ActiveRain. 

About mortage referrals, I'll send a private mail.  Too long for a comment 

Lenn: Thanks, and to all of my readers: I will share what Lenn writes via a new post or here on this one.

I love the lead-in, really hooked me. Romancing the Loan. Oh there are numerous pitfalls and predators to avoid with home financing. You stated your case adroitly and with a quick wit.

Fund and games. Fun and games. Seems like you're keeping the tradition of wordplay alive, Janet. A thoroughly enjoyable and educational read.

Janet, this is a great post.  Knowing how to get a loan closed is becoming a lost art.  We who know how need to make sure our prospective clients know we can get it done.

Janet, this was a very well deserved Feature post.  I'm so thankful to work with competent and experienced mortgage lenders.  That partnership is one of the most important and critical aspects of the home purchasing process.  I never fail to emphasize that to potential homeowners.