What are probably the two most important things in regards to a mortagage settlement?  Having that loan close and close on time??

Sure, a good deal would be the no brainer. And no, not the best deal. Here is my definition of a very good deal. It's not based solely on interest rates and fees. It would be a combination of :

• good rate and low to no lenders fees (anything under $500)
• an on time settlement with no hitches (last minute change of rate and or fees)
  
• educating the consumer of the process - good explanations along the way
• timely follow up
• communication

Those are just to name a few things to how you can judge if you got a good deal or not. But what about my initial question?  What do you think would be the two biggest issues for a smooth transaction?

My .02 to the questions above......

     1.  Communication - May it be through e-mails, phone calls, face-to-face....   if you are telling people that you will call back in an hour, then call back around that time frame.  Try to be polite, even when frustrated. I will admit, I can get frustrated easily, especially after I have explained it twice in one day and I get an e-mail later asking for an explanation again. It's human nature to snap at people, right or wrong.

     Take a step back first. Try and put yourself in that borrowers shoes. Or maybe that realtor or lawyer... or even the seller or loan officer. Just because we go through this daily and know what we are doing, many people don't. Even those that have bought before, especially since the mortgage industry has been turned upside down.

     2.  Expectations -  How do you set your clients expectations? How about setting them at a respectful level.  Not to over promise and under deliver. How excited does someone get when you actually under promised and over delivered. I know I feel great when someone was expecting one thing and they ended up with a better deal.  Or quicker closing, etc, etc.

                                                        Something that I learned 10 yrs ago from my boss's boss was setting my clients expectations to a certain level. And it makes perfect sense. Keeping this in the back of my mind has made my job easier and more efficient.  Again, it's human nature to want to please someone right then and there, telling them what they want to hear. It's extremely hard to do the opposite, to tell someone something that they might not like. That is also part of communication.

Conclusion :  I was inspired to write this post after reading this post by : Carol Culkin - Mortgage Rep. says - I don't like being questioned regarding rate.  This post was basically about a loan officers attitude and ego, from what I could gather. He seemed to be rude and didn't have much time to explain or help, telling everyone that this was a difficult deal. But wait, he brought this up during the process. Again, it goes back to communication. If you already know that it's a very hard deal, you let everyone know at that time, not when you are being pressured to deliver or to answer questions.

He not only told people that this was very hard, even though a few other loan officers said that they could do this deal, but he told people that he was extremely busy. That he was also busy with tons of refinances. As someone mentioned, those people are already in their how.

Which leads me to expectations. They had a commitment, loan approval, 2 weeks before settlement. He said that they should make settlement, if not, at least by Christmas. That would have been closer to 3 weeks. And then in an e-mail not to long after that, he said, maybe in January. My point to this?  If there was a major issue on that commitment letter, he should have made all parties aware of it then and explain the importance of it. Again, communication and expectations.

Ending????  Yes, it closed.  But what ruffled my feathers?  Some people said, hey, it closed. It was a tough deal. Yeah, that's true. But keep in mind. You had a first time homebuyer and the holidays. What a bad way to go about buying your first home. What bad and negative memories. I don't know the ins and outs of the deal, but I know many of these same stories. Many of this could have been bypassed if there was better communication and a certain level of expectations set.  thanks

Something to remember?  Just don't use the phrase, 'I am busy', to get people off your back. They don't want to hear that. They want truthful answers and results.  Are you fake busy or busy as a bee?

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