Never Say Never: How One Hopelessly Unqualified Buyer Won Me Over, And Got Her House

Sometimes in the real estate business, you don't work for money. Sometimes you know there is no  justification to keep going with a client. And for reasons that no one understands but you, you decide to help the one that appears to be hopeless.

You think that maybe this is the way a doctor must feel when he tries to save the life of the guy who has no health insurance. 

You do it because it is what you do.

THE WORST CLIENT

Last spring Deborah the Realtor sent me her "worst" potential buyer for a pre-approval.

"Worst" as defined by this: credit score barely above 500, single mom, bankruptcy, divorce, no assets and hopelessly "needy" (relentless calls, visits and e-mails).

Realtors must believe this works as some sort of test for a mortgage professional.  As in, " You want some business from me? HA! See if you can get THIS ONE done.  "

This is not a complaint. Just a reality from my perspective. I welcome ALL opportunities to strut my stuff and bond with a potential referral partner. So it came to pass that I welcomed Deborah's client "Alana" (not her real name) with open arms, but a closed mind.

ADVICE? RUN AWAY FROM THIS ONE AS FAST AS YOU CAN

I asked the powers in my office what they thought about Alana's file.

Their advice? RUN, Janet, RUN. In the other direction. Forget the Realtor. She knows this is a "CRAP FILE".

Did I forget to mention she was already working with another mortgage broker who was "IGNORING" her? (I wonder why)....

I was able to use this as my excuse to tell Alana and Deborah I could not work on her file because she was already involved with another lender. Secretly pleased, I moved Alana's file into the "DEAD FILE" drawer. I told Deborah I could not help Alana.

Within only a few weeks, Alana came home to roost. She had fired her old mortgage broker so I could work on her file.

Swell. Her relentless calls rained down until I pulled the file out of the dead drawer to look it over.

A STRATEGY (MAYBE) AND AN ANGRY REALTOR (FOR CERTAIN)

Without subprime, my only hope would be to bring her credit score up to the 580 required by my FHA lenders. And so as the summer began, I spent hours analyzing how to repair her credit. I gave her an assignment to pay down, and pay off some messy old debts. I figured she would never be able to come up with the money.

I placed the file in my "INACTIVE" drawer, assuming I would never hear from Alana again.

To my surprise, she scrimped. She saved. She wiped out the debts. Within a month, she was back with all of the accounts brought current or paid off, her assignment completed.  Her credit scores cleared the magic 580, and we submitted the file to the bank.

I already knew I would never be able to justify the many hours spent on Alana's file by the money I would make (IF the file every closed!). But then Alana managed to destroy the one justification I had for working with her: to show Deborah that I could close an impossible file and get future business from her office.

Alana insisted I call "her Realtor" to tell her the good news about the score improvement. She had not mentioned Deborah in 3 months. Deborah had not called me in 3 months, thinking the file was dead. Alana had interacted with many other Realtors while shopping for a house during those months.

My unfortunate response was, "You mean Deborah, right?"  This was my clumsy attempt to make sure Deborah was the ONLY Realtor Alana would be using. But it could have been worded so much better.

With a great amount of scorn and indignation she replied "Why would you EVER EVEN suggest I use another Realtor? You know I am loyal to the people who help me!!!!!"

Uh-oh. Then and there I knew I had said the wrong thing. Deborah's broker was on the phone to me later that day with a very stern lecture about allowing the client to think she could "switch Realtors". All I could do was apologize.

AT THE ABSOLUTE LOW POINT: WHAT REASON IS THERE TO KEEP GOING?

I was forced to re-evaluate my involvement with Alana. I had $300 of my own money invested in repairing her credit. I had hours and hours of time invested. My owner was mad at me for even working on the file when he had told me to run. Deborah's owner was mad at me for allowing Alana to think she could use a different company.

One other tiny little problem? Lenders who once had said they would take a 580 score were now saying they wanted a 600 score. Two lenders had already turned her down.

I was at a low point. I desperately wanted to cut the cord to let Alana find a different mortgage broker. If ever there was a time to fold your cards, this was it.

There was just one problem. Well, maybe two problems.

1. Alana believed in me.
2. Somewhere, way in the back of my mind, I was starting to like Alana. Her persistence. Her loyalty. Her determination.
   

It was a miserable, hot August day, and my frustration couldn't have been higher, nor my confidence lower. She must have sensed I was nearly defeated when she said this:  "You know, you and I are going to be together this December, gazing at my Christmas tree, sipping champagne, and making a toast to the first house I ever own."

And just like that, I was in.

Justification not required.

 

 

Part 2, click here: The champagne ending. How Alana got her house against all the odds.

 

Written by Janet Guilbault, Mortgage Lending Specialist Based Out of the San Francisco Bay Area