Oneta had known the borrower since high school some 35 years earlier. They had been working on the loan for about 2 months to get all of the borrower's documents and the appraisal and everything needed to close this somewhat difficult loan. Oneta really needed this loan to close because she had put much time into it. The borrower, let's call her Jane, was very excited that she could get this loan and had worked hard to overcome some earlier challenges to refinance this home she had inherited from her mother.
Then it happened. The morning of the closing Jane called and told Oneta she would not be going to the closing and they would not be rescheduling ... Jane's boyfriend was putting the kabache on the deal.
Jane's boyfriend.
Janes boyfriend of 6 months.
Jane's boyfriend who was not paying the mortgage.
Jane's boyfriend who is not and would not be on the title.
Jane's boyfriend stopped the deal.
Jane cried. Oneta cried.
About two years later Oneta's twin sister Moleta took a loan application from her good friend's daughter. She ordered the appraisal, got all the documents together, submitted the file to underwriting and the daughter said, "I'm going to Wells they are giving me a better rate."
Of course she would not share the good faith estimate to see how they possibly could have beaten us. In fact it took two years for her to finally confess that at the closing table it cost more than they had told her it would and her payment was higher but since it was a purchase she didn't want to walk away and start over ... she just went ahead and closed because her friend told her that was the right thing to do.
Those are the horror stories and I bet on Active Rain there are tens of thousands just like this. I always put it straight to this bottom line when a customer or client is getting advice from someone else:
What experience does that person have in the industry where you are dealing with professionals? I had someone call the other day demanding to know the YSP on a deal. (A) We're a lender, there is no "YSP" and (B) the loan is priced at PAR so there is no YSP. But her friend assured her we were making thousands. The friend had a little experience, had probably listened to Clark Howard or Ilyse Glink and thought they knew everything.
What motivates the person to give advice? Generally it's pride. Who better to give advice than a know-it-all? They think they know because they may have found some words that fit the vernacular for that industry. If they are giving advice just to puff themselves up they are most likely going to be contrary just to "save you" from the big bad real estate agent or mortgage broker.
Is the friend a competitor to the person who is providing you the professional service? Many people actually prefer not to deal with friends for various reasons. I have not infrequently had someone tell me their brother, cousin, girlfriend, or other, is in the mortgage industry but they don't want them to know their business or handle it. I immediately ask what role that person will be playing in the decision making.
Is the other person a talk show host or journalist with no or little actual experience in the industry? I cringe when I hear some of the things some of those people say. Inaccurate at best and worse if they are intentionally attacking something they don't fully comprehend ... YSP for example. Oddly enough I have never been invited to CNN to address YSP.
There are others to be certain. I would urge you to evaluate their experience and their motivation in providing you information that can cause you to make a mistake by either proceeding or not proceeding. As a real estate investment specialist for the last decade I can tell you I have talked to literally thousands of people who took seminars, read books, listened to programs and came to me insisting they knew more than I did and that I was trying to hold them back (or whatever) only to watch names appear in foreclosure notices (and worse) after I refused to do that deal with them.
Am I perfect? Nope! But with over 3000 deals under my belt I know a lot of mistakes to never make again.
Salute.
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